HUNGRY EYES: salami

salami

llucmajor, mallorca

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happy thanksgiving

pour of the week: viva la france

it's been a while since we drank french wine... it's nice coming back to it again.

GiGantis 2007, Côtes-du-Ventoux (+/- 14 € gift from irene)

GUY: was very surprised how much i liked it. very interested in the mont ventoux region and would like to try more wine from there.

GAL: this is my first mont ventoux wine. really love the power and mineral taste. well balanced wine, great value.

Domaine Vindemio 2006, Côtes-du-Ventoux (+/- 12 €)

GUY: really nice as well.

GAL: if you like your reds with spice and power this is it. this has a little more 'grab' then the GiGantis. this is great with winter hearty meal.

Les Allées De Cantemerle 2005, Haut- Médoc (+/- 10 €)

GUY: nice table wine.

GAL: good wine. will need to try it again.

Château Cantemerle 2002, Haut- Médoc (+/- 21 €)

GUY: great wine good french wine maker.

GAL: mineral, elegant, dry, floral. delicious.

Gevrey-Chambertin 2002, Moillard- Grivot, Côte-d'Or (+/- 25 €)

GUY: one of my favorite french red wine. was really happy to have it again.

GAL: delicious and easy to drink.

kitchen LIVING: barrels

barrels as pedestal

image via life goes on in tehran

HUNGRY EYES: rice crispy

tagid* = the delicious crispy part of chelo (persian rice)

images via life goes on in tehran

WHOs cooking: farah ebrahimi

"you never had persian food?" GUY asked to me in a sympathetic voice, as if i've missed out on some greatness. "...no, i haven't." i whispered with some sort of shame... somehow he made me believe i've been missing out big time. "well, you have to ask farah to cook for us." then he continue with how delicious and amazing farah's persian cooking is. of course, i have to ask after what GUY had put me through. farah invited us over for some real persian home cooking over the weekend. and needless to say dinner was fantastic. and YES, i was definitely missing out...

who farah ebrahimi

work e15, wife of philipp and mother of anton

menu

ghormeh sabzi* with Chelo** (rice)

mast-o-khorma***

*Ghormeh Sabzi is a kind of "Khoresht" which is a kind of stew and is served with rice, this dish is made with 7 different herbs, onion, tumeric, kidney beans, meat and dried limes (Limu-omani, Persian limes) for flavour. There are hundreds of kind of Khoreshts in Persian cuisine and are always served with rice.

**in general the word rice in Persian is "POLO", however when it is prepared in a fine way... to be served with Khoresht it is then called "CHELO". The delicious crusty part of the rice is called: "TADIG", which literally means: "Bottom of the pot". The traditional way of serving: the rice is placed in a large oval shape plate, with the "TADIG" either on the side or served on a smaller side plate. The beautiful rice serving spoon is "Kafgir" which means something that holds the bottom.

***yogurt with dates (i never would thought yogurt and dates! these iranian dates are amazing... not all dates are created equal)

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Chelo (persian rice)

serves 4

1-1/2 cups basmati rice

salt

a pinch of ground saffron

3 TB yogurt

cooking oil

special equipment: teflon pot with a lid

1-1/2 cups of Basmati rice left in warm water and plenty of salt for some hours, or even left from night before! (for the real Persian way, otherwise can skip this step)

Pour rice with 3 full cups of water (rule: 2 cups of water to every cup of rice) and plenty of salt into pot, boil until the water is almost evaporated, then pour the rice into a strainer and run water over it, to wash off the starch and the extra salt, taste too make sure it is not too salty, but be careful to also not wash all the salt away.

Throw a pinch of ground saffron into a 1/4 full glass with hot water, mix then add yogurt, mix add some cooking oil and mix again.

Pour the yogurt mix into a teflon pot, empty the rice into the pot, pour plenty of oil all over the rice close lid and let the rice cook with lowest possible heat for about 40 minutes.

when ready, put the serving plate over the open pot and flip the rice like a cake...and voila!

more:

life goes on in tehran photo blog of daily life in tehran

persian quince stew with chelo looks delicious!!!

nice persian cooking blog, my persian kitchen has step-by-step pictures of making persian rice

pour of the week: 4 x german : 1 x french

2008 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett Trocken**, Weingut Heribert Kerpen, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer (7,60 €)

GUY: quality for money value ... great.

GAL: drink it cold. a good solid refreshing dry riesling. well well priced.

Freiherr Heyl zu Herrnsheim Rotschiefer Riesling 2001, Rheinhessen (gift from simon)

GUY: rock and roll.

GAL: one of my favorite wine producer. great riesling. ecologically sound and sustainable vineyard. also produces amazing sparkling wine.

2008 Erbacher Michelmark Riesling Spätlese trocken, Weingut Heinz Nikolai, Rheingau (9,40 €)

GUY: i like the freshness to this riesling. it's good.

GAL: it's good. just a little too much acid for me. really cold... i am good for a glass.

2008 Muskateller, Weingut Friedrich Becker, Pfalz (+/- 14 €) (bio wine)

GUY: this really shows that he is a great wine maker.

GAL: it's amazing to be able to drink great wines within 2 hours drive from where we live. this is a great muskateller, semi-sweet light wine. great before or after dinner.

Givry Blanc 2007, Guy Chaumont, Rosey (+/- 12 €) (bio wine)

GUY: needs more time to relax in the cellar.

GAL: big powerful wine, need to pair with food carefully. i didn't have a great time with it, something about it that is a little rough and tough. maybe i was not in the mood for a challenging wine or maybe the wine is not ready.

bio bio beef

this is where we pick up our grass-fed beef.... just 45 minutes drive outside of frankfurt.

it is somewhat nice to meet the people who raise the cows, see where the they come from and how they are raised.

1/16 of a cow nicely vacuumed packed in small portions costed 108 €.

looking forward to do this again next spring.

what we made with bio bio beef:

ginger butter steak

burger

poached beef fillet

beef salad with punchy peanut dressing

wafu pumpkin beef ragu

taiwanese red-braised beef noodle soup (posting soon)

apple pumpkin japanese chicken curry rice

this was an unplanned happy accident. amazing plate of autumn hearty goodness. i hope you give this a try.

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apple pumpkin japanese chicken curry

3 skinless chicken breasts, cut into 4 cm chunks

1/2 TB curry powder

1 dash of soy sauce

2 medium yellow onions peeled and roughly cut into 4 cm chunks

2 TB grated ginger

3 cloves of garlic grated

3 medium apples, peeled and cored cut roughly into 4 cm chunks (roughly 2 cups)

3 small carrots, cut roughly into 4 cm chunks (roughly 2 cups)

1 bowl of pumpkins, peeled large chunks (much larger then others, because their tendency to fall apart easily)

1 cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf

oil for cooking

salt and pepper for seasoning

4 - 6 pieces of curry base (curry block)

2 - 3 cups of chicken stock or water

in a bowl mix the chicken chunks with curry powder and a dash of soy sauce to marinade.

in a heavy bottomed pot, heat about 4 TB of oil over medium heat. cook the onion with a pinch of salt over medium low heat until the onion turns translucent.

continue to add the ginger, garlic, carrots, apples, stock or water, cinnamon and bay leaf. have the liquid cover over the vegetables by about 5 cm. bring up boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the carrots are tender, about 20 minutes or so.

in the meantime, in a frying pan, heat 2 TB of oil over medium high heat. pan fry the chicken until golden brown.

then add the browned chicken to the vegetables pot.

add the pumpkin to the pot. add more liquid to the pot if necessary. bring up to boil, then turn the heat low to simmer until the pumpkin is cooked through (about 10 - 12 minutes or so). make sure not to over cook the pumpkin, because it can become mushy and fall apart easily.

in a bowl, mix the curry cubes with some hot water. stir melt the block until it becomes a thick paste. add to the curry paste to the pot and mix carefully until it has melted and fully incorporated. taste and decide if an extra block is needed. over low heat let the pot simmer for 5 minutes or so.

serve with white rice and japanese pickle vegetables. enjoy!

good READs on japanese curry rice:

how to make the perfect rice!

just hungry's japanese beef curry has lots of great tips

wikipedia on japanese curry

japanese curry rice vending machine

SALAD du JOUR: napa cabbage salad

napa cabbage salad

8 leaves of the cabbage leaves, wash and dry

1 block of sturdy tofu

3 TB of fried shallots

3 tsp sugar

3 TB rice vinegar

1 dash of soy sauce

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp red chili flakes (optional)

use a teflon frying pan, heat the pan over medium heat. cut the tofu into 1 cm slices and panfry it over low heat without any oil. when the tofu turn golden flip and continue. the objective is to dry out the tofu. once golden on two sides, cut the tofu into thin strips. throw it back in the pan and toss it over low heat with a drizzle of a pinch of 5 spices (optional), soy sauce and sesame oil. coat the tofu strips and turn off the heat immediately.

while the tofu is cooking, cut the cabbage leaves into thin strips.

to make the dressing, mix together sugar, rice vinegar, soy sauce, salt, sesame oil, and chili flakes. taste and adjust seasoning.

toss the salad together with fried shallots, tofu strips and the dressing. enjoy!

kitchen LIVING: fire

getting cold, dreaming of a kitchen with a fireplace... what a grand idea....

via LIFE, kitchenisms, house beautiful, remodelista, you have been here sometime and more....

pour of the week: 2 x italy: 1 x uruguay: 2 x france

2003 Pian Dell Oriono, Brunello di Montalcino (+/- 33 €)

GUY: a VERY nice brunello.

GAL: german precision in italian wine. this is a treat, a beautiful full body brunello. thank you markus for sharing!

Podere 414 Di Simone Castelli Morelliono di Scansano, Toscana (11,20 €)

GUY: (i can't bother to answer... i don't remember anymore)

GAL: i am in love with italian wine. this made me fall in love all over again.

MARKUS: the reisling of italian wine. gives you the same happy mood.

Marichal Reserve Collection, Tannat 2002, Uruguay (12 €)

GUY: good stuff from uruguay. very nice winter wine.

GAL: i think it was good. need to try to again.

Saint Cosme 2008 Côtes-du-Rhône (+/- 9 €)

GUY: yummy.

GAL: we haven't had red wine in a while. i think it's time to start again. i love the meaty structure and intensity. similar greatness to our FAVORITE wine Montonegro. another great thing, this wine is easy to find unlike the Montonegro.

Little James' Basket Press, Saint Cosme (+/- 6 €)

GUY: this is our daily base table wine at home.

GAL: who says cheap table wine can't be good? easy to drink, pick up a few bottles when you see this next time.

HUNGRY EYES: milkmaid

the milkmaid, johannes vermeer 1658

HUNGRY EYES: breakfast

breakfast at home, frankfurt, germany

pulpo tomato parsley salad

i came across this recipe from one of my favorite cookbook, Harumi's Japanese Cooking. it's amazing how perfect the two vinegars go together with a just hint of soy sauce to enhance the sweetness of the tomatoes and the parsley with the pulpo. the book called for fresh tomatoes but i used canned instead since i didn't have any at the moment... the result was surprisingly good. this salad is simple, delicious and impressive, i hope you give this a try!

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pulpo tomato parsley salad

serves 4

2 cups of cooked pulpo (octopus) legs, cut into thin slices (substitution squid)

1 cup of fresh tomato or canned tomato without it's juice, roughly chopped about same size as the octopus

1/2 cup of parsley, discard the stems and chopped

3 TB of extra virgin olive oil

1 TB balsamic vinegar

2 TB white vinegar

1 tsp soy sauce

sea salt and pepper to taste

prepare the dressing by mixing the olive oil, vinegars, soy sauce and salt and pepper.

toss the pulpo (octopus), tomato and 1/2 of the parsley together.

serve with the rest of the parsley sprinkle on top.

here's how to prepare a whole octopus/ pulpo****

get the fish monger to clean the beaten the pulpo for you. beating the pulpo ensures tenderness.

remember not to over cook it because of it's tendency to get tough.

bring a pot of water to boil. wash the pulpo. add the pulpo and bring the water back up to boil then lower it to the lowest setting and let for simmer for 15 - 20 minutes depending on the size. after cooking, rinse the pulpo in cold water to let cool. use what you need and store the rest or freeze them in portions.

more pulpo on caper berry: pulpo fresco

more harumi's book:

harumi's japanese home cooking

everyday harumi