Munchen Potatoes

No matter the season or time of day, I can always eat potatoes. In the morning with eggs, at lunch with a salad, or for dinner swimming in the juices of something just roasted. Some of the best potatoes I’ve ever eaten were in Germany. In an outdoors beer garden in Munich, browned in drippings of some sort with caramelized onions and caraway seeds, garnished with fresh parsley and chives. It sounds so simple, but it was so perfect. So perfect, in fact, that I took pictures of it – to remember the best meal of my whirlwind trip around Europe by train.


At the time, however, I didn’t know that it was caraway seeds that had given my potatoes the distinct flavor and after spending much time ruminating and, finally, giving into the power of google was happy to discover it was something I could run to the market and buy. Caraway seeds are the same spice used to flavor rye bread – they have a flavor similar to anise, or fennel seed, but are very distinct and are very unique to Bavarian cooking (which is, overall, simply delicious). This is a warm, sautéed version of this particular combination of flavors, but there is also a cold, somewhat pickled version of this potato salad that I’m going to try and share with you soon.


Although the recipe is simple – the point is to get familiar with a new spice, not necessarily something difficult or complicated or creative. Lately, I’ve been cooking on a back-to-basics mentality – trying to find that perfect marinara sauce, a good chicken salad, new flavors with which to braise chicken, or other recipes that are always good to have at hand.
So now I can have my favorite Munich potatoes anytime, and in the process be brought back to that lovely beer garden, my sun burnt feet (not surprising – as they hadn’t been exposed to sunlight in 4 months!), the nudist park we stumbled through, and that time we ran screaming (drunkenly, I’m afraid to say) through a train station in Berlin trying to find the train to Munchen.

Caraway Potatoes
1 large white potato, sliced thin and into quarters
1 small onion, sliced thinly
½ tspn caraway seeds
1 tblspn butter
salt and pepper
fresh chives and parsley to garnish

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add caraway seeds to toast lightly and open up their flavor.
3. Add potatoes and onions, spreading them out so that they make a layer on the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Cover the pan for about 2 minutes before stirring. Repeat the process until the potatoes are nice and browned and the onions are soft and lightly caramelized.
5. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and chives. Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy a little taste of Bavaria.

Make at your own risk

I have a confession to make. About twice a year, I allow myself to indulge in the pleasures and delights of KFC. However, they’ve finally closed the one in my home town – most likely to make room for yet another healthy lifestyle restaurant (those fools!) - and so I’ve had to go in search of my own fried chicken recipe to fill the void.
Ina Garten makes an oven-fried chicken recipe that I’ve tried but that, shockingly, failed to please. I spent a lot of time trolling the internet for a good replacement but never found one that really whetted my appetite and so I made up my own.
Fried chicken is a tricky thing to make – its harder than one would surmise. Its very difficult to get the coating nice and crispy and brown without leaving the chicken inside raw in the middle. You’ll usually end up with a burnt outside if you wait long enough to get the chicken fully cooked, which is why baking it the rest of the way is such a brilliant solution. Even my favorite blogger had a lot of trouble with her fried chicken.


There are multiple ways to approach fried chicken. Many cooks insist on a buttermilk bath for anywhere from a few hours to overnight (Ina insists on overnight), and then there is the question of the coating: eggs? Flour? Cornflakes? My solution is to use all three – the cornflakes give it a nice crunch that you don’t otherwise get with just flour. I don’t personally do a buttermilk brine, but I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt. Buttermilk is acidic, so it gets into the meat and gently tenderizes it, as well as gives it a really nice rich flavor.
I think the key to any good fried chicken is a double dip in the batter/coating mixture…and I like to get all my flavor in the coating, rather than into the chicken. So I insist that if you give this recipe a whirl (which you should) that you do the same. And so, without further ado, my fried chicken.

Fried Chicken

*for the chicken, you can use however much you want, and whichever pieces you prefer. I usually just go for legs because they’re yummy, cook quickly, and are pretty cheap. If you’re making thighs and/or breasts, you’ll have to double your cooking time.

6 chicken legs
1 cup (or more) Vegetable Oil – enough to fill the pot up about 2 inches
2 large eggs
2/3 cup milk
1 ½ cup flour
1 cup corn flakes, crushed by hand or in a food processor
1 ½ tspn paprika
½ tspn dried ground marjoram
2 tblspns salt
1 tblspn ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350.
Set a large heavy pot over medium high heat. You want to heat it until the you can see the oil start to slither across the pot, but not so hot that it’s smoking. Once you’ve put the chicken in you’ll know if its too hot or not hot enough – the chicken should start to brown in about 3-4 minutes.
For the batter:
Whisk together the milk and eggs in a medium sized bowl.

For the coating:
Gently mix together the cornflakes, flour, paprika, marjoram, salt, and pepper until it is evenly blended. Pour onto a large plate and spread it out to make an easy coating station.

1. Once you’ve washed and dried your chicken, place it in the batter mixture, making sure its evenly coated. Hold it over the batter, letting the excess drip off. Place it in the flour mixture and coat evenly. Repeat, dunking it in the batter again, and giving it a final coating in the flour mixture before placing it in the hot oil.
2. Repeat the steps with the other pieces of chicken, letting the oil get hot again in between batches and removing the chicken with tongs once it is nice and golden brown.
3. Place the finished pieces on a non-stick baking tray and once all the chicken has been fried, place the baking tray in the oven.
4. For legs, cook about 25-30 minutes. For any other pieces cook about 40-45 minutes. Once you’ve taken the chicken out of the oven, let it cool for a minute.

Also, a note: Once you’ve finished frying, take oil off the heat and let it cool for at least an hour. Do NOT pour cooking oil down the drain but, throw it away.

Grab Your Pastels and Play Croquet

While I spend my summer unsuccessfully seeking employment under the hot summer sun of Los Angeles, I find myself appreciating more and more the saving grace that is cocktail hour. What better way to while away the afternoon than with a nice cold glass of something refreshing for the palette and soothing to the body?
My personal preference for cocktail hour is anything with gin. I’ve never been a girl for brown liquor, and while vodka is clean and blends easily, I just can’t honestly say I love the taste. But who can resist the cool, crisp, and herby flavor of juniper berries – a taste borne of high altitudes – on a simmering summer day? And to all those of you who think you don’t like gin, let me assure you that the drinks I am about to describe will surely change your mind.

The first recipe is inspired by my favorite cocktail in the whole world, its called an Ellison at the bar on 12th and 2nd in New York where I first discovered it and its almost too delicious to be safe. It’s a mixture of gin, cucumber (trust me!), mint, lime juice, tonic water, and just a touch of sugar. The cucumber’s the real showstopper and an unexpected hit – it’s a cool flavor but gives a refreshing sweetness, too.

The second drink is one I’ve stolen from my cousins in Connecticut. Like any East Coaster worth her salt, the girl knew just what to do with a bottle of Hendricks Gin (my favorite, btw) and some ripe summer raspberries. The drink involves muddled raspberries, thyme, and sugar. Don’t balk at the thyme – its got a nice citrusy and earthy taste that contrasts nicely against the gin and the fruit.
So don’t hesitate – come 5 pm, get yourself a nice afternoon cocktail, sit back, and enjoy the summer sun.

The Ellison(ish)
For one drink:
3 thin-medium cucumber slices
4-6 mint leaves
Juice from ¼ lime wedge
½ teaspoon of white sugar
1-2 shots gin
Tonic water to fill the glass
In a glass or a bowl, muddle together cucumber, mint, lime, and sugar. Use the end of a wooden spoon if you don’t have a professional muddler or anything that you have handy – you just need to make sure you release the oils from the cucumber and mint. You can either pour gin directly into glass that has been muddled OR if you have a boston shaker on hand, fill it with ice and shake muddled mixture and gin together, straining out muddled mixture. Last, add tonic water to get to your desired strength and enjoy.


The Eloise
For one drink:
5-7 Raspberries
1 teaspoon sugar
2 sticks thyme
Juice from ¼ lime wedge
1-2 shots gin
Tonic water

Start by mixing raspberries, sugar, and lime in a glass. Muddle together and let sit for a few minutes, so that the sugar and raspberries form a syrup. Pour mixture into boston shaker and pour in gin and ice. Shake and strain mixture. Add tonic water to taste and garnish with a raspberry strung on a stick of thyme.