It’s my Mum’s birthday tomorrow, and I can’t very well show up empty handed. When I asked her what type of a birthday cake she wanted, she said “something with apples” so while this is a pie not a cake, it’s a birthday pie. And it’s a “pretty lady” pie because it uses pink lady apples, it is also because my mum is a very pretty lady too.
It’s bad luck in German tradition to wish someone a happy birthday before their birthday, so I am not doing that yet though. 🙂
Taking photos of some of my savory dishes is hard. I mean, this is just shredded beef short ribs, so not exactly the prettiest thing to take a picture of. But Oh-My-Goodness are they amazing. This is an America’s Test Kitchen recipe and it takes hours to make in a really low-and-slow braise, but it is sweet and savory and really yummy. Broccoli is options, but also pretty yummy. In fact, you could stick this in a burger bun and make a really fine shredded beef sandwich, Asian-style. Note: This is pretty much a verbatim recipe from America’s Test Kitchen. Have to give props where props are due.
One of the things that I love about Germany (or I guess lots of places other than Boston), is that you have better access to wild game in restaurants. I love boar and venison (and bear, and elk, and moose, though you can get out west in the Rockies and such). And when I was just in Munich last week, I had a great Wild Boar Goulash. This is my version of that and it is really really good. Time consuming, as most stews are, but that was just an excuse to smell it all afternoon.
Moose Track Cookies. I’m not sure exactly why I was enticed to make these. It’s turned to autumn here in the Northeast, and with that, all the pretty leaves. That makes me think of Maine (here I come next two weekends!), and somehow the fall makes me think of moose too. And Maine makes me think of Gifford’s Ice Cream. They have a Moose Tracks Ice cream that these cookies are sort of modeled after: vanilla with fudge swirl and chopped up peanut butter cups. I think other brands have this flavor too. This is a very stream of conscious type of post, but that is how it goes. Happy moose (track) watching.