Other Cook da Books dinners

Burkhard's Cook da Books dinner

Char on Sauerkraut with Herb Dumplings

Lemon Tarte

Chaja's Cook da Books dinner

Osso Bucco with creamy spinach, courgettes and carrots

- the meal that converted me back to bone marrow

Flourless chocolate cake with clotted cream and the first strawberries of the year

Dinner for two friends using three favorite ingredients...

... artichoke, trout and barba di frate.

Last week two friends came by to help me hang some art works in my flat. I cooked us some dinner with lovely produce I bought at the market.

- Barba di Frate: Blanch in boiling water for a couple of minutes. Dress with lemon juice, good olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Artichokes: Boil in water until stem can easily be pierced with sharp knife. Make a vinaigrette using mustard, salt, pepper, lemon zest, lemon juice, lots of mixed, chopped herbs, white wine vinegar and good olive. It's easiest to put all components in a container with a lid and shake.

- Trout: Rinse the trout and pat dry. Lightly flour both sides and stuff inside with herbs. I used flat leaf parsley, dill and chervil. Fry in lots of butter, approx. 5 min each side. I added lots of sage to the pan and fried it until crispy.

Voilà dinner is served.

My brother's cooking club

My brother has a cooking club together with some friends. They meet once a month, sometimes for an evening, sometimes for a weekend, and two people are responsible for the food. They take turns cooking. It's strictly for guys only and so far they've never invited guests. So I was particularly honored when I was allowed to join them for a weekend in Klosters. What better way to spend the weekend than as the only girl with 5 men who are into cooking?! Thank you, guys!

Kristian was responsible for the starter: salad with quail eggs and tiger prawns.

My brother made Ossobuco with polenta and vegetables. The last time I had tried bone marrow was years ago and I hated it. I tried it again and this time loved it! We mixed it with some chives, finely chopped onion and salt and ate it with toast - delicious!

I didn't want to come empty handed so I made dessert: Ottolenghi's orange polenta cake and salty caramel ice cream to go with it.

For breakfast my brother and his friends had bought some graved lachs from Lachserei Ehrat in Klosters: www.lachserei.ch

And my brother made a Spanish omelette following a recipe from Jamie Oliver's iphone app, but gave it a Grisons twist by adding Salsiz instead of chorizo. It tasted fabulous!
I hope I can join my brother's cooking club again some day!

Trout again

Clearly I like to eat trout - it's pretty much the only fish I ever write about.
I recommend the trout dish they are currently serving at Restaurant Volkshaus in Zurich:

http://www.restaurantvolkshaus.ch/

Trout, once again...

 During our road trip we stayed with friends in the Austrian countryside. While there my Dad caught some trout.

We floured it lightly and fried it with lots of sage.

And then ate it with potatoes and melted butter. The sage was beautifully crisp. Delicious!!!

Hamburg: Fischereihafen Restaurant

In Hamburg we were greeted by very typical weather: wind, grey skies, constant drizzle and low temperatures. After a day of walking around the city and taking a boat around the port in these conditions we went for a well deserved,  absolutely amazing and delicious dinner at the Fischereihafen Restaurant. It was one of the culinary highlights of the journey so far. Service was impeccable and very friendly, every dish was outstanding and prices were fair (EUR 70 per person for aperitif, starter, main, dessert, and two bottles of wine)

Tuna tartar on roasted black bread with soy sauce and ginger (I still dream of this!)

 

'Fischereihafenteller': smoked eel on scrambled eggs with herbs, crispy king prawn, tuna tartar, smoked salmon, herring in curry sauce

Lobster soup

 Freshly caught plaice with bacon and potatoe salad

 Scottish salmon filet with chanterelles and parsley potatoes

Truffel cheese with fig mustard

Lemon sorbet with Vodka

Semolina flummery with rum cherries and walnut ice cream

www.fischereihafenrestaurant.de

Speaking of trout...

I was recently invited to a dinner on the riverbank of the Rhein in Basel. A friend cooked the best trout I have EVER had on the grill with sweet potatoes and ginger butter, tomatoes roasted with rosemary and roasted garlic. Delicious!!!

Trout in Schlappin Tal

Yesterday I went for a walk in the beautiful Schlappin Tal with my parents and a friend.

We had wonderful trout at Berghaus Erika: http://www.schlappin.ch/sommer/index.html

Venice

I went to Venice recently for a certain art event. I'm not a big fan of Venice and definitely not of the food there despite loving Italian cuisine. But I love staying in hotels and ordering room service!

Club sandwich, French fries, prosecco... what more do you need after hours of traipsing around art stuff...


We did get treated to a dinner that consisted of a lot of fish dishes in a lovely restaurant with a very grumpy owner. Of course I've forgotten the name of place and it was in a tiny alley way - I will never find it again...

The last night we went to another very good fish restaurant. This time the owner was not grumpy, on the contrary he was charming and pleasant and contributed to dinner being a delight.

 Amazing seafood pasta!

Tiramisu and profiteroles

Although dinner was both delicious and good value for your money I have again forgotten the name of the restaurant...  I'm starting to realise that blogging isn't easy and I still have a lot to learn! A post about decent Venice restaurants isn't very useful without names, addresses etc. Must remember to take note of the details...