Tarte Au Sucre Recipe (Zuckerkuchen Rezept)

In Germany, we know sugar cakes. They're usually very firm, taste like cinnamon and they're good.
So I was a little sceptical, when I was going to make this Belgian sugar cake, which is made with sour cream.

My cake didn't turn out that well, because I changed the recipe a bit to much (I didn't have this, I didn't have that...) ... when it comes to cooking, you can improvise, but at baking when it comes to ingredients you gotta stick to the recipe!


Tarte Au Sucre for 4 (340kcal pro portion (is for 1/8 of the cake))

50ml milk
1tsp sugar
80g butter
250g flour
10g dry yeast
3 egg yolk
salt
100g brown sugar
2 eggs
100g sour cream ( German sour cream seeams to be a bit different than the sour cream you use as dip. It's not that firm. I hope it works as well with American / UK and other sour creams)
Butter to grease
flour to dust
cake pan 23cm in diameter
baking paper

1. Warm the milk (warmer than room temperature!). Microwave will do the job.
2. Cut the butter into pieces.
3. In a bowl, mix flour and yeast. Add a dash of salt and sugar (I don't care what the cook book says, when it's dry yeast, you always mix the dry ingredients first)
4. Add the butter and mix. Now add milk and egg yolks and mix until it's an even dough.
5. Now cover with a clean kitchen towel and place in a very warm place for 30minutes. This can be your bed or next to the radiator (when it's on of course) or, if you don't have a very warm place here's my trick. Use a high (at least 15cm!) grill and place it over one oven plate. Turn the oven on at the lowest heat (at my oven that's stage 1 of 6)! This will make a great dough. I only tried this over electric ovens and I'm not sure how it would work with gas.
6. Preheat your oven to 220°C (electric oven!). Cut a piece of baking paper to fit your cake pan. Slightly grease the paper and then lay it on the bottom of your cake pan. Pour some flour and carefully shake your cake pan to divide evenly.
7. Now roll out your dough. Make it a flat circle, a bit bigger than your pan.
8. Place dough in the pan, so that bottom and walls are covered.
9. Pour the brown sugar in evenly.

10. Now mix the 2 eggs with the sour cream. Pour the mixture over the sugar in the pan.
11. Place your cake in the oven and bake for 10 minutes at 220°C. Then reduce heat to 180°C and keep baking for 20 minutes. If it's not done, bake for another 5-10 minutes.
12. Place the pan on a grill to cool down and your down!

13. When you place your cake on a plate and cut it, you'll be surprised about the filling. :)

Bon appétit!

Lemon Chicken Recipe [Frittiertes Huhn mit Zitrone Rezept]

This is a recipe I know from China - my dad took us to a restaurant near his work (no, we're not Chinese, he just worked there) in Beijing and he love this restaurant and of course wanted us to love it to.
Not hard to say, I didn't like it very much. Everything was SO spicy. They're speciality were spicy ribs and my parents could eat them like chips. I was only able to eat half of it and was already crying like a baby. I have no idea if it was good, because during that evening I never felt my tongue again.
So next time we went there (of course we had to go a second time) my parents went for the ribs again and I wanted to try something else and I found Lemon Chicken.
I can't say I liked it very much either...
but years have passed, my taste changed and I got curious again. Thank God, because it was delicious!


Lemon Chicken for 4 (350kcal/portion)

400g chicken thighs with skin but withou bones (if not without bones, buy regular chicken thigh with skin and remove the bones ... it's a little complicated, but I did it too!)
Salt
2 tbsp Sake (rice wine)
100g starch
Frying oil
     For the sauce:
150g sugar (yes)
100g lemon juice
60g rice vinegar
100g water
2tbsp starch
big pan, large enough to deep fry

1. Slightly cut in the meat from both sides. Be careful not to cut it through.
2. Lay on a plate next to eachother. Sprinkle with salt and sake and rub in. Put aside for 10 minutes.
3. While waiting, we can mix the sauce. In a bowl, mix sugar and vinegar. Add lemon juice and stir. Finally, add starch and mix well.
4. On another plate, sprinkle starch. Roll the meat in it until everythings covered.
5. Now we can deep fry the meat. Lay a paper towel on a plate. Heat frying oil (enough for deep frying!) in a pot or big pan an bring to 180°C)
6. Piece by piece (too much at one time will make the temperature drop too fast) put meat in the pan and deep fry.

7. When the meat is coming up, you can fry it another minute. Then take out and lay it on the paper towel plate.
8. Take another pan or remove the oil from your used pan and pour in the lemon sauce. Bring to boil on medium heat.
9. While the sauce is simmering to thicken, cut the meat into bite size pieces.
10. When the sauce has thickend, add the meat and stir until everything is covered. That's it!

请慢用!!

Greek Salad Recipe (Griechischer Salat Rezept)

Greek Salad is a very easy, delicious and healthy dish. Thanks to Feta cheese it has a salty taste and so is perfect for everybody, who is not a big fan of salad.

Greek Salad for 4 (320kcal/portion)

300g tomatoes
140g cucumber
100g onions
1/2 small green bell pepper
Dressing:
12 black olives
150g feta cheese
2 garlic gloves
2tbsp lemon juice
100ml olive oil
salt and pepper to your taste
a big bowl (everything has to fit in it)

1. Peel the cucumber and into quarters. Remove the juicy pits. Then cut into 1cm pieces.
2. Peel the onions and cut into half. Then slice into thin half moons.
3. Wash the bell pepper, remove the stem, then slice.
4. Was the tomatoes, cut into quarters, remove the jucy stem, then cut into cubes.
5. Slice the olives thinly.
6. Cut the cheese into cubes.

7.  Grate or squeeze the garlic.
8. In your big bowl mix garlic, lemon juice, olives, olive oil and cheese.

9. Add the vegetables and mix well. Add salt and pepper to your taste and that's already it! Easy, isn't it?

καλή όρεξη!!

Linguine ai Pesto Recipe (Linguine mit Pesto Rezept)

I've never tried pesto before, because its green color always prevented me from wanting to eat it. But the recipe is in the cooking guide and it didn't need much ingredients, so I decided to cook it inspite of myself.

Although the recipe requires linguine, I was cooking for the whole family and my grandparents aren't good with the long noodles, so I went for penne.


Linguine ai Pesto for 5 (770kcal/potion):

500g Linguine
45 basil leafs
3 tbsp parmesan
3 tbsp pine nuts
3 garlic gloves
4 anchovies filets
150ml olive oil
salt and pepper to your taste
a food processor kitchen machine

1. Peel and ad squeeze the garlic.
2. Put basil leafs in the kitchen machine and mix. Add pine nuts and parmesan and mix. Add anchovies and garlic and mix. Add olive oil, a little salt and pepper and mix to a paste. Let stand aside in the machine. (Mine's in a bowl, because my food processor wasn't big enough. You can use the machine for mixing basil, nuts, garlic and anchovies. If it's too small for the oil, just put everything in a bowl and stir fast.)

3. Cook the linguine in a large pot with lots of water and a bit salt. Drain, then put back in the pot. Mix the pesto again, then add it to the noodles and stir well, so the noodles are coated. Taste with salt and pepper.
4. Arrange on a plate and grate a little parmesan over it.
5. Buon appetito!!

I've realized, I'm a little focused on the Italian cuisine ... hm...

Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

This is one of the more complicated recipes from the guide. Maybe the one with the most ingredients ... it really needs a lot but is very delicious!

Chicken Pot Pie for 4 (640kcal/portion)

300g chicken breast
100g onions
100g carrots
100g potatoes
60g frozen peas
60g champignons
2 tbsp oil
3 tbsp flour
30g  butter
200ml milk
100ml cream
800ml meat broth
160g flaky pastry (frozen)
1 egg yolk
fireproof molds - 1 per person

1. Peel the onions and remove stem, peel the carrots and potatoes. Clean the mushrooms.
2. Cut onions and mushrooms into quarters. Dice carrots and potatoes into 1cm pieces. Dice the meat into 1cm pieces.

3. Heat oil in a big pan over modereate heat. Add onions, carrots, potatoes and stir fry for a minute.

4. Add mushrooms and meat and fry. Add salt and pepper to your taste.

5. When the meat is starting to change colours, add the butter and let melt.
6. Add flour and let it sweat for a short roux.

7. Add the broth and boil up over moderate heat. Reduce to low heat and let simmer for 15 minutes until half of the liquid has vaporized.
8. Add milk and cream and increase to moderate heat again.

9. After it has boiled up again, add the peas and taste with salt and pepper. The filling is done now.

10. Preheat your oven to 200°C.
11. Take the flaky pastry out of the freezer and let thaw for 10 minutes.
12. Coast the pastry a little. Place one of your fireproof molds upside down on the pastry. Cut it ca. 1cm bigger than the mold.
13. Whisk egg yolk in a little bowl.
14. Pour filling into the molds. Brush egg yolk on the mold's edge. Place pastry on top and press a little. Brush left over egg yolk on top.
15. Place the pot pies in the oven for 10 minutes. Take out and done!

16. Enjoy your meal!

Rote Grutze Recipe (Rote Grütze Rezept)

Rote Grütze is a very simple but also very delicious German dessert and one of my favourites, since it's not all too sweet and has lots of fruits in it.
Pictures this time are a little blurry, sorry.


Rote Grütze for 5 (150kcal/portion)

1000g (1kg) frozen berries mix (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries)
400ml water
100g sugar
3tbsp starch
3tbsp water


1. Put starch in a bowl and add the 3tbsp water. Stir until the starch has dissolved. Don't wonder, it keeps a milky white liquid.

2. In a big pot, heat the water on medium heat. Add the sugar and bring to boil. Slowly add the starch mix and stir until the liquid thickens.
3. Add the frozen berries. Stir and boil up shortly, then take from the cooking plate.

4. Put the mix into a bowl. Fill a bigger bowl with icy water and place the smaller bowl inside. Keep stirring while the berries are cooling off.

5. In the end just arrange in crystal cups and put on vanilla sauce, ice cream or enjoy the way it is.
6. Guten Appetit!

Fettuccine al Funghi Porcini Recipe (Fettuccine in Steinpilzsauce Rezept)

As you've noticed I haven't blogged about anything food related lately but I've been cooking! So the recipes are like stapling and I'm not doing anything...
That's why today I'll take my time and post as much recipes as possible. Thank God my camera is arranging the pics chronological...

Fettuccine al Funghi Porcini for 4 (720kcal /portion)

400g Fettuccine
25g dried ceps
100ml warm water
200ml cream
4 tbsp white wine
2 tbsp olive oil
20g butter
1 tbsp parmesan
2 tbsp chopped parsley
salt and pepper

1. Soak the mushrooms in the 100ml water according to the instructions on the package. Then squeeze out and keep the mushroom water.
2. Cut them into small pieces (if not already)

3. Cook the noodles according to instructions, drain them and put aside.
4. Now it's time for the sauce. Heat oil in a big pan on medium heat. Then add the mushrooms, but be careful, if they're still moist, it might spatter. Fry the mushrooms for around 1 minute.

5. Add the wine and boil up. Now add the mushroom water from before. Don't taste yet, you wouldn't like it.

6. Add the cream and heat on low heat without boiling! Then add butter and stir in.

7. Add the noodles to the sauce and mix until they're coated.

8. Now arrange them on a platter, springle chopped parsley and parmesan.
9. Buon appetito!