Puff Pastry filled with Beef and Beet Leaves

Nothing too complicated here.

I had a box of ground beef that needed to go, but did not have time to cook a dish with it. The easiest way was to put it in a pan to crumble and brown it. During that time an onion and garlic was peeled and chopped.

Just basic seasoning and everything went in a storage box and later in the fridge for the next day.

I was out on the balcony looking for my beets I had planted. They were tiny, but had a bunch of beautiful leaves. I used them as the vegetable side in this pastry.

What goes well with meat? Mustard. I draw an imaginare line in the middle of the rectangular puff pastry sheet and spread the mustard on one side.

The cooked beef went on the other, then the chopped beet leaves. A good amount of seasoning on top and then the second part of the pastry sheet foldet over. The seames pressed together. A cross cut in the middle, please.

I thought about adding cheese, but the filling was high enough.

I used some creme fraiche to brush the top of the pastry and sprinkled sesame on top.

Baked at 200 C fan for 25 min.

Ingredients:

400 g ground beef (200 g of it cooked later for the filling)

1 red onion

3 garlic cloves

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 rectangular puff pastry

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 bunch of red beet leaves

2 stalks fresh majoram

Salt and pepper, smoked paprika

3 tbsp creme fraiche 

Sesame seeds

Espresso Cream and Blueberry Dessert

A little bit healthy dessert, but nobody will tell because it is tasty.

Desserts in glass jars not only look pleasing, they are easy to prepare and can be made short before guests arrive. Stick them in the fridge for 30 minutes and they are ready to serve.

The dessert has a couple of layers. But first you need two double espressi for the start.

The cookies crumbled at the bottom are whole grain. Crush them, but not too fine and pour the one shot of espresso on top. Divide them in 6 glass jars.

In a big bowl mix 400 g Greek yogurt with 250g curd, 2 tsp vanilla sugar and 1 tsp sugar. Put that mixture on top of the cookies.

In the same bowl add 150 g Greek yogurt and  50 g curd with 1 tsp sugar and the other espresso. Put that on top of the other layer.

Wash the blueberries and drop them on top.

Ingredients:

8 whole grain cookies

2 Double shot espresso

550 g Greek yogurt

300 g curd

1 heaped tbsp sugar

2 tsp vanilla sugar

125 g blueberries

Confetti Salad

Some fresh looking salad to start the lunch in our cooking class of healthy food.

The colorful ingredients with the light yogurt dressing and the huge amount of fresh dill are a fan favourite.

A bit of sweetness comes from the added apple. That harmonized with the veggies very well. It takes a little time to chop all the components, but it is worth it. If you have some kitchen gadget like a Nicer Dicer it is a lot faster. 

But a sharp knife does the job well.

Recipe for 4:

1 cucumber

2 red bell pepper

1 Jonagold apple

1 red onion

1 bunch of fresh dill

Dressing:

2 tbsp whipping cream

150 g Greek yogurt

3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp sugar

Salt and pepper

Top and tail the cucumber and quarter it. Cut in 1 cm chunks. Cut the sides down of the bell peppers and cut in bite size pieces

The apple goes in with its skin, core it and chop in chunks. Cut the red onion in fine cubes. Chop the dill. Do not use dried dill.

Prepare the dressing and stir the salad well. 

Wieners in Tomato Rice

I brought a half eaten Bento Box home with some tomatoes, rice and a tiny piece of Wiener.

A warm meal was something I was looking for and decided to get rid of the content of the Bento Box and add some bits and pieces to it.

The other half of the red bell pepper, I ate the others in the box, sat on my kitchen counter. A green onion and just 200 ml of tomato passata was added to the mix. I used a Korean pair of scissors and cut 3 mini wieners and let them get some color.

The veggies went in first, the passata and some water went in next and a small teaspoon of chicken stock powder. The rice was next and it took a bit of cooking time to soak up the tomato sauce.

The finish was a quarter cup of mozzarella.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked cold shortgrain rice

1 1/2 wieners or 3 short ones

1 green onion

1/2 red bell pepper

4 cherry tomatoes

200 g tomato passata

100 ml water 

1 tsp chicken stock powder

Salt and pepper

40 g grated mozzarella

Food at Mercedes Benz Driving Event in Saxonia

It is the 4th time I am taking part in a Mercedes Benz Driving Event. This time at the Sachenring. 

After checking in a short time to have a little second breakfast. A glas with granola yogurt and raspberries was a great start.

The catering the whole day was exceptional. We needed to stay hydrated and they helped us with that.

Lunch was a great offer. Salads, grilled vegetables and other varieties were served.  Main was oxtail with carrots and mashed potatoes and cheese pasta out of a cheese wheel.

The desserts were plentiful. I went for frozen lemon granita inside a half lemon. The other one was a glass with raspberry and mousse. A double espresso rounded up the meal.

Thuringa Rostbraetl

This is a special of the Eastern parts of Germany. It is pork steak with sauteed onions. 

The restaurant served mostly regional dishes ans most of them were meaty and seasonal. They have a short menu with meat free dishes. The restaurant is part of the Hotel Bürgerhof in Wüstenbrand. That is a part of Hohenstein- Ernstthal, just a fouple of minutes away from the Sachsenring circuit.

The pork is heavly seasoned with Thuringa mustard and then panfried. A lot of onions are caramelized and sit on top if the pork.

The rostbraetl is served with German fried potatoes with lots of speck. It is a very hearty dish and comforting. Something for autum and winter.

Filipino Chicken Tocino with Garlic fried Rice

I wanted something sweet spicy and garlicky.

I bought boneless chicken thighs and ripped the skin off. Instead of throwing it in the trash it went in a small pan. With medium high heat I rendered the fat out to cook with later.

Leftover cold rice was not in the fridge, but I planned ahead and cooked the rice early to cool it down completely. 

The chicken marinated 2 hours in the fridge.

Recipe for 2:

400 g boneless chicken thighs

1 1/4 rice cooker cups jasmine rice

Leaves from a red beet

8 garlic cloves

Rendered chicken fat

Marinate:

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp chili powder

4 tbsp pineapple juice

2 tbsp dark muscovado sugar

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tbsp black Chinese vinegar

3 tbsp ketchup

Pepper and salt

1 tbsp potato starch

Start the rice first by heating up half of the chicken fat in a wide pan and adding the chopped not pressed garlic. Saute that on medium heat and don't burn the garlic. Add the rice and stir until it is done. Season with salt and pepper.

While the garlic sautees, heat up the other half of the chicken fat in a second pan and get the thighs in. Medium high heat only. Turn them every 3 min.

Chop the leaves of the beets roughly and when the chicken is nearly done, toss them in the pan to wilt down.

Put the rice in a little cup to form it for the plate, set the chicken around it with the greens.