Dinner: New Orleans Style

Being from the souther US, I know a little bit about soul food. It was everywhere growing up. It's comforting and filling. Small diners that serve soul food are something special. It's like walking into someone's house with the greetings from everyone, the aroma of the food makes you hungry immediately, and you always leave full and happy. I am a firm believer that New Orleans style food is soul food as well. It's different from the soul food I grew up with but it's still soul food. This would explain why I was excited to receive a cook book dedicated to New Orleans style food.

This cookbook is so much fun and there are so many yummy recipes, not to mention so fantastic facts and stories about the food and traditions in New Orleans. I want to try so many recipes in this book but I found two that I would try tonight. I made an eggplant jambalaya and cornbread. Because I'm just this way, I tweaked a few things in both recipes. I was totally pleased with the dinner and my husband loved it, too. Tonight I'm going to share the jambalaya recipe with you. I hope you like it :)

Eggplant Jambalaya
Adapted from 'New Orleans' cookbook from Williams Sonoma
Serves 4 as a main

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
100g smoked ham, diced
3/4 cup chopped spring onions
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small eggplant, cut into 1" pieces
1/2 teaspoon oregano, minced
1 1/2 teaspoon thyme, minced
1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder
1 14oz can diced tomatoes with juices
1 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
a couple of splashes of Tabasco sauce (optional)
1 cup rice
salt and pepper

Heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet on medium high heat. Add the olive oil.

Dice all of the vegetables. I waited to dice the eggplant until the last minute because eggplant turns brown very quickly.

Add the onion, bell pepper, celery, and smoked ham to the skillet. Cook on medium heat until the vegetables are soft, about 10-15 minutes.

The vegetables should become soft they will be slightly browned.

Add the rest of the ingredients, reserving 1/4 cup of chopped spring onions for garnish. Season the dish with salt and pepper.

Combine everything thoroughly. The eggplant looks large now, but they will reduce in size quite a bit. Turn the heat up to medium-high and bring everything to a boil. Once boiling, turn down the heat to low immediately and cover. Continue cooking on low heat for 20 minutes, or until the rice is cooked completely.

While the jambalaya was cooking, I made my cornbread.

After cooking, move the jambalaya to a bowl, season again with salt and pepper (if necessary) and garnish with the remaining spring onions.

This was so tasty, with a little bit of heat and it was unbelievably easy to make. I love one dish meals like this because there is less cleaning up to do. This is also the perfect kind of meal to bring in one big bowl to the table so everyone can share and help themselves.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and if you get a chance, enjoy some soul food... whatever kind of food that means to you!

Happy Eating!

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An Exciting Year Ahead

I know most people post this kind of stuff at the very beginning of a new year, but there you go. I'm not considered the most organized person in the world so the fact that I'm getting around to this and it's still January is a pretty big accomplishment for me! Yay for me (it's the small things, everyone).

Well, I want to share with you as to why my schedule has gone from being pretty quiet to non-stop and full steam ahead suddenly. I have some exciting plans and goals!

I posted earlier this month about getting back into music. In a couple of days we have our first orchestra practice and I have to admit I'm pretty nervous about it. I haven't played in over 5 years and this will be my first time to even play at all, much less with a big group. I would love to practice a little before going but playing a loud instrument in an apartment is frowned upon and in some buildings in Germany completely forbidden. In addition to the orchestra, I'll also take part in playing in the big band. I'm so looking forward to this! I love big band music and I love playing big band music. It is so exciting to be doing this again.

The other big project I've started is training for a half marathon! Wow! I've never run any race of that distance, but I'm determined. I know it's going to be tough and challenging but that is my kind of challenge. This is going to take up quite a bit of time, but my training plan is working and I've started training. I've run races before so I'm not completely foreign to running and I enjoy doing it, but this distance is a whole different world. If any of you runners out there have any tips for me I would be forever grateful :)

On top of this, I'm also going to be taking a swimming course to build technique. I swam for 13 years in the US when I was younger and it was always a passion of mine. I lived in the water during the summer months and I think that I was permanently water-logged. I remember spending literally all day in the pool with my sister and then going to swimming practice that evening. We would come back from practice and jump back into the pool and play some more. This was the same every summer growing up and we never got bored of it. The smell of chlorine and the feel of the water just brings back so many good memories. I took a swimming course about a month ago and I was just back at home in the water. I'm taking another one starting at the end of February and I think it will be a nice variety during the half marathon training.

So, in addition to all of this going on, my husband and I have a few trips planned (to Switzerland, Northern Ireland, and the US). We are going to attend some dinner parties with friends and host a couple this year and, of course, we are going to make sure some quality time for just the two of use is squeezed in there, too.

Whew... so there you have it! I'm excited and nervous but I also feel confident. I know with my husband's support with the support of my family and friends (you're included as a part of that group, by the way). Please wish me luck with my endeavors and I will be sure to keep you all updated with the progress!

Support and love each other!

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I'm Back... With Nachos!

I know, I know... it's been 3 days. I'm very sorry for neglecting all of you, my dears. This was the type of week that just never slowed down. Every day from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to sleep it was non-stop activity. Have you ever had weeks like this? Needless to say, I was exhausted. So much so today was the first day I cooked for 3 days! Whew! So, anyway, I'm back! Yay! It's so nice to be writing here again.

Well, to get back into the swing of things here at This Foreign Life and in the kitchen, I'm posting a recipe for some of the most delicious nachos I've eaten. This was literally a spur-of-the-moment dish I threw together and I'm really pleased that I'm writing this down (and sharing it with you) so I can come back to it and I can try it again and so you can try it, too! These nachos are layers and layers of rich flavors. I wasn't quite sure how it would turn out, but I was smitten immediately. Try it out (it would be great for a Superbowl party, too!)

Delicious Layered Nachos

2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
2 skinless, boneless turkey or chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2" thin
1 Tablespoon Mexican spice (such as taco seasoning)
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon red curry powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper
1 medium onion, cut into 1" pieces
1 bell pepper, cut into 1" pieces
1/2 can chili beans
1/2 cup salsa (as hot as you like)
1/4 cup grated cheese (any melting cheese such as cheddar or pepper jack)
a couple of handfuls of salted nacho chips

Garnish Ideas
sour cream
shredded lettuce
black olives
jarred jalapenos
avocado
guacamole
cilantro, chopped

First, preheat the oven to 400F (or 200C).

Put the chicken or turkey breasts on a plate.

Mix all of the spices (including the salt and pepper) in a small container.

Spoon about two teaspoons of the spice mix over each side of each breast. Run the spice mix onto the breasts, so it stays in place.

Spoon 1 teaspoon of the salsa on each side of each breast and spread it out, covering each breast completely. By the way, what my local grocery store sells as salsa is an abomination... no joke. I really think it is nothing but ketchup with a bit of diced onions. I'm very jealous of you folks that can get decent salsa :)

Set the breasts aside. Heat a heavy bottomed skillet over medium high heat. Add the olive oil to the pan.

Once the oil is heated, add the breasts to the pan. Cook them on medium high heat until completely cooked, about 5 minutes on each side.

Meanwhile chop the onion and bell pepper

Once the breasts are cooked, remove them from the skillet. Don't they look fantastic? The charring is beautiful and gives the meat such a wonderful flavor. Don't wash the skillet. Turn the heat on the skillet down to medium low heat and add the last teaspoon of olive oil.

Add the onion and peppers to the pan. Cook the vegetables until they are soft (about 8-10 minutes). The veggies will pick up the color from the nice tasty bits the breasts left behind while cooking. While the onion and pepper are cooking, slice the breasts into 1/2" strips.

Once the veggies are soft and cooked through remove from the heat.

Take a small, shallow baking dish and place the nacho chips in the bottom.

Open the can of chili beans and put on top of the nacho chips. Again, my local supermarket carries an awful excuse for chili beans, so I spice them up with some mexican spice, chili powder, mustard powder, and chipotle powder. Does anyone feel my pain here? Hello? Anyone? Moving on...

Take half of the grated cheese and cover the beans.

Heap the cooked veggies on top of the cheese.

Place the sliced chicken or turkey breasts on top of the veggies.

Top the chicken with about 3 tablespoons of salsa.

Finally, add the last half of the cheese on top. Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the dish is completely warmed through and the cheese is melted completely.

While the nachos are baking, get your garnishes prepared.

Once the nachos are finished, pull them out of the oven. Mmmmmmm... delicious!

Now, you can either serve it like this at a party and just place the garnishes around so everyone can help themselves, or you can serve this as a main dish, like I did.

I spooned the nachos in a bowl, topped with lettuce, sour cream, jalapenos, and green olive (I couldn't find black).

I was so pleasantly surprised with this dish, and I can't wait to make this again and again! I loved this so much and I hope you all try it! Serve this up for the big game or a quiet Friday night :)

Happy Eating!

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Ruhetag Mondays

Snow chaos are the words for today. About an inch of snow fell overnight and 4 to 6 more fell all day long. It's still snowing now and it is supposed to continue to do so for the next two days. As well prepared Munich is, that much snow can really make things a mess. Every Autobahn around Munich had traffic jams and the winter service that plows and salts roads were working overtime (and still are). This doesn't sound very appealing to a lot of people, I know but I love it. I become a kid when it snows. I guess growing up in a place that doesn't get snow very often (maybe once every 5 years or so) does that to me. Snow always conjures excitement for me. So much so that I have to look out of the windows about every 30 seconds just to watch it (okay, maybe not that much but I check a lot). I'll try to take some pictures of the fresh snow and post them later. I didn't get a chance to take along my camera today.

So, now back to the purpose of my post today finally. Mondays are turning out to be a very packed day. So much so, that I'm finding it difficult to post on Mondays (I know, yuck!). So, for the next little while I'll be taking Mondays off. I'm sorry to anyone that's disappointed, but I want to always post the best things I can and I want to take time to make my posts matter to me and to you. I hope even though you will be reading my blog for 6 days a week instead of 7, you'll still stick around and read. Also, I want to thank each and every one of you that are reading. I've only been doing this for one month, but I've gotten such nice compliments and I'm glad you're enjoying it. By the way, in case you're wondering 'Ruhetag' is day off in German :) 

I'll be back tomorrow with a longer post!

P.S. I'll let you in on why my Mondays are turning out to be such hectic days later... stay tuned!

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Beautiful Sunday Lunch

I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend and you're all prepared to start another week tomorrow. We had such a nice weekend. It's been busy, but relaxing and just lovely. I've kept myself busy today in the kitchen with some cooking and baking. I shared a couple of ways to roast a bell pepper on Friday, and as promised I'm sharing the gorgeous salad that I made with those peppers. I also want to share with you an extremely easy tomato tart I made. Together, these two came together and it was a beautiful Sunday lunch... not to mention delicious.

Toasted Corn Salad with Lime, Honey, Cilantro Dressing
Serves 2 generously

2 Teaspoons olive oil
2 small to medium ears of corn
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 roasted bell pepper, sliced into thin pieces (follow the link to get the technique!)
1 avocado, flesh cut into bite sized pieces
1 small red onion, diced
1 handful cilantro, minced
zest of 1 lime
juice of two limes
2 heaping teaspoons of honey
salt and pepper to taste

Remove all of the kernels of corn on the cobs, and prepare all of the other vegetables. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. Once the oil is heated, add the corn. Cook the corn until it softens, about 8-10 minutes.

While the corn is cooking, get the dressing ready by adding the red onion, zest, lime juice, and honey to a bowl. Mix well and set aside.

Once the corn stars to soften, add about 3/4 of the tomatoes. Cook for an additional 3-5 minutes, or until the tomatoes start to soften.

After the corn and tomatoes have cooked, take them off the heat and allow them to cool for a few minutes (I waited about 5). Meanwhile, add the rest of the ingredients to the dressing.

Add the corn and tomatoes and mix the salad thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Put the bowl into the refrigerator and store until you're ready to serve it.

Now, I'll share the quick and easy tarte that I served along-side the salad. I got the recipe originally from Stacey Snacks... she does some amazing tartes, tartaines, and quiches. I've made a few minor changes.

Quick and Easy Tomato Tarte
Adapted from Stacey Snacks
Serves 4 as a side dish

6 large tomatoes
1/4 cup grated white cheddar
1/4 cup grated gruyere
2 heaping teaspoons grain mustard
1 package puff pastry
1 small handful fresh basil, torn into small pieces
1 Tablespoon good olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

You will need a cast iron skillet. Pre-heat your oven to 325F.

Wash the tomatoes and slice them into 1/2" slices.

Arrange the slices at the bottom of the cast iron skillet. Season the tomatoes liberally with salt. Place the skillet in the oven and cook the tomatoes for 50-60 minutes, until the tomatoes are completely soft and have released all of their juices.

Remove the tomatoes from the oven and place a plate on top of the tomatoes. Carefully, drain all of the excess liquid from the pan. After draining, replace the tomatoes if they slid around. Make sure the bottom of the pan is completely covered.

Grate the cheese and sprinkle it on top of the tomatoes. Set aside.

Unroll the puff pastry and brush it with the mustard.The mustard doesn't have to extend to the edges of the pastry because you will end up having to cut off the excess.

Carefully place the pastry over the tomatoes, mustard-side down. Cut of the excess pastry and fold the edges around the tomatoes. Cut a hole in the center of the pastry to let out excess steam. Put the pan back into the oven and increase the heat to 350F. Cook the tarte for 15-20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.

Once the pan is out of the oven, run a knife around the edges to release any parts of the pastry that stuck to the side of the pan. Place a plate over the pan and carefully flip the pan over onto the plate.

Season with plenty of salt and pepper and add the basil. Then, drizzle the tarte with olive oil. 

After the tarte was finished, I took the salad and the tarte to the table and we just served ourselves. It was absolutely beautiful. Granted, I should have used a prettier bowl :)

Delicious! This is the type of lunch you can serve to guests. It is just so beautiful and so easy. My husband even said it felt like the kind of lunch we should have been drinking white wine with... unfortunately, we were all out.

Have a lovely Sunday and I hope you try these out... so easy and so gorgeous. Beautifully delicious!

Happy Eating

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Our Favorite Indian Restaurant

Indian food is so good. I never really had it until I met my husband and he introduced me to it. Now, I can't get enough of it! Last night we decided that we would go to our favorite Indian restaurant in Munich. We had a great meal and I want to share it with you.

My starter was vegetable pakora. These are pieces of cauliflower and potato wrapped in pastry that is flavored with all sorts of Indian spices and then they are deep fried. The vegetables stay relatively crisp and the pastry is a bit crunchy and the taste is so good.

My husband had vegetable samosa. This is a pastry (also flavored with Indian spices) filled with a mixture of potato, cauliflower, and peas. The vegetables are much softer than with the pakora. These also have a great flavor.

I used to always order the curry; however, now I'm obsessed with the tandoori. If it's done well, it's delicious. Large, flavorful pieces of meat, crispy fresh vegetables, and a wonderful sauce on the side. The meat and vegetables come out to you on a sizzling cast iron pan. I had a chicken tandoori. The chicken had a wonderful char and the vegetables were perfect. I really enjoyed it.

My husband had a lamb curry which smelled fantastic. He said the lamb was perfect and the curry sauce was rich and satisfying. Unfortunately, he never shared with me :)

On the side we ordered some garlic naan bread. This bread is cooked in a tandoori oven and it was soft, warm, and the garlic wasn't too overpowering. It was a great accompaniment with the meal.

We had such a nice evening and I would encourage anyone that hasn't tried Indian food to give it a go. It's wonderful and there are so many options. Indian food for me is like a comfort food. Everything is so warming and with a bit of spice it's a perfect way to spend a cold Friday night.

If you are in Munich, I would definitely recommend this restaurant.

Garam Masala München
Radlsteg 1
80331 Munich, Germany
Tel. 089 24245907
http://www.garam-masala.de/

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