Stewed Mood

Got into a developmental mood last night. Decided it was time to work on my German cooking again and test out a recipe that I haven't tried before.  So, I busted out my Culinaria: German book, called up my hungry friend, and grabbed wine.

Decided to do a recipe based out of a region of Germany called North Rhine-Westphalia. The dish? Münsterländer Töttchen, aka Münsterland Veal Stew.  I picked it because for one, the ingredient list is relatively easy to find products. Two, I will readily admit I usually suck at making stew. In the past, I generally wind up with crappy thin soup with stringy, tough meat much like my father does. I wanted to see if I am genetically predisposed to shitty stew-making. For a side item, I chose spätzle, egg noodles I made time and time again when I worked in a German kitchen. The biggest difference with that would be instead of using an arm-busting noodle press like I had in the past, I would be attempting to use an old-fashioned "shaving" method.

The stew had me start off by essentially making a quick veal stock. Simple enough. Carrots, celery, onion, a bit of parsley and green onion simmering with some veal for an hour or so- child's play. The oddest part about that was the recipe called for the onion to be 'spiked' with one bay leaf and two cloves. What the fuck is a spiked onion? The book didn't say and Google just wanted to give me soup recipes, so I opted to just throw the cloves and bay leaf in with the rest of the stock veg.

While that was working,  I got my spätzle dough together.  Spätzle is a very simple noodle, just eggs, flour, a smidge of spices and salt, and water. The kicker is that the dough has to be incredibly thick and sticky, which can make it a beast to work with and a bitch to clean up. My dough ready, I got a pot of very salty water boiling and began to attempt to shave the dough off a wet cutting board to create noodles.  It was doable, but what a load of crap. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I would much rather use the arm-buster. Shaving resulted in a lot of inconsistent sizing, which made pan frying later a bit sketchy. Anyway,  once the dough hit the water, it only took a couple minutes for it to cook and float to the top. Skimming the noodles out, I dropped them into a mixing bowl with ice in it to keep them from overcooking.  Once all of the noodles were made, I rinsed them and strained them, then coated them in olive oil to prevent sticking while I finished the rest of the stew.

Once the stock was finished,  I strained it and removed the meat, putting that to the side while I chucked the rest of the veg in the garbage. Grabbing a new pan, I proceeded to sauté chopped onion in clarified butter. The onion was supposed to cook until translucent,  but I got distracted and they wound up caramelizing a bit- oops. Whatever,  wasn't burnt! I then sprinkled flour over the onions, whisking it in, to essentially create an onion roux. Threw in some wine, a bit of the stock, the veal, and voila! A couple minutes reducing and I had a sexy looking stew. Seasoned it with a bit of salt, pepper, sugar, and mustard, and it was ready to eat.

Using the rest of my clarified butter, I pan-fried the spätzle umtil it was lightly crisped, then put the noodles in bowls and topped it off with the stew. A quick refill of the wine, and bam- chow time!

I was overall happy with the outcome,  though now that I've done it once, there's definitely stuff I would do differently next time. For starters,  have stock made ahead of time,  and make it really concentrated for a more robust flavor. I'd simmer the meat in the stock all day, get it really melt-in-your-mouth tasty, and then once dinnertime was actually on me it'd tuen into a 5-10 minute pick-up. Suuuuper easy. As for the spätzle,  I'm wishing for an arm-buster for Christmas. 

If you want to try this yourself,  look for the cookbook Culinaria: Germany. The stew is on page 214 and a good spätzle recipe is on page 330. Or e-mail/message me and I'll send it to you.

Prost, dahlings!

A Tribute

Charlie Trotter died yesterday.  It's a strange thing for me to process. For those that don't live restaurants like I do, Charlie Trotter was one of the first to be considered a famous chef. His restaurant in Chicago helped define the new standards of dining,  and his books are a testament to his passion for the craft.
I never ate at his restaurant.  I never spoke with the man. But his influences helped define the restaurants that in turn, defined me. He was a polarizing figure, no doubt,  but nobody can say he had a bad effect on the industry.  He was only 54 when he passed. Gone too soon. His legacy of standards and achievements will not be forgotten,  though. Cheers, Mr. Trotter.  Hope your last meal was a good one.

Testosteroney-O's

It should come as no surprise that I am a tomboy.  I grew up with 2 brothers, 5 male cousins, and a bunch of uncles in a very military-focused family. We played rough, watching hockey and playing video games together,  and being outdoorsy.  I can pitch a tent in 10 minutes and make a slapshot.
Coincidentally, I have far more guy friends than girl. I can count my close girl friends on one hand.  It was never intended like that, guys just make more sense to me. I also have the rare self-awareness that girls are batshit insane, and I can barely handle my own crazy most of the time.
I love having guy's nights. Nights where the guys and I will go out, get hammered on whiskey or beer, watch stupid cartoons or sports,  and eat meat. Preferably steak. Nights where we live like Ron Swanson for a few hours. Those are good nights.
Occasionally, significant others will get curious.  I make sure to inform any potential suitors about my guy friend ratio, because if there is one thing that pisses me off, it's unwarranted jealousy. They raise eyebrows and may ask questions,  but I'm ok with that - it's a respect thing for me. More often than not, it's my friends' girlfriends that get bent out of shape because they have not been properly appraised of the situation. Let me get on my soapbox here for a minute...
Relationships are about trust and respect,  period. If you ever find yourself questioning the other person's motives or intentions,  you probably need to take a step back and really think about whether you are in in for the right reasons period. There is no point in staying with someone to avoid loneliness,  that's fucking stupid. So shame on my guys for not being straightforward with their ladies, and shame on the ladies for overreacting.  And for god's sake, if you break up with someone,  that is one or both of you saying, "I do not want you as a romantic interest in my life anymore", NOT "we actually are still in love just give me a week or two to remember". Love is not something that gets forgotten.
So coming back to my point. A couple nights ago, I was having a guy's night with one of my friends. We drank whiskey,  hung out in dive bars, made steak, and had a grand old time. I wound up passing out at his house,  in his bed, fully clothed. There was plenty of blankets and whatnot separating us, it was clearly platonic. I woke up to the following story:
*His ex girlfriend* came home in the middle of the night with a mutual friend of all of ours (she knows me as well, we're friends), and found us passed out.  Apparently, my friend woke up to her standing over him in the dark, where she proceeded to have a meltdownand left. I, thankfully, slept through the whole thing.
I processed this information,  shook my head, and got ready for work. My friend also got dressed,  he lives a town over and was going to drive me back to the city. We were up pretty early,  contemplating getting coffee and whatnot. And thank god we were- he couldn't find his keys. He is a creature of habit, he always follows a routine. He doesn't lose things because he always knows where he puts them, the exact same place they always go. Following so far? So you can guess where this is going.
She took his keys.
Didn't take the car, even left the wallet. But took the keys and forced me to take a $30 cab ride to work. I can understand being upset, I can even see it possibly being an accident.  But ladies of the world,  let me put this out there for you...
IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE ABSOLUTELY NUTTERBUTTERS, MAKE SURE IT DOESN'T AFFECT ANYONE BUT YOUR CRAZY ASS. We all know when we are going off the deep end.  It's got it's warning signs. But if you are thinking of some stupid revenge thing, or arguing with a person, chances are you are going to wind up screwing with a third party that had nothing to do with it. I say this with love- be fucking classy, and keep the insanity to yourself and your therapist. Otherwise,  I am happy to share these kinds of stories on the Internet.  And laugh the whole day through.

Brain Fried

While this is being posted later,  I happen to be writing at 3:42am. I have spent the last 2 weekends in a whirlwind of activity,  and it finally has my brain in such a tizzy that I can't sleep.

Last weekend was Alchemy,  a burn that takes place in the North Georgia mountains. For those of you unfamiliar,  it's effectively a smaller scale Burning Man. Bunch of folks just camping in the woods, creating a temporary autonomous society based on self reliance and a hell of a good time. I had a blast.  Turned off my phone, had a stash of granola and box wine, and proceeded to hang out with some of my dearest friends that I haven't been able to see in mooonths. Reconnecting with everyone was wonderful,  even in the 30-40ºF nights, haha.

This weekend was Taste of Atlanta,  one of my favorite responsibilities all year. One of the largest food festivals in the Southeast, I work for them every year in some capacity or another. This year, I was their VIP Experience manager,  which meant I was in charge of organizing volunteers for that section,  and once I was on site, making sure everything went as smoothly as possible. I have never been so busy and so exhausted in my life.  My first year managing, and I learned a crapload!  I had help from some fantastic volunteers,  and I can't wait to do it again next year, but oh man. Every time I close my eyes,  I am back at the festival site, assisting with the breakdown. I never thought I could ever get this tired from just a dream. Or is it a nightmare at this point?

Succulence, Spice, and Spirit(s)

What a crazy few weeks it's been! I have been in a pissy mood the past couple of weeks, and thank god Mom taught me, "if you haven't got anything nice to say, don't say anything at all!"; otherwise this blog would have been exceptionally bitter for a minute. Thankfully, I have hit my stride, things are in an upward-mobile direction, and I am ready to kick some ass!

So, what have I been up to? Well, for starters,  club life and I most decidedly did NOT work out. Between differences in opinion between the upper management and I,  and the truly awful people that actually attended the club, it was far better for me to part ways. I now focus more on freelance film production stuff, and I'm going to start waiting tables again at a local bar to guarantee bills get paid.

I did break things off with J. I weighed the pros and cons, and then I re-read, 'He's Just Not That Into You'. And then it hit me that he did not, in fact, like me as much as I do him. It might seem silly to take a book to heart like that, but it is the only relationship book that has ever told the blunt, unshakeable truth. So I trust it a hell of a lot more than anyone or any other book that insists that relationships are based on analyzation of the other person. So I  the end, sure, I still have feelings for him, but I'm not waiting or wasting the fabulousness that is myself on a pipedream. I'm ready to put my energy and emotions into a relationship that is actually reciprocated.

On a happier note, my garden hasn't died yet! I've even added more to it. It's got kale, lavender, and dill now; and I'm attempting to start some carrot, pumpkin, and baby cucumber seeds before the weather gets really cold. Hopefully they turn out- So far everything else has been doing great, and the tomatoes keep producing more buds! I'm feeling optimistic, despite the naysayers in the hardware store garden department.  :)

Lastly,  I have been lucky enough to taste a plethora of new foods I have never tried before! And happily enough, 2 of 3 places are suuuper local, and suuuuper cheap! Jamaican, Croatian, and Ethiopian- I'm so lucky I live in such a diverse city! The corner store by my house has started selling Jamaican meat patties- tasty savory pastries filled with rich, spicy meats. It's the healthiest, home-made Hot Pocket I've ever had. The dude who makes them is super-chill too, I really want to chat with him more about the patties. In a food truck park about a mile away? Croatian food truck, run by 2 brothers who are using recipes taught to them all their lives. And let me tell you,  the whatever they gave me? Oooooh, man. I need to go back there to get a more detailed explanation of whatever I ate. It was succulent,  savory, and the meat just melted apart in my mouth. Just talking about it gets me drooling!  The Ethiopian place is a bit further away, in the outer perimeter area of the city, but the style of food was awesome. It was also spicy, similar to the Jamaican but a bit more rustic,  and more importantly- I got to eat with my hands! I read up on the etiquette afterwards and apparently I probably offended a lot of people by using both hands (in Ethiopia,  you are only supposed to use the right). I'll have to practice for the future.

I'm excited for what's ahead.  For the few steps back I took, I am sure that what's ahead is going to reap rewards!