sörenberg bahnen

Is there any better way to celebrate the birth of our great nation than with these red, white, and sort of blue popsicles? Before you answer, I should mention they’re actually strawberry and blueberry cheesecake ice pops, and also spiked with booze. Like much of our country, these are very simple, and get a little more interesting when you add a few shots of alcohol. I used vodka for its neutral flavor, but my scientist friends tell me any liquor will work just the same. However, be sure to measure carefully, since too much or too little alcohol and/or sugar syrup will adversely affect the frozen texture. I didn’t want anything too icy, and it’s the alcohol and sugar that keeps this from freezing rock solid. If you leave out the booze, you’ll get a firmer ice pop, so you’ve been warned. I’m not sure how to adjust to compensate, so you may want to grab a regular fruit ice pop recipe on Allrecipes.com and use it instead. I joked about our Founding Fathers being proud of this particular

Back on a road trip to meet up with our friends from Cincinnati—meeting halfway between—this time we decided to try Wagner’s Village Inn in Oldenburg. This place was remarkably similar to the Fireside Inn, both in style and menu. The bar area was a little nicer and bigger I would say though. Our server was very friendly and patient with us (it always takes us awhile to get our order in when we’re all together). Naturally, the plan was to order the fried chicken, which we did, but of course we needed some other fried things first right? And always on the quest to find the perfect chicken livers, we ordered a starter of a mix of chicken livers and gizzards. Again, I was disappointed because they were pretty dried out. I think I may be giving up on the deep fried chicken livers (that is unless one of you guys can point me in the right direction). We also had a starter of the fried mushrooms, which were the better choice even though I am guessing they weren't housemade. Singe your mout

This is a quick and easy "cheater-recipe" for chicken Parmesan. YES, I KNOW , technically it's not fried and crispy chicken Parmesan, but it IS delicious and it IS quick and easy...you just throw everything into the slow cooker and 4 hours later its ready to devour...comfort food at its best, trust me.     2-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (see note) 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1 egg beaten 1 jar meatless marinara sauce (about 25 ounces) 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 teaspoons dry onion flakes 2 teaspoons basil 1 teaspoon oregano 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/8 teaspoon cayenne Mozzarella cheese Coat the bottom and sides of your slow cooker with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Mix bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese in a bowl. Coat the chicken breasts with beaten egg, then roll in the crumb-cheese mixture and place the meat in your slow cooker in a single layer. In a bowl, mix the marinara sauce,

I’ve been hearing lots of good things about Rail Epicurean from a lot of sources and met my friend Suzanne over there. The first thing I will say about this place is that it is ridiculously cute. It’s an old barn smack in the middle of a residential neighborhood. It has a nice little patio to sit on in front (we did) and a warm interior with several wooden tables as well. They serve beer and wine and I can totally see myself sitting outside if having a glass if this was my neighborhood (Westfield is a bit of a hike for me). I would say it functions as a store as much as it does a restaurant, selling many different local products (including my favorite cookies from 4 Birds Bakery .) We were there for lunch though, and chose from the 4-5 options on the menu—there are like 3 sandwiches and a soup and a salad or two as well as a daily quiche. It’s a small menu. I think maybe expanding it a bit might be helpful. I had the chicken salad (no nuts! no fruit!). It was pretty straightforward—a

First things first; this type of rustic dessert is called a buckle because of how the fruit sinks into the buttery batter as it bakes, and “buckles” the surface with its juicy weight.  I believe you’ll find my completely made-up explanation in the video a little more interesting, but regardless of the etymology, this blackberry buckle is no joke. I added a handful of almond meal, since I had it around, and I think almonds and blackberries have a thing for one another. It seemed to work out nicely, although it did make things a little denser; which in this kind of thing isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  Same goes for the toasted nuts on top. Leave them off it you want, but I liked the crunch. I was going to tell you to use any berry you want, but I changed my mind. This really needs to be done with blackberries. Raspberries are a little too delicate; as are strawberries, and blueberries are barely berries to begin with. For me, it’s blackberries or bust. I really hope you give this a try

I was really psyched about Plow and Anchor opening—I am glad to see John Adams back in Indy. I have enjoyed his cooking for years both at Bluebeard and H2O Sushi (he does know me, so my visits here are not anonymous). I was so excited I couldn’t wait the requisite few weeks I try to always wait before trying a new restaurant and went the first week. I’m basing this review off the second visit a couple weeks later (I don’t think it’s really fair to review a place based on the first week), but will reference a couple of the dishes from the first visit too. First, I love the fact that the menu changes fairly frequently. For me, this makes it a place you want to go more often. Luckily both times we went with friends willing to order lots of stuff and share, so I got to try a lot of things (so I apologize in advance for the length of this post). Probably my favorite appetizer from both times (and it was from my first visit) was the lamb tartare. The meat was served on crisp toast with an eg

Please pardon this little experiment as we slowly doggy-paddle towards full 1080 HD video. I hear it's great, and all the cool kids are using it, so I figured what the hell. By the way, this is the Pacific Ocean, where it crashes into the ruins of the mysterious Sutro Baths. We think it may have been a sacred site for some long forgotten race of wealthy San Franciscans, but no one really knows for sure. Enjoy, and remember, this is only a test.

So many things are touted as “miracle foods” these days, but invariably you find out the claims were false, the benefits exaggerated, and that Dr. Oz was full of crap again. I sure hope that doesn’t turn out to be the case with these grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, low-carb, low-cal, and quite delicious, yuba noodles. You can use any dressings/garnishes you like, but I prefer these flavors, since texturally this closely resembles those wide, flat, Asian-style noodles we’ve all picked up from the neighborhood take-out place. Of course, those come loaded with massive amounts of bad carbs, a million calories, and enough MSG to choke a panda. Occasionally, I have no problem with that, especially if I’ve been drinking, but generally this is a smarter option. Believe it or not, one giant portion of these noodles (not counting your dressing or sauce) only has 150 calories, just 7 grams of carbs, and almost no fat. So what’s the catch? It’s tofu. But like pasta and noodles, tofu skin is

I had a meeting at the City Market at lunchtime, so I was excited to try something new. I often fall back on The Pantry, but this time I went with some of your suggestions and decided to try the Tamale Place (they have another location on Rockville Road as well). It seems that most people tell me to get tacos at the Tamale Place, which I did, but I felt obligated to try one of the tamales as well. I mean, it is their name right? They have these little “tamale sliders” which are just mini tamales. Seemed like a good compromise. I had a spicy pork and cheese slider ($1.75) and a spicy chicken taco ($2.99). The lady at the register told me it was one of the most popular. Well, I really liked the taco. So all of you who had been telling me to try them were right. The chicken was marinated and had a smoky chipotle flavor and was very tender. They give you a ton of meat to corn tortilla ratio though, so after a couple of bites, and the fact that I was wearing a white shirt, I moved on to kni

Whenever I post a video involving my grill – a common occurrence this time of year – I get a bunch of emails asking what kind of grill I’m using, and the reply is always the same. It’s a charcoal-version of the Weber “Q,” and you can’t buy one because they stopped making them. Sorry, but I think I have an idea. With just a few dollars worth of bricks, and a cast iron grate, you can reproduce the same basic grill I’m using. Besides, yours is going to look a hell of a lot cooler, and you can tell your hipster friends it was made from “reclaimed bricks.” Just be sure to use plain clay bricks. You certainly don’t want anything that’s been treated with chemicals and/or will explode. If you get these at a home improvement store, be sure to ask the guy. In fact, ask that guy’s boss. As far as the grate goes, if you want to splurge, order the porcelain-coated, cast iron versions that the major brands use. They all sell replacement grates, but just about anything will work, since you can chan

A viewer named Phil shared this with me today. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Thanks, Phil!

I made this delicious and rustic torta di riso with fresh spinach and leeks, but the recipe is a perfect catchall for those abundant summer vegetables. Things like eggplant, peppers, beans, and squash will all work beautifully. Just cut them kind of small, cook them tender, and let the rice, cheese, and eggs do the rest. I also encourage the use of other cheeses with, or instead of the Parmigiano-Reggiano seen herein. Fontina would be a great choice, as would almost any other melty variety. You can also double the recipe and use a taller spring form pan, which will give you a taller and more authentic looking torta. Speaking of authentic, this isn’t. Whether sweet or savory, these are usually done with some kind of crust, which I generally skip. It’s not like it’s bad with a crust, but it adds another step, and for me the payoff isn’t worth the extra time, work, and calories. So, whether you’re making this to use up leftover rice and/or vegetable; or your playing the old “we’re havi

For Mother’s Day, my family took me to Meridian. They were offering a special brunch menu, and we hadn’t been since the new chef (Dean Sample) took over so I was kind of excited for it. I have really enjoyed Meridian the last few years and was anxious to see if the new chef had started putting his own spin on things. We ordered some fried oysters ($15.50) to start. A version of these has been on the menu since the restaurant opened, and has varied a bit from chef to chef. These were one of my favorite versions, mainly because the oysters were small bits (honestly can’t say they were all small oysters and maybe have actually been cut into smaller sizes) but they were really good—juicy inside and with the right amount of crunchy coating outside. There was a swipe of spinach puree underneath and a swipe of hollandaise. A couple of dollops of Sriracha alongside were nice to zip it up if you wanted too. The thing that made these so good was how perfectly the oysters were cooked though. The

I usually go out of my way to simplify the recipes we post here, but for some things, like this Spanish-inspired, sausage-stuffed calamari recipe, there just are no acceptable shortcuts to take. However, your efforts will be rewarded with something that tastes every bit the effort it took to make…as long as they don’t explode in your face. If you overstuff these, like I do every single time, they can burst open, sometimes violently. As you’ll see, the final results will still look great, and you do get to sneak a few tastes of the stuffing as you grill. So, be careful not to fill these too much, and/or wear your sunglasses while grilling these beauties. As far as grilling time goes, you really should use a thermometer, and cook until you have an internal temp of 155 F. Especially since you’ll have squid of various sizes on the grill at the same time. If that’s not an option, look for when the juices and fat from the sausage starts bubbling out. I was so hungry when I finally finished

I was out to lunch with my parents, and told them to choose the place—my Dad has been after me for years to try The Legend because he really likes it, and because he grew up in Irvington and wanted to show me around his old ‘hood. I wasn’t avoiding The Legend, but just hadn’t made it over there yet. After looking over the menu, and hearing the specials, I decided to go with one of their classic dishes—Dad’s Crunchy chicken (which comes with 2 sides) ($7). After discussing my own Dad’s love of their mac and cheese, I decided to get two sides of mac and cheese—one of the original and one of the pepper jack version. I have to say I was won over with the flavors (usually my Dad and I don’t agree on restaurants). The chicken had a nicely seasoned breadcrumb coating with a fair amount of flavor. If I had to complain about anything, it is just that the word “crunchy” in the title is a bit of a misnomer--it was not really crunchy at all. But it was very tender and very tasty and I would get it