Red lentil kibbeh
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What is the red sauce?
Cherry preserves. Not that it would ordinarily need something sweet but I had dry brined the leg quarters and didn’t have enough fat to confit in fat in the oven so did them SV with my reserved duck fat. The meat was saltier than I had wanted when they were finished. The sweet helped to cut the salt
I will no longer dry brine it was my first time doing it this way
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My inner Austrian is satisfied again. Lunches from recent weeks.
Home-made potato dumplings (then fried with thinly sliced Speck) with some pumpkin seed oil drizzled on them for more pumpkin taste.
Same as above with fried Speck.
These potato dumplings are most delicious fried in Speck fat and eaten with the same Speck and Sauerkraut.
Non savoury versions are just as popular in Austria. I have a soft spot for poppy seeds. The green stuff is pulverised pistachio. Fresh plums marinated in maple syrup. Sweet potato dumplings are always eaten together with some kind of fruit compote or mush.
Burrata. Austrians eat lots of pumpkin seeds and the oil. Both things are in regional dishes, especially from Styria.
Grated salt-cured yolk over the cheese.
Mostly grated Hokkaido squash and some kale.
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Lunch in Düsseldorf, Germany the other day. Normally I order cold blood sausage and raw pork mince but sometimes I do want to try their lunch menu which changes all the time. Only half an hour after my arrival the place was full.
Christmas markets (and decorations) are in full swing already in November. Pensioners, the elderly and office employees often come to brewery restaurants for lunch. Many empty tables are in fact reserved for them. It’s quite normal office people come to brewery restaurant with their colleagues (often in a big group) for a warm lunch, drink a couple of beer then go back to work. Going to lunch together is importance to Germans. (light reading here)
I have sat everywhere in this brewery restaurant but this is the first time right in front of the “kitchen”. The women here serve soup and starters, the main courses come from the real kitchen somewhere in the building (usually in the basement) via a hatch-lift.
Slow braised pork with onion sauce and crisp-fried potatoes.
Bratwurst from nearby Bergisches Land. Veg was creamy chard.
Schumacher Alt beer is fine. You can never drink just 2.
OK, one more beer then we go.
On my way out.
This brewery restaurant is not far from central station and I go there almost every time when in Düsseldorf.
There are more beer photos but I’ll post them in the beer thread later.
_
Now walking to the market… People stopped in the middle of the bridge to make this shot.
But I saw this.
This is the shot I wanted. I was the only one standing at the far end, everyone else in the middle.
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Great photos. I’d be hung out to dry if I had a couple beers at lunch before going back to work
Lunch today was the leftover smoked steelhead trout as a fish salad with Beluga lentils
I’m a fan of “caviar” and French lentils. I cook them like rice. You mention SV somewhere else. Want to try that once.
It was super easy done in a mason jar. 1 part lentils, 2 parts water and 2 % salt. I submerged the jar to just under the top of the neck of the jar and let it go 90 min at 185f/85c. Now you have a jar of cooked lentil ready to use or toss in the fridge for later use. I assume different lentils will cook at different times. The caviar lentils tend to retain a firmer texture than say red lentils
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I LOVE living vicariously through your posts…! Although i have to say if i had a big meal and a few drinks in the middle of the day i would either have to go home and nap or certainly wouldn’t get much actually accomplished at work in the afternoons…!
What a beautiful little bridge and stream, the colors of the leaves are stunning
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Thank you, both!
Yeah, also saw the instructions on Chefsteps. I don’t have any jar… I’m going to try SV the lentils in a bag.
I only eat caviar/beluga and Puy lentils for their nuttiness and firmness.
Ttrockwood, am trying to eat what I have in the fridge these days. Going away for the holidays soon.
Have not been making new lunches lately. Don’t want to get new stuff as I’m going away in a week’s time.
Can’t get enough of zinc.
Cured this duck breast for a week. Brushed with seasoned liquid smoke and pressed more ground juniper berries into the incisions before hanging.
Smelly Pont-l’'Évêque and Camembert alongside.
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That was your lunch? Wow - I am very impressed!!!
The first box of oysters was from another day, but I do sometimes eat 2 dozens in 1 go.
For lunch during the week it’s just leftover cheeses from the weekend with bread. More elaborate lunches at weekends.
Thanks! 
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Nothing in the fridge to cook with as I’m about to leave. Have been eating cheese with bread and oysters this week. The oysters are on sale this week, coincidentally.
2 dozens in 1 go by the kitchen sink. 3 times this week alone.
.
Christmas day lunch in Hoi An, Vietnam. Cheese platter with a glass of Riesling and a glass of Syrah/Grenache blend. Cheese and wine is a rare treat after nearly 2 years in Asia.
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So happy for you! Cheers!
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My Christmas lunch was a bit of a disaster. MIL got sick, the night before she has drunk too much champagne. I was recovering from my stomach problem a few days ago (bubbling due to overeating ), I was careful with alcohol. Normally Christmas 's lunch was prepared and cooked by her in the traditional way. She was too sick in the morning even to dress up. So I took over the execution (still her style and her menu).
Canapés, oysters, chapon with chestnuts, cèpes, palms, with some Alain Ducasse chocolate and bûche ice cream… it was fine, cooked more than correctly, chapon was juicy and not over cooked . If I had planned this meal, the menu wouldn’t be the same for sure.
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Stopped at Pochuck farm/ market in Vernon today for a quick late lunch on our way home after a long day of shopping. Salami and provolone w/ mustard on a hard roll for DH and one of their great western’s for me. Have I been living under a rock … these Herr’s kettle cooked dark russet potato chips are insanely good … how can I have not known about them?
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