Sunday, May 16, 2010

More adventure in German cooking - steak in yellow goo

So I went to the Edeka yesterday, which is a grocery store in Süsterseel.  I will most definitely go there again, as I had been going to the Rewe in Gangelt, which is farther away.  I have to say the Edeka is more to my taste, as their wine section is organized by country and type of wine.  In addition, I nearly wept with joy when I saw they stocked sesame seed oil, yakisoba noodles, dried shiitake mushrooms, and large bags of Japanese crackers.

They also have an enormous butcher shop section (not to mention dairy section, but it seems all German grocery stores have enormous dairy sections).  I wanted to get something nice for dinner, and spotted  some Rindfleisch (beef) that looked like lean steak, marinated in some kind of yellowish goo with green flecks.  I figured if it had green vegetable-looking flecks, it was probably some kind of herb.   I also went to the wine section and picked up more wine, about four bottles, and no we are not drinking all of them at once!  That would be a travesty, and not properly appreciating the wine.  Among them was a bottle of 2005 French Cabernet Sauvignon, at an amazingly good price.

They also had wines imported from overseas--South Africa, Australia, and the United States.  However, I have to say I was rather disappointed to see only one kind from the U.S.:  Gallo.  I kid you not.  Gallo.  Perhaps there are better than simple low-cost table wines that Gallo usually offers, but I have not seen them in WA.  There are other great California wines, not to mention great Washington and Oregon wines, but I did not see them.  At. All.  I've not seen them in any German grocery stores.  I think the closest I can go to find any is in Bonn.

This isn't to say that I am looking to stock American wines, unless I give in to massive homesickness, in which case I'll assuage it with Heinz ketchup on French fries, and I have to say German pomme frites are top notch, fried to a even crispness, never over-salted, and never limp.  Why they call them pomme frites (French) instead of gebraten Kartoffeln, I don't know.

There are plenty of good wines be had here, in massive quantities and at a low price, and we are keeping notes on each, so that we can revisit the brands and kinds in the future.  We have no idea what is considered a good brand here in Germany (or in France or Spain, for that matter), so we are going purely on taste.  There are even kinds we haven't heard of, so that's an adventure, too.

Anyway, I am glad that I got the beefsteaks soaked in green-flecked yellow goo, because it turned out to be a lovely garlic and butter marinade with parsley flakes.  The meat was lean, but nevertheless very tender.  I'm afraid I had to fry it, as we don't yet have oven racks yet--the bad prior tenants absconded with them, why I do not know, and our landlord has them on order.

I fried them straight on, and when I flipped them, put crumbled gorgonzola cheese on top.  I also decided to saute some brown mushrooms (I suspect they're Crimini, but that's not the name on the package--it just says "brun champignons") with garlic in the steak leavings and added sour cream, and then put this topping on the steaks.  Made a tossed salad, and then sliced some white crusty bread (bought at the local bakery, which is within walking distance) and put  sundried tomato bruschetta spread, a sliver of parmesan cheese, and an arugula (called rucola here) leaf on each.  The wine that John brought up from the basement was a South African Nederburg 2007 Shiraz.

I have to say I paid no attention to the Shiraz after biting  into a piece of the steak.  Dear heaven.  That was one of the most tender cuts of meat I've ever had the privilege of eating.  John's only complaint was that the steak I had cooked was too small.  So much for appreciating wine.  The steak was foremost in our gustatory-flooded minds.

The lesson in all this?  Do not be afraid of meat marinated in green-flecked yellow goo in a German grocery store.  It is a Good Thing.

12 comments:

  1. Isn't eating and shopping for food in Europe so much more fun than here in the States? I remember how much fun it was in Ireland. We were staying in B&Bs, though, so we didn't cook. But the food we ate at the pubs and restaurants in southern and western Ireland was always so fresh. Delish.

    Now I'm going to have to backtrack and learn more about why you're in Germany and for how long! And I'll be sure to share your blog on my FB wall. My husband's cousin is living and teaching in Germany. I'm sure she'll enjoy it, too, as will my husband.

    Sorry--I don't have a URL to sign in as. But I signed in as my Facebook name and gave the FB URL.

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  2. Hi Rita! Long time no see! Eating in Europe is sheer pleasure every time. I have not had one bad meal in any restaurant in Germany, the Netherlands, or Belgium, I kid you not, and I haven't even gone to restaurants in large cities--this is in small cities and towns, even villages.

    And the bakeries--oh my God. The lovely thing about their baked goods is that they don't over-sugar them; compared to American pastries, they're not that sweet, which is a plus in my book.

    The vegetables...oh, I think I have another blog post coming on.... :-D

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  3. Your brother11:54 AM

    I know this is going to sound strange, but, if you can find them, give the "gut trucks" or local "roach couch" a try. These are the little trailers that are the German equivalent of fast food restaurants. You walk up and order from a menu that's tacked up outside. The food they serve rival some of the fancy restaurants stateside, but on paper plates or rolled up in butcher paper. And the prices are CHEAP!

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  4. Allen (I assume it's you and not Dave!), I've seen quite a lot of those trucks and have tried some of their food--as you say, they rival some of the expensive restaurants! There was one in Geilenkirchen, usually out in front of the Rewe grocery store, that specialized in grilled whole and half chickens as well as grilled pork. Both meats were so tender they fell off the bone, I kid you not. I bought some to eat in our hotel room, as--believe it or not--we were getting tired of eating out at restaurants.

    Fast food indeed...it generally took us from two to three hours to eat at a restaurant, as it seems Europeans tend to linger over their food. I like the leisurely pace, but on the other hand, sometimes you just want to eat and then have enough time to digest before going to bed. So it was nice buying grilled chickens from that truck outside the grocery store to eat in the hotel room.

    It seems that most grocery and hardware stores have those little food trucks outside.

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  5. Anonymous2:30 PM

    Hi Karen,

    nice to read your adventures with German food/cooking ;-)

    About the "gebratene Kartoffeln" vs. "pommes frites": I don't know why we call them with their French name but "gebratene K." for me at least would be far too similar to "Bratkartoffeln" (which you make by slicing already cooked potatoes - cooked with their skin on and give time to cool down afterwards - and fry them in a pan, but slowly, until they get their tasty brownish crust). "Fritten" is the German shortcut for "p.f.", well not quite here in the South, but almost everywhere else.

    About wine: if you can find it, why not try the Würzburger Stein from the Staatliche Hofkellerei. Their Riesling is quite fruity and fresh and delicious.

    Best wishes from Munich!
    Doris * Bavarian Cherry

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  6. Doris! Thanks for your information--much appreciated! So it's "gebratene" not "gebraten"--I suppose because Kartoffeln is feminine?

    I have seen the word "Bratkartoffeln," but now that you describe it, I now want to make it for breakfast, particularly because I bought a bag of potatoes, and need to use it up quickly. This sounds exactly like the kind of hash browns I have made in the past. In the U.S. we tend to call any potato fried in a pan "hash browns," whether it's shredded, cubed, or sliced potatoes.

    Thanks also for the advice about the wine. I have duly noted it and will look for it. It would be too bad to pass up excellent wine while I'm here, just because I don't know much about German ones. Any other suggestions would be welcome!

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  7. Anonymous10:43 AM

    Karen,

    the -e at the end of Kartoffeln is due to the K. being plural, but yes, K. is also feminine :-) And thanks for the info about hash browns. I'd never eat the Bratkartoffeln as breakfast though, but as you probably know German breakfast is quite different from the American one. Just check out the "breakfast menue" at any local restaurant like e.g. ours (I guess it's quite doable to read it: http://www.laimers.com/#12).
    For photos of the Bratkartoffeln check out here (quite an excellent site btw): http://tinyurl.com/38sccbu

    Right now is the Spargel-season (asparagus) - there are plenty of good recipes apart from the standard boild asparagus with potatoes and Sauce Hollandaise.
    And the strawberry season would start very soon if ever the warmer temperatures would arrive/stay (my kids are still in their wintercoats...) - freshly picked strawberries are a delight. I don't know about your corner of Germany, but here in the deep South we got fields of strawberries all around the city where you can pick your own fruit (mostly strawberry, but afterwards all kinds of other berries and later flowers, too) and pay by kilo (you won't get weighed and are allowed to "test" the fruit intensively...).

    For other wine-recommendations - I'm off alcohol now for about 5 years due to my little ones, but I'll let you know when my dh gets his next wine-order :-)

    Best wishes from Munich,
    Doris * Bavarian Cherry
    And I'll

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  8. If and when you get bored with the pomme frites scene, try cutting up your spuds and tossing them in olive oil, garlic, rosemary, coarse sea salt, and black pepper. Roast or broil them on a large flat baking pan (cookie sheet?). I can't remember what temperature to use, though. 450F? 475F? Just check them enough that they don't burn. The end result tastes good enough to break the boredom of deep-fried food.

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  9. Doris, thanks for those links...I can definitely make that Bratkartoffeln; all I need is to get some rosemary and some sage (I have become pretty good at figuring out food names), which I will buy soon as I'm going to the Edeka store in a few minutes. I have have just come back from the Sittard market in NL, and have brought home all sorts of delightful things, so will experiment with them. ;-)

    Yes, I have noticed the Spargel, especially the white ones, which seem to be highly prized here. I understand they need to be peeled before they are cooked. I live around farmlands here in Süsterseel, so these are especially fresh. I've also noticed the farmers selling strawberries--so beautiful!

    Oh, this does remind me of home. Down in the Green River valley, only down the hill from where I lived, there are many farms that sell strawberries (I bet they're becoming ripe now), and other lovely vegetables. It's very similar here.

    And...your family has a restaurant? How did I not know this? Hmm. Perhaps John and I will come to and have a meal there one of these days.

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  10. Dave, I would do that...but unfortunately, our landlord has yet to get us racks for our oven. So, I can't use the oven. Whatever I cook for now must be done on the stovetop, in the crock pot, in the microwave, or the rice cooker.

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  11. Anonymous1:55 PM

    Dear Karen,

    the white Spargel has to be peeled from just under the phallic head (vbg) downwards (or vice versa, I don't know how the professionals do it, just that the very tender head is left alone). There're special peeler-thingies out there in every good supermarket and it makes quite a different to the normal potato-peeler.
    The green variety's skin is less wooden, so you don't have to peel off as much which is fine because the sticks are usually much thinner.

    And yes, Spargel is a bit pricey, but watch out for special bargains. Munich is brimming with good food-markets, so I got 2 kg last week for 7,99 Euro which is good. You could easily spend 8 Euro just for one kg or even more but, honestly, my palate isn't refined enough to taste the difference. Plus I like to experiment (e.g. cooking the Spargel with whatever I've got at home, a bit like Nell cooked her stir-fry in Crusie's Fast Women, and adding a hefty dash of coconut-milk for the sauce) and prefer that no very expensive Spargel is treated this way...
    Spargel-season ends fairly soon (June 24th - St. John's day = when the cherries are red, the Spargel is dead, old farmer-saying) though.

    About the restaurant-link: Sadly, the "Laimers" is not our family's restaurant, it's just "the" place around the corner where we live. It has great atmosphere, always an ambitious (yet affordable) menue, they're great with kids (even have a couple of high-chairs available) and when it's warmer also a beautiful beer-garden outside with a small playground for the kids. Just perfect. Alas, not owned by my family. Which doesn't exclude John and you coming to Munich and having a meal one of these days and meeting Bavarian Cherry-family over a nice plate of pasta or Flammkuchen :-)

    I only wish it'd get warmer and a real spring for a change, sigh

    Best wishes from rainy Munich, where we still can't get rid of our winter-coats,
    Doris * Bavarian Cherry

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  12. I would most definitely like to visit Munich, Doris, and if we could meet you as well, even better!

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