On Thursday, hubby and I invited my MIL out to lunch at the Christmas market. My goal was to have all the other foods that I didn't get to sample on our first visit to the market. My lunch stop was Hendl & Haxen Rotisserie, a new addition to the market that features rotisserie chicken and pork knuckles. I have very fond memories of my mom making roast pork and savoring the crackling (the fattiest, but most delicious part of the roast), so my heart was set on getting a pork knuckle for myself. The knuckly did not disappoint! The crackling was incredibly crisp and the pork was very tender and juicy. I was a little fearful that I wasn't going to finish my lunch, but the bone ended up being a large part of my portion. Delish!
We then went to Das Apfelhaus for stuffed baked apples. The traditional recipe is filled with cinnamon, raisins, & walnuts and topped with a silky vanilla sauce. The apple was DIVINE; the filling went quite well with the apple, with the walnuts giving a nice crunch.
Our final stop was another new addition to the market, Das Waffelhaus. They serve both Belgian waffles and German waffles on a stick. Both are made fresh to order and can be topped with either savory (bacon) or sweet (chocolate sauce) items. I went with the simple topping of powdered sugar. The waffle was very warm and crisp, and the powdered sugar was just the right amount of sweetness.
On Friday, I made a chocolate raspberry pie, which I brought for dessert on Christmas eve. It is from a Food Network magazine insert of different pies, and chocolate pie is one I've always wanted to try to make. This recipe was shockingly easy to make, and probably only took me about an hour and a half to get together, tops. I decided to use dark chocolate rather than semi-sweet to give it a good strong chocolate taste. I messed up a bit on the crust; it didn't end up as solid as I would've liked it to be, but it was still very tasty. The pie disappeared after our Christmas eve feast, so methinks it was a success!
Here is the plan for the remainder of the week. The chicken jambalaya will be made this week, as last week a moment of laziness had us replace Jambalaya with take-out. Mostly easy meals, concluding with our traditional New Year's Eve appies dinner whilst we wait for the clock to strike midnight. My next entry will definitely be late, as New Year's falls on our grocery shopping day. Enjoy the rest of the week, have a prosperous New year and happy cooking all!
Tuesday: Chicken Jambalaya
Wednesday: Mini pizzas
Thursday: Fettucine with pesto
Friday: Greek chicken & lemon potatoes, Greek salad
Saturday: Eggrolls, onion dip & veggies, cheese & crackers