Braised Turkey

As a nurse, I  usually share my patient's bitter sentiments about hospital foods. Let's face it, nobody really shouts out for joy at the prospect of consuming low cholesterol, low sodium,low fat and low flavored foods. Not  when one is already feeling unwell. But then again, one can not really expect a lot from a pot that is used to cook for 2000 other suffering patients and their tastebuds.

 Food comforts me and when I'm ill, soothing  and spoiling my palate somehow  eases a bit of my discomfort. It's also the same reason why I have to sneakily ask FF to buy me Mc Donald's take out ( Burger, fries,  McCafe Triple Choco Chip Cookie and all) a day after undergoing a surgery AND after being told to eat soft diet. I know what patients get when they're on soft diet and 3 soft diet meals is all that I could handle! I was miserable, in pain and hungry. 

I was bringing my patients' lunch last week, somehow anticipating some usual faint mumbling and groaning about watery soups, obviously mass produced mashed potatoes , soggy pastas, dry breads, tasteless meats and overly sweet jelly desserts. Those who don't bother saying anything are just too sick to eat anyway.  One of the dish on that day was Putenbraten or roast turkey in (obviously store- bought , ready-made) brown gravy. But damn it looked good! For once, hospital food looked so appetizing!  I immediately knew, what to cook at home  the next day! Who would have thought that dreadful hospital food would inspire me. Hah!

Since I could not possibly buy an entire turkey for FF and I. There's a thin line between, gratification and overindulgence that we don't mean to cross. We bought turkey legs instead. I bought drumsticks while FF, went for the sectioned thighs. We had it for dinner and eat the leftovers the day after. Nobody was complaining after this satisfying meal.

Ingredients:

• 2 turkey legs, 2 turkey thighs 
• salt, pepper, paprika powder
• oil for frying
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 200 ml red wine
• 500 ml chicken stock
• 3 bay leaves, a tsp each of dried thyme's and rosemary

• 1 Bundle of Suppengemüse, chopped. These are vegetable for making soup comprising of 2 or 3 carrots, 1 or 2 stalks of leak, a quarter celeriac and parley.

Cooking instructions.

1 Wash and carefully pat turkey legs/thighs dry. Season well with salt and pepper. Rub in  paprika powder and set aside for 30 mins. Heat a bit of oil in a dutch oven . Seat meat and brown on all side. Remove meat from the pot and set aside.



2 Add 3 tbsp of oil into the pot. Saute onion until aromatic, add in garlic and toss in chopped vegetables.

3 Turn heat to high and deglaze pan with a cup of read wine. Toss in bay leaves, thymes and rosemary. Put the turkey back into the pan.

4 Pour chicken stock until almost half of the meat is submerged in liquid.Let the liquid boil before putting the pot into a preheated 190°c oven. Bake covered for 1 and half hour. Occasionally check the meat for tenderness and add more stock if the sauce  dries out. Once the meat is tender, remove pot from the oven. Put the pot back on the stove and crank up the heat  and bring the sauce to a boil to thicken it up a bit. Season with salt and pepper as needed. 

Braised Turkey with gnocchi

Roman Braised Oxtail: Coda alla vaccinara

Busy little bee have been neglecting her blog lately. Work, family , friends, Christmas holiday and more work were occupying my hours of existence that I could barely spare some time sitting on the  used-to-be-my- butt-imprinted-desk-chair. I bet, that chair have been missing my behind's warmth and shape as much as I miss babbling nonsense in this blog. Anyway, I finally got a few days off and weather's been bleak, cold and gloomy. Perfect time to sit at home and get all cozy. There's something about depressing weather such as this that makes me  think about much better times and much better places. I have been meaning to write something obout our trip to Rome for months anyway and now is the perfect time to do it. Yes, I was in Rome with FF, visited its ruins, the Colosseum and other magnificent architectures, mingle with modern-day-harmless gladiators, ate delicious Italian foods until I got sick as a dog but that's another story.

We did enjoy the foods in Rome, I guess it was sheer luck that almost all restaurant we've been to , from run the mill ,rustic Italian to fine dining exceeded our expectations and gratified our stomachs. Well, in the exception of one ridiculously expensive seafood risotto which twisted my guts and empty its contents on the fifth day . Anyway, one of the many delicious foods that left an impression on me was something I ate at  Risorante Al 34  near the Piazza di Spagna . I had a very rich and delicious braised oxtail that night and I was itching to try it at home since then. I finally got that chance  when FF and I, invited some family over for a post Christmas lunch celebration. Making it was time consuming but it was worth  the electric bill. (^_^)

You need:

• 1.5 kg oxtail, cut into serving pieces
• 100 g bacon cut into cubes
• olive oil
• 3 medium sized carrots, peeled and finely diced
• 4 stalks of celery, finely diced
• 1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
• Parsley and bay leaves
• 1/2 l white wine
• 2 l of water
• 4 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 tbsp. Paprika powder
• 1/2  tsp. powdered cinnamon
• Salt and pepper

1 Wash oxtail under running water thoroughly .  Put oxtail into the pot,add salt, pour 2 liters of water and bring it to a boil. Cook oxtail in salted water for 10 mins skimming off the fat and scums. Remove meat from the pot and set aside. Save about 1 liter of the broth, discarding the rest.

 2 Heat olive oil in huge pot and add in the chopped bacon. Saute bacon bits until aromatic.

 3 Add in the oxtail, brown in all side until meat is slather in bacon's fat/olive oil.

4 Stir in chopped garlic and  onion , saute until onion sweats . Stir well.

5 Add the chopped carrots, a  handful of chopped parsley and few bay leaves. Mix well.

6 Pour 1/4 of white wine into the the meat/vegetable mixture, stir and when it is reduced, add another quarter. Season  with salt and pepper.

7 Dissolve tomato paste in the oxtail broth, pour into the pot. Turn heat to medium low and cook oxtail, covered for about 3 hours to 3 1/2 hours.

8 Once the meat is just tender, stir in chopped celery and cook dish for another 30 minutes. Check meat , it must me fall of the bone tender.  Before serving, season it with cinnamon powder, paprika powder, pepper and salt if necessary .Garnish with more parsley. This dish could be served with crusty bread like I had in Rome, mashed/boiled potatoes, pasta or rice.

Braised Oxtail

I served it with risotto rice and fresh green salad on the side . Buon Appetito!

Grillstube Rose Achern Önsbach

I was thrilled to bits when FF said we are finally going to the  Oktoberfest. I have been throwing him nasty looks for days for refusing to go. I mean come on! Chinese  from Chengdu, Americans from New Jersey, Portuguese from Porto travelled across the globe to be here.  So how could we  live in Germany and miss it? Again? It's like being diabetic and working at  Charlie's chocolate factory or being in Italy and not eating any pasta. Such a bittersweet life.

I don't know much about Germany before coming over but I certainly heard  a lot about German's  love affair with their beer and you will see that  love during   Oktoberfest. The picture of locals and tourist alike  swinging a 1L Beer Maß ( Tankard) up in the air in salutation, shouting  out, ''zum Wohl!'' or ''Prost!'' before tipping its contents to  their waiting  throats  is just so inviting.I feel thirsty by just looking at it and I don't even drink! That is partying with capital letter P and I want in!  Women in colorful Dirndl, men in butt hugging Lederhosen ( lether shorts) all holding half empty beer mugs wanting more.  You will never see Germans looking  so happy.Alas, my man who although loves beer, hates big crowd and  Munich,  Stuttgart as well as other big cities here in Germany draws up to   6 millions   visitors a year during this 16-day long hard celebration!

I have been wanting to be in the middle of it all and after some persuasion FF finally said yes .  However, he wants to go to the fair with a group of people, claiming that it's not our typical quiet  dinner for two. We would be sharing  the gigantic wooden tent with hundreds and thousands of other guests. After all those beers and pretzels, crowd gets louder , moods more  boisterous, spirits higher and the only way not feel   left out among the the half intoxicated yelling, singing and dancing is to go there in a group. The more friends or family you have the better. And so it was planned, we're suppose to go as a group of 6 , we will be taking the  train since everybody will  be drinking and nobody is driving.  All these  talks  sound so serious that I can't help but be whopped up . I was even looking for the traditional Bavarian  Dirndl   to wear. Screw the cold weather, Mama's not here so I'm showing off some dodos! Life is full of disappointments  but at least my dodos stayed   all decently wrapped up and warm because for  some reason, one group member to the other went down with a  problem. Kids got sick, dog got sick, they got sick and in the end  there's just  FF and me ! That  practically turn his party torch off to oblivion. We ended up not going. So no dodo show for you,thank you very much!

 Before I could tear off a strip on him  for my lost dream, Mr.Spontaneous  decided to treat me dinner instead . He somehow knew that nothings make me forget about my impediment than  me,silently communing with a thick slab of succulent meat. He promised to take me to a   place that even his well travelled and gourmet boss  praised to the skies,  claiming to have eaten the best steak in his life there. I was wrench out of my  sulky mood   and was barely able to hide my enthusiasm and my salivating gums . Nothing perks me more up than the idea of food. Oktoberfest!What Oktoberfest? Off we go to Achern instead with him on the wheels.

We arrived at 7 in the evening and the place was already packed to the hilt. There are two  huge, open fireplaces  in the restaurant which are  used to grill the proteins. There's a subtle smell of burned meat and fat that   undulates the air, tantalizing our nostrils. Our seat was just beside one of the fireplace that I could faintly hear how the meat sizzles as it touches the hot grill. I'm loving the sound. The crackling fire gives a cozy feel, it's   like being at home but with    a capable chef to silently cheer on.
Menu was pretty limited, comprising mainly of steaks. It took me less than a minute to decide what to order.

 

Everytime I order steak here in Germany, I always take the one with ''Rostzwiebel'' or fried onion and here in Grillstube Rose,   they do steaks  and the onions  good. Really,really guuuuud. Meat seared to perfection, smokey, juicy, delicious, The crispy   and sweet fried onion gives the meat a nice aromatic nudge. Portion is huge but not overly so that chewed meat stays in your tummy and won't be leaking  out of you left nostril.

 Since I was upset, I was allowed to order whatever I want. I can't make up my mind between crisscut fries and curly fries so I end up ordering both! One can't simply have enough fried carbs! I felt much better and pretty much spoilt rotten as I dug my way thru the fried taters. Ahhh life is good!

Holzfäller

The Woodcutter, hubby's steak sounded so manly and  with the  thick slabs of bacon perched atop the huge steak, it certainly looked so. Again, the meat was done to a T, the smokey and slightly salty bacon is a nice touch. FF was able to gobble it all up  til the last grease. He ordered french fries ( sappy pic. not worth showing) with it which he also sang praises. Thin, fried to a crisp and clean tasting. You know the kitchen did not use the oil from yesterday.

 Three kinds of sauces were serve with the steaks. Garlic , curry and pepper sauce. Each sauce has its own unique tang to suit different palates. I was almost french kissing the garlic sauce while FF enjoyed the peppery one. We did not order any salad, knowing full well that all those meats need every bit of space our stomach could offer. We did not miss it though. Sated and full that we are, we ordered and shared 1 dessert, it was enough for both of us.

Eisfondue

 Ice cream fondue with 5 scoops of grocery bought  vanilla ice cream, served with 6 different sauces. Chocolate, banana puree, caramel ( our favorite) , raspberry, kiwi and strawberry. The whole thing was drizzle with Liqueur and was set ablaze before our eyes for a bit of dramatic presentation. I was for a minutes in awed, grinning sillily and  probably resembles a 3 year old inside Toys R Us but I can't help it. I love little theatrical  shows like this on my table.


Dinner was very satisfying, but unlike FF's chef, I could not honestly say that it was the best steak I have ever eaten. It was pretty good though and for less than 16 Euro/Steak without  the side dishes, we could hardly complain about the prices. Will I be joining the happy crowd in the Oktoberfest next year? That I could not guarantee, but one thing I am sure though, I will be going back to this place again.

Adresse:	Mönsbacher Str. 1 77855 Achern-Önsbach Deutschland
Telefon:	07841 3316
Kategorie:	Restaurant
Küche:	deutsch
Öffnungszeiten:	Mi-Sa ab 18:00; So und Feiertags ab 16:00
Plätze drinnen:	80
Plätze draußen:	50