Eatcation

Ok, so maybe from a culinary standpoint, I'd rather have been in Italy, but my recent vacation in Germany was very...filling, shall we say. My eyes were always bigger than my stomach, and most often I disappointed myself with my inability to clean my plate.

Let's start with breakfast. While staying at the charming Landhaus Sommerau I enjoyed German breakfasts of fresh breads, meats, cheeses and butter (oh the butter!) from happy alpine cows, fruit and yogurt. I love a sweet and savory breakfast! Then there were, of course, the little Nürnberger sausages that I ate in Stuttgart in a jet-lagged stupor my first day.

Vacation in Germany, obviously, included lots of beer. Firstly in the Biergarten zum Flaucher...along with pretzels, a board of obatzda, radishes and cucumbers and more chives than I've ever seen in one place before!

Moving on to the various incantations of pork that I consumed in Deutschland...

First night at the Landhaus Sommerau: pork chops, fried potato pancakes, green beans wrapped in bacon. Even the vegetarian at the table snuck a few out from under the bacon. There are two forms of pork on this plate!


Pork the next day on this cute little sandwich bite.


Please take note of how many servings of vegetables I included in the following meal...but don't be distracted from two kinds of wurst, two kinds of fish (smoked trout and poached ?) and potato salad.


Speaking of vegetables....the sauteed mushrooms and bacon made this salad feel anything but healthy.

Traditional Allgäu wedding soup (dumplings in a beef broth with julienned vegetables)

There are many foods I enjoy more than cheese, but when in Switzerland, one must eat fondue, right? Luckily, I didn't have to commit to my own pot of hot, boozy cheese; that's what friends are for! Friends are also for reviving you after your hot boozy cheese turns into a cold lump somewhere between your mouth and your intestine and then sharing a hotel room with you while you digest!


Since I started with breakfast, I'll end with dessert. There were Magnum bars, flaming mounds of ice cream, chocolate mousse, black forest cake, and kaiserschmarrn ("the emperor's nonsense," caramelized pancakes served with applesauce.) I even brought home my own little bottle of emperor's nonsense liquor! (Thanks ELFW!)

Greens!

Last weekend I bought beautiful rainbow swiss chard and kale at the farmer's market. I've never cooked swiss chard before, but I have cooked beet greens (and stems) back at the beginning of the CSA season when I was inundated with beets. The verdict on swiss chard...tastes like beet greens, i.e. like dirt, in a good way.

Swiss Chard with Almonds and Raisins
Adapted from Epicurious

medium onion, sliced into long strips
extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika
1 large bunch of Swiss chard, center ribs discarded and leaves coarsely chopped
1/2 cup? golden raisins
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup? sliced almonds

1. Cook onion with 1/4 teaspoon salt in 2 tablespoons oil in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over medium heat, stirring, until softened.
2. Sprinkle with paprika and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
3. Add chard in batches, stirring frequently, until wilted, then add raisins and water.
4. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until chard is tender, about 7 minutes.
5. Season with salt.
6. Cook almonds in remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil in a small heavy skillet over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until golden, 3 to 5 minutes.
* I didn't do this step, out of pure laziness, the recipe also called for coarsely chopped almonds with skins, I used sliced almonds.*
7. Sprinkle almonds over chard.

I originally made the chard to eat with these tasty pork chops that Wednesday Chef talks about. A very paprika-heavy meal. But then I ate the leftovers hot and cold, as a side, a snack, and the main event; I'll eat just about anything with golden raisins.



Tonight I finally got around to the kale. Luckily, this was a bit of a fridge clean-out meal, too. (We'll get to that fridge later...)

Penne with Kale, Tomatoes and Feta1. Cook 1 lb. penne.
2. Toast pine nuts. Don't burn them like I did.
2. Remove center ribs, coarse chop kale.
3. Put kale in pot with hot olive oil and two chopped cloves of garlic. Cook until kale is wilted.
4. Add crushed tomatoes (about 3/4 of the large can size...this dish isn't one for specifics) and cook for a few more minutes (Stir!)
5. Pour kale and tomato mixture on cooked and drained penne. Toss crumbled feta cheese on top.
6. Top with pine nuts.


Here's that fridge....as you can see the freezer's not any better.

And I'll be needing a place to put a 25-lb. turkey in a few days, hmm...