Delicious & Dragons

When you’re feeling like grilled cheese, but want to go really flat. You know what works shockingly well? The Tyrolean version with cabbage, Speck and Graukas.

Nothing I haven’t done before, but what makes steak interesting is how you try to optimize every single bit of timing, from seasoning to letting the meat come to room temperature to preheating the pan, all to get the maximum amount of crust and even browning on the thing before it overcooks. Worked out this time.

Mostly because I had some meat left and wanted to see how hard it is to shape those skewers. Good enough for the first try, certainly yet another rabbit hole of cookery to go down if I ever get bored.

Oh, we still doing those big ol’ cabbage pancakes? Why yes of course, they haven’t stopped being tasty. I was too lazy though to do the decorative mayo.

I will not get into the debate of whether this is a grilled cheese or a melt, and instead will wax philosophical about the importance of slow and even browning (with the help of plenty of butter) for a perfect cheese sandwich, and the fact that the slightly sweet and sour peppers just go really well with it.

Noo, not harflings, halflings. They say don’t shop for food on an empty stomach, but when it turns into something like pumpkin soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, and a massive shepherd’s pie, who’s gonna complain? Not the harflings (dammit), that’s for sure.

Usual regular burger post? This time a little bit different, double smash cheeseburgers with spicy miso cole slaw and crispy bacon. The first one looks prettier, but the cole slaw was too sour. Second one hit the spot. Looks aren’t everything, you know.

There, I done did it. I was just making an offhanded comment about Hiroshima style okonomiyaki, next thing I was wondering how DO you actually make that darn thing that seems to just be ingredients stacked sky high on a pancake and somehow not falling apart? A lot of research, a couple of tries and almost a whole head of cabbage later I think I’m getting the hang of it. Had to replace crispy tempura bits with Backerbsen and no idea if it’s anything like the authentic dish but it’s good stuff, so no complaints.

Every day we stray further from the light. Curiosity got the better of me and I had to test this idea out that was floating in the collective and twisted creative consciousness of the party. Instant noodles cooked and fried to a slight crisp, dressed with demi-glace and kewpie mayo, sprinkled with the powder from the instant soup packet. I tried to be fancy and put a sesame jalapeno cabbage salad and a fried egg underneath, and some bonito flakes on top – like some fever dream future reconstruction of Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki – but the result was middling. I’m afraid to say the part that worked shockingly well was just the noodles with the sauce (because honestly the demi-glace is crazy good). Charles Dixon you fucking madman, you’re on to something.

This time in the form of vegan demi-glace. Take a baking tray full of veggie scraps that otherwise would have ended up in the bin, roast until golden brown, deglaze with water and cook for over 3 hours to make a stock, season and reduce the bejeezus out of it until it concentrates into a thick, super flavorful sauce. Then wonder what to do with it. No, I will not put them on instant noodles. Maybe.

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