★ what if ..Pixar had made The Avengers ★

via: http://www.cartoonbrew.com

Lord of the Rings cake and cupcakes

This  just tickles every geeky nerve in my body. 

Via: http://goo.gl/5jgwb (Between the pages)

Created by Love is Cake

Traditional German Cheesecake

My dear friend +Kyla Myers  asked me to make a classic German Cheesecake for her. Your wish is my command, sometimes :)

This recipe does not use pudding like many current recipes do. It is a pure and simple type of cake. The German version of cheesecake is rather different compared to the American version. The texture is most similar to a ricotta-based cheesecake.  It's not as creamy, but has more of a dense texture. It's somewhat sweet, but a lot less than American versions.  The crust isn't made with Graham crackers, but with butter-shortbread dough. All in all, it is a delightful cake that will have you wanting for more combined with a nice cup of tea or fresh coffee.


Ingredients

Crust:
9 oz / 250g all-purpose flour
4½ oz / 125g butter
pinch of salt
1 oz / 30g sugar
1 egg
2-3 Tbs of cold water 
1/2 tsp baking powder

Filling:

2 egg yolks
10g 0.35oz of melted unsalted butter (cooled down again)
150 g/5.29 oz of sugar
Juice of half a lemon (and zests too if you want to)
200g/ 0.85 cups heavy cream
1 kg/35 oz regular, low-fat quark. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quark_%28cheese%29 )
50g/1.8 oz  of cornstarch
2 egg whites, beaten
1 Tbs of vanilla extract
1 pinch of salt


Mise en Place

Crust:
- In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt, then cut in the cold butter.
  Add egg and water. Then knead with your hands just until the dough is
  smooth.
- Wrap in plastic foil and place in the refrigerator for at least half an hour.
- Grease a 11 inch / 28cm spring form with butter and put it aside.
- Preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C.

- Combine the quark, cream, sugar, egg yolks, lemon juice (zest) and the salt. Mix well. Then add the butter, the vanilla extract and afterwards add the starch. Mix well again.

- Roll out the dough, then press it into the bottom and the up sides of the spring. Make sure to poke a few holes into the bottom using a fork. The corners should be closed and the dough on the sides of the spring form can be very thin.

- Beat the egg whites stiff and carefully fold them into the quark mix

- Pour the mix into the form and spread the cake filling evenly using a spatula or pastry scraper


Preparation

Put the cake into the oven (lower third) and bake for about 50 minutes or until the dough starts to golden lightly, turn off the heat and let it remain in the closed oven for about 15 more minutes golden enough – it resembles a soufflé at this point (It will sink in the middle, it’s supposed to do this).

Remove from the oven and let sit for at least half an hour before you carefully remove the outer ring of the spring form. Let it cool down completely and enjoy this cake from Germany.



Bon Appétit

Would you like to be notified about food posts? Let me know in the comments. If you would like to see my other recipes, check out the "About" part of my profile  http://goo.gl/bzgOa


#foodporn   #fooderotica   #DReulWorthyRecipes  
+Foodies of G+ +Indulge Into Darkness 

Wine Chocolate Cake

+Hari Bhanu  pointed me and +Carrie Canup  towards a bundt cake recipe, that has been going around numerous food blogs. Which led to the immediate purchase of the gorgeous bundt cake tin shown in there and the desire to make that cake. So, no regular food today. Instead feast your eyes on this little beauty that is most definitely a cake for the crown ups with the hint of cinnamon, note of red wine, dark chocolate flavour and a touch of vanilla. Please note that I changed the amount of sugar from 1 3/4 cups of brown sugar to 1 1/5 cups of caster sugar. Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature. The wine will not evaporate, please remember that this cake contains alcohol if this is 

Ingredients

120 g / 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, I used 70% dark chocolate by Lindt
270 g / 1 1/5 cups caster sugar
140 g / 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
289 g / 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
110 g  / 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 large eggs, slightly beaten at room temperature
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
250 ml 1 cup red wine
80 grams 1/3 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Nonstick vegetable cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 F / 180 C  degrees and spray a 10-cup bundt pan
with non-stick cooking spray or grease and flour. Set aside.

In a small bowl or a double boiler, melt the chocolate and set aside to cool to room temperature.

In the bowl, mix the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Add
the eggs separately or better yet, separate the eggs, start with egg white, mix and then lastly add the yolks, mix again until combined. Add the cooled chocolate and mix until it is a smooth homogeneous mass.

In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon,
baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Using a sieve, add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl. Pour in the wine, milk and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed just until combined, make sure that the batter is not too dry, it should flow but not be liquid. Add more milk if required scraping down the sides as necessary.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Gently tap the filled cake pan on the counter a few times, this will make the air bubbles/pockets rise up and away from the outside of the cake.

Bake for 45-55 minutes in the middle of the oven, until a tester inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool for ten minutes in the pan before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. No more and no less than that. Let it cool down completely, dust the cake with confectioners' sugar.

Bon Appétit

Based on: http://goo.gl/XBaXq
The bundt cake tin is from Nordic Ware "Heritage Bundt".

_Would you like to be notified about food posts? Let me know in the comments. If you would like to see my other recipes, check out the about part of my profile:http://goo.gl/bzgOa_

#foodporn  

If you follow the hashtag DReulWorthyRecipes  in the first comment, you'll get all my recipes in a stream, including pictures.

The Hobbit Cupcakes of delectability 

Well, this seems to be the right time to post this. 
These may just be the best The Hobbit cupcakes I have seen yet! 

Made by   Imaginarium Cakes in Wellington, New Zealand 

seen on betweenthepagesblog.typepad.com
Link to post: http://goo.gl/qYMBG

more images at the link! 
#thehobbit  

Battle of the sexes, who makes the best sound effects

This has me laughing with an aching tummy as a result. Love the light sabers! 

h/t to +Martin Erben 

Game of Thrones and Calvin and Hobbes mashup

Dawwww I mean, in a vicious and deadly yet kind of adorable way :)

Tyrion and Bronn :)

✰ Heroes ✰

I am not sure what technique is used by Alexandre Salles from Brazil, but I could spend hours going through his gallery on DA. His style is so lifelike at times and yet to decidedly different. Oh what am I rambling about, just enjoy :-)

http://axlsalles.deviantart.com/

★ Steak Sandwich Dirk Style ★


The original plan was to make a Steak & Guinness pie today. But temps of 26°C (78°F) prompted me yesterday to go for something different. So, here is my version of a steak sandwich with rocket, dried tomatoes, caramelized onions and home made herb mayonnaise. I wanted to make a mayonnaise with Horseradish, alas the one I bought had gone bad and so I skipped that idea for now. 

Ingredients ✔

Steak & toppings
180g sirloin steak
1 ciabatta
1 small bunch of rocket, washed and dried
1 onion, cut into slices
clarified butter
1 teaspoon of brown sugar
a few pieces of dried tomato

Herb Mayonnaise
Salt
Pepper
1 whole egg
2 teaspoons of mustard
2 garlic cloves crushed
A hand-held blender
1 tablespoon of mild vinegar
fresh herbs
200 ml sunflower oil (no olive oil)
everything needs to be at room temperature! 

Mise en place ✔

- wash and dry off the steak, make it really dry and let it warm up for about 20
  minutes outside of the fridge
- cut the onion into slices
- crush the garlic
- wash and dry the Rocket


Preparation ✔

Herb Mayonnaise

Use a container that is just big enough for the hand held blender. Add the oil, the mustard, the whole egg, the vinegar, the herbs, garlic. Season with salt and fresh pepper. 

Place the handheld blender on the bottom of your container, making sure to cover the egg with it. Start mixing until the bottom part starts to emulsify.Now – very slowly – start moving the immersion blender upwards until all of the oil is incorporated and you have a smoothly textured mayonnaise. Done!  You will never use bought mayonnaise again. Put immediately into fridge. This takes no more than two minutes and can adapt to any taste you want. Leave out the garlic and the herbs, add whatever you like to it. 

Onions
Heat a small skillet to medium to low heat and cook the onion slices at low heat in some clarified butter for about 10 minutes, add some sugar after about 5 minutes and stir continually until the onions are nicely caramelized. Set aside to cool and drip off. 

Steak
Make sure the steak is really dry, heat the clarified butter in a skillet and sear the steak from all sides for about 2  minutes for medium rare, depending on the thickness of your steak and how well done you like it. Only flip it once as soon as good seared markings are visible. Put it in a piece of tin foil and let it rest for about 8 minutes. 

Spread the bread with the delicious mayonnaise, place rocket on the slices and top with rocket, onions and small drops of mayonnaise. Cut the steak against the grain into think slices and place it on top of the onions, lightly salt the meat now and add fresh pepper. Top with a second slice of bread and cut into pieces. 

Bon Appétit

#Foodporn     #DReulWorthyRecipes  

★ love ★

Love in this sense, is not only the romantic type, this love is also the one you feel for your closest friends and companions.

Image via maxistentialism.com
Text: Slavoj Žižek

Orange Chicken Stir Fry with Chorizo and Oregano

It seems to be a lazy Saturday today, I am still stuck on the chorizo from the pasta a while ago. So, creating a stir-fry that combines the aroma of oregano, with the nuances of garlic and onions, the savoury taste of the chorizo and the lovely texture of the chicken, seasoned with orange zest and juice to add a fruity yet not sweet, fresh note, seemed like to thing to do.

(2 servings)

Ingredients

100g chorizo
1 medium sized red onion
300g chicken breast
500g potatoes
olive oil
1-2 gloves of garlic
4 stems of oregano
the zest of one large organic orange (two if small like mine, you need a fine grater for that)
the juice of the same orange

Mise en Place

- Remove the skin from the chorizo, cut in slices
- Cut chicken breast in pieces as you see fit
- Take a plastic bag, add the chicken and add some starch or flour, close the
  bag and shake it, remove the chicken and set aside, removing all excess flour or starch before doing that. You want the chicken to be dusted.
- Dice the garlic finely
- Peel the onion and cut it into slices
- Peel the potatoes and cut into cubes of about 3cm (1.2 inches), dry the
  cubes.
- Wash and carefully dry oregano, do not yet cut to preserve the aroma. If
  you have young  stems, use them, if they are older and thicker, just remove
  the leaves
- Pre-heat oven to 80 degrees Celsius (176 F) 
- Wash the orange thoroughly with hot water

Preparation

Heat one or two tablespoons of oil in a non-stick pan to high temps, add the chicken (not all in one go as that will reduce the heat quite a bit, you want to cook the chicken breast golden brown, not braise it). Cook with high heat until golden from both sides, remove from pan and set it on a plate in the oven. Add the chorizo and cook for about one minute per side, remove from the pan and add the sausages to the chicken on the plate. 

Add about 2 tablespoons of oil into the pan, let it heat to high temp and reduce the heat to medium high, add the potato cubes, toss them thoroughly to coat them with the spicy oil and cook them for about 20 minutes while tossing them from time to time. Season with salt and fresh pepper. When the potatoes are done (just try the largest cube). add the onions, the garlic, the chicken and the chorizo. Cook for about five more minutes. Add the oregano after 2 minutes and stir.

Add the orange zest and the juice, mix it all and season with salt and pepper. Serve with a nice dry red wine. 

Bon Appétit

#foodporn  

+Foodies of G+ +G+ Cook Book 
#DReulWorthyRecipes  

Mac & Cheese Deluxe

The air smelled like Winter this morning as I went for a walk and this made me crave comfort food. Today's recipe is based upon a classic American dish, Mac & Cheese but with a few twists that will show you a whole new world of flavour when it comes to this dish. The original idea is by Jamie Oliver. This is my take on it, modified to my personal preferences and using different flavours.

Ingredients

45 g / 1/5 cups of butter
1 1/2  Tablespoons of all purpose flour
5   gloves of garlic
3 bay leaves
500 ml / 2 cups  low fat milk
300 g /  10.5 oz Pasta of your choice
5-6 sun dried tomatoes
90 g / 3.17 oz Cheddar
70 g / 2.46 oz Parmesan
2 pinches of nutmeg
3 sprigs of thyme
salt
pepper

Mise en Place

- Peel and cut the garlic into thin slices
- Chop the tomatoes into small pieces
- Grate the cheese
- Remove the tips from the sprigs of thyme
- Pre-heat the oven to 200 C or  392 F

Preparation

Cook the pasta al dente. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small pot, add the flour and keep stirring until you have a paste (Roux) add the garlic and keep stirring gently until the garlic turns lightly golden. Add the bay leaves and the milk and keep stirring to create a nice sauce. Let simmer for a few minutes after a short boil. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Strain the finished pasta and immediately add the sauce, the cheese, the tomatoes and half of the thyme tips. Mix it all and pour it into a casserole or an oven-proof pan. Cook for about 30 minutes until it is lightly golden, the sauce is bubbling and delicious.

Serve with a Chardonnay. Add some fresh thyme tips right before serving.

Bon Appétit

Would you like to be notified about food posts? Let me know in the comments. If you would like to see my other recipes, check out the about part of my profile:http://goo.gl/bzgOa

#foodporn  

+Foodies of G+ +Indulge Into Darkness 

If you follow the hashtag DReulWorthyRecipes  in the first comment, you'll get all my recipes in a stream, including pictures.

How to be German in 20 easy steps

This is hilarious, taken with a grain of salt and please don't mention the war
<_<

Adam Fletcher, Startup Hipster and honorary German, shares his insights into the top tips to becoming a real citizen of Schland

http://venturevillage.eu/how-to-be-german-part-1

Write like the wind

This is pretty much what a lot of us want to say to George R. R. Martin. 
We just can't sing, or play instruments.. and.. this is just awesome! 

#gameofthrones  

h/t to +Björn Dietz 

Medallions of Beef Tenderloin with a Nutty Herb Crust on Celeriac Potato Purée and Spicy Carrots

The middle of February has arrived far sooner than I realised, Winter keeps coming and going and the thought of combining some of my favourite dishes and giving them a little twist came to me on Friday. My original plan was to cook pork but then my butcher had this beautiful beef tenderloin and I just could not resist. So, I ended up with a extremely tender and tasty beef medallion, topped with a flavourful crust and combined with the nutty-hot carrots and the savoury richness of browned butter seasoned celeriac-potato mash.

2 servings

Ingredients

Tenderloin
2 beef tenderloin medallions, thick cut each about 200 g / 7 Oz
Kitchen yarn

Crust
30g unsalted butter
2 twigs of fresh Rosemary
2-3 stems of flat leaf parsley
20 g / 0,7 oz walnuts

Wine reduction (optional)
250 ml / 1 cup of dry red wine,
100 ml / 1/2 cup of beef stock
about 20g of ice cold butter

Carrots
300 g / 10 oz of carrots with green tops
1 small  Bird's eye chili
Dried ground cilantro

Puree
200g of floury potatoes
200g knob of celeriac root
1 bay leaf
1 glove of garlic
Milk
Fresh ground nutmeg

General
Pepper
Salt
Brown butter (recipe see http://goo.gl/Vpww2 )
Meat thermometer

Mise en Place

- Peel potatoes and celery, cut into cubes of about 3 cm or 1 inch length,
store in cold water
- Peel carrots and leave about 1 cm of carrot top on the carrot
- Wash the chili, cut open, remove inside and cut finely, set aside
- The brown butter can be made any time in advance, it keeps for about 2
months in the fridge.
- Pre-heat oven to 80 degrees Celsius (176 F)
- Wash the beef with cold water and dry off carefully, tie into shape with
kitchen yarn leave meat outside to make sure it is at room temperature
- Wash and dry off the herbs, chop finely
- Let the butter get soft
- Chop the walnuts finely
- Mix the soft butter, walnuts and herbs thoroughly with the soft butter, season with salt and pepper, set aside

Preparation

Heat a neutral oil to high heat in a pan, sear tenderloin for about 1 minute per side, make sure the sides are seared as well. Remove from pan and transfer to a rack in a shallow roasting pan in the lower third of the oven.
Insert the meat thermometer into the thickest part of one of the medallions so you can easily see the temperature.

Cook for about 30 - 40 minutes at 80 C / 175 F or until the core temperature has reached 50-55 C / 120-130 F which will render the meat very moist and tender with warm juices. Adjust accordingly if you prefer your beef more done.

In the meantime, deglaze the pan with the wine and beef stock, bring to a simmer and let it reduce to about 1/5, season with a bit of sugar (maybe salt) add the ice cold butter and turn heat to lowest setting.

Heat a pan with one tablespoon of brown butter to medium heat, add the carrots and cook for 10-15 minutes depending on thickness and desired softness. After 5 minutes, add the chili and season with a bit of salt and the cilantro. Keep tossing the carrots. Keep warm.

Heat salted (should taste as salty as a broth) water until it cooks add the bay leave and the two halves of the garlic glove, add the potato and celeriac cubes.Cook both for about 15 minutes until the tip of a knife slides easily into both potato and celeriac, strain and leave them in the pot, do not put back on the heat. Heat some lightly salted milk (about 100 to 150 ml / 0,5 to 0,7 cups)
Using a potato masher, roughly mash potatoes and celeriac, add butter (20g) and hot milk to the mix . Beat with a wooden spoon until fluffy. Add two tablespoons of the brown butter and beat again until you have the texture you want, season with fresh ground nutmeg. Cover and keep warm.

Remove the meat from the oven when the desired core temp has been reached, turn on the grill. Spread the herb-nut butter on top of the tenderloin and put it back under the grill. Keep an eye on the crust, let it get golden brown which should take no more than 2-3 minutes. Remove from oven, wrap lightly in aluminium foil and let it rest for 8 minutes. Arrange on a hot plate, serve with a dry red wine and enjoy.


Bon Appétit

Would you like to be notified about food posts? Let me know in the comments. If you would like to see my other recipes, check out the about part of my profile:http://goo.gl/bzgOa

#foodporn  

If you follow the hashtag DReulWorthyRecipes  in the first comment, you'll get all my recipes in a stream, including pictures.

The Hobbit - new trailer

Watch it while it is fresh because obviously! 

#thehobbit  

✰ Why so serious? ✰

I know, not all of us celebrate Easter (including myself) but these are just delicious.

Can you spot all movies?

via: http://www.nextmovie.com/blog/movie-easter-eggs/

Chili Dirk Style

This is one of my favourite dishes, the complex layers of flavours make it my perfect chili for cold days, giving you a slightly bitter and smoky note with the richness of the chocolate and the heat of chilies and cinnamon, combined with an intense meat flavour.This will also get better with each day. I like to make a bit more for the next days and usually freeze the leftovers for a quick meal after work.

(8-10 Servings)


Ingredients

Chili
1 kg or 2,25 pounds of boneless chuck roast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
500 g or  1 pound of ground beef
200 g or 1/2 pound of Chorizo cut in slices
500 g or 18 oz dark red kidney beans

2 bottles of dark beer
1 chilli chipotle pod, toasted and soaked in water
1 jalapeño, finely chopped
120 g or 4 oz  dark chocolate ( 80%)
4 large onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
1 tablespoon dried oregano leaves
1 (500 g or 28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1-2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar,
3 bay leaves
2-3 teaspoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste

Spices
1 1/2 tablespoons whole cumin seeds, toasted, then ground
1 1/2 teaspoons whole coriander seeds, toasted, then ground
2 whole cloves, toasted and ground
1 star anise, toasted and ground
1 tablespoon extra-finely ground coffee beans
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper, toasted and ground
1 tablespoon of ground cumin to season as required
2 teaspoons of cinnamon

Garnish
Sour cream
Scallions


Mise en Place

- Peel and mince the onions
- Peel and finely mince the garlic
- Using gloves, clean the jalapeño and remove the seeds, chop finely
- Brown the meat vegetable pol in a large  Doufeu or a Dutch Oven (do
  not brown too much meat  at once or it will merely cook) set aside.
- Gently toast the spices in a non-stick pan until they pop, then grind them
  as fine as you can using mortar and pestle
- Toast the dried chipotle pod carefully and let is soak in hot water
  afterwards for about 10 minutes

Preparation

Use neutral vegetable oil and heat the Doufeu to medium high heat. Add the onions, the fresh chili and garlic, cook them for about 6 minutes without browning them, until the onions are soft. Add the oregano and deglaze with beer. Make sure to scrape browned bits off of the bottom as you deglaze. Add the all ingredients including the ground spices except for the beans, those will be added before serving because they are already cooked. Bring to a simmer, Reduce the heat and cook, with cover slightly ajar, for 2 hours. until the beef is tender and broth is rich and slightly thickened,.15 minutes before serving, add the beans and heat them. Season with salt to your liking.

Serve with sour cream or garnish of your choice and a nice dark beer.

Bon Appétit

Would you like to be notified about food posts? Let me know in the comments. If you would like to see my other recipes, check out the about part of my profile: http://goo.gl/bzgOa

+Foodies of G+ +Indulge Into Darkness 

#foodporn   #DReulWorthyRecipes  

★ monochrome beauty ★


Australian artist Nanami Cowdroy, combines her mixed Japanese and European roots to create a unique style. Using characters and detailed objects, her work combines elements of various styles and cultures. 

Her signature detailed style reflects a refined monochrome pallette with her name ‘Nanami’ (meaning ‘Seven Seas’ in Japanese) stamped in red. Fluid line-work and watery creatures are some of her favourite subjects and distinctive forms which feature in her artworks.

http://www.nanamicowdroy.com/

You can also get her art as skins for your Gadgets :) 
http://www.gelaskins.com/gallery/Nanami_Cowdroy/

#Art   #artgala  

Pork Roast with Crackling and Potato Dumplings

Do I need an excuse to make a delicious pork roast? No, I don't. The taste alone is worth it.

This is one of many classical German dishes in one of its simplest yet most amazing forms. Simple flavours with a focus on the meat and the beer sauce. This is comfort food that is just perfect for the first day with snow in my part of Germany. I have chosen to use Pork belly because it has a more fat than pork shoulder and will also taste better. I will just link to a recipe for the dumplings because I use a basic recipe that works really well.

6-8 servings

Ingredients

1.5 kg /  3.3 pounds of Pork belly (deboned)
1 large onion
200g / 2 cups celeriac, chopped
2 tart, medium sized apples cut in pieces
1 kg / 2 pounds / 4 cups chopped leeks
1 litre of beer of your choice, I like to use a dark beer
4 whole gloves of garlic, peeled
2 teaspoons of sweet marjoram
1 teaspoon of fresh black pepper
sea salt, about 2 tablespoons
1-2 teaspoons of caraway seeds



Mise en Place

Meat: If your butcher has not already scored the skin for you. You will need a sharp long knife to make sure that skin is scored evenly and your cuts to not enter the underlying meat. Now season the meat from all sides with the sea salt, don't be stingy with it and make sure to rub it into the cracks of the skin. Put aside.

Tip Put the meat into the freezer for about 15 minutes , that will make scoring the skin a lot easier and ensure a nice look. Make sure to use long, shallow and even cuts, score the skin crosswise to get 1 cm / 0.3 inch little cubes of skin.

 - Clean and peel all the vegetables, chop celeriac, leeks, apples and the
   onion and put it with the whole gloves of garlic into a large roasting  
   dish. Set aside.

 - Pre-heat the oven to 150 C / 300 F  upper and lower heat, no fan.

Dunplings: I skipped the filling for this dish.
 http://www.whats4eats.com/pastas/kartoffelknoedel-recipe

Preparation

Place the pork belly one the vegetable bed and put it into the middle of the oven. calculate the total cooking time allowing 2 hours to the kilogram / two pounds. In this case it would be 3 hours because of the fairly low temperature. It will later take another 10 to 30 minutes to create the crackling.

Time the preparation of your dumplings accordingly.

After three hours. Remove the dish from the oven and season the meat with the freshly ground caraway, pepper and marjoram . Make sure that no spices are rubbed onto the skin.

Pour the beer into the dish and place the meat back on top. Increase the temp of the oven to maximum heat, top heat only and place the dish on the lowest possible part. Cook for another 10 to 30 minutes but keep an eye on the pork belly. The skin will now crackle and pop nicely. Make sure to not burn the skin, this can happen rather fast at this stage.

Once the skin is crisp and golden, remove from the oven and let the meat rest for about 30 minutes. Use this time to cook the dumpling and drain the sauce into a separate pot.

Skim the fat off the sauce and season with salt, pepper and bit of sugar as you see fit. Add one teaspoon of mustard and use a few small,  cold pieces of butter to mount the sauce and give it that glossy shine and enhance the flavour.This means that you add the pieces to the hot sauce and stir them in, this cools down the sauce and will thicken it. 

Use a cutting board and place the meat with the crackling down, cut the meat until you reach the crackling and then use the full length of the large knife blade to cut through the crackling. This will prevent the crackling from breaking off. Arrange with dumplings, the vegetables and sauce on a plate and serve with a green salad of your choice. Like always, a nice beer is a great companion for this dish.


Bon Appétit

Would you like to be notified about food posts? Let me know in the comments. If you would like to see my other recipes, check out the about part of my profile:http://goo.gl/bzgOa

foodporn

+Foodies of G+    +Indulge Into Darkness 

If you follow the hashtag DReulWorthyRecipes  in the first comment, you'll get all my recipes in a stream, including pictures.

Baby Got Back  - with the voice of Ian McKellen

I don't.. I cannot stop laughing. The drama!!! 

Doctor Who - Monopoly

for the 50th Anniversay of Doctor Who, a third version of the classic with a Doctor Who theme has been released. If you don't own one yet, this could be your chance! 


via http://forbiddenplanet.com/84002-doctor-who-monopoly-50th-anniversary-edition/

#DoctorWho   #Daleks   #Iwantcoffee  

The Rocky Horror Big Bang Show

The cast of The Big Bang Theory at a Alzheimer's benefit as the cast of the Rocky Horror Picture Show

FTW!

Red 2

I have to say I will watch this one, looks like another round of fun! 

Prepare to meet your..  culinary doom?

Okay, I am not sure what this is good for other than being somewhat awesome! I mean.. it is the Fighting Man's Frying Pan

Yes. Now the warrior in you can make eggs and steak like they were meant to be made.! 

Want one? Join the Kickstarter and pledge your money for this epic piece of cooking equipment! 

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1901693996/combat-kitchenware

Asparagus on Sauce Béarnaise wrapped in Jamón Serrano  with Chicken Saltimbocca

After a short timeout (you did notice, right?) due to a defective stove, I am back in action. The time for asparagus has finally arrived. I personally prefer the green variant that is grown above ground to the white one that is grown below It is more versatile and aromatic in my eyes. That said, what to do with it? I also saw that my sage plant has grown enormously so I figured why not combine two classics in a melange of taste and texture. Mixing the wonderful sage aroma with crisp Spanish ham and top it off with beautiful vegetables, wrapped in savoury ham and rounded out with Bearnaise sauce that will not only hopefully tickle your fancy, but also delight your tastebuds.

Serves 2

Ingredients

Chicken Saltimbocca

2 medium sized chicken breasts without skin
8 fresh Sage leaves
4 rashers of Serrano ham (thin, you can also use Parma if you want)
75 ml / 1/3 cup of Marsala wine
Clarified butter

Asparagus

500g / 1 bunch of green asparagus
4 small or 1 large carrots
4 rashers of Serrano ham (thin, you can also use Parma if you want)
Flat leaf parsley

Sauce Béarnaise (non traditional)

2 egg yolks (medium)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 pinch of salt
black pepper freshly ground
170g / 1 1/2 stick of unsalted butter
1 tablespoon dried tarragon
1 tablespoon créme fraîche

Immersion blender
1 Pan with heat-resistant handle

Mise en Place

Pre-heat your oven to 90 degrees Celsius ( 194 F)

Wash and peel the carrots, cut into stick, set aside

Wash the  asparagus under cool running water. Trim away the bottom 1/3 of the stalk. If you bend the asparagus it will naturally snap at the point where it goes from tender to tough (which is usually about 1/3 of the stalk).

Wash and dry the chicken breast. Using a sharp knife cut a pocket into each breast, take the chicken breasts, place them between two sheets of plastic and tenderize the meat to get an   even thickness.

Season the inside lightly with salt and place two Sage leaves inside. Wrap one rasher of Serrano around the breast and place a Sage leaf on top, wrap the other rasher around, they should stick nicely if you press firmly, if not, secure with a toothpick.

Prepare a pot with salted, boiling water. Cook the the asparagus and carrot sticks for about 5 minutes, drain and cool down in cold water. Set aside after drying them off.

Create two bundles of asparagus and carrot stick, wrapped with the Serrano and place in a greased baking dish of appropriate size.

Melt the butter, bring to a boil. turn off heat,Separate two medium sized eggs, keep the yolks. Add the yolk along with the creme fraiche, lemon juice and a pinch of salt into a high and narrow container  mix with the immersion blender until smooth. Now add the melted butter slowly and keep mixing with the blender until you have a smooth emulsion. Add the tarragon leaves and season to taste with salt and pepper. Do not blend too long or it will separate again. Voila, a quick and tasty variant on the classic sauce.

Wash and chop the parsley. Set aside

Preparation

We will first prepare the chicken, then the vegetables.

Heat some clarified butter in the pan to medium-high temperature and cook for about 2 minutes per side, deglaze with the Marsala, cut the remaining two sage leaves into pieces and add to the pan.and put it into the oven for about 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, remove the pan from the oven, place the chicken on a plate, cover it and let it rest.

Increase the temperature to about 175 C / 350 F. Pour half of the sauce over the vegetables and keep the rest hot. Place the asparagus in the oven and cook for about 10 minutes. During the last 3 minutes, turn on the grill to gratinate the sauce. Remove from the oven, season with fresh pepper.

Arrange on a plate with the chicken, add the parsley and some of the hot sauce. Enjoy with a glass of white wine or of the Marsala.

Bon Appétit

Would you like to be notified about food posts? Let me know in the comments. If you would like to see my other recipes, check out the about part of my profile:http://goo.gl/bzgOa

Or follow the hashtag DReulWorthyRecipes in the first comment, you'll get all my recipes in a stream, including pictures.

#foodporn  

The Wolverine - official, international Trailer

now, this could be lots of fun! 

Blood and Chrome

This Friday on Machinima :D 

Source: http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/11/05/battlestar-galactica-prequel-date/


Here’s the raw essentials: BSG: B&C is a prequel movie being presented as ten, 7-12-minute episodes on  entertainment company Machinima’s YouTube channel, called Machinima Prime. The first episode will be released on Friday, Nov. 9, with the remaining episodes rolled out over the next four weeks. In early 2013, the two-hour version of B&C will air on Syfy, followed by the release of an unrated version on home video.

h/t to +Katey Springle Lempka and +Michael Gaines 

So, let us wait for the unrated version eh? :)

Firefly - Peanuts style

Love Firefly? Like the Peanuts? 

how about getting a shirt with the gang of the Serenity, re-imagined as the Peanuts? 

Get it here: http://www.604republic.com/prod/the_gang_t_shirt
#firefly   #browncoats  

Alison Brie - I am officially smitten with her 

Also, her Tard the cat face is bang on! 

Slow Cooked Rosemary-Garlic Shoulder of Lamb alongside Ratatouille topped with soft Goat Cheese

The theme of this week's dish is France, using very few basic flavours, blended into a complex result based on an easy way of preparing them. I wanted to use my slow cooker again and I haven't made a lamb shoulder yet. Procuring the lamb was no problem because of the large number of ethnic groups that will not eat pork and prefer lamb living in my town. The biggest challenge for this dish is, that it takes time, which on one hand will allow you to plan ahead and make little fuzz, but also requires you to be fairly structured in your timing and work. The Ratatouille is indeed inspired by the Pixar movie in case your first thought was of a cute little furry chef :)

You will end up with tender, moist and succulent meat, with a rich sauce, wonderfully soft vegetables in an intense Ratatouille, that tells stories of a summer day in the Provence.

(3-4 servings)

Ingredients

Lamb

4 to 4.5 pounds  / 2 kg Shoulder of lamb with the bone intact but the leg removed.
Rosemary – several fresh sprigs
3-5 large cloves Garlic  (peeled & halved)
1 Tbs extra native Olive oil
1 large onion peeled and quartered
3-4 large Carrots
250 ml / 1 cup Beef or Vegetable stock
250 ml / 1 cup red wine (for example a Pinot Noir)
Cornflour – 2 tablespoons

Ratatouille

1 red onion, finely chopped
2 -3  garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
1 cup tomato pieces and juice (You can also peel 4 tomatoes, remove seeds and chop them finely, keeping the juice) But at this time of year, canned ones are the best way to get ripe tomatoes)
2 Tbs extra native olive oil, divided
1 small eggplant
1 small zucchini
2 red bell peppers
1 longish red bell pepper
4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme,  remove the leaves on two and keep them separate
Goat cream cheese to decorate.
Salt and pepper
Pinch of Saffron

Mise en Place

Shoulder of Lamb

Trim the meat, remove excess fat from the outer skin. Wash and dry off.

Peel and cut the garlic, wash the rosemary and dry it carefully, keep the sprigs intact but cut them into pieces about 3 cm / 1 1/2 inch long. Cut pockets into the meat and stuff them with slices of garlic, season with salt and pepper.

Clean and roughly cut the vegetables. Heat the stock and wine. Turn on the slow cooker (High), and heat the liquid.

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan to medium heat, add the lamb and brown well on all sides. then insert the twigs of rosemary into the pockets as well. Brown the veggies in the oil, then add them into the liquid in the slow cooker.Set the slow cooker to "low".

Place the lamb on top of the vegetables and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.

Preparation

Make sure that you start on the vegetables about 1.5 hours before the meat is done.

Ratatouille

Pre-heat the oven to 220 C / 420 F.

Clean the vegetables, cut of the ends of the eggplant, the zucchini and peel and mince the garlic. Finely chop the onions. Cut the peppers in half, remove  seeds and pith, roast them cut-side down on an oiled baking tray until the skin has blistered (about 20 minutes) , then remove and leave to cool, turning the oven down to 120 C / 245 F. Simply put the peppers into a freezer bag, close it and wait for few minutes. you can then just move the peppers around and the skin will come right off. Rinse the peppers and set them aside after you have cut them into small squares.

Heat one Tbs of olive oil in a frying pan to low heat, add the onions, let them cook for about 8 minutes on low heat, do not brown them. They will slowly caramelize and become sweet and tender. Add the garlic after about 4 minutes.

In the meantime, use a mandoline or an adjustable-blade slicer to cut the eggplant, the zucchini and the longish red pepper into thin slices.

Then after 8 minutes, add the tomatoes, the sprigs of thyme and let it simmer until most of the liquid is gone. Now add the roasted pepper along with the saffron. Season with salt and pepper. Let is simmer for a short while. Remove the sprigs of thyme and cover the bottom of a baking dish with the sauce. Now layer the vegetables from the outer edge towards the inside, making sure to slightly overlap the slices. Now add the remaining leaves of thyme to 1-2 Tbs of olive oil, and drizzle it over the vegetables. Cover the dish tightly with aluminium foil. and put it in the oven for about 40-50 minutes until a knife slides easily into the veggies while making sure they are only soft and not mushy. Keep warm.

Lamb

Remove the meat from the slow cooker carefully, set it aside covered to let it rest, you can put into the still warm oven, make it remains covered and the temperature is just high enough to keep the meat warm. . Pour the liquids from the slow cooker into a pot through a strainer, then use a potato masher to press out all the good taste into the liquid. Now you should remove the excess fat from the liquids, I use a gravy separator for that.  Once you have done that, heat the liquid to a simmer and let it reduce by about 2/3, then season to taste with salt and pepper.Add a few small pieces of ice cold butter and 1 to 2 tablespoons of corn starch dissolved in cold water to thicken it to your liking. Keep warm.

Now that the meat has rested, cut it into cuts to your liking, it is very moist and tender and can be easily eaten with a fork as it will fall right off the bone. Arrange on a plate with some gravy. Now you can make the ratatouille even more delectable by adding a few teaspoons of goat cream cheese on top of the veggies.Drizzle lightly with a bit more extra native olive oil. 

Serve with a strong red wine, like the Pinot Noir used for the lamb. This wine is known for being earthy supple and silky.  It has a gorgeous dried cherry aromas and goes well with both dishes. 


Bon Appétit

Would you like to be notified about food posts? Let me know in the comments. If you would like to see my other recipes, check out the about part of my profile:http://goo.gl/bzgOa

Or follow the hashtag DReulWorthyRecipes  in the first comment, you'll get all my recipes in a stream, including pictures.

#foodporn  

Intense Chocolate Cake with Rum Ganache

This recipe goes out to all the chocolate lovers here. This is pure chocolate taste, with a hint of orange and rum, topped off with a bit of sea salt. Don't shake your head yet, try it. It is an amazing taste; but of course, purely optional. 

I will be attending a birthday tomorrow, only shortly, but I offered to make a cake under the provision that I could cut into it today and take pictures.

This is one of the most intense, chocolaty cakes you'll ever eat. Let's just ignore just how much one piece of cake offers in energy. It is just too good to be thinking about this.

This should serve up to 16 pieces of cake.

Ingredients

Cake
300g / 1 cup and 2 oz of  high quality dark chocolate, chopped
300g / 1.3 cups of unsalted butter
5 eggs
5 Tablespoons of sugar
1 pinch of salt
150 g / 1 cup of  all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
2 tablespoons of orange jelly

Chocolate Ganache
200ml of heavy cream
200 g of dark, high quality chocolate, chopped
1 dash of rum or more
30-40 g of butter. 

You will also need some unsweetened cocoa powder and baking paper for the spring form.

Mise en Place

- Pre-heat the oven to about 160 C / 320 F (no convection)

- Brush a deep, round spring form with melted butter to grease. Line the
  pan with non-stick baking paper and cover the bottom lightly with cocoa  
  powder.

- Gently heat a medium sized saucepan using low heat. Add the butter,
  the 300 g dark chocolate and whisk until everything is smooth and well
  mix. Set aside to cool.

- Use a large mixing bowl and electric beaters to mix the sugar and
  the eggs until they are creamy. Add the chocolate mix until well
  combined. Now slowly sift the flour and the baking powder into the mix
  until they are well combined.

- Pour the cream into a saucepan, gently heat it to low heat, add the 200g  
  chocolate and a dash of rum. Slowly whisk until all is melted and well
  combined. Add the butter and whisk until the butter is dissolved.
  Remove from the heat and let it cool to room temperature. Whisk  
  occasionally. 

Tip: If you are unsure about the temperature of your stove, use a double boiler or simply use a smaller pot that is set within a larger pot with cooking water. You should not let the temperature go over 88 C / 190 F.

Preparation

Pour the mix into the spring form and bake it in the oven for about 35-45.

Tip: Use a wooden skewer to see if the cake is done. Push it into the cake and pull it out again. If there is no dough on the skewer, then the cake is done.

Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for about 20 minutes before you remove the spring form or turn it onto the wire rack. Let the cake cool down completely.

Gently heat 2 tablespoons of orange jelly and spread the jelly thinly over the cool cake.

The Ganache should be warm and flexible enough to still be poured onto the cake. If not, slowly re-heat it using the improvised double boiler. It should not be liquid.

Spread the Ganache over the cake using a palette knife or a smooth dough scraper.

Let it all cool for about one hour. Cut the cake with a knife that has been heated using hot water and dried off , to keep the Ganache from cracking.

Enjoy this with a glass of red wine or a hot beverage of your choice.

Bon Appétit

Would you like to be notified about food posts? Let me know in the comments. If you would like to see my other recipes, check out the about part of my profile:http://goo.gl/bzgOa


#foodporn  

+Foodies of G+ +Indulge Into Darkness 

If you follow the hashtag DReulWorthyRecipes  in the first comment, you'll get all my recipes in a stream, including pictures.

Neverwhere part one for free download

Grab it while it's up, this week only and then the second will be available

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4/radioplay/ptw_20130322-1317a.mp3

Knitting out of control

Right, fashion.I don't even.. is this what happens when +Mellie B +Mezza May or +Carrie Canup are out of control? 

Yes, that is actually being sold by www.siblinglondon.com

I have to say the sheer ballsy move to name the collection "Please Kill Me" .. genius, pure genius though I am not sure this will be worn by many men. 
But, they are creative and +Lady Gaga would probably go for it. 

Pear and Gorgonzola Risotto with roasted Walnuts

Today's dish a real Italian classic, combining the the spicy, piquant flavour of the Gorgonzola with the sweetness of the caramelized pears. There is even a saying in Italy “al contadino non far sapere quant’è buono il cacio con le pere” (don’t let the farmer know how good cheese is with pears).  This is a beautiful combination. For those afraid of strong cheese, this is not the dominant flavour, it is the mix of savoury and sweet that is a true pleasure, go ahead try it. Add less cheese if you are afraid and increase the amount until you are satisfied.


(2 servings)

Ingredients

150g Carnaroli rice (risotto rice)
olive oil
250ml dry white wine 
1 shallot
1 leek
fresh ground black pepper
40 g butter
60 g Parmesan
fresh Thyme
small handfull of Walnut cores
1 Tbs of brown sugar
butter
80g of Gorgonzola
2 ripe pears
1- 1,5 l of boiling vegetable stock (or chicken)

Mise en Place

-  peel the shallot and mince it finely and cut the cleaned leek into thin
   rings
- bring the stock to a boil
- gently roast the Walnut cores in a non stick pan, do not burn them
- peel the pears, remove the core and cut into bite sized cubes
- heat a Tbs of butter in a non stick pan and saute the pear cubes for a
   few minutes, add the sugar and caramelize them gently, put aside
- grate the Parmesan and pull off a tsp of thyme tips, put aside

Preparation

Heat the olive oil in a pot, add a tsp of butter, add the chopped onions and leek, stir and cook until translucent. Add the risotto rice and stir until translucent, after about 3 minutes of gentle stirring add the white wine, stir and wait until the liquid has been soaked up by the rice. Start adding the stock until the risotto is covered, stir occasionally and keep adding stock and stir from time to time.

Try the risotto after about 15 minutes, it is supposed to be soft on the outside and still have some bite in the middle all the while already being creamy. Add the Gorgonzla and pears and keep stirring until the cheese melts and the pears are warmed through.

Turn off the heat and add the Parmesan and thyme tips along with a tsp of butter. Stir and put the lid on the pot. Let it rest for about two minutes. Season with salt and fresh Pepper to your liking.

Serve with a fruity, chilled white wine and add the roasted walnuts along with some fresh thyme tips.

Bon Appétit

Would you like to be notified about food posts? Let me know in the comments. If you would like to see my other recipes, check out the "About" part of my profile  http://goo.gl/bzgOa
#DReulWorthyRecipes  

★ Famous people with cameras ★

Why? Because I can and I like these pictures. Some are self shots, some were taken by others. I just love these B&W images.

[Edit] even more like these here: http://celebritycameraclub.tumblr.com/
via: +Dagui Pierro

Reverse Procrastination

Yes, we've all bad these days when we wanted to have fun and just waste time but then ended up being super productive.

We probably should not complain >_>

Via http://www.shoeboxblog.com/?p=33286

Asian-Style Meatballs

Shopping in a supermarket, that primarily sells Asian foods is always fun. The smells and flavours I can find there, are so unlike traditional German cuisine and yet so delicious.

Autumn has come, instead of a hot soup, I wanted something with a bit of meat, savoury, packing  heat and a hint of freshness.

(4 servings)

Ingredients

1 bread roll (at least one day old)
2 small onions
1 small piece of ginger
1 stalk of lemongrass
1 bunch of cilantro
500 g minced meat (half pork/beef)
1 egg
1 red  Chili Pepper ("Bird's Eye" Chilies)
300g of carrots
1 can coconut milk (14 oz./398-400 ml)
Soy sauce (up to t Tbs)
AP flour (2 Tbs)
2 Tbs of butter

Mise en Place

- Soak the the bread roll in water, make sure it soaks up water, press the
  air out and leave it in the water for about 10 minutes, press out as much
  water as you can
- Clean the onions, finely dice them
- Remove the tough outer layer of the lemongrass, cut off the bulb and
  mince it into fine pieces
- Peel the ginger, mince it into fine pieces
- Wash the cilantro, pick off the leaves only
- Set up a pot of water, about 2 litres, salted
- Set up a high rim pan
- Open the can of coconut milk (shake thoroughly before)
- Wash the chili, cut it open, remove the seeds and wash it out, mince
  into fine pieces (wear gloves for this)
- Mix the minced meat, salt, fresh ground black pepper, the egg and half
  of the lemongrass, onions, ginger and cilantro in a large bowl, add the
  bread roll (make sure it is not too wet) and mix it all using your hand. Do
  not press to much or the meatballs will be too dense. Season with salt
  and pepper.
- Form about 10 meatballs using your wet hands
- Clean the carrots and julienne them (cut them into relatively uniform    
  thin, even strips). I like them to be a bit varied in size.

Preparation

Bring the water to a boil and reduce the heat, place the meatballs in the water and let them steep for about 15 minutes.

Remove the meatballs from the broth and let them drain in a sieve.

Save about 350ml of the broth, pour it through a sieve and set aside.

Heat about 2 Tbs of neutral oil in the pan and gently fry the meatballs until golden brown, remove and set aside. Stir the carrots in the medium hot oil for a few minutes, remove and set aside.

Heat the butter in the oil, add the rest of the chili, ginger, lemongrass and onions and saute them for a few minutes, dust with the flour and keep stirring for about one minute.

Pour in the the broth and the coconut milk, mix it and bring to a boil, reduce heat and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. Season with the Soy sauce, salt and pepper.

Re-heat the carrots and meatballs in the sauce, add the rest of the cilantro and serve with rice and a beautiful cool glass of Chardonnay.


Bon Appétit

Would you like to be notified about food posts? Let me know in the comments. If you would like to see my other recipes, check out the "About" part of my profile  http://goo.gl/bzgOa

#Foodporn       #DReulWorthyRecipes  
+Foodies of G+  +Indulge Into Darkness +G+ Cook Along 

#cutewars

Finals round against +Luis Roca +Wanda Howe and +Mellie B

You did say you like to see more cute butts in your Stream, right?

Entrecôte with Avocado and caramelized Tomatoes

As I thought about what to cook last night, I remembered Andrea Evans telling me the great tasting Avocado she had eaten on a sandwich.
The idea was to combine my desire for meat with the delicious flavour of caramelized cherry tomatoes and avocado.

This is essentially a dish you can make in 20 minutes, if you have the tomatoes ready. These can be prepared the day before and stored in oil.

2 servings

Ingredients:

300g Entrecôte
1 ripe avocado
lime juice
1 medium sized onion
olive oil extra virgin
flat leaf parsley

300g cherry tomatoes
olive oil extra virgin
salt
pepper
thyme

Mise en Place

Tomatoes (can be prepared well in advance, cooking time about 2-3 hours)
 
- Cut the tomatoes in half end-to-end, and place cut side up on a pan
  covered in baking paper.  Season with fresh or dried thyme leaves.
 Season with sea salt and   fresh ground black pepper and drizzle extra-
 virgin olive oil all over the  tomatoes. Place in the oven at 100 degrees Celsius (200°F)  for 2-3 hours; the tomatoes will collapse. during the last half hour, season lightly with sugar and turn up the heat. Make sure they do not burn. Remove the tomatoes from the pan and keep the tomato flavoured oil. Make sure to check after about 2 hours, the tomatoes are not supposed to dry out completely.

Entrecôte

- Cut the meat against the grain into stripes. Dry the meat, heat a non
  stick frying pan with a neutral oil and fry the meat stips until lightly
  brown. Do not cook all of them at once or the meat will start to cook,
  place on a table, cover and put aside. Keep the pan ready.
- Dice the onion
- Halve the avocado, remove the flesh, cut into cubes and drizzle with
  lime juice.
- Pull the leaves of the parsley and mince

Preparation

Heat the pan again, gently fry the onions and the tomatoes for a few minutes. Add the meat and the avocado and let it re-heat with the remainder of the heat. Season to your taste with salt and pepper, add the parsley. Serve hot and enjoy.


Bon Appétit

Would you like to be notified about food posts? Let me know in the comments. If you would like to see my other recipes, check out the "About" part of my profile  http://goo.gl/bzgOa

#foodporn   #fooderotica   #DReulWorthyRecipes  

+Foodies of G+ +Indulge Into Darkness  

Autumn Pumpkin Curry

Autumn has finally arrived. Bringing  crisp air, blue skies and strong colours heralding the end of Summer. +Tammy A. Mulcahy  asked if I could come up with an Autumn inspired rice dish.  Here you go, combining Hokkaido pumpkin, with green chicken curry and serving it on a bed of fragrant Jasmine rice.

I hope you'll all enjoy this warming comfort food as much as I did. The green curry paste was made earlier this week and I did not take any pictures because of reasons.

(2-3 servings)

Ingredients
Rice
150g of Jasmine rice
300ml lightly salted water

Curry
1/2 Hokkaido pumpkin (about 300-350g)
250ml water
300g thin cut chicken escalope
1 stalk of lemongrass
1 bunch of cilantro
1 red  Chili Pepper ("Bird's Eye" Chilies)
1 can unsweetened coconut milk (14 oz./398-400 ml)
1 leek (about 300g)
1 clove of garlic
3 Tbs peanut oil

Green Curry Paste
1 stalk lemongrass
2 green chilies
3 cloves garlic
1 thumb-size piece ginger
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves & stems
1/2 cup fresh Thai basil
1 small onion
3-4 Tbsp. coconut milk
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
2  Tbsp. lime juice


Mise en Place

Green Curry Paste
All ingredients are finely sliced or minced, placed in a blender or food processor. Season with salt or soy sauce to your liking. The texture should be thick and not runny. Will keep up to one week in the fridge.

Curry
- Clean the pumpkin, remove the seeds and cut it into cubes. You can
  technically eat the skin of the Hokkaido pumpkin, I prefer to remove the
  outer skin.
- Finley mince the lemongrass, the halved leek without the upper green
  part, the peeled clove of garlic, the washed red pepper with the seeds
  removed
- Heat the peanut oil in a medium sized pot to high temps and stir fry until
  lightly golden brown, season with salt and pepper and put aside (about
  2-3 minutes). Be careful not to put too much meat into the hot oil at
  once, or it will only cook and not be fried. Keep the oil in the pot
- Open the can of coconut milk after shaking it thoroughly
- Wash the cilantro, dry it off carefully and remove the leaves, set aside

Preparation

Prepare the rice, while the rice is is simmering, prepare the curry.

Bring 300ml of lightly salted water to a boil, add the rice, stir, reduce the heat to low, then allow the rice to simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the water has been absorbed and the rice is tender. 4Remove the pot from the burner and fluff the jasmine rice with a fork. Replace the cover and allow the rice to set for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

The oil should now have a medium high temperature. Add the pumpkin and the leek and stir for about 2-3 minutes. Add the minced, red chilli, garlic and lemongrass and cook for about 2 minutes. Then add the curry paste, again stir and let it cook for short while.
Now add the coconut milk and about 250ml of water, stir and close the lid. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender. Season to your liking. Add the chicken and let it re-heat.

Enjoy with a cool German Riesling that can take the heat and complex flavours of the curry and enhance them.


Bon Appétit

Would you like to be notified about food posts? Let me know in the comments. If you would like to see my other recipes, check out the "About" part of my profile  http://goo.gl/bzgOa

#Foodporn   #fooderotica     #DReulWorthyRecipes  
+Foodies of G+ +Indulge Into Darkness +G+ Cook Along 

Shiny Let's be bad guys

Because there can never be too much crossover of Firefly and Calvin and Hobbes <3

via http://www.othertees.com/design/1422/

#Firefly   #calvinandhobbes  

★ Knowledge through the ages ★

The Austrian National Library in Vienna has a long history spanning centuries, from the Middle Ages, through the Austrian Empire and into the 21st century, It is still one of the most impressive libraries in the world and I believe, a worthy contribution for the +Book Porn Club

#BookGALA #ArtGALA

Gordorn Freeman meets Chell from Portal 

This. Is. Epic! 

Chocolate-Kahlua Sherbet

The things I learn about ice-cream. Apparently, a Sherbet is a bit like a sorbet only it is usually made with milk or egg whites. In this case, it was made with milk. The taste is pretty amazing and the texture is very creamy, it is fairly dense so it reminds me more of an Italian Gelato. But if you like chocolate Ice-cream or just chocolate, this could be your ice-cream (looking at you +Dee M :P )

The Kahlua added a really nice flavour to it, all in all, not suited for children but wonderful for grown-ups. You can, of course, leave the Kahlua out. 

The recipe is by David Lebovitz and it was just a very nice addition to a hot, fresh coffee. I can really recommend this recipe. 

Ingredients

2 cups (500ml) milk (whole, low, or non-fat)
1/2 cup (100g) sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 cup (50g) unsweetened cocoa powder
4 ounces (115g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
optional: 2 tablespoons coffee-flavored liqueur, such as Kahluà

Preparation

1. In a medium-sized saucepan, warm half of the milk with the sugar, salt, and cocoa powder.

2. Bring to a full boil while whisking, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 30 seconds.

3. Remove from heat and add the chocolate, the vanilla, and the coffee-flavored liqueur, if using. Stir in the other half of the milk.

4. Taste, and if the chocolate is a bit grainy, puree it in a blender to smooth it out.

5. Chill thoroughly, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Source: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2009/06/chocolate-sherbet/

#DReulWorthyRecipes  

Melted Goat Cheese on Apple with Bacon and Honey -starter

Combining a fruity flavour with the aroma of thyme and roasted almonds on hot slices of Apple, topped with creamy goat cheese and covered with a crisp crown of Bacon, this starter takes you on a journey of taste and texture.

(1-2 persons)

Ingredients

1 Apple,
2-4 thick slices of fresh goat cheese
2 rashers of bacon
Honey
10g of almond leaves
1-2 teaspoon of Aceto Balsamico
Thyme (fresh or dried)
1-2 slices of white bread

Mise en place

- wash Apple, dry, remove the core and cut into 2 thick slices
- slowly roast Almond leaves in a non-stick pan without oil until lightly golden
- Place one to two pieces of goat cheese on one slice of apple, season with
  thyme and almond leaves
- drizzle lightly with honey
- place bacon on top
- put a piece of aluminium foil on an oven tray and apply a thin layer of oil
- turn on the grill

Preparation

Place the slice of apple on the foil and cook in oven under the grill for about 5-10 minutes (until the bacon is golden brown). Remove from the oven, place on a place and lightly drizzle with honey. Add a teaspoon of Aceto Balsamico around the dish.

Serve while hot and creamy with a piece of white bread to soak up the delicious juices.

Bon Appétit

#foodporn  
#DReulWorthyRecipes  

The Dark Knight Rises - Street Art

Steeet Art in Madrid, Spain, to celebrate the release. 

via: http://www.thedarkknightrises.com/

Two kinds of Rass el hanout spiced Meatballs on Pomegranate Couscous and a Yoghurt Mint Sauce

I recently bought a very good variant of Rass el hanout. I haven't cooked anything from this type of cuisine for a while, so why not spice things up and go a different route. Ending up with a fluffy couscous, combined with the uniquely sweet-tart flavour of pomegranates, the two very different tasting, sweet spicy and savoury lamb and beef/pork meatballs and the gorgeous fresh yoghurt mint sauce to bring it to a tasty finish.

Note: if you cannot get Rass el hanout  you can easily make your own mix of spices as you like, there is not definitive mix. I like to use a mix of powdered coriander, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, black pepper, chili, tumeric and nutmeg.

(3 servings)

Ingredients

Lamb meatballs filled with sage and feta

250 g / 8.5 oz of freshly ground lamb
1/2 tsp of Rass el hanout
1 medium sized egg
2-3 Tbs of Panko or dry breadcrumbs
1 Tbs of milk
50 g / 1.8 oz of Feta
3 fresh leaves of sage
extra native olive oil
3-4 dried dates without stone

Spicy beef / pork meatballs with dates and almonds

80 g / 3 oz of ground almonds
1 medium onion
2 cloves of garlic
2  Birds Eye chilies
4 -5 dried dates without stone
250 g / 8.5 oz ground beef
250 g / 8.5 oz ground pork
2 eggs
1 heaped teaspoon of mustard
3 Tbs panko or dried breadcrumbs
1.5 teaspoons of Rass el hanout
2-4 stems of flat leaf parsley

Pomegranate couscous

250 g / 8,5.oz of precooked couscous
250 ml / 1 C of stock of your choice (Or used water salted with about 1 Tbs of salt)
1 Pomegranate
2 - 3 flakes of butter
1 Tbs of olive oil
1 stem of flat leaf parsley

Yoghurt Mint Sauce

4-5 stems of mint
250 g / 8.5 oz greek yoghurt
2-3 Tbs of milk
1  Tbs lime juice

Mise en Place

Pre-heat oven to 230 C to 400 F.

Lamb meatballs

Chop sage leaves and 4-5 dates into small pieces, mix with feta, add 1 Tabs of milk, mix thoroughly. Set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, mix the ground lamb, one (1) egg, the spice mix, the panko and season with salt and pepper to taste. Take a small handful of the ground meat and divide it in half. Sculpt both halves of the meat loosely around a teaspoon of the mix, until it is no longer visible. If it's packed too tightly, the cheese will eventually flow out. Form filled balls until everything has been used up. Put the meatballs on a plate in the fridge.

Beef / pork spicy meatballs

Clean and peal the garlic and onion. Wash the herbs and dry them off carefully, pluck of the leaves off the parsley, shred the parsley with your hands to a size of your liking. Set aside some for the couscous.

Wash the chilies, cut them open, remove the seeds and wash, chop into small pieces. Set aside.

Chop the dates. Mince the onion and garlic. Heat a frying pan with one Tbs of olive oil to low heat. Add the onions and cook them for about 5 minutes, add the garlic, cook for another three minutes. Do not burn. Put on a piece of paper kitchen towel to soak up excess fat. Set aside.

Mix the ground meat, two (2) medium sized eggs, the spice mix, onions and garlic, chilies, dates, ground almonds, 1 Tbs of panko, mustard and the parsely in a medium sized bowl until well mixed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Form small handful sized meatballs and put them on a plate. The goal is to have meatballs of uniform size.

Yoghurt Mint Sauce

Mix greek yoghurt, with the lime juice. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Chop the mint and mix well.

Preparation

Line your baking tray with baking paper. Place the meatballs on there with even spaces and put them into the pre-heated oven for about 20 minutes.

After 10 minutes, bring the stock or water to a boil. Remove from the heat, slowly add the couscous, stir. Cover and let sit for about 2 minutes. Add the butter, stir again. Put it on low heat for about 3 minutes to let if finish. Add the pomegranate seeds and leftover parsley. Cover and set aside.

Arrange on a pre-heated place, place the meatballs on the couscous, add fresh pepper and drizzle some mint sauce over the meatballs.

Bon Appétit

Would you like to be notified about food posts? Let me know in the comments. If you would like to see my other recipes, check out the about part of my profile:http://goo.gl/bzgOa

Or follow the hashtag DReulWorthyRecipes  in the first comment, you'll get all my recipes in a stream, including pictures.

#foodporn  

lovecraftactually

With this, I shall bid you all good night. Another wonderful piece by *DrFaustusAU*

http://drfaustusau.deviantart.com/

Auparis... I think I am a new fan

Not that I learned anything new but I laughed so hard.. also, when she hurts you, you will like it! 

"Just look at the texture on those balls"

For those with delicate sensibilities .. wait, if you have those you should probably just move on :P 

Via someone in my circles .. :P You can out yourself if you want to :D

Also, Subscribed! 

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Watch, be amazed, prepare to learn something new about yourself because.. yes, he is right 

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I will love myself despite the ease with which I lean toward the opposite.

Another wonderful TED talk, highlights brought to you by Upworthy. You may recognize it from a previous animated video that did the rounds. 

At 1:10, he talks about the unfair question grown-ups always asked when we were kids.
At 1:41, he walks through his career choices.
At 2:11, some adults tell him something awful.
At 3:00, he decides on an impossible career.
At 3:48, he blows my mind.
At 4:50, he quotes an line from a cartoon. I never knew how epic that line was.
At 6:00, the audience realizes something tragic and funny.
At 7:36, he rips my heart out.
At 8:41, something awful is said.
At 9:15, he preaches the truth.
At 10:00, he has a message to every kid who was ever bullied.
At 10:49, you have to do what he says.
At 11:28, he gets to the beautiful, beautiful point. And everybody gives him a standing ovation.

Portal Gun

This hand crafted Portal Gun is a thing of sheer beauty. Made by Duncan Shirah , who is a sculptor that works between art and invention. He builds small tools and devices that show the beauty of utility and functional form.

Yes, I can see this working beautifully with all your steampunk outfits. You know you would like to have one :) 

via www.duncanshirah.com 
Yes, there is lots more to see there, go and take a look! 

X-Men and Avengers babies

Created by Scottie Young
You should check out his DA page, because you can get these as prints :)
http://skottieyoung.deviantart.com

His G+ account is unused to I won't tag it.

Also.. dawww :)

Ménage à trois of Fruity Delights - three kinds of Sorbet

Warm and beautiful weather this week prompted me to dust off my ice cream maker and during a conversation with +Carrie Canup, Raspberry and Champagne sorbet came up, so why not? But why stop there? I enjoy all kinds of berries, so I selected complementary yet distinct flavours to create a delightful mix of tangy, fresh, sweet and creamy sorbets. You can easily adjust amounts to make as little or as much as you want. I only created equal amounts for two kinds of sorbet, the blueberry one was only a small portion because I could not find enough high quality blueberries (or frozen ones) when I was shopping, but I will include the full recipe I came up with. I also used Crémant instead of Champagne, frankly there is little difference in my book other than it being a name that can only be used when it is created in the Champagne. A good Crémant is easily the equal of most Champagnes. Sorbets are among the easiest desserts you can create but they also very versatile and can be changed as you see fit and like.

Without further ado, enjoy the dish of the week.

Note: if you use frozen fruit, you need to soak it in the hot syrup or let them thaw. I will include examples for all variants.Making three different sorbets also takes quite a bit of time if you include the cooling down of the ingredients and and churning in the ice cream maker followed by the final freezing of the sorbet. Mind you, you can eat the sorbet right away but it is better if is completely frozen. I also don't use beaten egg whites, which is also an option to create smoother sorbets.

Ingredients

Raspberry Crémant Sorbet

300 ml / 1 1/4 cups Champagne or sparkling wine (I used Crémant)
60 ml / 1/4 cup water
100 g / 1/2 cup caster sugar
300g / 2 cups raspberries, frozen (a small handful of fresh ones for nibbling and garnish)

Blackberry Crémant Sorbet

300 ml / 1 1/4 cups Champagne or sparkling wine (I used Crémant)
60 ml / 1/4 cup water
100 g / 1/2 cup caster sugar
300g / 2 cups blackberries, fresh (set a few aside for garnish)

Blueberry Yoghurt Sorbet

300 g / 2 cups of blueberries, fresh (set a few aside for garnish)
1/4 teapoon of organic lemon zest, fine grated
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
25 g / 3 tablespoons of icing sugar
70 g / ¼ cup of greek yogurt
2 tablespoons of white wine (optional)

You will also need to following:

Immersion blender or regular blender
A fine mesh sieve
A soft spatula
Ice cream maker


Mise en Place and Preparation

Raspberry Crémant Sorbet

Add Crémant, water, and sugar in a medium pot. bring to a boil and turn the heat off and put it aside.Add the frozen raspberries and let it rest, covered, for about 10 minutes (until the raspberries are thawed).

Pour the mix into a matching container to use with the immersion blender or into a blender. Blend until smooth. Then pour the mix through a fine mesh sieve, using a soft spatula to separate the seeds from the liquid. Let the liquid cool in the fridge until thoroughly chilled (4 hours up to 24 hours if you want to). Process in your ice cream maker as described in the manual of your particular device. Make sure to freeze the sorbet in the freezer afterwards to ensure that it is frozen through.

Blackberry Crémant Sorbet

Add water and sugar in a medium pot. bring to a boil and turn the heat off and put the syrup aside to let it cool down.

Blend the blackberries using the immersion blender or a blender.Add the white wine. Blend until smooth. Then pour the mix through a fine mesh sieve, using a soft spatula to separate the seeds from the puree.

Mix the puree and the syrup, pour in the the Crémant and let cool in the fridge until thoroughly chilled (4 hours up to 24 hours if you want to). Process in your ice cream maker as described in the manual of your particular device.

Blueberry Yoghurt Sorbet

Add blueberries, lemon juice, zest and icing sugar and blend until smooth. You can strain it through a sieve afterwards if you want to but I found it to be smooth enough to process as it is. Add the greek yoghurt and the white wine and blend again. Let it cool in the fridge until thoroughly chilled (4 hours up to 24 hours if you want to). Process in your ice cream maker as described in the manual of your particular device.

Once the sorbets are frozen through, you will have to remove them about 10 to 20 minutes before serving them from the freezer in order to allow them to thaw enough to be scoop them.

Garnish with the fresh fruit and some lemon zest, or a bit of mint. Enjoy these fresh delights any time of the day because, really, we do not need a reason to indulge in this :)

Bon Appétit

Would you like to be notified about food posts? Let me know in the comments. If you would like to see my other recipes, check out the about part of my profile:http://goo.gl/bzgOa

Or follow the hashtag DReulWorthyRecipes in the first comment, you'll get all my recipes in a stream, including pictures.

#foodporn  

★ heroes and villains in art ★

What if, all of your favourite heroes and villains had been immortalized in masterpieces of art throughout time?

via www.worth1000.com

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Be still my grumpy heart

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I don't usually go for meme t-shirts, but I love this one
http://www.redbubble.com/people/powerpig/works/9823665-its-awful
Via laughingsquid.com
#grumpycat   #grumpycaturday  

Hines and Scalzi do it again

Well, you may all have seen the amazing take of +Jim Hines on ridiculous female poses on book covers and how he copied them.

http://www.jimchines.com/2012/01/striking-a-pose/

This time, they have gone a step further. This is the show off between +John Scalzi and +Jim Hines and.. yes, I would advise you to drink alcohol before, after or during seeing this :P

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Oh look, there is a name for my backlog of books :)

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Yup. I feel like I have this condition

http://believermag.tumblr.com/

★ Sleepiness leads to coffee, coffee leads to procrastination, procrastination leads to coffee ★

No, I do not recognize these symptoms. Honestly.


via: http://www.shoeboxblog.com/?p=30553

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Bazinga

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I want this place, who wants to move in with me and why should I choose you?

 I'll cook  :P

Loft 24-7, designed by Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Asociados, is located in São Paulo, Brazil.

The home exists as much on the outside as on the inside, blurring the boundaries of the house with the use of ponds and trees placed in key locations. The modern design loft spreads on a 250 sqm / 2700 sqf area in the shape of a large bungalow open to the natural surroundings. The idea behind the project is to make the internal living space one with nature by using open rooms, natural materials and daylight.

h/t +Carrie Canup 

http://www.fernandamarques.com.br/

There was a star danced, and under that was I born

The trailer for Joss Whedon's version of Much Ado About Nothing is here and it looks amazing! Will you watch it? 

Game of Thrones Season 3 Trailer - new

This just came out, I *love it! So excited for season three. 
The music is MSMR - Bones
MS MR - Bones
or
http://vimeo.com/54326156

Paperman Cosplay

A lot of you have enjoyed the Disney short Paperman that was aired before Wreck it Ralph http://youtu.be/2C76DPZzpS4

Chris and Wendy, created a charming and beautiful cosplay version of this. I am also very much impressed with the photography that perfectly captured the mood of the short.

See more here: 
misswendybird.tumblr.com though.
You can find the photographer at http://www.facebook.com/S.Colorful
And the cosplayer at http://www.facebook.com/hellomisswendybird

Find a lot more images on their Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/albertlien/sets/72157632779408996/

Happy Humpday everyone :)

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So true

via +angelique b 

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Superheroes
#googleplus   #facebook   #huffingtonpost   #reddit  

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Dyslexia Font

That is a marvellous idea. 

Via +Terry McNeil :)

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Dyslexia Font

I doubt there are a lot of Dyslexics on G+, but maybe you know some in Real Life.  I've seen a few fads come and go over the years trying to help them read - don't know if this will stick or not but it looks quite promising:

http://dyslexicfonts.com/

Please Share Publicly - You don't know who has you circled that might benefit from this...

Maybe I'm just not used to it (I am not dyslexic), but it's driving my OCD nuts trying to get all that bottom heavy ink lifted back up where it belongs, or feeling the need to clean the gunked up ink out of the typewriter strike heads with the little brush. ;-)

#dyslexia   #fonts     #opendyslexic   #accessibility     #tips   #evang+  

H/T:  +Brian Dunning for writing about this in the Skeptoid email newsletter.
H/T:  +Abelardo Gonzalez for developing this.  And the Chrome Extension for it - see his post's page for details.

Dry Aged Entrecôte with Rosemary Oven Baked Vegetables

I went shopping this morning and behold, my butcher had some dry aged beef. I bought 2 pieces of Entrecôte each about 1.5-2 inches thick.  The use of potatoes and beets, both of which can be baked in the oven, gave me a nice side dish that played well with the flavour of the meat.

You can use any steak cut (Filet, Sirloin, Rib Eye, Porterhouse, T-Bone and NY Strip) of your liking for this, please mind that the cooking time will of course vary with thickness and cut. Another point that will have some people in uproar, is the fact I salt the steak before I cook it, long before. I leave the salt on the steak to help relax the proteins and infuse it with taste of the meat and the flavour of my choice which will be kept during cooking. The meat needs to be at room temperature before cooking it, that is the most important part. So, no more ado, here is the recipe for this Saturday's dish.

2 servings

Ingredients

2 1.5 - 2 inches thick steaks (about 300g each)
2-3 beets
500 g/18 oz/1.2 pounds of potatoes
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
a few sprigs of fresh rosemary
coarse sea salt or kosher salt
whole black and red peppers
kitchen yarn

Mise en Place

-Remove the meat from the fridge at least two hours before cooking it, let
 it get to room temperature.
-About 1 hour before cooking, season the meat from both sides with
  about 1 teaspoon of coarse sea salt and rosemary. Leave it covered
  outside the fridge.
-Gently wash the beets, cook them in salted water for about 15 minutes
  and peel them under water, cut into thick slices, put into a baking try
-Peel and wash potatoes, cut into thick slices, add to the beets
-Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
-Gently roast the pepper in a dry non stick pan, grind using a mill or
  mortar and pestle

Preparation

This will take about one hour, pre-heat the oven to 180 C (350 F)

Place the vegetables into the oven, after 30 minutes add the chopped rosemary and leave it in the oven for about 15 more minutes. drizzle lightly again with olive oil and season with freshly ground pepper. Set aside covered to keep it hot. Reduce the heat of the oven to about 120 C (250 F)

Rinse the steaks thoroughly, make sure you pat them really dry after this before you cook them.

Use a very large pan or better yet, two pans for steaks this size. Heat a cast iron or non stick pan to high heat using a neutral oil or some clarified butter. Make sure the steaks have the same height all over, I used kitchen yarn to ensure this.

Sear the steaks on the edges and then sear each side for about 1.5 minutes at high heat to form a nice crust. Remove from the pan and wrap it in aluminium foil. Place them in the oven for about 8 minutes to cook them medium rare. You can place the vegetables into the oven as well to re-heat them. After the steaks are done, arrange and serve while hot. Season with a bit of coarse salt and the fresh pepper. Enjoy this simple dish that combines only a few basic flavours to great effect.



Bon Appétit

Would you like to be notified about food posts? Let me know in the comments. If you would like to see my other recipes, check out the about part of my profile: http://goo.gl/bzgOa

#foodporn  

+Foodies of G+ +Indulge Into Darkness 

If you follow the hashtag DReulWorthyRecipes  in the comments, you'll get all my recipes in stream including pictures.

Breathtaking Wonder Woman Cosplay

She will kick your butt and you will like it! 
+Sivan Rehan .. looking for a upgrade of your costume? 

I saw this last night on www.fashionablygeek.com 

#cosplay   

Shared with do share.

Slow roasted pork belly

This is my all time favourite way of preparing a pork belly. The basic concept is to cure the meat for up to 48 hours (minimum 8) with spices and slowly roast it in the oven. The flavour infused meat will be tender and most of the fat will be rendered out and you are left with wonderful pork meat.

That means that this is not a complete menu, no side dishes this time because I want to use this as cold cuts in the next days.

Ingredients
1 kg of deboned pork belly with or without skin
2-3  tsp coriander seeds
2- 3 tsp fennel seeds
2- 3 tsp caraway seeds
50g salt ( 1/4 cup )
50 brown sugar ( 1/4 cup)
1 tbs black peppercorns

1 baking dish that is roughly the same size and the pork belly

Mise en Place

(up to 48 hours before cooking)

If the skin is still on the pork, score it with a knife and make sure not to cut too deep. Score it cross wise.

Gently roast the coriander, caraway, fennel and the black pepper in a non-stick pan without oil. As they start to pop, immediately remove them from the heat and use a mortar and pestle to crush them, mix with the sugar and salt.

Rub the dry rub on all sides of the pork belly, place it in a dish and pour all the remaining dry rub top, cover it and cure it in the fridge for up to 48 hours. Turn the meat from time to time, making sure the spices are everywhere.


Preparation

Remove at least 2 two hours before cooking from the fridge after the spices have been rinsed off with cold water.

Pre-heat the oven to max temp 240 degrees C (475 F). Place the baking dish with the pork belly in the oven (skin side up) and roast for about 15 minutes, reduce the temperature to 140 degrees C (290 F) and roast the pork belly for another two hours. You can pour the rendered fat over the belly from time to time.

Once the time is up, remove from the oven. if you want the skin to be nice and crunchy, briefly turn on the grill and broil it for about 5 minutes. Let the meat rest for about 15 minutes and then cut into slices or wrap it in clear film and let it cool in the fridge. You can eat them cold or re-heat in a pan.

This works really well in a hot savoury broth, with mashed potatoes, on buns or whatever tickles your fancy. Use mustard or herb mayonnaise, or enjoy it pure.

Bon Appétit



Would you like to be notified about food posts? Let me know in the comments. If you would like to see my other recipes, check out the "About" part of my profile  http://goo.gl/bzgOa

#Foodporn  
#DReulWorthyRecipes  

★ Roast beef with rosemary hazelnut mustard crust & potato gratin ★


Earlier today, I had a craving for beef so I wanted to prepare a simple dish, that I could also eat as cold cuts in the coming days. The crust on the roastbeef gives it something special and my version of potato gratin, is made without cream. A much lighter and different version than you might be used to. The result of perfectly cooked beef is guaranteed! 


Ingredients ✔

1 kg beef, prime rib roast
50 g clarified butter
Thyme, fresh or dried (potatoes)
3-4 gloves of garlic, diced (meat)
70 g mustard (meat)
Salt
Pepper
2-3 bay leaves (meat)
fresh rosemary (meat)
3-4 potatoes 
Beef stock (potatoes)
30g of Alpine cheese (potatoes) 
40g of ground hazelnut (meat)

Mis en place   ✔

Wash the rosemary and pull off the leaves, cut finely. 
Cut the garlic into fine pieces.
Peel the potatoes and cut in thin slices using a mandolin slicer. 
Heat a non-stick pan and gently roast the ground hazelnuts, put aside. 
Put the slices poatoes into a casserole and add some salt, the stock and the Thyme. Put the slices upright and stack them together, Fill the casserole with the beef stock, cover and put aside. 


Preparation    ✔

Pre-heat the oven to 80 degrees Celsius (176 Fahrenheit), use a oven thermometer to monitor the temperature. 

Heat the clarified butter in a enamelled cast iron pot, or a pot of your liking, and sear the roast from all sides, about two to three minutes per side. Put on a non-stick oven pan and season with salt. Rub the mustard all over the meat. 
Put all the herbs into the pot and stir them for one to two minutes, take out the herbs. Now mix the hazelnuts and the herbs and rub the mix on the mustard. 

Roast at 80 degrees for about 1 1/2 hours. Take our the meat and let it rest for 20 minutes before you cut it. Put aside and cover with aluminium foil. 

Heat the oven to about 200 degrees Celsius (392 Fahrenheit). 
Put the potatoes into the oven and cook for about 30-40 minutes, depending on the thickness and the temperature of your oven. 

Grind some cheese and put that on top of the potatoes which will by now, have soaked up all the tasty stock and the aroma of the Thyme. Turn on the grill and just give it a short time under the grill to let the cheese melt. 

Cut the meat against the grain into thin slices and serve with the potato gratin. 

Bon Appétit

#foodporn   #Cooking  
#DReulWorthyRecipes  

★ Living between a thousand worlds ★

Let me be surrounded by the works that took me away to distant planes and places, that brought joy and knowledge to me.

What do you think? Too much? Not comfy enough? Love it?

Buy these here
http://www.nobodyandco.it/nobodyandco/homepageingl.html
(When I say buy, I mean sell your car and ask for one, 4000€ and up)

#bookporn #design

★ The Rifle’s Spiral ★

What is not to like about *The Shins*'s new video featuring magicians, twisted images and evil bunny rabbits of doom?
I really enjoy this twisted view, even though I like the older songs by The Shins more than the current album.

★ Parenting, you're doing it right ★

No further comment required.

#fedupwithcatsletsdostarwarsinstead

☂ teabag cookies ☂

for my Anglophile friends and tea lovers :-)

via: http://frostmeblog.blogspot.de/2010/03/teabags.html

☠ 80's villains today ☠

What if, the characters that scared the crap out of us in the 80's, were alive today?

via behance.net and by Federico Chiesa
http://www.behance.net/gallery/HORROR-VACUI/3247913

'The Big Bang Theory' reimagined as 'Firefly' crew

via +Dee M

Image credit: Megan Levens http://meganlevens.com/

You are free to squeee now.

Woe is me - in many, many different forms

For the lovers of obscure lingo, you will find this to be a delightful source of information. 




Via +Jyoti Dahiya and found by Kiril Minanov (whom I cannot tag) in a private share, hence the public new post. 

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I think.. this could come in handy..

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I might hand these out to people as awards at work.

Hang in there +Luis Roca , +Mellie B and of course +Wanda Howe


Now witness the cute of this fully ARMED and OPERATIONAL cute puppy!

#cutewars

#cutewars we should huddle up, you know, because reasons

It just might turn out to be one of those days

The unedited original can be found here: 
http://www.shoeboxblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/siren-song.jpg

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Oh fine !!! 

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#dirkwhipshisfluffybunnyearsbackandforth

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Disney tunes - so brilliant

I fully agree with +Tai Saari this is superb! 

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So much amazing!

Great storytelling, incredible harmonizing, great voice, all by one singer. Damn.

Slightly NSFW-ish: May want to use headphones as lyrics contain mentions of beastiality and rape.

Worth it though. I'll have Disney tunes playing in my head for the rest of the day. No regrets.

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Watch this, it is relevant and change starts in our heads

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This is not only one of the most amazing things I have seen in a while it is one of the most powerful. I cannot laud this enough.

Time for Cake

Today is a special day. +Kyla Myers's birthday to be more precise. Getting her birthday to trend was the first thing we did, the Scooby Gang Birthday Gang created lots of wonderful things for Kyla, custom photos, amazing cakes and all kinds of shenanigans.

But.. that was not quite everything. We've been burning the midnight oil to finish a very special piece for Kyla. Her very own, personal and slightly wacky, Dr. Who themed comic.

Dear Kyla, I hope you will have the best of times when you finally get to celebrate on the weekend.

You are not only a warm hearted, talented, incredibly smart and wonderfully snarky friend. You are also very dear to me, happy birthday to you and lots of love! 

#happybirthdaykyla  

PS: I will create a separate post where you can download the comic as: 
- epub
- regular pdf
- 600 DPI pdf
- CBZ file

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On words and their use, wise words indeed.

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“This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals—sounds that say listen to this, it is important.”
— Gary Provost

Gingerbread Cookies

So, this happened today. Like I mentioned in the previous post, I had to come up with the recipe on my own because I wanted to re-create one that I had last made when I was 12. I am not perfectly happy with it and there is no written record of it in my family. That means I will do more experimenting next year and maybe, maybe not quite that late >_> They do taste delicious, not quite like most Gingerbread. I did cut back on things like sugar which I remember it used a lot of. So, there is the wonderful flavour of all the often used Gingerbread spices:

The frosting is confectioner's sugar mixed with rum. I made it intentionally not as thick as I could. I like the effect on the cookies and I also prefer a thin layer of frosting.

The Portal Cookies aren't bad but are nothing to look at with the coloured frosting I used. So, I will do those again too. Sorry for not delivering on them.

I wish all of you happy holidays and a great time with your loved ones, whether you celebrate or not; have a good time and spend it well with those you love and care for.

Ingredients

750g / 3 and 1/3 cups all purpose flour
100 ml / 1/2 cup of milk
4 medium sized eggs
300 g / 1 1/2 cups of sugar
4 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
2 teaspoons of baking powder
4 heaped teaspoons of Gingerbread spice
125 g / 1 stick of butter
1 pinch of salt
3/4 cup powdered sugar = 120 grams of powdered sugar 
Rum 

Mise en Place

Gingerbread spice: Either use the store bought version or mix it yourself: 

About  3 1/2 Tablespoons of Gingerbread spice

2  T. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground anise seed
1/2 tsp. ground star anise


Mix all the dry ingredients thoroughly in a large bowl, make sure to sieve the dry ingredients. Add the eggs and the butter, all at room temperature,
add the milk and mix well using the dough hooks on your electric whisk.

Remove the dough from the bowl and knead it on a lightly floured surface. If the dough is too sticky, add some flour and knead again. Wrap the dough up in Saran wrap and put it in the fridge for at least one hour. 

Preparation

Preheat oven to 150 C / 300F. You will need several cookie sheets lined with baking paper. Roll dough out on a well-floured surface until ¼ Inch  / 0.5 cm thick. Use cookie cutters of your choice and gently lift the cookies onto the prepared cookie sheet. 

Bake ca. 12- 14 min or until slightly firm. 

In the meantime, prepare the icing. Mix the powdered sugar with about one tablespoon of rum. Mix well. The icing can be a bit runny. 

When the gingerbread cookies are done, remove them from the oven, let them cool down until they are still warm, gently lift them on a separate piece of baking paper and using a pastry brush, apply the frosting on the still warm cookies. Let them dry and cool and keep them in an airtight container with half an apple. 


Bon Appétit

Would you like to be notified about food posts? Let me know in the comments. If you would like to see my other recipes, check out the about part of my profile:http://goo.gl/bzgOa


If you follow the hashtag DReulWorthyRecipes  in the comments, you'll get all my recipes in a stream, including pictures.

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Managing your Google+ Chat

+Hayo Jongbloed did a great write up on the technique used by both of us. This might be useful to quite a few people out there who choose not to use Google+ Chat because they don't want to see all their contacts in the chat list. 

I have the following to add: 

If you want to be visible to specific people only, you can create circles with single people in them and change the visibility on demand to single user circles while taking away the right of the chat circle. That adds another layer of control to this neat system. 

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Google+ Chat Managed

More than once I encounter people on Google+ who don't use G+ Chat because they feel overwhelmed by the huge list of people in their G+ Chat. They don't want to show as available for chat to all the persons they have circled, which can easily run into thousands. So they choose to either disable G+ Chat or set themselves as invisible all the time.

But this is not how it has to be!

Here is my simple manual how to manage your G+ Chat and make it actually USEFUL!

1. First you create a new (empty) circle called G+ Chat. See the first screenshot.
2. On the right side of your screen, where the Chat list is, click the drop-down arrow on the right of your name, and select Privacy settings. See the second screenshot.
3. The default setting of "Choose who can chat with you" is set to Your circles. Change this to Custom. Now you see a list of all your circles. Deselect each and every one of your circles, and only select your new "G+ Chat" circle. Then click on the blue Save button. See the third screenshot.

Now you are in control ! Go to your Circles page and drag only the people you actually like to chat with into the G+ Chat circle you just created. Only these people will show up in your G+ Chat list, provided they have you in their G+ Chat list as well. Remember: people can be in multiple circles! 

Welcome to a manageable G+ Chat experience!

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Yep
Take heed trespasser! 

via +J. Hancock 

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Now... that's a warning sign I would take notice of  :D

Wonder Woman by nebezia

+Sivan Rehan these are for you :) 
There is a lot more in the gallery of the artist, love the style! 

via: http://nebezial.deviantart.com

Minion Cupcake

via: http://debbiedoescakes.net/

I just love the minions :) and I want this. +Kyla Myers you hear me? Just saying :P

★ Seared duck breast with Pommes Noisette and Green Beans on  Orange-mustard sauce ★

Tender duck breast with an orange mustard sauce, green beans and potatoes roasted in butter.

The slightly tangy orange mustard sauce is a real treat combined with duck and the nutty flavours of the Pommes Noisette (balls of potato roasted in butter until golden brown) combines beautifully.

(1 person)

Ingredients

1 duck breast with skin intact (wash and dry off carefully)
1 shallot (finely diced)
1 handful of green beans (cleaned and cut into same length)
3-4 large potatoes (washed and peeled)
2-3 organic oranges (depending on size)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
400ml of duck stock (chicken stock)
salt
black pepper
leaf parsley
clarified butter
butter
some corn starch to thicken the sauce
1  Melon Baller (used to make balls of vegetables and fruits)
1-2 teaspoons of sesame seeds

Mise en Place

- Use the Melon Baller to form nut sized balls out of the potatoes, put them
  in cold water in a pot
- clean the beans, cut into same length and wash
- wash the duck breast and dry thoroughly
- Prepare a bowl of Ice water for the beans
- wash the oranges and make about 100 ml of orange juice
- mix a little bit of starch with cold water, make sure it is mixed well
- Set up one pot for the green beans, lightly salted water, bring to boil add
  green beans, cook for about 8 minutes, drain and put beans in ice water to
  stop them from cooking, this will also help retain the rich green colour.
  Remove from cold water after a few minutes and let them dry off.
- Set up a cold non stick pan for the duck
- Pre-heat your oven to 90 degrees Celsius ( 194 F)
- Set up one pot of salted water with the potato balls and bring it to boil,
 cook  for about 10 minutes, drain and let cool
- chop the leaf parsley

Preparation

You will need to watch your timing, the duck will take about 15-20 minutes in total. The potatoes will take about the same times but need to be stirred constantly, the beans will need about 5 more minutes to sautée in butter.

Pommes Noisette
Heat some butter in a non stick pan, add the potato balls and season lightly with salt, keep stirring until they are golden brown from all sides, add the parsley and the sesame seeds.

Duck
Put the duck into the cold pan, skin downwards and heat the pan to high temps, this will render out the fat. Once the skin side is golden brown, flip and sear for about two minutes, put duck breast on a roast in oven for about 10 minutes and let it rest. Leave the pan for the sauce

Orange sauce
Leave about 3 tablespoons of the rendered duck fat, deglaze with the orange juice, add the duck stock and let it reduce to about 2 thirds at high heat. Add the mustard, stir thoroughly, let it reduce to about 1 third. Season to your liking with salt and add the starch-water mix to thicken the sauce.

Green Beans
Set up one small pan with some butter for the green beans, add diced shallot and sautée until glassy. Add the beans and cook for about 5 more minutes, making sure to cover the beans with the butter


After the resting period, remove the duck from the oven and cut into thin slices, arrange all on plate and serve with a light white wine, for example a flowery Chardonnay.

Bon Appétit
#DReulWorthyRecipes  

★ Chicken Saltimbocca with Parpadelle - main ★

Chicken sounded like a good idea, something equally light but this time, with a different taste. Luckily, I had a lot of fresh sage leaves and a large bush with basil, so here we go.

Ingredients ✔

2        Chicken breast without skin
8        fresh Sage leaves
4        rashers of Parma ham (thin)
150ml Marsala wine
300g   Pappardelle (Pasta in the form of broad flat ribbons)
clarified butter
Salt
Pepper fresh
1 Pan with heat-resistant handle

Mise en Place ✔

- Using a sharp knife cut a pocket into each breast, take the chicken breasts,
  place them between two sheets of plastic and tenderize the meat to get an
  even thickness.
- Season the inside lightly with salt and place two Sage leaves inside.
- Wrap one rasher around the a breast and place a Sage leave on top, wrap
  the other rasher around, they should stick nicely if you press firmly, if not,
  secure with a toothpick.
- Pre-heat your oven to 90 degrees Celsius ( 194 F).
- Prepare a pot with lightly salted, boiling water.

Preparation ✔

Heat some clarified butter in the pan to medium-high temperature and cook for about 2 minutes per side, deglaze with the Marsala and put the pan into the oven for about 15 minutes. Cut the remaining two Sage leaves into pieces and add to the pan.

Put the Pappardelle into the boiling water and cook one minute less than required. Time the cooking,  so that the noddles will be done about 4 minutes after the 15 minutes cooking time of the chicken in the oven is finished. Reduce the cooking time by about 10% because they will keep on cooking in the sauce later on, for a about two minutes.

After 15 minutes, remove the pan from the oven, place the chicken on a plate, cover it and let it rest. Heat the pan to boiling, reducing the liquid by half, strain the Pappardelle once the reduced cooking time is over and soute them in the Marsalla with the meat juices and Sage leaves, letting them soak up the sauce. Arrange on a plate, serve and enjoy.

Bon Appétit

#foodporn     #DReulWorthyRecipes  

★ nerd style ★

Mostly it's other things but.. yes. this :) 

http://www.shoeboxblog.com/?p=31196

★ Doctor's Eleven ★

Whovians!

By Steven Thibaudeau aka magmakensuke

buy the shirt on Rebubble:

http://www.redbubble.com/people/magmakensuke/works/7924756-the-doctors-eleven

#DoctorWho

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I know that more than a few people I know will appreciate this :p

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Having a serious Spock boner right now.

h/t +Rugger Ducky 

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Sunday morning music

via +Rory Triscuit :)

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The Dark Game of Hobbit Knight Thrones

A violinist's brilliant tribute to the best film scores of this decade. This'll give you goosebumps. Plug-in your headphones and enjoy the ride.

#thedarkknight   #thehobbit   #gameofthrones  

Rosemary Potato Pizza with sweet Onions and Feta - Earthy delights

Because I have to atone for my food-fail of the weekend, I wanted to make something quick and easy that I can also eat tomorrow. A pizza dough can be made many way, I went for the really easy one described here: http://goo.gl/kktwG enough for about 1 baking try if rolled out thinly.

The topping is catering to my personal tastes, I love feta, red onions, Rosemary and potatoes. Combining them with a bit of Ricotta, freshly ground black pepper and extra virgin olive oil, creates a simple yet delightful dish bringing the mediterranean into my dreary and overcast German day.

This will easily feed 3 grownups :)

Ingredients

(without pizza dough)
150 g / 2/3 cup of Ricotta cheese
3-4 waxy potatoes
300 g / 2 cups of feta cheese
3-4 red onions or a mix of sweet onions and red onions, medium sized
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
Fresh ground pepper
Extra native olive oil

Mise en place

Prepare the pizza dough, roll out into a rectangular shape (cut to fit you want, place it on a matching sheet of baking paper. Pre-heat the oven to 220 C / 428 F, heat the baking tray in the oven.

Clean and peel the potatoes, using  a use a mandoline or an adjustable-blade slicer to cut really thin slices. (You can now blanche the the slices for about 4 minutes in salt water, rinse and dry them off on kitchen towels, this is optional however and was not required for me).

Peel and cut the onions into thick chunks, making sure not that they are not too thin, will keep them from drying out and burning.

Wash and dry the sprigs of rosemary, remove the rosemary leaves.

Preparation

Place the rectangle of pizza dough on the piece of baking paper. Spread the Ricotta on the dough, season with a bit of salt and generously with black pepper. Place the thin slices of potato on top of the ricotta layer side by side with a small overlap. Crumble the feta on top of the potatoes, add the rosemary. Spread the onions slices all over the feta and sprinkle generously with a good olive oil.

Place the pizza using the baking paper on the hot baking tray in the lower part of your oven , bake for about 30 minutes. If the potatoes are not done by then, reduce the temperature to 2/3 thirds and keep baking until the potatoes are done.

Season again with fresh pepper and a bit of olive oil, serve hot or cold.

Bon Appétit

Would you like to be notified about food posts? Let me know in the comments. If you would like to see my other recipes, check out the about part of my profile:http://goo.gl/bzgOa

Or follow the hashtag DReulWorthyRecipes  in the first comment, you'll get all my recipes in a stream, including pictures.

#foodporn