Pfannkuchensuppe

These are the ingredients.

You roll the thin pancakes and cut them into sections.

The final product( I used vegetable broth instead of beef)

A few weeks ago in my German class we learned restaurant and food-type terms. Along with this came the explanation of many typical German dishes. My professor, who is Bayern ( Bavarian-someone from Southern Germany), has great input because she has personal experience with the food. One dish in particular caught my eye, Pfannkuchensuppe, which literally translates to Pancake Soup. It was listed as an appetizer on the menu we were looking at. On a quest to get a taste of Germany I decided to take it upon myself to make this dish. To my surprise it was a quite simple recipe (I’ll post the link below). There wasn’t a whole lot about the dish itself, mainly just recipes. What I have learned is that Pancake Soup can only be found in Southern Germany and there are similar variations of the same dish in a specific section of Europe. These other countries are Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, and Hungary. Most of the ingredients are native to Europe so the dish could potentially have been around for quite some time. It’s interesting that all of these countries are connected by this food and that someone like me could easily find a recipe online and have access to it. You can find all of the ingredients at pretty much any grocery store. Preparing this food yourself, rather than just going to an ethnic restaurant, gives you a better appreciation for how it is prepared and also the experience of eating it in your home as a native probably would. I also learned some new German words along the way.

  http://www.grouprecipes.com/74381/german-pancake-soup-----pfannkuchensuppe.html

Authentic Chinese Food in Florida

I went to Florida over this spring break with my fraternity brothers and we stayed with some of our Florida brothers. Most of them were Chinese American so they knew all the good food spots. One in particular that stood out to me was this authentic Chinese restaurant. Pictured above is duck, crispy skin pork and pork ribs served over rice and with Chinese broccoli. Not being Chinese myself I just thought this was really good food, but all my Chinese brothers went crazy. So in my mind, this is what real authentic Chinese food is.

Making Rice Cakes

I would like to introduce an unique food event which was held during the last winter break. During the break, I stayed at my friend’s house in Queens, NY for three weeks. As my friend is a Japanese American, she has a number of Japanese American friends and is part of a Japanese American community. I participated in a few events related to Japanese culture; one of them was mochi-tsuki, which means pounding rice to make rice cakes – mochi.  

It’s a bit arduous for me to describe it in English.Anyway, the process of making rice cake is simple, but not easy. First, we soak the special sticky rice for mochi in ample amount water. After this, the rice is steamed for an extended amount of time.

Then, pound it with a mallet. You need more than two people to pound the rice; there has to at least be one person who assists the pounding to make sure the rice always has liquid. The more the rice is pound, the less solid parts of rice there will be. You need to pound it until the sticky rice comes together completely. 

After these process ends, you can finally eat the mochi. There are several ways of eating it. For instance, someone can eat it wrapped in seaweed while another person puts it in a cup of soup similar to miso soup called zoni. Otherwise, you can dip it into soy sauce, sweet red bean paste, or toasted soybean flour.

zoni

At the time of the event, I had two kinds of soups in which I could put the mochi; one was a zoni soup containing rice cakes, vegetables and fish cake, and another one was a soup which was a sweet porridge of red beans boiled and crushed – it’s called oshiruko. I tried both and they were good enough to remind me of my home country’s taste. 

oshiruko

In general, we Japanese often eat the mochi during the New Year’s season. It’s soft and elastic, so I think it’s easy for one’s stomach to digest. However, because it’s elastic and requires us to chew it well in our mouth, it occasionally happens and is broadcasted on the news that some elderly people choke to death on the mochi every New Year season. 

In Search for the Perfect cup: Brewing Method

The most common misconception with coffee is that you need some fancy machine with chrome and blinking LED lights to brew your coffee. This is not true. You can enjoy fantastic coffee without spending over $100 on your brewing method.

Another common misconception is that if you have one of these fancy machines you don't need a nice coffee grinder. In fact if you are not grinding your own coffee or having it ground frequently for yourself in a store you are more likely to have inconsistent coffee. Its better to invest in a good grinder and an inexpensive brewing method.

Blade Grinder

Grinders come in typically two types, Blade and Burr. Blade grinders are often just repurposed spice grinders and while they do work at grinding the beans they provide a very inconsistent grind of the coffee having some ground to fine dust and ranging  to large chunks of beans. The better grinders are burr grinders. These come with two burrs one rotating and one stationary. These grinders provide the most consistent grind in coffee. They are most often adjustable to give you a range from coarse to fine grind. Burr grinders are not that accessible to consumers due to price the decent grinders start at about $200. Cheaper burr grinders are available but many of them are hand cranked and require more work.
Good grinders will give you more control of your coffee and provide a better cup. If you don't have the money to invest you can take a trip to your local grocery store. Many of them have a grinder for you to use take advantage of it and don't be afraid to bring your own coffee.

Burr Grinder

The problem  with a drip machine is that it does not heat the water to the correct temperature before dribbling on the grounds that results in sometimes tepid coffee. Coffee should be hot ideally off of a rolling boil at 205-198 degrees. You don't need a thermometer to find the exact temperature but getting it close is better than having weak poorly brewed coffee.

The first method I'm going to talk about is the cheapest. The single cup brewer. Many companies such as Melitta (a very common filter and drip coffee maker manufacturer) sell single cup brewers. They are nothing more than a cone set on top of a round disk that you place a top a cup the cone requires a paper filter of a size corresponding to the single cup brewer as they come in a variety of sizes.

The best way to use this is to know the proper ratio of coffee to water you want about a tablespoon of coffee to 6oz of water. With this ratio most larger mugs hold about 10-12 ounces so between 1.5-2 tablespoons of coffee for a single cup brewer. This along with water just off of a boil from a kettle, electric kettle is best. You can also microwave the water for about 5 minutes and make sure to put a wooden coffee stirrer or chopstick in the cup so it doesn't boil over.

*A note about Paper Filters. Wet your filter before use to avoid a "papery" taste.

Single Cup Brewer

1.5-2tbs course coffee (ground for drip)
10-12 oz of water just off a roiling boil
Pour some of the water into the cone with your coffee and give it a little stir to make sure your grounds are completely saturated.
then finish off the water.
it should take 2-3 minutes to brew

*If your water is not going through you have one of two problems
1. your coffee is too fine and is clogging within the filter
2. you filled the filter with too much water and your grounds have gone outside your filter and are clogging the hole

Chemex Brewer

This is another pour over coffee maker similar to the one cup in process. The device is a glass flask that narrows at the top and opens up in a cone like shape at the top with a wooden collar. The chemex brewer comes in a variety of sizes and prices ranging from about $30-50 depending on size.  Special Chemex paper filters are required but are easy to find.

The method is about the same:

1tbs per 6oz of water
water just off a boil
pour in about a fifth to a quarter of the water in to wet the grounds
then brew the rest.

The French Press

The french press is a great tool it is very common and your parents may have one lying  around the house for you to borrow. They are also fairly inexpensive. You can buy a 6 cup 24oz press for about $15 or a bit more spacious 8 cup 32oz  Press from bodum at either Starbucks or on Amazon for about $20-30. The press allows for maximum penetration of the coffee and allows the coffee to mellow as it brews. The press uses a plunger or press to filter out grounds in the coffee. You begin by placing the ground coffee in a beaker with water just off of a boil and allow it to brew for 3-5 minutes depending on preference then slowly push plunger down. I emphasize slowly because pushing the plunger down too quickly can cause the coffee to explode out due to building of pressure so unless you want to take another shower you might want to take your time.

1tbs Coarse ground coffee per 6oz of water into the press
combine with water just off a boil
stir coffee gently enough to allow the grounds to settle
allow to sit for 3-5 minutes (enough time to check instagram or twitter or set a timer)  depending on desired strength
slowly push plunger
pour and enjoy

*wash the press shortly after use and  get in the habit of disassembling the filter (usually in 3 pieces) so it doesn't become a gross chore.

Percolator

The percolator is not used as much as it once was but is still common camping equipment. Typically a pyrex pot with a metal filter basket and  filter cover. The pot produces very hot coffee. It can also be brewed to your desired strength but requires constant attention through the process. The water boils into a glass straw that releases the water into the top of the pot and trickles back down through the coffee. The process essentially begins to brew coffee with coffee.

Fill the bottom to the desired line usually 4,6, or 8 cups with water
add coffee accordingly to the basket. As coffee is measured in 4oz increments plan accordingly keeping with the same 1tbs to 6oz ratio.

Place the pot on the stove on high. When the pot begins to boil or percolate a light coffee colored bubble into the top turn it down to low or simmer. Allow the pot to brew to the desired strength.  It can quickly change strength in a matter of 30 seconds so a few times brewing it should provide your ideal strength. My personal preference is around 4.5-5 minutes. After the desired time has elapsed remove from the burner and allow to cool a little before serving. The coffee will be very hot.

Aero Press

There are many other techniques such as the aero press which is a very portable and single cup version of the  french press and people can  get very competitive with it.

Espresso is a little out of my range of  expertise. It requires a level of devotion over just your passive hobby. One can brew it simply thorough an espresso pot but is very finicky.

I'll post more on brew methods as I learn more. If you have any  questions don't be afraid to contact me at nick@nlocicero.com or on twitter @pope_nick

In Search for the Perfect cup: Choosing Your Beans

I have made a lot of progress in the past year in my quest for the perfect cup of coffee. I have had a long history with coffee and I am always searching for something better. Here is a summary of my findings.

Lets begin by making a case for great coffee. I have tried and appreciated a huge variety of different blends of coffee. Don't get me wrong I do not know everything nor do I think that I do. I am trying my best to find a blance between quality without spending a ton of money. You can  call me the frugal gourmet of coffee brewing. I am trying to find the best value for the price.

Bad coffee sucks, people complain that they don't like the taste of coffee but a blanket statement like that is absolutely unfounded. Tasting one coffee is nothing like tasting another. Each region that supplies coffee has a very different taste than another. The problem with grocery store coffee is that you have no idea how old it is. It sits there for days, weeks, months who knows? The fresher the coffee the better! Caned coffee doesn't taste good. It has preservatives in it or has just been sitting around for months. It has some far off expiration date that you just accept.

Coffee is dated from the date it was roasted. It should preferably be consumed within 2-4 weeks of roasting depending who you ask. Preferably less time should elapse but how should you know when coffee was roasted? The best thing to do if possible is buy it in bean form and freeze it. It can extend the freshness for weeks-months so long as it is in an airtight container.
Pre ground coffee is another issue that the coffee industry ignores.  Ground coffee must be consumed within 1 week if not refrigerated or 2 weeks if stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. The problem with the refrigerator is that moisture can enter the coffee grounds and basically ruin the coffee. These cans or there are air tight canisters that are great for preserving the coffee in the refrigerator.

Coffee is as finicky as cheese and a single brand or farm can produce a great batch or a terrible batch. Depending on the location of the tree, bean, wind, attitude of the farmer etc. All you can do is go all in and hope for the best.

You must find what kind of coffee is right for you.

Light Roast  

Lighter more "watery" coffee, high caffeine value.Good for a morning cup similar to the taste of coffee at dunkin donuts/ Starbucks "blonde roast"

Medium Roast

Darker more robust taste of coffee. Strong coffee. Most commonly found coffee at such places as tim hortons, dunkin donuts' "dunkin dark", most diners also serve a medium roast. Medium is what you   find in store bought coffees as well such as Foldgers, Eight O'Clock, Maxwell House, etc.

Espresso Roast 

Espresso is not the darkest  roast of coffee. It also has a stronger caffeine value at about 75% of the caffeine of a cup of coffee in single shot because it is brewed in a hyper concentrated method using finely ground coffee. It is very strong and powerful in large quantities.

French Roast

The darkest roast. It has the strongest coffee flavor with a "burnt taste" commonly found at star bucks as their dark roast.

There are many other varieties of coffee and variations in roasting such as the Vienna Roast that falls somewhere between the Medium and French Roasts but outside the Espresso Roast.

Each Region has its on distinct flavor as well and lends itself to different roasts such columbian coffee is distinctly strong and is favored in a french and espresso roast. Kenyan AA is another example that lends itself to both a medium and a french roast. A different roast brings out different notes in a coffee.
On another note you should try different types of coffee. Not in reference to roast or region but experiment with blends. I find myself staying away from blends. I don't like pre mixed blends they often don't work well together even if they are great separately. I do however recommend using a small amount of flavored coffee in a similar roast to what you choose for yourself for a morning cup. Not everyone likes flavor but a hint of hazelnut or french vanilla coffee with your French Roasted Coasta Rican Coffee is in my opinion delicious.

One does not need to go down to a coffee importing company or shop online to find freshly roasted coffee. One can often find it in the local grocery store with a selection of beans. I suggest one only buy what the will use within  a week if you can get back to the supermarket again or two weeks. This way you can use the grinder in the supermarket. The beans will taste better than the pre packaged stuff.
My next Post will discuss brewing methods.

Coffee; A Love Story

My love affair with coffee goes back a long time. It began as an addiction to caffeine and resulted in a friendship that provides comfort with every cup.
I had my first true taste of coffee in middle school, specifically 8th grade. Now I had tried coffee before then but I didn't truly appreciate it until then. It was small cups from the corner store before school that I found that even "bad" coffee could give you a jolt that took you from half asleep to wide awake within a few sips.

My involvement with coffee went on like this for awhile. Only drinking it for its caffeine value and not really for its taste. I never really disliked the taste but milk and a couple sugars definitely helped. In early high school I came upon my first energy drinks I could go from half asleep to bouncing off the walls in a matter of minutes. It was fantastic. I started tossing back energy drinks daily. This was also when I was first introduced to starbucks and the idea of espresso. This tiny shot of what I used to drink but it was far more powerful than two sips of coffee. I would order up 2-3 shots at a time and polish them off without any milk or sugar. I had gotten so used to the taste of coffee I could drink it black. I could even have a shot of espresso and go to bed. I was beyond addicted.
Senior year of high school was when it first occurred to me  that not having enough caffeine in my system could negatively effect me. One morning I didn't have my daily coffee and got a pounding headache. This was new to me, I didn't understand what was wrong. After school I took a customary trip to starbucks for a shot or two of espresso and found that my headache disappeared. I knew that I needed to change. For the next few months I drank 1-2 liters of water a day and stopped drinking coffee completely.

I am an Architecture student and caffeine addiction is an easy crutch for all nighters when we are freshman. It took a lot of effort to stay off of it. I started drinking coffee again but much more casually, and began brewing in my dorm. I had a tiny one cup drip and hated using the thing. The stuff that I was getting from tops just wouldn't cut it. I managed to stay away from coffee for much of my freshman and sophomore year.

In junior year of college I started experimenting with a traditional old espresso pot of my grandmother's it was like a gift from God. With a minimal  amount of effort I could produce the liquid gold in better quality than starucks could ever provide. I took my first trip to Porto Rico a coffee importing company in New York City. I went back to school with freshly roasted  imported coffee from Colombia. I received an electric version of  the stovetop pot from my parents as a house warming gift from my parents to my new apartment. I also received a set of espresso cups. I was set. I started brewing for friends and getting them hooked on good coffee.

Fast forward to today. I have experimented with many methods of brewing techniques and have a much deeper understanding of coffee in its variety of flavors, roasts etc.

In my next post I will be talking about the research that I have done on the subject of coffee.

Taiwanese Food in Flushing

The first place I went to eat after I came back to NYC is a place called Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao. This restaurant is famous for its soup dumplings. The picture on the left are soup dumplings. They make look ordinary, but they are not. Unlike regualr dumplings, xiao long bao, is filled inside with meat as well as soup. One bit into the dumpling make the soup inside explode out. One must be very careful when eating this because the soup is hot, and it may burn your mouth. The plate to the right is actually not Taiwanese, but it is Shanghai-nese. It is pan-fried udon noodles. What I find very interesting about this dish, is the name of it. It's cooked shanghai-nese style, but the noodles are udon, which is korean noodles. It is very contradicting. Nevertheless, these noodles are amazing as well. Both plates of food are also pretty cheap, around $7 for both.
The next restaurant I ate at was 666 Lu's Seafood Restaurant. This place to me is one of the most authentic taiwanese restaurants in flushing. The dish on the left is the pork chop over rice. It may seem like the regular pork chop over rice you get at any restaurant but it tastes completely different. It is fried in a different way and prepared with rice, minced beef, sour cabbage and tea-boiled egg. It is my all time favorite entree. The plate on the right is called Stinky Tofu. AND YES this tofu's aroma is very strong. Many people have found the smell to be unpleasing and gross but I think otherwise. For me, this dish tastes better the stinky-er it is. I do not know what makes the tofu stinky, but it is very delicious. In every night market in Taiwan everyone eats this stinky tofu. The smell is everywhere and it is irresistible to many.

Quinoa!

The Potluck on Friday was awesome!
All of the dishes everyone made were tasty, and I'd say we came up with a pretty great variety for not knowing who was going to bring what! 

Since we had talked about Quinoa one day, I decided I'd give the little seeds a try.

I found this Warm Quinoa Salad Recipe after a bit of help from some friends who have tried it before. This recipe definitely gives you a good serving of vegetables!

The recipe was pretty direct except I made some changes. Instead of tarragon I used fresh basil, and rather than roasted red peppers, I purchased some sun-dried red tomatoes. 

After the quinoa and edamame were done simmering, I threw in a spinach and arugala mixture to wilt them down a little bit. (I toasted some walnuts for a side, but never got to trying the salad with them)




Also, here is the recipe for the dessert I made as well: Nutella Cheesecake Gooey Bars Recipe
For some reason my oven burnt half of the pan, so I had to cut off the bottoms on half of the pieces. So if you make them, yours might have more of a solid bottom!

Oh yeah! I made the quinoa recipe within my break from 3 pm to class at 4 pm, so it definitely doesn't take too long. Easy and healthy!

Foods to Make Gains

One of the most interesting and enjoyable things we've done in class thus far in my opinion was when we all tried to budget a meal for a family of 4, and I remember a majority of the class saying that all the meals sounded crappy. To me they didnt seem that bad but I eat pretty much everything.

The pictures above are staples in my diet and Ill eat these two meals at least 6 times a day. The first meal is rice, tuna, salsa and sriracha. The second is rice, chicken, peas and sriracha. Ill admit it doesnt look that good but I genuinely do enjoy the taste and both these meals are high in protein, carbs, low in fat, micronutrient dense and cheap.

Food and Masculinity

Hello all,

I wanted to post all of the links that I shared in class.

I think we had a great conversation and I wanted you to have access to the videos.  

Special thanks to Nick and Ryan for pointing out the Epic Meal Time and Fast Food Lasagna. The video was really interesting and quite frankly pretty disgusting.

If any one else has anything related to food that you think is actively creating gender, Please post it here or leave a comment, Id love to hear about it.  

-John

Diners, Drive Ins and Dives - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjjQ0yOqS34

Guy eats a Homewrecker - http://youtu.be/js1jfYZxCvs

Guys American Kitchen Reviews - http://youtu.be/UCDiw3R8wks

Guys American Kitchen Fake Menu - http://guysamericankitchenandbar.com/

Guys American Kitchen Real Menu - http://www.guysamerican.com/menu/

Applebees - 550 Calories - Men - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3JVnbupTO4

Applebees - 550 Calories - Women - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmHo8vly-X8

Esquire Magazine  - Eat like a Man blog- http://www.esquire.com/blogs/food-for-men/

"mans" Yogurt - http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1foVGaooUFQ

Sociological Images - http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2011/07/08/masculinity-and-food-marketing/

Miller High Life - Salad - http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mPRj7r26QAQ

Bud Light Book Club - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzofmEgfzas

Man UP Miller Light - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02p-9SsmRME 

Man up - Miller Light - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUJ36nFdOyg

Milwaukee's Best - Crushed by a Can - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGItoKaX0BM - 

Milwaukee's Best - Roof - Crushed by a can - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlt4obkF3c4 -

Scrubs - Appletini - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvNvG2krOYw

Macarons Galore

"A macaron is a sweet meringue-based confectionery made with egg whites, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond powder or ground almond, and food coloring. The macaron is commonly filled with buttercream or jam filling sandwiched between two cookies. Its name is derived from the Italian word maccarone or maccherone. The confectionery is characterised by its smooth, domed top, ruffled circumference (referred to as the "foot"), and flat base. It is mildly moist and easily melts in the mouth."
(quoted from http://macaronnap.hu/what-is-macaron/)

I AM IN LOVE WITH THESE DELICIOUS TREATS. I received these as a package from a friend back at home. Macarons are very expensive for being so small. One piece is around $2. There are many places in New York City that sell them but it is hard to find ones that taste legit. These macarons that I am showing do not taste as good and fresh as others I've had, but they are still good. Every bit into these goodies is breathless. The sandwich and cream just melts inside your mouth. If anyone gets to chance to go to NYC, visit this store called Laduree. The line is usually always out the door but it is definitely worth the wait.