Chicken Soup for the american in Berlin

Greetings Everyone and welcome to New Recipe Sunday---as every week, this one flew right by me! Already the end of February--WOW. Here In Berlin we are anxiously awaiting spring---time to get back outside and warm up that BBQ!

For now, I would like to share with a recipe for Chicken Soup that a friend of mine shared with me recently. Although chicken soup is by no means something new for me, this particular recipe was.

Chicken Soup by Jill

Wash 4-6 chicken legs

Dice carrots, onions, garlic, celery, and leeks

Bay Leaves

Vegetable Broth

Simmer Everything for about 30-40 minutes.

Take out the chicken, remove the skin and cut the meat into small pieces-return to pot and salt to taste

Add cooked noodles

Enjoy!

Happy Pink Saturday!

I do enjoy a pink Saturday

Thanks Beverly for being such a great host every Saturday

http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/

Cupcake Friday!

You know, Julia Child´s Cookbook has been tackeled, even the Pioneer Woman´s Cookbook has been taken on by hobby cooks.

So, I decided to take on Martha Stewarts Cupcake Book! !

My Goal: to bake my way through Martha´s Cupcake Book without gaining a gazillion pounds! No, seriously my goal is simply to relax and enjoy baking lots of cupcakes!

My taste testers: friends, family, and co-workers.

Week One:  Chocolate Chip Cupcakes 

with a Dark Chocolate Frosting


The recipes can be found at 
marthastewart.com

The Key to sucess? The Kitchen Aid Mixer.....my best friend in the kitchen.

Look at those egg whites!!!

Ready for the oven!!

The finished product! Time for delivery to my taste testers!

And what did my taste testers have to say?

Matt to Adriana: “ I will give a million bucks for the last cupcake”
Adriana: “I think the cupcakes had me at the first bite. In the history of cupcakes I have never eaten all the frosting. It was like its own dessert on top.”
Paul; “Yes, if you have anything else you need to test out, just let me know.”

Happy Foodie Friday Everyone--See you all tomorrow!

Moussaka

A few weeks ago, we hosted a dinner for my husbands dept. Many of you probably have read about it already. Wow, I pulled it off, which I did not think I would, since I am now working as an Admin. Assistant in addition to cooking and baking! But I am loving it, anyways getting off topic….. one of the main dishes was Moussakka and that is the recipe I would lke to share with you today. I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com and it was a hit----not much leftover!

Happy Sunday Everyone!

MOUSSAKA

Ingredients

• 3 eggplants, peeled and cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick slices
• salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon fines herbs
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 egg, beaten
• 4 cups milk
• 1/2 cup butter
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• salt to taste
• ground white pepper, to taste
• 1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

1. Lay the slices of eggplant on paper towels, sprinkle lightly with salt, and set aside for 30 minutes to draw out the moisture. Then in a skillet over high heat, heat the olive oil. Quickly fry the eggplant until browned. Set aside on paper towels to drain.
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and add the ground beef, salt and pepper to taste, onions, and garlic. After the beef is browned, sprinkle in the cinnamon, nutmeg, fines herbs and parsley. Pour in the tomato sauce and wine, and mix well. Simmer for 20 minutes. Allow to cool, and then stir in beaten egg.
3. To make the bechamel sauce, begin by scalding the milk in a saucepan. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Lower heat; gradually pour in the hot milk, whisking constantly until it thickens. Season with salt, and white pepper.
4. Arrange a layer of eggplant in a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover eggplant with all of the meat mixture, and then sprinkle 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese over the meat. Cover with remaining eggplant, and sprinkle another 1/2 cup of cheese on top. Pour the bechamel sauce over the top, and sprinkle with the nutmeg. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
5. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

 

Here is the link to the recipe on allrecipes.com:  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/moussaka/detail.aspx

A Valentine´s from my niece Jessica

 

My entry today for Pink Saturday is thanks to my niece in Chicago! My sister sent a valentine´s day package this week and among the great valentiney gifts was a cupcake----a candle cupcake!

 

 

Happy PInk Saturday Everyone.

Be sure to stop by and visit Beverly at How Sweet the  Sound and stop by tomorrow when it is time for New Recipe Sunday—come share your newest recipes!

 

Bonnie and Clyde

A few weeks ago I got to babysit……Bonnie and Clyde……2 wonderful dogs……one of them a puppy!!!! Well those two sure had me on my toes, they knew exactly what to do to get my attention! With the exception of one or two accidents, all went well and I look forward to spending time with them again!

Windows Live Writer

Thanks to a fellow blogger---I am learning something new today! And the best part---I have gotten this far without the help of my husband-!!!! Little ole me did it all by myself-----so far!

Some cake pops for valentines day!

Cake Pop Anyone?

Happy February 14th, 2012 Everyone!

Tomato Soup

For Mary´s going away dinner this past Thursday, I wanted to have a starter that my guests could enjoy in the kitchen....something small that would fit in an espresso cup. So, I found myself a recipe for Tomato Soup, that I would like to share with you today.

Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

1.3 kilos tomatoes, chopped

2 onions chopped

3 garlic cloves peeled

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 litre stock

10 grams butter

3 tsp olive oil

salt and pepper

How to:

Melt butter in olive oil and add the onions and garlic till tender. Then add the tomato paste and the  chopped tomatoes. Mix well.

Pour in the stock, either veggie or chicken. In my case I used turkey stock that I had in the freezer from the last turkey! Stir well and bring to a boil.

Cover and reduce heat and let simmer for 30 minutes

Remove from heat and blend with a hand blender.

Season with swalt and pepper

Pour through an sieve and serve with a spoonful of sour cream and some crusty bread!

ENJOY!

Sorry that I do not have some pictures, the soup was gone so quickly, that I did not have a chance--hope to next time!

Pretty Pink Napkins

OKAY, I will admit---I am an Addict...........
                                                              .........for Napkins that is! I used to live in a small town in north germany--Cloppenburg and that is where IHR Napkins were born. LOVE the store-they not only have napkins, but tablecloths, and candles and all sorts of good stuff. Of course, my favorite spot is the discount area! Last weekend we made a stop in Cloppenburg to visit friends and family and I made darn sure there was time for a stop at the Napkin store. While looking at all the pretty things-I found this weeks entry to Pink Saturday!

Happy Weekend Everyone! Be sure to stop by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound and if you are all not too busy on Sunday, come by and share a new recipe you have tried recently at New Recipe Sunday, right here at An American in Berlin.

Mixed Greens with roasted almonds and beets and a touch of feta cheese

As promised...the first recipe from last nights dinner party!

Mixed Greens with Roasted Almonds and Beets, topped off with some 

feta cheese and a homemade vinagrette

The Ingredients:


your choice of mixed greens

oven roasted beets

skillet roasted almond slivers

some good feta cheese


The Easy Directions


Wrap the beets covered in olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper in foil and bake in the oven for about 45 minutes or until tender. I had my oven set at 400°F. The almonds you simply brown in a pan on the stove--watch out---your kitchen will smell wonderful! Crumble the cheese.

To assemble


Arrange the mixed greens on a salad plate, add sliced beets, sprinkle with some almond slivers and feta cheese.

And to top it off:      The Vinaigrette!!

Whisk together: 2 Tablespoons Honey, 1 1/2 Tablespoons Djion Mustard, 3 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper. In a slow stream, add 6 Tablespoons grapeseed oil.

Pour over salad and there you have it!

One more thing, since I did not have red wine vinegar on hand I used some of my homemade cranberry vinegar---YUMMY!

Happy Foodie Friday Everyone!

Be sure to stop by on Sunday when it is once again time for New Recipe Sunday!

Diamonds are a girls Best Friend!

Posting today, from a cold and snowy Berlin! Who would have thought--snow! We have waited sooo long for it and now it is finally here(althoug most of us adults really do not need it anymore!)

This evening I am hosting a dinner party for a friend who is moving back to the United States. Thought that the diamond look would be a fitting for a girls dinner! Be sure to check back on Sunday for "New Recipe Sunday" for one of the recipes from this evening!

Oh, I know I took a lot of pictures---will take more this evening I am sure as this is one of my favorites!
Happy Tablescape Thursday Everyone! Be sure to stop by Between Naps on the Porch for more wonderful tables!