Cooking at Home: Barley and Hot Dog Stew

A couple nights I made a real yummy stew for myself that I thought would share it with you all.
I made it up as I went along, but it turn out well. Here is what I made:

All the major ingredients

Ingredients:
1 red potato chopped
1 blue potato chopped
1 green pepper chopped
1 clove of garlic crush
2 natural casing hot dogs ( I used all beef)
1 tomato chopped
1 cup of red wine
1 teaspoon of marjoram
2 tablespoons of basil
2 tablespoons of oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup barley
2 cup beef broth


First you want to saute the potatoes, pepper, and garlic in a little oil. Once the peppers softens a bit add the hot dogs and cook for about 5 more minutes stirring it once in a while.

Tomato and Wine

Add Hot Dog!

Pepper, Potatoes and Garlic
Then add the tomatoes, spices and wine.

Let it cook for a couple of minutes then add the beef broth and barley, add water to cover with about a half inch of liquid if need.
Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer.
 Simmer for about a hour.  Serve it hot.

Ready to serve.

Add time to eat!

This recipe can be changed easily enough to suit your own tastes.  Have fun and well.

I got my hot dogs from Downtown Meats and the vegetables from Farmer's Market in Bemidji.

The Flag Banquet

Some time authenticity takes a back seat to something fun.  This menu meal was base on  the colors of the Italian flag.  Green, white, and green.

First course was Bucatini with Red Sauce, White Sauce, and Pesto.

There I am.

Then we had a dish I called Chicken Caprisese.  Also Roasted Peppers with Zucchini and Onions and a Salad with Onions and Tomatoes.

And for dessert Chocolate Cups of Green, White and Red.

Little Orange Balls and More!

Today's lunch was a big success!  It was planned by Lena, one of my cooks, and a bit more work then most of our lunches.
We had Rice Ball for a first course.

 I had to deep fry then in a army pan.

Second course was Zucchini Salad and Eggplant Parmesan

 Never made this salad before.

And most came back for more.

And then, for the sweet tooth, Strawberries.

Wedding Banquet

Today we had a very special event here at Lago del Bosco.  Super Italiana and Paul Bunyan were married!  (Super Italian rewards those pledge to speak only Italian for the day and succeeded)  So we had a big wedding banquet.  This meal went really smoothly and I owe it all to my staff.

We open with platters of olives and fruit punch.

The next they had Bruschetta.

 After that was Wedding Risotto.

 Pasta!

 The main course of Roasted Whole Chicken.

 Greek Salad

 Fruit and Cheese

Sparkling Apple Juice

 And lastly CAKE!  For Bride and Groom.

 Cup Cakes for Guests

I had  to take a photo of this:

 And a good time and food was had by all!

Dolce Vita

Gonzo!

Today's theme is Puglia, it is the heel of Italy.
Lunch was great and simple, Pucca (olive bread),Chickpea and Pasta Soup, Salad, and pears.

My baker did a great job.

Pasta e Ceci

Supper's main dish was a bit more involved.  Beef Roll with Cheese Filling and Red Sauce, Peas, Focaccia, Salad, and Citrus and Olive Oil Cake.  The Beef Rolls fell apart a bit on me, but I learned some lessons and next time I well get it right.

Still was very good.

The cake, very good!

Pears...

Tonight's meal made me feel very proud.  I only made the dessert for this meal.  My crew made the rest.
The food hailing from Molise, we had Hunter's Style Chicken, Broccoli, bread and salad.

This is the thing I spent the most time on this afternoon, Pears with Chocolate.  I did not peel them myself, that was done by one of my Assistant Cooks.  After they are peeled I had boil them in a light syrup and then cover them in a chocolate sauce I made.  After that I made white vanilla sauce to give some flare.

I hope the kids liked it.

It was a Good Morning!

This morning the kitchen got a Bravo (were they call out the kitchen to thank them) for a breakfast.  It was pretty good, with Muesli, scrambled eggs, cantaloupe, and strawberry cake.

I think it was the cake that did.  Thank you me Baker Anna.

And for lunch we had the classic Lazio dish of Spaghetti all Carbonara with Zucchini, grapes, and a Green Salad

It is the best I have ever made.

Okay, now Italian.

I has been a while sense I last did post.  Waldsee had me on the ropes with a high number of villagers this year.  It was good, but very time heavy.

Now that I am at Lago del Bosco, I have a bit more time to show off the food my kitchen makes.
Today the theme was Tuscany.
At lunch today we had Ribollita, green salad, and apple slices.
Ribollita is hearty bean and bread stew that traditional made the day the before and then reboiled the next day.

Supper was a Pork Roast with Garlic and Rosemary, Potatoes, Salad and Whole Wheat Bread.  Dessert was Sweeten Mascarpone.

A dusting of cocoa powder to finish it off. 

A little joke.

A little joke.

Heavy Hitters

Here a couple of more meals from this week and the last.

First off is Hungarian Goulash, Knodel, Peas, and a Spinach Salad. This was served last Thursday.

For supper that night was a real treat of Kaiserschmarrn!  This dinner pancake goes over big with the kinder.  It is accompanied with Plum Sauce, Blueberry Sauce, Apple Sauce, Peaches, Stawberries and Whipped Cream.

A meal fit for a king.

And then comes today's lunch of Zürcher Geschnetzeltes (a pork stew), Kase Rosti (cheese and potato), Mixed Veggies, Salad.

It took me a whole summer to learn how to Zürcher Geschnetzeltes

Middle of First Week at Waldsee

Yesterday the food theme was Berlin.
We had Doener Kebab for lunch and Bouletten for supper.  I had forgotten to take a picture of the Doener Kebab so I'll save that for a later post. The Dinner was Bouletten with Caramelized Onions, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans,Whole Wheat Vienna and Salad.

Here it is as it heads out into the dinning hall.

I like to note that we are serving most of our breads at the tables whole and then a Betreuer (i.e. counselor) cuts the bread there at the table.

Today's food theme was Swiss.

Lunch was Kaesespaetzle and for supper we had Jura Chicken.  I am once again going to "save" one of the meal for a later post, this time it is the supper.

The Kaesespaetzle was served with a Spinach Salad (not pictured), Broccoli, Sourdough Bread, and a Fruit Salad.

So much cheesy goodness.

Welcome Waldsee

The Summer has come to Waldsee!

Earlier this evening we had our traditional Austrian opening meal.
Schnitzel
Oatmeal Bread (not pictured)
French Fries
Asparagus
and Green Salad with Tomatoes (not picture)

For condiments we had Ketchup and Mayonnaise.

Later after the some orientation around Waldsee the villagers are given the dessert of Chocolate Fondue!
The fruit options were as follows: Banana, Pineapple, Apple and Strawberries

Guten Appetit!

Unofficial Official Italian Day at Waldsee.

Soon the villagers come to Waldsee, but not today, so my kitchen staff and I made some Italian food for the staff.

At lunch they had Chicken in the Style of Hunters Wife,  Cheesy Polenta, Green Beans with Garlic, and Green Salad(not pictured).

Then for supper we had Pasta with White Sauce, Neapolitan Meatballs, Roasted Asparagus, and Crescent Rolls.

And dessert was Chocolate Cake, filled with Cherry Cream , Ice Cream on the side, topped with chocolate and whipped creamed.

(It was almost too much)