Brezeln & Bologna

Being the carb lover I am, after a year of living in Germany, I developed a strong affinity for all carbs German: bread, spaetzle, potatoes and most importantly pretzels or brezeln. If you ask a German who has spent any significant time out of Germany what they missed the most while abroad, they will tell you the bread - you know it's good.

Pretzels are a daily occurrence in Germany, served with everything from butter with chives to sandwich fixings. I've tried to recreate this magic at home, but with little success. Williams-Sonoma makes a decent mix and occasionally a specialty farmer's market stand will provide a treat, but for the most part, I go without. So imagine my pleasant surprise when I found a whole bag of pretzels at Berkley Bowl! The REAL German kind, with the skinny crispy twists, and soft bready middle. I couldn't believe my luck. I picked it up quicker than you can say 'I love pretzels' and rushed off to get some toppings.

Salami, cheese and wurst were my go to for nightly bread toppings, so I picked up some dry salami, brie and headed over to the deli to discuss my wurst choices. 'Wurst' is technically just German for 'sausage' - mostly finely ground, but it can be anything from mortadella to bologna. But it's SO much more than the Oscar-Mayer lunch meat that we are all familiar with. Wurst comes in various sizes, colors, meats, sometimes with bell pepper or other secrets inside. It's always sliced thin, so it's delicate and full of flavor - don't wrinkle your nose, I promise it's good! Anyhow, after talking with the deli guy, I landed on the Vienna Bologna. It had pistachios inside and some veal for a more in depth flavor.

I practically skipped out of the store with these gems in my bag and prepared my very own pretzel platter upon arriving home. It was, quite simply, amazing. I was so pleased with my sausage choice, the flavor brought me right back to the Weylands breakfast table - they say scent is the closest sense related to memory, but I would venture to guess that taste runs a close second... I hope you to try German pretzels the next time you cross their path and just perhaps you'll give bologna another go, knowing that when chosen right, it rises far above a childhood staple.

Chinese Cooking

"So, what's after the omelette?" I didn't realize people were waiting for more until happy hour last night, so thanks to my friends for the kick in the bum to get me back on my blogger! A trip to China and playing catch up delayed this next post, but I'm back with some stories to share. First up, my cooking class in Beijing:

the cooking group

I had heard of friends taking cooking classes on trips and since I was solo on this vacation, I figured it would be a great thing to do to learn a little bit about the food and culture around me. There were many to choose from and I ended up going with Hutong Cuisine after reading several good reviews, and it did not disappoint. It's run by a family out of their home so it had this great family feel while providing new tips and knowledge. There were 8 of us in the class, 4 people on a tour from Australia, a JET student from Japan, and a Japanese girl with her mother. We each got an apron, a cleaver and our own chopping board. 5 dishes were on the menu - 3 of which were cooked by our teachers for the whole class, and 2 for which we did all the prep work and cooking!

getting some lessons

For the group:

- Braise pork rib with chili and fermented black bean
- Stir fry beef with big spring onion

- Stir fry spinach with garlic

Cooked by me:

- Black pepper beef
- Fish flavor eggplant (braise eggplant with pickled chili)

clever use of the wok's concave shape

I think the most surprising thing for me about this Chinese cooking was how easy it was. We didn't use super exotic ingredients, but it was just flavors and techniques I don't use often. There was a lot of ginger, garlic, scallions & soy sauce - and of course the wok and cleaver are essentials in the Chinese Kitchen. I think even without the wok though, these flavors can be replicated easily at home.

my turn!

My favorite dish was the Black Pepper Beef stir fry with peppers - we 'marinated' the beef with some soy sauce, corn starch, salt, and cooking wine. You mix it with the strips of meat, and because of the cornstarch you end up with a thick sauce after cooking. The saute with the peppers included ginger, garlic, soy sauce and a hefty portion of ground black pepper. Overall, very familiar Chinese flavors, but so much better b/c I made it!

Black Pepper Beef

I would say the most surprising dish was the eggplant. I'm not a huge eggplant fan because it can be slimy if not prepared properly. Rather than your typical quick stir fry, the vegetable was cooked a little slower with pickled chilies, ginger and garlic, and it was just delightful - not slimy at all. I will definitely give another shot to eggplant now that I know it has potential.

Eggplant

Taking this class was probably in my top 5 favorite things in Beijing. It was fun to be in this traditional home, meeting locals and chatting with other people who loved food and were excited to learn more. Until I commit to buying a wok of my own, I'm going to have to try out these fabulous Chinese flavors in my American cookware and see what happens.