How could I possibly claim – right then and there

In this particular case, the answer is not 42. But what is the question to begin with? Well, one of the most frequent questions I get is about my favorite kind of food. The super generic “What’s your all-time favorite dish?” as well as “What kind of comfort food do you turn to?” or “What would your last supper be?”, seem to rank high on the question charts. And they’re tough ones to answer.

How could I possibly claim – right then and there – that for instance homemade pizza is my favorite soul food, when tomorrow all I’d be craving is a spicy pasta dish, a huge bowl of summer salads or apple pancakes? My fancies change depending on season, weather, daily schedule and especially mood. I might sell you Oliver’s Kaiserschmarrn today, next week it might as well be Käsespätzle. Besides, I always get the feeling, that people are somewhat waiting for the extravagant creation to be revealed and that usually won’t happen on my end – almost all of my favorites are down-to-earth and fairly simple.

Over the last week it dawned on me, that I never wrote about one of my favorite quick meals. It requires less than 10 minutes of kitchen work, never fails to lift my mood and doesn’t hurt your purse either. Flavorful potatoes are a must (Moos-Sieglinde, Grenailles, Bamberger Hörnchen or even La Ratte) and so is a bunch of fresh herbs, turning your homemade herbed curd into a delicious side and putting any readily available ones on supermarket shelves to shame.

But what really sets this typical weekday dinner apart is the linseed oil. You are supposed to drown the hot, peeled potatoes – seasoned only with some flakes of Fleur de sel or Maldon sea salt – in this golden liquid and mash them until you just can’t help yourself and simply eat it all up. If you’ve never tried linseed oil, be prepared for a delicate nutty flavor, sometimes even hay-like, and keep your oil bottle in the fridge, as it tends to get rancid very easily. Oh and if you are worried about your better half still being hungry after this, why not serve a poached egg on top? It blends wonderfully with the mess you created on your plate, taste-wise and visually!

Wash and scrub your potatoes (don’t peel!), then boil or steam them for 20 to 30 minutes, depending on size and quality. Prick with a knife to see if they are tender (=done). I prefer to steam mine, it increases flavor and prevents them from getting soggy.
Meanwhile prepare the curd: Wash, pad dry and finely cut the fresh chives, then cut the cress with kitchen scissors. Add the herbs to a bowl and combine with the curd, then season to taste with minced garlic, sea salt, black pepper and a drizzle of linseed oil. Chill until ready to serve.
Peel one potato at a time, sprinkle with either Fleur de sel or Maldon sea salt and linseed oil and enjoy with the chilled herbed curd.
Any leftovers taste great the following day: Fry the peeled and sliced potatoes in some clarified butter and serve with herbed curd.

Spring has been very kind this year

Spring has been very kind this year, the weather has been pleasantly warm and sunny, we were able to fast-forward to sandals, BBQ and homemade ice cream – no complaints at all! By now our loyal ice cream maker would have been churning away for days, yet it has been put to a rest lately, popsicles are THE THING in our freezer right now.

The pudding pops from the kitchn have been sitting on my to-try-list for almost a year and in hindsight I consider that a huge mistake. They are by far the most substantial frozen treat on a stick I ever had, the rice grains add a wonderful chewy aspect to these popsicles and the addition of fruit makes this dessert completely versatile. I adapted the recipe to my own liking and used up some raspberries waiting patiently in our fridge – the combination of raspberries and coconut milk had proven to be a winner before.
If you like rice pudding you simply HAVE TO MAKE this recipe! If you don’t have popsicle molds, you can alternatively use small, sturdy glasses (like IKEA votive holders) with wood freezer pop sticks instead (available e.g. at Amazon, I got some at my local pharmacy in the past). But all the available popsicle molds out there are way too tempting… I still haven’t found my dream molds though! Have you?

Mash raspberries with a fork and sweeten to taste with sugar, if at all necessary. Set aside. (Feel free to experiment, the kitchn used chopped mango, and I’m sure bananas or other soft fruits will work great, too.) Set aside.
Combine coconut milk, milk and the pinch of salt in a huge pot, then bring to a boil. Add the rice and let simmer over low to medium heat - stir regularly to make sure the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom - until the rice is very tender, 22 to 25 minutes. The mixture will be pretty viscous in the end (you can add a little more milk, if the mixture is too firm). Remove from heat and add the sweetened condensed milk.
Either mix together the rice pudding and the fruits or fill into the popsicle molds using a layering technic. Insert sticks and freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.
To release the popsicles from their molds, either briefly dip into warm water or warm the molds with your hands. Enjoy!

Chick-fil-A: Beyond the Chicken Sandwiches?

　　
When I put on my iPod, I often listen to the same songs over and over again. Some folks like hearing variation: different artists, whole albums, collections, mashups. Not me; I like listening to one song 50 times, until I get sick of it. Similarly, when not reviewing, I like to eat the same dish at fast-food joints every time I go—and I'm sure many of you fall into similar patterns. After all, so much of the appeal of fast-food is predictability; the promise of a chain is that you can get exactly the same meal, every time.
For Chick-fil-A (until the release of the Spicy Chicken) my go-to was the classic chicken sandwich. And I'm not alone. When people rave about Chick-fil-A, it seems to me, they're usually talking about the sandwiches—the chain's flagship item, and the original anchor of their menu.
But is Chick-fil-A more than a one-trick-pony? I wanted to find out.
Chicken Sandwich: Regular and Deluxe
You have to start off with the classics. There's a reason people love Chick-fil-A, and it's partially the Classic Chicken Sandwich: one "hand breaded chicken breast" fried in peanut oil, dill pickle chips, and a buttered bun. That bun makes the sandwich; you bite into a salty, fried delight that feels thick with butter. I don't recommend getting the deluxe because the cheese doesn't complement the fried chicken, and the vegetables are no better than McDonald's. In my opinion, they cheapen a much better original sandwich.
Spicy Chicken Sandwich: Regular and Deluxe

I've previously reviewed the Spicy Chicken sandwich. My initial reaction to the spicy chicken was confirmed on the second date: the spicy chicken has good heat, and the sandwich is best without the cheese, even if it is pepper jack.
Strips and Nuggets

McDonald's not only pioneered the McNugget, they engineered it, too. Chick-fil-A offers an "all breast meat" nugget that, like its chicken fillets, is hand breaded and cooked in peanut oil. These Nuggets are amazing. The chicken is juicy and salty, the breading has a bit of pepper and spice—they're superior to both McDonald's and Wendy's nuggets, by far.
The strips, on the other hand, fell a bit flat. The breading tasted identical to the Nuggets, but they have an odd problem: there's too much chicken. What makes the nuggets and the filets good is the breading; with its higher meat-to-breading ratio, they don't taste as good, as the chicken flavor dominates the spices. Let's be honest here: Chick-fil-A is tasty, but it's not as if you're biting into a juicy rotisserie chicken. It's best in small doses.
Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich and Chargrilled Chicken Club

In theory, the Chargilled Chicken is one of the healthier sandwiches because, well, it's not fried. A grilled chicken breast sits on a Golden Wheat bun with pickles, lettuce, and tomato. If you add a slice of provolone and some applewood smoked bacon, you get the Chargrilled Chicken Club. The Golden Wheat bun is great; they toast it but don't butter it, and it tastes like a real, wheaty bread, as opposed to a vacant, tasteless McBun. The grilled chicken breast, on the other hand, wasn't very appetizing. It reminded me of the chicken from Subway: definitely meat, but bland and somehow stripped of flavor. Adding the limp bacon and cheese only makes it more unappetizing, as that bacon was soggy and, to my taste, undercooked.
Any Winners?
It's a good time to love sandwiches at Chick-fil-A, as the classic chicken sandwich has been supplemented by the Spicy variety. However, I find the deluxe to take away from a good sandwich, rather than adding to it. The nuggets taste great, and the monotony of the strips' chicken can be mitigated with barbecue sauce. But I don't recommend the Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich; it tastes more like a reheated Subway breast on a bun. Beyond that, the classics are top-notch, as fast-food goes.