The German Dish

The German Dish has been a specialty in my family for as long as I can remember. In fact, I think it has been passed down through several generations and can be traced to the Ruhr Valley in an area known as Westphalia. I love this dish because all of its flavor comes from a few basic ingredients. I also like it because you can prepare a generous portion for between $10 and $15. As an added bonus, when you are cooking, it it will make your house smell great and everyone will think you really know how to cook. Give it a try. You will be amazed at how simple and easy a great dish can be.

Note: This recipe uses Polish kielbasas because the German version of this sausage may be difficult to find in your average grocery store.

Ingredients:
1 16oz. Polska kielbasa, cut into 4 inch pieces
2 large potatoes, pealed and cut into 2 inch pieces
3 medium carrots, cut in half lengthwise
2 ribs celery, diced
2 medium onions, diced
1 tspn kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper
3/4 tbsp beef bullion
3 cups water

Preparation:

1. Add all of the ingredients to a large pot or Dutch oven. Heat ingredients over medium-low heat for about three hours.
2. If water starts to boil, reduce heat to low.
3. After potatoes and carrots can become tender, remove the kielbasas and set aside.
4. With a potato masher, mash all of the vegetables together in the pot until they are well combined.
5. Add the kielbasas back to the pot.
   
6. Continue to simmer over low heat until most of the remaining water has been reduced.
7. Serve with hot, spicy or Dijon mustard on the side.

Looking for a wine to pair with this dish? Try this German wine that is produced in Chile:
Cono Sur Gewürztraminer

Germany [ print this recipe for the German Dish ]

El Tapitio

El Tapitio is one of the many great dishes served at Los Mariachis in Springfield, Ohio. If you are ever in Springfield or Xenia, you should visit "Los." Be sure to try their Margaritas too.

This recipe is not quite at the level of the version served at the restaurant, but it does come close. If you are not able to visit the restaurant, give it a try along with Cuban Black Beans and Margaritas.

Ingredients:
1 pound chicken breast
1/2 pound Chorizo
iceberg lettuce, chopped
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
tortillas
mozzarella cheese
sour cream

marinade
1/4 cup beer
juice of 1 fresh lime
5 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp cilantro, chopped
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tspn ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl, mix together all of the ingredients for the marinade.
2. Cut the chicken breast into 1 to 2 inch pieces and add to the bowl of marinade.
3. Cover bowl and refrigerate overnight.
4. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the pieces of chicken along with the ground Chorizo to the skillet and cook until browned.
5. Heat the tortillas.
6. Add the chicken and Chorizo mixture to the tortilla and top with lettuce, tomato, mozzarella cheese and sour cream.

Looking for a wine to go with El Tapitio? Try one of these:
Forest Glen Pinot Noir
Motos Liberty Pinot Grigio

Mexico

Dirty Rice Recipe

Dirty Rice is a Cajun classic made with white rice and chicken liver. When cooked with the liver, the dirty rice develops its distinctive, dark color. This version of dirty rice uses chorizo instead of liver to give the rice its color.

Ingredients:
1/2 pound of chorizo
1 medium yellow onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1/2 tspn cayenne pepper
1 tspn salt
1/2 tspn red pepper flakes
2 cups of cooked medium grain rice
2 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
3 green onions, chopped
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

Preparation:

1. Cook chorizo in a skillet over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
2. Add the onion, garlic, celery, cayenne pepper, salt, red pepper flakes and Worchestershire sauce to the skillet. Cook for an additional 10 minutes over medium heat.
3. In a large bowl, combine the rice, cilantro, and green onions and mix well.
4. Add the chorizo mixture to the bowl of rice and mix until all of the ingredients are evenly distributed.
5. Serve hot. Optional: serve with a dollop of sour cream.
   

United States Louisiana

Marmorgugelhupf - Marble Cake Recipe

This recipe for Marmorgugelhupf is a modern take on the German classic dessert. It is an excellent complement to coffee and makes a great dessert. Try it with cafe noir.

Recommended Equipment:
tube or bundt pan
stand mixer

Ingredients:
main batter
1 2/3 cup sugar
2 2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tspn salt
2 tspn baking powder
7 eggs
12 oz. unsalted butter, at room temp.
3 tbsp. Kahlua

chocolate batter
2 tbsp whole milk
2 tbsp Kahlua
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted
1/2 tspn baking soda

chocolate glaze
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp dark corn syrup
2 tspn vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Grease a tube or bundt pan.
3. In a large bowl or mixer, mix together the flour, baking powder, sugar, ans salt.
4. Add butter to the mixture and mix until the ingredients form a paste.
5. Mix the eggs and the Kahlua together.
6. Slowly mix the egg and Kahlua mixture in with the main batter paste.
7. In a separate mixing bowl, construct the chocolate batter by combining the milk, Kahlua, and baking soda. Add the melted chocolate to the mixture and whisk thoroughly.
8. Add 2 cups of the main batter to the chocolate mixture and mix until the two have completely combined.
9. Pour half of the remaining main batter to the bundt pan and smooth the batter so that it is evenly distributed.
10. Pour the chocolate batter evenly over the first layer of main batter.
11. Pour the remaining batter evenly over the chocolate layer.
12. Using a table knife, insert the blade into the batter. Move the blade up and down in a spiral motion as you make your way around the cake. Stop when you reach the point at which you started.
13. Bake the cake until it is firm ~ about 1 hour.
14. Remove cake from over and let cool for 5 minutes. Turn cake out onto a cooling rack.
15. Make the chocolate glaze by heating the whipping cream to a boil. Add the chocolate chips, vanilla, and corn syrup. Whisk ingredients together. Remove from heat and let the mixture thicken.
16. Drizzle chocolate glaze over the cake.
    

Germany

Sisig

Sisig is a famous Filipino hangover killer. I first heard of SiSig while watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. It looked really tasty so I searched around for what ingredients are usually included and put together this recipe. I'm not sure if this version of SiSig tastes anything like what you would find in Manila, but it does taste great.

In the Philippines, they use liver and beef tongue to make SiSig. However, these ingredients are not as readily available in your average grocery store here in the United States and the thought of using these ingredients may not seem that appealing anyway. So I put my German heritage to good use and used braunschweiger instead.

SiSig is a great appetizer or side dish and should definitely be served with ice-cold beer.

Ingredients:
1 to 2 pound pork shoulder
1/2 tube of braunschweiger (pork liver sausage) removed from casing
2 cups water
1 cup pineapple juice
kosher salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
garlic powder, to taste
3 tbsp canola oil
3 green onions, diced
cilantro

marinade ingredients
1 large yellow onion, chopped
7 dried chili peppers
1 Serrano pepper, deseeded and diced
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
juice from 1 lemon
1/4 cup pineapple juice
2 tspn fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 tspn black pepper
1 bay leaf
kosher salt, to taste

Preparation:

1. Cut the pork shoulder into large 4 to 5 inch chunks so that most of the meat is trimmed from the bone.
2. In a large pot, add the pieces of pork and bone, water, pineapple juice, salt, and pepper.
3. Bring to a boil and then simmer for an hour or until meat is tender.
4. Drain the pot and let the pieces of pork cool to room temperature. Discard the bone.
5. Light the grill.
6. Cut the pieces of pork into smaller 2 to 3 inch pieces.
7. Put the pieces of pork on metal or wood (soaked in water) skewers.
8. Baste the skewers of pork with olive oil and season with a little salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
9. When the coals start to turn white, place the skewers on the grill and cook until brown and crispy.
   
10. Remove the pork skewers from the grill and let cool.
    
11. In a large bowl, combine the garlic, ginger, onions, vinegar, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, chili and Serrano peppers, salt, pepper, and bay leaf.
    
12. Add 1/2 of the pieces of grilled pork to the marinade and refrigerate for 1 hour.
13. Cut the other half of the grilled pork into small 1/2 inch pieces.
14. Add these pieces to a large skillet along with the braunschweiger and 3 tbsp canola oil.
15. Heat the skillet over medium for about 10 minutes stirring the ingredients together so that they form a hash type mixture. Remove from heat and set aside.
    
16. After an hour has passed, remove the pieces of grilled pork from the marinade and cut them into small 1/2 inch pieces. Strain the juice from the marinade and set aside for later.
17. In a large bowl, combine the hash mixture, the pieces of pork that came from the marinade, and the green onions. Stir all of the ingredients together.
18. Serve with a garnish of chopped cilantro and pour some the juice that you reserved from the marinade over the dish for extra flavor. It's OK to use the juice from the marinade as the pork was cooked before it was added to the marinade mixture. Also, don't forget to serve with ice-cold beers (San Miguel if you have it).
    

Philippines

Vatapá Recipe

The first time that I tried vatapá was at a small, hill side cafe in the city of Salvador located in Brazil’s Bahia State. In addition to an amazing view of the Atlantic Ocean, Café du Mar featured a wide array of classic Bahian dishes. Many of these, including vatapá, had African influences such as coconut, chilies, manioc flour, bananas, and palm oil.

Vatapa has a sauce rich with the flavors of land and sea. The flavor of the fish and shrimp are a perfect complement to the earthy flavors of ginger and peanut. It is a great stand-alone meal served over rice and it also works as a hearty side dish.

Ingredients:
1 pound of Tilapia or Cod fillets
1/4 cup shrimp powder

4 tablespoons of olive oil
Kosher Salt
Ground black pepper
¼ cup of chopped green onions (about 3 green onions)
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 tbsp of fresh ginger, chopped
2 cups of chopped Roma tomatoes
1 can of tomato sauce (15 ounces)
6 dried red chilis

1 cup of coconut milk
½ cup of chopped cashew nuts
1 cup of smooth peanut butter
3 cloves of diced garlic
1 tablespoon of palm oil
¼ cup of fresh cilantro, chopped
1 cup of water

Preparation:

1. Sprinkle a small amount of salt and pepper on the fillets. Saute the fish and shrimp in a large pot for about 4 minutes over medium heat. Try to flip the fish only once in order to keep the pieces from falling apart. Remove the fillets and shrimp from the pot and keep in the oven on warm.
2. Next, add green onions, ginger and the diced yellow onion to the pot and sauté for about 4 minutes.
   
3. Add the chopped tomatoes and simmer for about 5 minutes. Then add the can of tomato sauce. Simmer for 4 more minutes.
   
4. Add the chilies, coconut milk, cashews, peanut butter, garlic, palm oil and water. Bring the mixture to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
5. Cut the fish into 3 inch pieces. Add the fish and the shrimp back to the sauce. Avoid stirring the sauce too much in order to keep the pieces of fish intact.
6. Add the cilantro and simmer for another 3 minutes.
7. Serve over warm rice.

Suggested wine pairing: Oberon Sauvignon Blanc

Related Articles / Posts:
Increase your metabolism by eating chile peppers

Brasil [ print this recipe for Vatapá ]

Mandarin Martini

My niece shared this recipe for Mandarin Martini with me last weekend. It just so happened that I had some extra Mandarin orange juice and a lime in the refrigerator so I gave it a try. It has great flavor and it's simple to prepare.

Ingredients:
1 shot vodka
juice from 1/2 a lime
2 shots of Mandarin orange syrup/juice
crushed ice

Preparation:

1. Mix all of of the ingredients in a cocktail glass.
2. Serve immediately.

China