Learning to make German Spaetzle

I recently spent a long weekend visiting my grandparents in Folsom, California. My grandmother, Sally, took the opportunity to teach me how to make traditional German Spaetzle. If you're not familiar, it's basically noodles that are served with meat and gravy. Very hearty. It seems the key to this recipe is having strong men around to beat the noodle mixture. Below is a photo of the dough, beaten till shiny.



Once the dough is prepared, it is spooned into the Spaetzle maker.



Fill till about 2/3 full.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Press dough through Spaetzle maker into boiling water. Let noodles puff up a bit and remove to a bowl of warm water to rinse until finally putting in a casserole dish for serving.

While this did take a bit of work, the noodles turned out great and the whole family enjoyed this delicious meal. Below is a video of my father teaching me his Spaetzle making technique.

Homemade Ravioli

My dear friend Kallie puts up with my many creative whims and ideas. The lastest adventure was making homemade ravioli. I have to say, I have new found appreciation for it - all the time and labor that goes into the cheesey goodness will make me savor every bite a little more. We had to play around with the dough recipe but ended up with something that seemed the right consistency.

Armed with our new French rolling pins we set to work rolling out the dough. Once the dough was rolled, we spooned on the cheese mixture and covered it with the top layer of dough. Then came the stamping.

We used this stamp from Crate and Barrel. A lot of muscle was used to cut through the dough. But all that effort produced about 40 ravioli.




This will be a very enjoyable meal!

Queen of Hearts Tea

Inspiration struck in the form of a LivingSocial deal. Back in May I saw a deal for a tea house. Having attended tea parties in my hometown, I got the idea that this would be fun for all my girlfriends. So I purchased the deal for everyone. The next task was to find hats. I looked in shops but ended up ordering basic hats online and decorating them myself. They turned out great! Each invitation was delivered with a hat. We enjoyed the tea party on Saturday, October 8th and here are few photos of the event.

Summer Salad

Artichokes hearts are a delicious treat. Definitely one of my favorites. After reading a few recipes I picked the ingredients I knew I'd like and created a new salad.

Ingredients:

• Artichoke Hearts



• Tomatoes



• Basil



• Baguette Bread



• Parmesan Cheese



• Olive Oil



• White Wine Vinegar



• Salt & Pepper

Directions:

Lightly coat sliced baguette with olive oil. Grill artichoke hearts and bread. Chop tomatoes into bite sized wedges. Slice basil. Mix all ingredients and toss with olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.

NOTE: I think next time I'd add some lemon zest.

Spooky 7 Layer Dip

An easy treat for any Halloween party. The seven layers include:


Refried Beans
Black Beans (drained and rinsed)
Guacamole or Avocados mixed w/ taco seasoning
Salsa
Cheese (shredded)
Olives (finely chopped or diced)
Sour cream


Layer the first 6 ingredients and then draw on the "web" with sour cream in a piping bag (or snip the corner of a ziploc bag). Add plastic spiders for extra spooky effect.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

It's starting to be that time of year when I warm bowl of soup really hits the spot. I tried a new soup last night. Spicy Chicken Tortilla, emphasis on the spicy. I looked at a few recipes and then picked out the things I liked to create my own twist. Here's the recipe:

In a food processor, combine: 3 jalapenos*, 3 cloves garlic, 1/2 yellow onion. Saute the puree in olive oil. Puree 3 large tomatoes (or 1 large can stewed tomatoes) and a can of tomato paste. Add to sauted mixture and continue cooking for 5 mins. Add 6 cups of chicken stock to mixture and simmer for 10 mins. Add 3 chicken breasts (cooked and shredded) to soup mixture. Season with salt, pepper, cumin and paprika. Continue cooking 30 mins.

Serve with fresh cilantro, cheese, and tortilla strips. To make tortilla strips, slice corn tortillas in strips, coat with oil & salt and bake for 10 mins in oven.

*I used 2.5 habaneros and 1 jalapeno, it was a 10 on the spicy level. This recipe might be more conducive to eating. :)

Topsy Turvy Disaster

Well it didn't work. The tomato plant is almost dead. I just don't get it. It seemed like a logical idea. I did plant another one, right side up, and it's doing great, full of flowers.