6.8.2010 by Knuti (and his friends) – Copyright Knuti’s Weekly Magazine

‘Never trust a skinny Chef’ – these wise words by Thomas M. Valdes inspired me to write my own cook book – of course with a little help from my friends. Although I have my dinners served by my staff and by Auntie Gudrun when she comes with the Bollerwagen I’m actually quite interested in cooking. My favourite is the Bearian Kitchen with decent food not spoiled with lots of veggies. I understand, though, that some of you prefer the ‘green food’ and that’s OK for me – as long as you don’t try to make me eat it…..

Thank you all for your contributions to my cook book. Bon Knuppetit!

Your humble servant, Herr Knut

Knutsepot (even called Hutsepot) – from Patricia Roberts

Veggies: 3-4 carrots ( cut in slices)
1 leek (cut in thin rings)
2 onions ( cut “ à la julienne”,very small pieces)
1 branch of white and green celery ( à la julienne)
2 rapes ( in cubes)
1/5 KG of Brussels sprouts
¼ of white cabbage ( à la julienne )
Potatoes ( in big pieces )
Meat: Lamb ribs and neck ( in rather good pieces )
Oxtail and shank ( in rather good pieces )
Porc ( trotter, ear ,tail int the whole)
Spices: pepper,salt,nutmeg,thym,rosemary

Preparation :

Stew the onions in a bit if butter,add all the meat,add pepper,salt and the spices and cover it with water.Let it stew for about 30 minutes. Then add all veggies ( except potatoes) let simmer for about 90 minutes on a low fire ( do not stir) Add than the potatoes and let simmer for another 45 minutes. If you don´t like the pork part you can use pork meat for stew in big pieces.You also can add some smoked bacon. But the special kick give some juniper pearls.

You need a lot of hunger,and a lot of time to prepare,but the result is mmmmmmmmmmh………

Enjoy the hutsepot, Patricia

Photo of Herr Ober by Viktor

Here are Bea’s receipes with one of our very traditional German Sunday meals.

Beef Rouladen

4 slices of Roulade
50g minced meat pork
50g minced meat beef
4-8 slices of bacon
Hot mustard
1 carrot , 2 big onions,a small slice of celery, 1 leek
Pepper and salt.Tomato purree

Put pepper and salt on the beef slices,
Apply them with hot mustard
Put one or two slices of bacon on the Roulades
Mix the minced meat and season it with salt and pepper, (also some garlic,who likes)
Apply the minced meat on the bacon.
Then make some 4 rolls and and close them with some toothsticks.
Season them with salt and pepper and aply them not to much with hot mustard.
Cube the veggetables
Now sear the rolls in a mix of oil and butter.or another good dripping.
Add the veggi cubes and roast them for a while.Add one spoon of tomato purree and roast it for another minute for a minute.
Put some water in the pan and stew it for round 90 minutes.
After the meat is soft,take it out of the pan,purree the veggitables add some water and some red wine secco until you have a creamy sauce. Put the meat back into the pan and let him simmer for 10 minutes on very low power.

Red cabbage

One deep frozen red cabbage with apples
Salt, sugar,
1 teaspoon redcurrant jelly
1 knifepoint clovepowder
½ teaspoon cinnamon

Heat the red cabbage. Add the jelly,the clove and the cinnamon, season with a bit of salt ond sugar. The taste must be sweat sour.

- Well,  Gordie, would you be so kind and make the red cabbage PINK. Otherwise I’ll show you what the real Hell’s Kitchen is like!

Bread dumplings

3 very dry rolls
3 eggs
1/8 l milk
Salt , parsley

Cut the rolls into little cubes. Season the milk with salt and cut parsley Put the liquid on the bread cubes and mix it After 20 minutes mix the eggs with the wet bread Make dumplings from the bread. If it is too soft,add some flour

Put the dumplings into a big pot with boiled saltwater, and let the simmer for 20 or 30 minutes.If the Dumplings come on the top of the water they are done. But for test take one dumpling and cut through. Serve the dumplings with the roulades,the red cabbage and the sauce.

Bon appetit, Bea

Borsch – the favourite soup of Rasputin

1 big beetrote
1kg meat for making soup
200g onions
500g carrots
500g potato
1 white cabbage
500ml tomato juice

Put meat, beetrote and choped onions in boiling water and let it simmer for one hour. Then, take the meat and beetrote out and put choped carrots, potatos and cabbage in the soup. Boil for 15 minutes. Rub the beetrote and cut meat into small pieses. Put everythin in the soup and boil for 5 minutes. Lastly, add tomato juice and let everything boil for 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper for best taste.

Ludmila

This soup is perfect on a cold day in Moscow but of course, you can eat it where ever you are! Fräulein Flocke would of course, prefer pink beetrotes……

This is my favourite meal from my home-country Austria.

Unfortunately Caren hates this meal and will never cook it for me. I wonder if this will be available for me in Knuipe in future. I am sure Troijka will like it as it is very greasy. Next time I come to KNUIPE I will bring a bottle of Austrian Enzian with me for Raspi’s joy I will have to bring a spare bottle for Quality Control.

Käsknöpfle (Kas-Spatzn, Spatzli) from Bregenzer Wald in Austria

Ingredients

500 g flour
5 Eggs
Salt
a track nutmeg
little milk
200-250 g of grated cheese
(2-3 Varieties)
Salty water
1-2 SP oil
1 large onion
1 / 2 TBSP flour
1 / 8 Butter

Preparation

With eggs, flour, salt and some milk make a firm dough, easily to be cut and leave for about 1/4 hour to rest.
Now boil the salty water with 1-2 spoons of oil.
Plan small portions of the Spatzli dough into boiling water, boil again and take it out with a sieve.
Insert into a bowl in layers: first layer is cheese, last layers in Spätzli
Finally add a small amount of the water the Spatzli were boilt in and add roasted onions and butter.

TIPPS:

The cheese mixture should include 2 parts of spicy mountain cheese, 2 parts Rhine Valley or raclette cheese and 1 part of Rässkäse. Per person approximately 100 g cheese mixture.

It is advisable to serve an Austrian fruiterer after the meal!

Bear hugs from Bernd

Dear Bernd, this is my kind of food and I can assure you it will be served every week in the Knuipe. I recommend that you come very early….. you know our strict QC policy! Your pal, Knuti

Mosselen met friet/Mussels with fries (from Patricia Roberts)

First of all, most non-Belgian people talk about French fries; but actually fries are typically Belgian.

Take 1 kg mussels per person, wash them thoroughly in cold water with salt and then in sweet water (3 to 4 times). Remove all open and/or damaged mussels (because otherwise you will find the way to the toilet very soon). In a very big pot (well, pending on the quantity of course), you let some butter melt, add onion cut in big pieces, carrots, celery and leek in very small pieces, and steam these veggies during a few minutes. When almost ready add the mussels, add pepper and salt and parsley and let all cook during about 5 minutes. From time to time, shake the pot well and READY. The mussels are ready when all shells are open.

Serve with fries (upon own choice, you can add some white wine, paprika and whatever you like, but I prefer the natural taste). If you wish so, you can also give a mussels dressing (2/3 mayonnaise, 1/3 custard, some pepper, salt and fresh garlic and eventually some yoghurt).

Photo by SpreewaldMarion

Gentse waterzooi (is a meal between a soupe and a main dish)

Ingredients for 4 people:
1 rather big chicken , 2 leeks, 1 small celery, 2 large carrots, 2 onions, parsley, thyme, salt, peter, potatoes.

Clean the vegetables: Cut the white of the leek in rings, cut celery, carrots and onions in fine slices.
Peel the onion and half a clove in lamprey. Place the chicken in water with the onion, the green of the leek, the leaves of the celery, the parsley. Let everything cook about 25 minutes.

After the chicken meat is tender, then remove skin and carcasse from it. Put all chicken meat back in the bouillon with the rest of the vegetables and potatoes and let everything boil for about half an hour. If everything is ready, you may wish (upon own choice) to ticken this soupe. In such case, let some butter melt, add flour, then add some of the bouillon, the yellow of an egg, and cream, and mix all these ingredients on a rather high fire. Add this to the soupe and decorate with the parsley. Eventually, you can also offer some bread.
Little detail: you can replace the chicken by fish and let me tell you one thing: THAT IS YUMMY !!!

Paling in ‘t groen

Ingredients: 200 gr eels per person, , 2 onions, 100 gr chervil, 100 gr parsley, 100 gr chives, 100 gr zurkel, 100 g spinach, 100 gr cress, 50 g lemon balm, the juice of 2 lemons, 2 lemons
1 bottle white wine, 1 / 2 liter water, cornstarch, eel herb (oregano), butter, possibly with a dash of cream and the yellow of an egg

Preparation

Remove the eels thoroughly of blood and bone and let him several hours in lightly salted water to rest. Cut the slippery eel into pieces of ± 5 cm. Chop the onions and the herbs very finely.
Melt some butter in a not too high the pot and bake the onions therein. Add the eel there and let him stew. Pour the white wine and water and add the herbs and green veggies to it. Boil the eel and spicy group for about 2 minutes and remove from the cooking pan. Thicken the juice/bouillon with the cornstarch. Let boil and carefully add the eel again. Remove the pot from the heat and finish with lemon juice and chopped vegetables and herbs. Stir well, add a dash of cream if necessary to yolk. Let cool to room temperature and garnish with lemon slices.

It is a very famous recipe, though I do not like it so much.

Rheinischer Sauerbraten (Caren’s favourite)

Ingredients

• 2 kg beef
• 1 carrot
• ¹ / ₄  celery
• 2 onions
• 1 slice pumpernickel or 1 piece cooking gingerbread.
• 20-30 raisins
•  0.3 beef broth,
• Chicken or Vegetable fond (cube brewing)
• 0.1 l Vinegar with herbes or Balsamico vinegar
• 0.1 l red wine vinegar
• 0.6 l dry red wine
• 200 ml sugar-beet-sirup
• 30 g clarified butter  4 juniper berries
• 2 Piment grain
• 10 ungrained pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 small  thyme Salt , freshly grained pepper

 Preparation

Cut the vegetables , insert all ingredients except dripping , raisins, brewing and bread in a lockable bowl and add the meat. Leave for 5-7 days in the marinade, turn round the meat daily. 
Cook the marinade for 30 minutes and then strain it.
Fry the spiced meat from all sides in clarified butter and the sugar-beet-sirup.
Remove unnecessary grease and add marinade
Cook for 100 min and add crumbled pumpernickel and raisins
Cook for another 20 minutes

TIPPs

Serve with noodles or dumplings, red cabbage and apple-puree. Prepare for several days, deep-freeze the portions, when heating them up again the aroma increases.

Bärentatzen / Bear-Paws

250 g Zucker / sugar
250 g Mandeln / almonds (feingerieben/finely ground)
1 Esslöffel Kakao
1 Tablespoonful
3 Eiweiß / eggwhite
125 g Schokolade / chocolate (feingerieben/finely ground)
1/2 Zitrone / lemon (Schale abreiben und ein Schuß Zitronensaft / grind the paring and add a twist of lemonjuice))
1/2 Teelöffel Zimt / cinnamon teespoonful

Die Eiweiß steif schlagen, die Zutaten darunterheben, kleine Kugeln formen, in Zucker wälzen und in eine Muschelform geben. Die Muscheln auf ein Backblech mit Backpapier auslegen) geben und über Nacht trocknen lassen, bei 180 Grad 15 Minuten backen.

Eggwhites are to be whipped to stiff consistence, mix all ingredients behind, make small balls and press them into a scallop (plastic form). Lay the dough on baking tray using baking paper and let dry over night. Bake 15 Min. at 180 degrees C.

Finnish fries – Mervi’s best recipee

This is a very exotic dish and amazingly easy to prepare. Start boiling some potatoes. All you have to do after that is to start blogging and forget all about it. The smell and the smoke from the kitchen will tell you when they’re ready. I quarantee these fries are very …. hmm….. black…..

Photo by Sanna

YIKES, YIKES AND YIKES!!!! My best recipee for Auntie Mervi is that she really should stay out of the kitchen!

Karelian Hot Pot – from Teddybärenmutti

Ingredients:

1 lb. beef stew meat, chopped into 1″ pieces
1 lb. pork stew meat, chopped into 1″ pieces
1 lb. lamb stew meat, chopped into 1″ pieces
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 large onions, peeled and sliced
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. peppercorns
8 whole allspice
2 bay leaves
3 cups water

Preparation:

Brown beef, pork, and lamb stew meat on all sides in olive oil over medium-high heat. Place half of the sliced onions in the bottom of the crockpot, cover with half of the meat, and sprinkle with half of the salt, peppercorns, allspice, and a bay leaf. Repeat the layers. Pour in 2 cups water, cover crockpot, and allow to cook on low heat for 6-8 hours.

Serve Karelian Hot Pot as the Finns do, with mashed potatoes and cranberry or lingonberry preserves (see below)  on the side.

 It’s  impossible – I should say almost illegal –  to eat this dish without a beer and a schnaps!

Lingonberry preserves

3 cups fresh or frozen lingonberries
1 Tbsp. grated orange zest (optional)
1 cup water
2/3 to 1 cup sugar

Preparation:

If using fresh berries, wash well and pick through to remove leaves and any bad berries (alternatively, defrost frozen berries). Place berries and orange zest, if using, into saucepan with water. Bring to a low boil, reduce heat to medium, and cook until the berries begin to burst (about 15 minutes). Remove from heat, stir in sugar to taste, and refrigerate.

Note: If the preserves seem too watery, drain off the excess syrup and use it to make a delicious lingonberry juice – simply combine 1 part syrup with 2-3 parts water or sparkling water (1/3 cup syrup with up to 1 cup water).

Karelian Hot Pot is very yammy but salmons are the bear’s best friends!!

August is the season of crayfish parties

This isn’t exactly a recipee but I’d like to tell you about the crayfish parties in Finland and Sweden. They take place every August and are considered as high lights of a year. The light summer nights are turning dark again so the colourful lanterns look extra nice in the garden or in the dining room. Everybody’s wearing a crayfish hat and of course, the napkins follow the theme.

The menu consists of crayfish, buttered toast, different kinds of cheese – preferable very spicy cheese. Some people even serve a meat dish but it’s not necessary. Naturally there must be lots of beer and schnaps! It’s a custom to have a schnaps per every claw! Especially in Sweden it’s also a custom to sing a ‘snapsvisa’ (a short song with witty lyrics) to accompany every schnaps. I can assure you there’s a lot of singing in a crayfish party!

Hello there, where’s my schnaps?

Nothing compares to a nice nap after the dinner. No need to get up until it’s time for a little snack…. or two….

To be continued…..

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