Xmas Markets in Munich

Its not to late yet to visit some of the famous Xmas Markets in Munich,
here a full list of Markets in and around Munich !

http://www.weihnachtsmarkt-deutschland.de/bayern.html

Happy Holidays - Merry Xmas

Sorry was very busy recently, but i promise in the new year you will find here more stories, reviews and exciting new recipes ! Have a good Holiday season !

Review: Uber in Munich

I recently made a first ride with a company named Uber, a new taxi Service through an Iphone or Android app. Its so cool, you drop a pin on the Map and they pick you up there, the best is the first ride up to 10 Euro is for free. Go and check it out at Uber

Product recalls in Germany

I was recently very sick, and so my family. We realized it was just a bug, but what if we had something to eat at home which caused the trouble ?

Therefore i made some research and found this website which warns and shows all public product recalls. Worth having the RSS feed of it for your county in your Feed reader of choice.

http://www.lebensmittelwarnung.de

Halloween Ghost Sausages

This week is Halloween and to have fun with the little ones you could use some dough and of either bread rolls or even better pastry dough and wrap it around a frankfurter (wiener) and bake it in the oven for 15 Minutes or until crispy.

Looks very spooky.

Happy Austrian Bank Holiday

Its Bank Holiday today in Austria, So I thought some facts about my home country out of Wikipedia would be interesting:

Capital and largest city		Vienna 48°12′N 16°21′E
Official languages		German
Regional languages[1]		Croatian Hungarian Slovene
Ethnic groups(2011)		81.1% Austrians[2] 7.0% ex-Yugoslavs(including autochthonous Slovenes/Croats) 4.0% Turks 7.9% other / unspecified[3]
Demonym		Austrian
Government		Federal semi-presidentialrepublic
-	President	Heinz Fischer
-	Chancellor	Werner Faymann (SPÖ)
-	President of the National Council	Barbara Prammer (SPÖ)
Legislature		Parliament
-	Upper house	Federal Council
-	Lower house	National Council
Independence
-	Duchy	1156
-	Archduchy	1453
-	Empire	1804
-	First Republic	1918–1934
-	Federal State	1934–1938
-	Anschluss	1938–1945
-	Second Republic	since 1945
-	State Treaty in effect	27 July 1955

Review: Little Dragon - Balanstraße Giesing

I recently went for lunch with some co-workers and I discovered a nice little Chinese place which also does deliveries. There lunch menu costs 4,90 Euro and you can choose between soup or spring roll as a starter.

I had some duck, rice is served with that, really tasty and good value for the money.

I think I will go there more often when the menu choice on the canteen at work doesn't fit my graving of the day.

Octoberfest - A review from a new munich inhabitant

That's a 16-day festival celebrating mainly beer, music and what not.
It was my first festival again this year after a 10 year break and I have to say, it was better than I expected. I had no issue to get into tents, I almost quickly found a place to sit in the tents, and I had good company for the evenings.

The local munich people are really nice folk,
I look forward again to go next year once or twice again to this famous festival.

Here my personal Wiesn tips:

• If you want to go in a bigger group, Idsay more than 4 people, reserve now !

• Best chances to get into tents without reservation is to be there early, before 4 pm and also dont expect to find a free place for more than 2 people.

• If the weather is okay, its a good alternative to sit outside the tents, its less loud and smokers in your party are pleased.

If you like to have Wiesn Athmosphere around the year, why dont you visit the HB (hofbräuhaus)
its less crowded, prices are bit cheaper, and if you arrive arround 9pm you can enjoy a good dinner, and a nice crowed to party with.

Currywurst, a german speciality

This evening I was looking through old pictures to get a inspiration for a blogpost.

I came accross this pictures I took last year visiting my friend Marco in Hamburg. The currywurst is a typical german fastfood dish, which is pretty simple.
Its a big sausage with a curry sauce on top and fries on the side. At every outlet the currysauce is made a bit different and the ingredients are kept secret.
Usually a bit of curry powder is sprinkled on top to give it a extra kick.

You can try that at home easily, if you dont have the right sausage a frankfurter/wiener will do, bit ketchup and currypowder, voila, your homemade currysausage is ready.

Enjoy !

Review: The food at my work Cafeteria

Many people dont have the benefit to get great food at work, others complain about the food quality they get at their company cafeteria. Today I start a little series where I will post once in a while, or hopefully more regular the food I daily get at work.

Today: Turkeysteak with Pepper sauce, vegetables and potato puffs. I paid 4,14 for that plate, the tiramisu was a extra Euro.
My verdict: Turkey was good, not too try, sauce nice, unfortunately the carrots have been not well cooked, still very hard and they looked a bit artificial to me. Overall, good value for the price.
Tiramiso, was a ready mix for sure, missing the rum flavour. Sweetness okay.

The real Sopa paraguya

I have been to New Jersey earlier this year and had the honor to be invited by my friend Hugo to a dinner at his place.

He thought me the original version of his family recipe Sopa Paraguaya I blogged about last year.


Its such a difference to see it done, rather than reading the recipe. I also could taste in the process of preparing it,
and I could understand that the coarse yellow corn meal mentioned in the recipe can be substituted with Polenta.


That gives the dish a whole new texture and taste, even better than what I have posted originally.

Give it a try, Yummi !

Panaché

The first time I had a panaché (pan nah SHAY), a popular French drink which is a combination of a
My dear French sweetheart kind of pointed me that way at Lidl in the little french town to try something new.

I figured pretty quick that a panaché is nothing else than I call in german a Radler, or in Irish a Shandy.

I can now tell you that on a hot day, there is no better drink in the world. Ice cold served, ofcourse...

Slainte

beer and a citrusy soda like 7-Up was in the Pyrenees on a typically hot August afternoon.

BBQ Camembert

My brother in law thought me this BBQ recipe which can be very funny and suprising for your BBQ guests.
French love cheese, and they always have a little cheese after dinner.

How it works:
Buy a Camembert Cheese in a wooden wrapping, remove any plastic and wrap the cheese in aluminium foil,
after place it back into the wooden package.

After the BBQ just throw it into the coal and wait until all the wood packaging is burned away, than your cheese is ready.
Your guests will think you are mad, since they didnt see the preparation with the foil.

Once you unwrap the cheese its melted and you can use it as a cheesy dip with bread.

bon appetit !

Leaving Ireland

It took me a time to write about it, I took quite a break,but making holidays for 3 months and relocation to another country is not a job which can be done overnight.

Bit by Bit I start to settle in in the new home, but still I miss my old home Ireland.
I am nearly one month now in the new job, which I really like. The girls settle in and on the progress of Sophies german language skill i can messure the time which already elapsed since we departed Ireland.

I miss the chat with the people back home in Clonakilty, but I am happy that all went so smooth here, a new period of my life started.

The bavarians are a nice folk too, so in future you will read at this point more about my expieriences in the capital of bavaria, the cuisine, traditions, and so on.

After 8 years in Ireland I think i can say, there is also a Irish heart beating in my chest.

Slan
Your Austrish
Clonlin


(Pictures By Kristina Fritsche Photography)

Review: Gasthaus Brandlwirt

I have to break my vacation silence to report to you a very good place to eat in Autstria, in my hometown in Saalfelden, the Gasthaus Brandlwirt.

I had the pleasure to visit this traditional Gasthaus today and loved the regional food.
Being Austrian myself from the area but lived 8 years abroad I can judge well about typical Austrian cuisine.

With no doubt this place offers the best traditional food in the city center of Saalfelden, with outstanding customer service this family run place is the best address for single travellers, couples and families.

A friendly designed beer garden invites you to have a scenic view to the mountains.
A traditional but light decorated guestroom invites you to stay inside and enjoy.
3 tables are also available in the inner side at the backside of the building.

The Gastwirt (0wner) served us himself, and his lovely wife manges the kitchen, really well.
We had semolina dumpling soup, and liver knoedel soup as starters. My wife opted for vegetarian kasnocken with salad, and myself I had a delicate deer schnitzel.

My little one had noodles, with drinks all together we didn't spend more than 50 Euro.
That was well worth it.

Being in a traditional place might have some surprises for you, in our case a hen party joined us with lots of fun and traditional music, just when we finished our meal. Our little girl loved the local music and danced with it. Will be back there, thats for sure. So far, that place is my number one in Austria.

On Holidays

Sorry, as things turn out I have the chance to make a 3 months holiday so i wont be posting as frequent you are used to, but I promise I will be back with many news and new stories from my roadtrip through Europe.

DIY, no its not a cage...

It might look like a cage, but it isn't. That's my new kitchen table, since i decided to place the other table in the living/dining room. initially i wanted a bar style table in the kitchen, just for a quick coffee/breakfast kind of use on it.

Looking around second hand stores it became clear that i would have to spend at least 200 Euro for a table with bar stools.
One night, I have to admit after a glass of whiskey staring at the park full with Sophies toys standing in the corner in the living room, taking a lot of space I had the idea.

For 12 Euro, I bought a piece of wood, on which i screwed two smaller pieces on the bottom to fit exactly in the park, so the top couldn't move anymore. After a bit of sanding and vanishing my masterpiece was ready.

Little Baby is yet to small for the park, and Sophie is to big, but she can still store her books and toys underneath, and easily access them through the bars. Also its easy to lift up the top to access anything bigger.

I know, at first sight it looks a bit wired, but i like the multifunctional thought behind it, and I am happy to have extra space when I am mad baking in the kitchen, Sophie can sit down at the table and help Daddy to form the bread rolls.

Thoughts on "American" Food

 (prawns stuffed with crab meat)

Americans love to eat, So do I, but what is it what makes their food so tasty ?
First I need to clarify that I don't like to use the word American, for me there is not such a thing than a American, other than the native Americans.
All the people I met on my week in the US, are people with European, South American, or Australian background and family history. The Taxi driver was Pakistani, the bartender Swiss, the barmaid Irish, etc, etc.

So when I speak about American food, I mean the food of this world, adopted and adjusted to the taste and lifestyle of this modern times in metropolitan areas like New York.

In general I would divide the US food into 2 categories,
finger food, and food you actually need to have cutlery to eat it.

buffalo chicken wings

While I believe preparing finger food like chicken wings has not much to do with cooking, (its rather like assembling food with simple instructions), it takes a bit more effort and skill to prepare meals you need to have cutlery to consume it.
Of course, cooking a steak one might say is not much of a skill, but to get it right to the point, outside grey and firm, inside pink but not bloody, that's the way I like it takes a bit of timing.


veal porterhouse steak

I do like finger food, don't get me wrong, its comfort food for me which is quickly prepared and easy to eat, and it doesn't need to be unhealthy. But i prefer to cook myself food, and taste food which takes a bit more effort than to place a piece of meat between two pieces of bread and serve it that way.

This creme brulee here on the right, to get that dish to perfection, you need to have the exact amount of ingredients, mix it gently, let the flavors work, the best is overnight, let it set, so the texture is as it should be. The sugar on top should be a firm shield between the dinner and the cream. Caramelized but not burned, God i get graving writing this lines.



So what is eat what makes the food so tasty ? To answer this question I raised in the beginning one have to look behind the food, behind it is a chef.

Everyone has a different preference, but a chef is a artist which manages to meet and hit the taste buds of many people. He creates the dish and with adding a sauce here, a pinch of spice there,
he influences our perception of the food served.

In my last trip to the US, I met the man sending me a recipe of his family. I tried to recreate it here in Europe without ever tasting the original. The result was not bad, but not the same. Watching him preparing the dish, trying the ingredients while in process is priceless to understand a complex dish and recreating it at home with the ingredients which might be slightly different you have at hand.

In my next visits to restaurants I will focus also on the people behind the dishes, learn their techniques, motivation and secrets for taste. I look forward to that.

Review: Hospital food at CUMH in Cork

I recently became father again of a lovely little girl and while my wife was at the hospital I could taste the food they made there. Its actually very good, considering they are cooking for hundreds of patients and have the food ready or all the station at the same time.

On the picture you see fish and chips my wife got, and I have to say it was better than some pub food versions I had in the past.

Compliment to the chefs at CUMH, good work !

Irish Weather you dont bother me, Indoor BBQ is on !

In desperate time you need desperate measures, the weather recently was really bad so instead of enjoying a nice BBQ in the garden I had to re-function the raqlette grill into a Indoor BBQ...

Works nicely as you can see....

Recipe: Sausage Stangerl

Inspired by my friend Jens, who loves hotdogs with danish sauce, I recently made a lazy recipe where little Sophie could help me cooking.

First I made a dough after my Semmel bread recipe  than we took small pieces of the dough, about 100 grams each and flattened them on the board. To finish the roll we took a Frankfurter (Wiener) Sausage and rolled it up.

before we put the rolls in the 210C hot oven for 17 Minutes we brushed a lot of water on it and some of the sea salt we had home.

Its a yummy snack, before you serve it you can cut it open to add mayonnaise or ketchup.

Where do I store my recipes.

I was recently asked where I do story my recipes, and until now I stored them on my laptop (links to my blog posts) Google Drive and on my Android.
This will change shortly, since i received last week the proof printed copy of my new cookbook !

A few more little changes and finally the first batch of books can be ordered, and the book release planned. For my readers of this blog, of course I will post a link to Amazon where you can order a printed copy if you like.

Market Review: the tendest spare ribs

Friday is Market day in Clonakilty and I love nothing more when the weather is dry to go to the market before I start work.
Its my weekly ritual and my weekend just isn't the same if I hadn't a chance to go to get some fresh produce from the area.
Fish, Vegetables, a Smoothie, so many things on offer and the life music that cheers me up and i like the flair, which reminds me on being on holiday somewhere South of Europe.

A important stop for me is at Piers stand, the Asian Junction. Piers lived for many years in South East Asia and brought back all kinds of flavors from his travels. My favorite are his Asian Style Spare ribs and the Dim Sum. One day a week I do not prepare my lunch for work, I get it fresh from the market, mostly from the Asian Junction Stand.
Its a well invested 5 Euros, and if you happen to come at the wrong time you might have to queue up since many people go for his curries around lunch time.
But its a good kind of queuing and usually you don't wait longer than 5 minutes, having a chat with fellow foodies, or learn about the cooking techniques Piers likes to share with his clients.

Its my highlight of the week you should make it yours.

Decorating the easy way

On Amazon I found this children's room makeover kit which is easy to handle. Its basically a huge size sticker set with different themes you can choose from.

I went for the farm style stickers. This way Sophie can learn how to count the animals and its good for her imagination. Living on the country side I thought that's the best idea.

We had lots of fun decorating the walls, and if you don't like it anymore you can easily peel them off again.

Drink: Bloody Molly

I do not know what I was thinking last night, trying that Bloody Molly recipe, Jameson, Tomato juice on Ice with a drop of Tabasco and a pinch of salt & pepper.

Its a disgrace using Whiskey like that, and it just doesn't taste right. Its a interesting thing to try, but i think i leave it with that one off trying, there is for sure better cocktail recipes out there Jameson is worth it to use it in it.
I like my Whiskey on a drop of Ice, that's it...  Bloody Mary GO - Bloody Molly NOGO
Slaitne

Bloody Mary

What is it about a Bloody Mary I like so much, especially when I fly ?
And who came up with that name anyway,
Bloody Mary, why not Susan or Debby ?

I think its in the tomato juice, since vodka doesn't really taste like much, also i like spicy so that gives me a extra kick.
While researching on a good recipe for a Bloody Mary, i actually found a Irish version of it I am going to try tonight.
Bloody Molly. And here is the answer to my question raised earlier, there are many Bloody drinks out there, Bloody Greg, Maureen and Molly...

I think I give Bloody Molly a try tonight, replacing the vodka with Irish Whiskey. Bloody Maureen sounds Bloody awful to me, replacing the Vodka with Guinness, that cant be good...

What is your favorite version of Bloody Mary, want to share your recipe, please use the comments.
Cheers (Slainte)

Review: US Special - Atlantas Fat Matt's Rib Shack

Checkout my Post for the West Cork Times

Summer time is travel time, so here some inside tips from me, where you get great food while on the road. I recently had the pleasure to be in the US for work, and where there is business, there is time for pleasure, at least a bit.

In Atlanta my friend Marco recommended a special place where they have the best Ribs and Chicken on the East Coast.
Fat Matt's Rib Shack.

The queue at the entry on a Saturday afternoon shows that there is something special inside. Blues Music accompanies by Spare ribs in a secret sauce with chicken, that's the main "fast" food which is served here. It was worth the 20 minutes waiting until we could place the order. Not just locals, also tourist find their way to this food outlet which is famous in the area for their great Ribs.

 The staff is very friendly, and the ribs are to die for, especially if you feel like dying yourself since the last Friday night was too long and you had one too much.

I quickly recovered after the first bite into the ribs. My friend wanted me also to try their rum beans, but we forgot to order them. No problem, the lovely lady cleaning the tables outside got us a bowl, on the house.
Rum beans, it is a unusual but good taste to combine those two flavours.

More than 200 reviews on TripAdvisor rating this place #19 of 1742 restaurants in Atlanta cant be wrong.
Checkout their website for directions and the Music program,
I definitely will be back there on my next trip, than i will attempt to eat a full rack of ribs, they taste just heavenly...

Recipe: Caramel Cream a la Hugo

Hugo is my friend in the US, a real New Yorker, with an Argentinian touch. On my last trip to the US he served me together with a cake a lovely caramel cream.
The texture and taste was so nice, I didn't dare to ask for the recipe since I thought that must be really complicated to make.

I than learned, that it is actually so simple to make, I was falling in love with that recipe;

Take a can of condensed milk
Place can in a bain Marie (hot water bath) for approx 4 hours.

Make sure its not to hot otherwise the can might explode and you have a huge sticky mess in your kitchen.

That's it, the condensed milk turns into that lovely caramelized cream. It goes great with cake, ice cream, etc...

sooo yummi ! Thanks hugo for sharing that recipe ! Its now a family favorite !

Back again - Restaurant Review the Adrift in Clonakilty

Read on my Blog at the westcorktimes my latest review about a local restaurant, next up to come some tips when you travel and recipes I just recently learned.