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....