Chow Down to Eurovision 2015 - Germany

Our culinary journey through Eurovision 2015 has taken us to 36 countries (4 to go) and now brings us to Germany. 

After Vienna I did spend a couple of nights in Dusseldorf for research so I have some great ideas for future Chow Down to Eurovision food adventures......though I'm not sure if the poffertjes and chicken nuggets is a traditional German breakfast but it works for me!

This year Germany offers us a sophisticated take on jelly and ice cream with WINE! 

Rote Grutze would be a perfect eurovision party dessert as it needs to rest overnight in the fridge so you can make it add so as not to spend a second in the kitchen while Eurovision is on!

Rote Grutze
Ingredients

• 250ml cranberry juice
• 250ml red wine
• 750ml jar of cherries
• 230g sugar
• 250g mixed berries
• 250g strawberries quartered
• 50g cornflour (made into a paste with some water)
• 300ml Pouring cream

Method

• Add cranberry juice, wine, juice from the cherries and sugar to saucepan
• Bring to the boil and reduce for about 5 minutes
• Add cornflour and stir to thicken 
• Add all the fruit and stir through for a couple of minutes
• Pour into a bowl and leave in the fridge overnight
• To serve pour some cream into a bowl and top with a good helping of the rote grutze

While this doesn't look the best, ok a blood clot, the combination of the tart berries and the cleanness of the cream is bliss. 

Not every red carpet moment is a huge success, in my head I planed a "clever" tie into Ann Sophie's song Black Smoke.

The lyrics are "too hard to say three words" so my question was going to be "while its hard to say those three words...what 3 words do you want to hear at Saturday's final could it be Douze Points Germany?".....you can see in the video that is not what come out more like a raving jumble.

I did manage to employ that timeless technique when someone is not understanding you of just repeating the same thing just louder and faster!

My favourite part of the interview is when she turns away and says "I don't understand" which is fair enough she was probably thinking who is this raving bearded chap.....didn't he quite in the German national final?

Some people have said we look alike??

Photo of Andreas Kümmert source

Sadly no one did say Douze Points Germany and along with Austria they became the Zeros of our time.

Previous Germany Chow Down to Eurovision:

2014 German Farmer's Breakfast

2013 Beef Gulasch by Selin and friends

Soupy Stars: Norma's cream of chicken soup

This is the 100th post of Don't Boil The Sauce so I have saved it for a very special recipe.
We may need a soundtrack and a tissue for this one.

 



Today is my Nan's cream of chicken soup, a recipe I have been trying to recreate for about 20 years. Without sounding like a reality TV show contestant my Nan passed away when I was about 10 and to young to have known to pay closer attention to her cooking. Why would you need to they will always be there to make your favourites right?

If there was ever the possibility of time travel I would go back and watch her like a hawk to document every move she made when making this soup. Nothing in this world can compare to a creamy velvet flavour exploding spoonful with its melt in the mouth chicken morsels.

It was a time when the words "Fat Free" meant a freebie at the butchers and food was made rather than opened. So there is nothing light about this soup except the colour, but you can substitute for lighter optional it will just be like getting a hug from the lesser favourite Nanna.

I don't have any proof of how good a cook she was as they didn't have Master Chef or blogs back then, but she did have a catering business and I knew none of the other nannas could compete. There was a great array of treats pouring from the kitchen but how much my memories have been embellished by time and longing I'm not sure. But I do fondly remember a thing called Flummery that I could steal fingers licks of while it set in the fridge, I think it was a whipped up jelly and maybe condensed milk. I just knew it was good.

While I have tried so many variations of this soup to create a recreation of that at Nan's kitchen table taste, I've come to the conclusion that the key ingredient is a cup and a half of nostalgia with just a pinch of regret.


Norma's Cream of Chicken Soup
Ingredients

• 4-5 chicken thigh fillets skin off
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1.5 litres full cream milk
• 1.5 litres good chicken stock
• 50g butter
• 4 tbsp. plain flour
• 300ml thick cream (extra to garnish)
• 5-6 spring onions finely sliced
• 1 small nutmeg
• Salt and white pepper to season

Method:

• Poach chicken thigh fillets and garlic in 1 litre of milk on low for about 20-30mintues till just cooked
• Remove fillets and cut into small cubes
• Add remaining milk and stock to pot and heat on low (it is easier to add warm liquid to the roux)
• In a large pot on high melt the butter
• Add the flour and mix together to make a roux
• Let the paste cook for about 2 minutes then slowly add 2-3 cups of liquid and whisk together, beating out any lumps
• It is now a process of slowly whisking on low heat and as the soup thickens add another 1-2 cups of liquid should take about 10-15 minutes
• If liquid is added too quickly it will take forever to thicken up again
• Add spring onions when all liquid has been added
• Add chicken cubes and cream
• Grate whole nutmeg (for me this is the secret ingredient so I go to town)
• Season to taste
• Serve with an extra dollop of cream and more nutmeg

Chow Down to Eurovision 2013 - Ireland

Today we're in the beautiful green TOTALLY SNAKE FREE land of Ireland, thanks St Paddy for that one, best saint ever! While I have never been to the emerald isle I did spend some time working in an office where there was an Irish quota of at least 50% so that was like practically being there. The opportunity for a linguistic and cultural exchange was not wasted as I learnt so much about craic, it was only fair they had to "give it a burl". For a colleague's birthday I was tasked with making an Irish themed birthday cake, so shamrocks? Leprechauns? Mrs Brown? of course not Jedward. It was quite an easy decision to make. She had previously mentioned that Jedward were "beautiful boys" so why wouldn't she want them jumping out of her cake. While I am clearly not the cake boss, my fondant skills are getting better with each birthday.

 

Can't you just see Jedward jumping out of the cake??

 

With 7 wins under their belt Ireland holds the record for most wins in Eurovision, so it is only fitting that their entry in Chow Down to Eurovision 2013 has a touch of luxury. I had thought of roasting a turkey but felt it wasn't right to cook an Irish contestant.

In 2008 they thought they would enter a craic, that doesn't sound right?

 

Lobster Dublin Lawyer

Ingredients

• 1 lobster tail
• 50g unsalted butter
• 100ml whiskey
• 1/2 cup cream
• squeeze of lemon
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

• Cut down the centre of the underside of the lobster tail to remove the meat but leave the shell intact
• Tidy up the edges of the shell for presentation and boil in a saucepan for 5 mins and then drain. If not using the shell for presentation this step can be omitted.
• Cut the lobster into bite sized pieces
• In a large frypan on high heat add the butter.
• Add the lobster and the whiskey
• Use a long match or gas lighter to ignite the whiskey, be careful as it is a pretty big flambé.
• Once the flame have died off add the cream and mix through
• Add the squeeze of lemon and season to taste
• The lobster should be cooked by the time the flame has gone, it is very easy to over cook it
• To serve place meat back into the shell and pour over the sauce
• This served AB and I as an entrée but if you have found a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow it would be a lovely main course with a decadent buttery mash.

 

 

 

This year Ireland isn't sending Jedward but Ryan Dolan will find out if Only Love Survives, and possibly makes it to the finals again.

luck maith!