In honor of the cold weather, I fired up the oven for the first time in a very long time. With temperatures hovering in the 80s and 90s most of the summer, the appliance had been allowed a very long hibernation period. I will try to make up for the baking dry spell over the next few weeks. While Katie was here, I made bagels from the Bread Baker's Apprentice, which were just as successful as the first and second batches. Since I raved about the book so much when my parents were visiting, my Mom picked it up as a surprise one afternoon as she was browsing through Powell's. I plan on trying to make all of the recipes at some point.
After dropping off my sister at the airport yesterday morning at 5am, I cracked open the book and got started on a batch of cinnamon rolls. They are probably the prettiest cinnamon buns that I've ever made and were very tasty. I started out with the basic recipe this time, but I think the next batch will include some dried fruit, orange zest, nuts, and honey. The whole process took about 5 hours, including mixing, proofing and baking. However, I learned that the initial steps can be done ahead and left in the refrigerator overnight before baking. I'll definitely take advantage of that next time!
I also made a batch of red beans and rice, which I thoroughly enjoyed for dinner last night (and breakfast this morning). After traveling and eating out for most of September, I'm excited to have time again to cook and experiment in the kitchen. I'm taking another class at PSU in Public Administration, which starts tonight. However, it only meets once a week, so I think it will be a lot more manageable than the summer course that demanded all of my time in July and August!
Today seemed to be the quintessential fall day in Portland -- gray, cool, and rainy. It was a perfect day to lounge around the apartment, dreaming of good (warm) things to cook. My absence from the blog over the past week has been due almost entirely to the fact that my sister was in town visiting. I had such a nice time having her around that I forgot entirely about updating. Thankfully, I didn't forget to take photos!
The week was packed full of things that I felt were essential to getting to know "my" Portland. We went out to Fabric Depot to hunt for new project fabric and found inspiration for a Halloween costume. On our way home, we stopped by Burgerville, the local fast food joint that serves up very tasty burgers and sandwiches (and sweet potato fries). Friday was very sunny and warm, if a little hazy, so we drove up to the Pittock Mansion for one of the best views of Mt. Hood. Before heading out for our excursion, we stopped at Kenny & Zukes on NW Thurman for tasty sandwiches.
After the Pittock Mansion, we stopped to smell the flowers at the International Rose Test Garden. The sun was perfect and Katie got a lot of great shots of the final blooms for the season. On the agenda, of course, was one of our favorite happy hour spots, Bridgeport Brewery. Most every evening was ended with a round or two of games, so I was in heaven.
While it was tempting to sleep in and lounge around most days, we got up early and out the door for a full day of bike riding on Saturday. After renting a bike for Katie, we rode around town on a 17.5 mile tour. One of our stops was at Stumptown Coffee where our good friend, Brian, gave us a tour. Then, we had an outstanding lunch at Por Que No. Between the bike ride, Mexican food, and tasty margaritas that we made in the evening, Katie said that she'd never slept better!
Overall it was an awesome week and I hope she comes back soon!
My first post took us through the first half of Belgium and Berlin. Now, on to Bavaria and our last few days in Belgium.
Lunch at Augustiner Keller in Munich was probably one of my favorite meals. We each had an Augustiner Edelstoff, a helles lager, mine in a 1/2 liter glass, Jesse's in the full-on Mass. We each ordered sausage, little pork sausages are in the back with sauerkraut, and in the foreground are the käsekraner (cheese sausages) with potato salad. First of all, the potato salad and sauerkraut were life altering. They may look sort of blob-ish in this photo, but were the best tasting sides I've ever had. Secondly, if you've ever read my blog, you know that I love Corralitos sausages, particularly their Cheesy Bavarian. Well, folks, this is the original Cheesy Bavarian and Corralitos is pretty dead on.
We actually ate quite a few pastries along the way, most of which I never bothered to photograph. Overall, the sweets were quite good in both Belgium and Germany, even ones from chains or mediocre train station kiosks were well above average. This one in particular from the Hofpfisterei in Munich's main train station, called Mohnstreusel, was outstanding. The dough reminded me of a king cake, sort of yeasty and only slightly sweet, with a lightly sweet poppy seed paste rolled in the middle, and a sweet crumb topping.
The trip to Kloster Andechs (monastery) just outside of Munich was amazing on so many levels. The hike out to the monastery was refreshing, the chapel was breath-taking, and the food and beer were top notch. We shared a pork knuckle that seemed almost as big as my head and each had two 1/2 liters of beer. I started out with the Andecher Weissbier Helles (a wheat beer) and Jesse jumped right into the Doppelbock Dunkel (a darker beer). We both enjoyed the Dunkel so much that we each got another. It was probably my favorite beer in Germany.
In Regensburg, we stopped at Spital Brewery for a snack and tasty beverage. I was sad that they didn't have pretzels, so we ordered (what I thought was a fresh cheese dip with veggies). As it turns out, the bell peppers were more of a facilitator to the pound of cream cheese stuffed inside. I didn't complain, it was very good fresh cream cheese, although I thought Jesse and I might fight over the lettuce and tomato garnish. By this point in the trip we craved vegetables.
That night we had dinner in the apartment rented for the night. We picked up a cucumber, fresh bread, cheese, and pickled vegetables for a light meal. It was accompanied by two local beers, Wettenburger Kloster Barock Dunkel and Bischofshof Hefeweisbier Dunkel that only cost €.80 each. I love local beer! We found that the hefe went really well with the cheese. 
This meal in Bamberg was the straw that broke the camel's back (or my stomach). We rolled into Bamburg hungry and sleepy and headed straight for Spezial Brewery for lunch. Don't get me wrong, it was delicious, but the roast wild rabbit in a delicious gravy with a giant knödel (a potato dumpling) and cooked red cabbage was quite a lot of food to handle at lunchtime. Jesse had a pork roast that also came a dumpling and creamed broccoli. As if the food wasn't enough to knock us down for the afternoon, we washed it back with a 1/2 liter of beer (apparently the smallest glass you can obtain in Bavaria). Jesse got Spezial's specialty, the Rauchbier (smoke beer), and I got a Märzen. The food and drink filled my stomach, legs, and eyelids with sand. We both dragged ourselves around town for the rest of the day. I was officially over German food.
On our long train ride (around 10 hours of traveling) back to Belgium, we had a 2-hour layover in Köln. It was insanely cold there and I really didn't want to have anymore beer for the rest of my life, but we pressed on and found a cafe to try a kölsch -- a local specialty. Thankfully the cafe, Früh am Dom, only poured their kölsch in .2 liter glasses. It was the perfect amount for the hour (just a few minutes after 11am).
Our final destination, Ghent, Belgium was all about relaxation. For two nights we made our own dinner at the B&B, which consisted of a ton of fresh salad greens, fresh bread, cheese, and of course, beer. Kasteel (shown in the photo) was actually one of my least favorites of the trip. It was pretty high-octane at 11% abv, but syrupy sweet to the point of almost being nauseating.
Belgium smelled like waffles (and sometime sewers, but mostly waffles). It's a sweet, buttery, delicious smell and I couldn't get enough. We got waffles from a vendor in Ghent and they were probably the most spectacular waffles that I've ever tasted, or will ever taste again. They're not airy like American waffles, but a dense, slightly sweet, brioche type dough. It's cooked in the waffle iron with sugar on the outside that slightly burns and crisps. With the hazelnut chocolate sauce, I could have died happy right there. 
The last night in Ghent, we went out with a bang by ordering mussels cooked in white wine. Prior to the mussels, we shared an order of shrimp croquettes and another abbey ale. I learned the next morning that 1/2 an appetizer and mussels does not a dinner make, especially when paired with stark Belgian brews. At breakfast my head and stomach were telling me that I might have chugged a glass full of gasoline, rather than that Duvel with our meal. It was a wonderful trip, but I knew right then that I was ready to go home.
As I sit at my kitchen table with the window open, the delicious smell of cooking bacon keeps drifting in and out of the apartment. Voila! The first category for my photo posts from the trip: Food. This is probably the best place to start, since an overarching theme during our 2-week trip to Germany and Belgium was food and beer. The main point of our trip (in addition to seeing incredible places) was to sample the wide range of fares that the two countries had to offer.
We stopped in a French cafe that appeared to specialize in tarts, both sweet and savory. Mine was leek and salmon and Jesse's was mushroom and tomato. We each had a Trappist beer with our lunch. I chose the Westmalle Tripel and Jesse's was Rochefort 10, each packing a punch at 9.5% and 11.3% abv. We quickly learned, however, that a beer (especially those potent ones) at lunch made for a very sleepy afternoon.
We only went on one brewery tour, which happened to be at our first stop in Brussels. Cantillon brewery is located on the west side of town, in a bit of a transitional neighborhood, but was well worth the trip. It has been owned and run by the Van Roy-Cantillon family since 1900 and it shows. The pride in their product and process was inescapable throughout our entire visit, especially with the care and detail with which they described the beer as "acidic" not "bitter." After the tour we tasted two of their beers, the Gueuze and Kriek. Both were dry, sour, and definitely not sweet like other Kriek beers. It is definitely a beverage that you would sip on a special occasion, not unlike a very dry champagne. Before returning home, we purchased a bottle of their Lou Peppe Framboise that we'll hold on to for our next anniversary. I kind of like the idea of celebrating with beer instead of wine.
In Bruges, we wanted to experience authentic Flemish cuisine, so we went to a restaurant that came highly recommended by the hostess at our guesthouse. We arrived at 5pm, which according to the front door was the time they opened for dinner, but the owner quickly assured us that they didn't actually open until 6pm. We returned an hour later and were lucky enough to find a table, as nearly the entire restaurant was booked for the evening. I ordered the Waterzooi (a chicken stew with potatoes) and Jesse ordered the beef stew (I can't remember the Dutch name). His came with a baked potato with curried butter melting inside. It was the most fantastic thing I've tasted in a while. We told the owner how much we loved the beef stew and he hustled down to the kitchen to provide us with a recipe! As soon as the weather cools down, I'm going to try and replicate the meal.
After our delicious (and filling) Flemish meal, we walked around Bruges as the sun went down and I took a few night photos. Then, we ended up at Brugs Beertje, a bar that was recommended in our Good Beer Guide Belgium. The atmosphere was relaxed and I was kind of envious of the people who had brought games like cards and Pass the Pigs to play while sipping their beer. Jesse and I sampled two more Trappist ales, the Achel Blonde and Bruin. I love Trappist beers, so I had no complaints other than the fact that I wanted to pass out from the full beer and meal. 
This was our first breakfast in Berlin and pretty much summed up our breakfasts for the remainder of the trip. I was in heaven. When given the option of sweet or savory for breakfast, I always choose the latter. In fact, the best breakfast in my book is last night's leftovers with an egg on top. So, bread, cured meats, cheese, butter, tomatoes and pickles was a-okay with me! 
This was breakfast the second day in Berlin. We had a lot of sandwiches in Germany, but they were consistently delicious whether they had egg and cucumber, or just a variety of cheeses, or curried chicken. I know this photo is a little out of focus, but look at that bread! The bread in Germany was out of this world. Even in Portland, where we have fabulous bakeries, you just can't get rolls of this caliber. Also, schnitzel for breakfast is divine.
Snacks were essential. Our best days incorporated snacks. This was a break in the Tiergarten in Berlin. We purchased the melba toast and cheese called Partykaas (which roughly translated into "party cheese") in Belgium for the plane ride to Germany. I loved the idea of party cheese so much that we even had a little Partykaas dance when I would reach into the backpack. Also, Kinder chocolates are delicious -- Bueno was a big hit.
On the last night in Berlin, we finally got Döners. I think the picture speaks more to their deliciousness than I ever could.
That pretty much sums up the first few days of our trip. More to come tomorrow in European Road Food Part 2!
Tuesday, September 15th - Thursday, September 17th
We're back in the U.S. now, but I thought I'd finish up my posts with a few notes about the last days of our trip and post my own photos for a change.
We arrived in Ghent on Monday afternoon, took an unplanned tour of the northwest side of the city and arrived at our B&B just in time for dinner. Both starving and exhausted from the 10-hour travel day, we ended up at a restaurant in one of the town squares that was frequented by tourists, no doubt, and a surprising number of old people. The food was good, if a little overpriced, but at that point I was ready to gnaw off my own arm. The rest of the stay was all about relaxation and preparing for the long haul home.The owner of the B&B where we stayed was a bit shocked to learn that we were going to spend three whole days in the city -- reinforcing an overarching self-deprecating trend of many locals that we met in Ghent (and maybe all Belgians?). I'm not sure why, the city is quite lovely and actually was one of my favorite spots.
One of the goals we set while in Ghent (and for most of the trip actually) was to never try the same beer twice, to maximize the tasting variety. We actually did a pretty good job at sticking to that rule, I think I only drank one Belgian beer twice, Duvel, because it is so delicious and cheap compared to the price in the US (about $2 a bottle). To taste as many beers as possible, as inexpensively as possible, we went to a local grocery store and had our own happy hour at the B&B each night (or afternoon). Here are the beers from our last few days in order from favorite (on the right) to least favorite (on the left). I think I will have Jesse guest post one day this week on the specifics, as he was the designated beer note taker for the trip.
One of the highlights in Ghent was our visit to Granvensteen Castle, just a 10 minute walk from where we were staying. It's an amazing building from the 12th century that served as the town center in the middle ages. It seems as thought it's been in a constant cycle of restoration/reconstruction since the late 1800s, when the first attempts at restoration began. What stands now is a combination of original and reconstructed areas that is quite fascinating.
Ghent also has a canal that runs through the city, which is lined with old buildings that were once main spots for commerce. Today, they're mostly restaurants, hotels, and gathering spots. This is one of my favorite shots from Ghent, taken on the first night we were there just as the sun started to go down.
In the old market place the city was undertaking a giant archaeological dig. There wasn't a lot of explanation in English about the reason for the clearance of the old (rather mundane) 19th century commercial buildings, but it seemed as though they are going to eventually restore the old market place. It was pretty awesome to watch the dig taking place everyday as we walked from our B&B to the center of town.
Our second wedding anniversary happened to fall on our second night in Ghent, September 15th. After visiting the castle, we made dinner at the B&B and sampled a couple of new beers. After dinner, we decided that we needed to take a strong stand and go out and grab dessert or a beer just to stay awake. It was pretty easy to pass out at 8pm after a long day of walking or biking, but that meant we'd be awake before the sun the following morning. I was able to get a lot of really great night shots of the landmarks around town. Here are a couple from the group:
This was one of my favorite buildings in all of Ghent, just on the edge of the main marketplace. It has a hideous addition on the left side, but I was easily able to overlook it due to the awesome dancing statues on top.
I can't remember exactly which buildings are in this photo, but the canal was so still that night it reflected their likeness perfectly. I have to say that this anniversary may top all others for quite a while.
After looking through all of the photos that we took from the trip, I feel as though we gave ourselves a pretty spectacular gift of almost 800 potential postcards filled with memories. I'll post more photos over the next few days, most likely grouped in some way, either by city or some other form of category. Jet lag has sort of muddled my organizing capacity, so I have yet to decide how to present them!
After dropping off my sister at the airport yesterday morning at 5am, I cracked open the book and got started on a batch of cinnamon rolls. They are probably the prettiest cinnamon buns that I've ever made and were very tasty. I started out with the basic recipe this time, but I think the next batch will include some dried fruit, orange zest, nuts, and honey. The whole process took about 5 hours, including mixing, proofing and baking. However, I learned that the initial steps can be done ahead and left in the refrigerator overnight before baking. I'll definitely take advantage of that next time!
