All winter I listened to Germans (and fellow expats) lament about the weather, complaining about the never ending cold. While I was certainly put off by their negativity about my new home (having weathered a Chicago winter, Berlin’s winter was nothing), I was just as eager as the masses for Spargel season to arrive. I remember eating asparagus soup here as a child and although asparagus is a similarly popular courier of spring in the U.S., there is something very German about the verdant vegetable. Germany even crowns a Spargelkönigin or Asparagus Queen!

The warm weather finally broke last week and with it came asparagus! I happily bought a few bundles to share with our April house guests (including the German preferred white variety). While Spargelsuppe is the dish of my childhood memories, the warm sunny weather called for something cool and refreshing. I’ve been on a tahani dressing kick lately, so I started with that; the earthy, sesame paste offers the creaminess of a mayo-based vinegerette with the added bonus of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. For crunch I used Runkelrübe, which we’ve been getting from our CSA, and I’ve discovered to be sugar beet. Although this tuber looks like a giant red beet, the flesh is white and has a crunchy sweet texture, similar to jicama. Yellow beet or jicama would be a fine substitution if you can’t find sugar beet. All together it’s a lovely, simple, fresh salad and one I have a feeling with become a regular on our table throughout the rest of spargel season (which I just found out ends quite specifically on June 24th, the feast of St. John the Baptist and the date the Germans decide the harvest has lasted long enough).

Tahini Dressing
Serving: 1 cup
1 shallot, minced
3 tablespoons tahini
4 tablespoons olive oil
7 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon water
Salt
Freshly cracked black pepper

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the shallot, tahini, olive oil, vinegar, and water until mixture is smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Asparagus-Beet Salad with Tahini Dressing
Serving: 4 people
1 bunch asparagus, stems trimmed
1/2 sugar beet, julienned
2 tablespoons Tahini Dressing

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the asparagus, cooking for about 8 minutes until tender. Shock in ice water and drain. Slice on a bias to 1/2-inch pieces.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the asparagus, beets and dressing. Toss to combine and enjoy.

I had to make some caramel sauce last week for my latest How-To on Snooth Eats, and I immediately wanted to pair it with some of the apples I received from my first CSA pick-up here in Berlin (more on that to come!). Wilde Gärtnerei harvested these apples last fall, keeping them in a cool storeroom to help feed their community all winter. The apples are surprisingly still crisp enough to eat raw, but I wanted to bake.

I ended up playing with a favorite banana bread recipe, subbing in caramel sauce for most of the sugar and using grated apple instead of the mashed banana. The result, a rich, moist cake, was phenomenal—I can’t wait to make it again. The caramel gives a slightly bittersweet undertone, the apples create a moist crumb, and walnuts are always a nice crunch. I forgot to add cinnamon into the batter, so I sprinkled a line down the center with some brown sugar for the perfect crust.

Caramel, apples, walnuts, sounds pretty fall, huh? Well, it’s still pretty chilly here in Berlin, so this bread was a nice, comforting treat and a hit with our house guests. It’s delicious anytime of the year, but if you have better weather than Berlin and are already enjoying the sweet fruits of spring, save this recipe as a pick-me-up for a cloudy day.

Caramel-Apple Bread
Serving: 1 9×5 loaf pan, 8 to 10 slices

3 apples, peeled and grated
¼ cup brown butter, cool
¼ cup sugar
½ cup caramel sauce
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup toasted and chopped walnuts
Cinnamon and sugar for topping

Preheat an oven to 176°C/350°F.

In a mixing bowl, mash together the apples and brown butter. Mix in the sugar, caramel, and eggs until completely combined, then add in the baking soda and salt. Fold the flour in last. Grease a 9X5 loaf pan and pour the batter inside. Smooth top with the back of a spoon and sprinkle some cinnamon and sugar down the center.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick pressed into the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely.

As I made the move to Berlin, my StarChefs workmate Emily also made a move, to Snooth Eats, where she’s running the editorial coverage. The website features great wine tips along with an interesting mix of recipes, food news, and cooking knowledge, so it was easy to say yes when she asked if I would contribute some how-to recipes. As you can probably tell from this site, I love to write and test recipes, so it’s exciting for me to have another venue to do it for.

My first contribution are these delicious “Thin Mint” style cookies. It’s a recipe I started playing around with when I worked at Bastide in Los Angeles; the final course of our tasting menu was a sweet bite that we bagged and gave as a take-home treat. We made a variety of cookies and sweets, but these mint cookies were one of my favorite items.

The cookie is a slightly sweetened pate brisée, which gives a nice flaky bite. I add mint extract to both the cookie dough and chocolate covering, so they end up super infused with minty flavor. To make your own batch, check out the recipe and baking tips on Snooth Eats. I think they’d make a fabulous addition to Easter basket treats!

If you’re a follower of this blog, then you may have noticed I’m a big fan of citrus. Lemons, tangerines, limes, kumquats, oranges—I love winter’s citrusy bounty. So when I came across this grapefruit cake earlier in the week, I knew it wouldn’t be long until I made it myself. We have company coming in April—TH’s parents are joining us in Berlin for a month that promises to be full of fun—so I’ve been stocking the freezer with snacks that will keep us all happily fed during slower moments. This cake fits the bill perfectly; it’s packed with bright, floral grapefruit flavor and has a super moist crumb, thanks in part to an after-bake, grapefruit syrup soak.

Pound cake gets its name from a simple ratio of ingredients, which also makes it one of the easiest recipes to memorize; the basic recipes calls for equal parts butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. I’ve cut the sugar here slightly—wanting more of a toasted breakfast pastry rather than after dinner treat—and the addition of yogurt lends a nice, tart flavor and helps create that moist crumb. Pound cake also keeps rather well in the freezer, toasting up again quite nicely. We’ve already nibbled on a piece, and it’s quite delicious, but the rest will go into storage until April. Perhaps next time, I’ll  split the recipe in half and bake two mini-loafs, one to eat and one to save!

Grapefruit Pound Cake, adapted from Smitten Kitchen
1 large grapefruit, zested and juiced
1 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
6 ounces butter, room temperature
3 eggs
1 cup Greek yogurt
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Grease a loaf pan and dust with flour.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the grapefruit zest and sugar. Paddle mixture together for one minute to release the oil in the zest. Add the butter and mix together on medium speed for 5 minutes, until the mixture is light in color and fluffy. While mixing, sift the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a separate bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and yogurt. When butter-sugar mixture is creamy, reduce mixing speed and add one-third of the liquids. Combine until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary. Repeat with one-third of the dry ingredients, then continue with wet and dry ingredients until all of the mixture is combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until the center is fully set. While baking, heat the grapefruit juice and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar until the sugar dissolves. When cake is finished, cool for 10 minutes, then carefully place on a cooling rack over a sheet tray. Pour the grapefruit syrup over the cake and cool.

My sister, TH, and I headed south to Garmisch-Partenkirchen over the Christmas holidays for a few days in the German alps. It is a beautiful area and it was wonderful to enjoy the charms of a small Bavarian town. Getting there included a 10-hour train ride from Berlin through the countryside, so I packed a batch of delicious granola bars to snack on. A combination of oats, nuts, seeds, peanut butter, and dried fruit, these bars are full of flavor and energy. They’re definitely a new favorite snack—great for on the go or after a long day.

Garmisch provided just the relaxing getaway we were looking for. We stayed in the quaint, family run Gästehaus Sissi, where we enjoyed big German-style breakfasts each morning before catching a train up the mountain to the country’s highest peak, the Zugspitze. The town itself is full of picturesque Bavarian-style homes covered in elaborate paintings, and the holiday decorations and jovial Christmas market really helped set the mood. Our Christmas meals were full of local specialities, including a giant roasted pig knuckle with potato dumplings and kaiserschmarrn, a traditional sweet pancake, for dessert.

After a few days of skiing and snowboarding over the gorgeous, snowy alps, we headed back to Berlin via an overnight stay with our friend Charlotte and her family in Erlangen, a small town outside of Nürnberg. It was so special to see a real German household decorated for the holidays and enjoy an incredible feast with her delightful family. We also visited Nürnberg and Bamberg, enjoying our fill of Nürnberg’s tiny bratwurst and delicious leberkäse sandwichs in Bamburg, as well as the cities’s charming architecture and sites. It’s great to be back in Berlin, but it was a truly special trip, full of wonderful friends, food, and fun.

Granola Bars, adapted from Serious Eats
Servings: 16 bars
1 cup agave syrup or honey
⅔ cup chunky natural peanut butter
2⅔ cups muesli with flax and sunflower seeds, or rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup golden raisins
½ cup dried goji berries
½ cup chopped almonds

Preheat the oven to 350°Farenheit/176 °Celsius. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. In a medium bowl, combine the syrup and peanut butter until well mixed. In a separate bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients. Add the peanut butter-syrup mixture into the dry ingredients and combine. Lightly grease your hands and press the mixture  into the pan, flattening into a uniform sheet. Bake until golden brown, around 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes, remove from the pan, and cut into bars. Cool completely and store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

My holiday season isn’t complete without baking several batches of cookies to share with loved ones. Although I’m away from my family this year, I was lucky enough to see both my Mom and Dad, and TH’s parents, in the month before I left the US. My mother and I baked up a storm, working through four different cookie recipes in order to send out some early holiday cheer.

It was fun to try some new recipes with her; the gingersnaps were delicious, a less sweet cranberry-orange cookie would be excellent for crackers, and the raspberry-walnut swirls were very pretty. But just like every year, my favorite was the rugelach. In part, it’s because we’ve been making these cookies since I was a kid. We aren’t Jewish—my mother originally found the recipe in an international cookbook—but the traditional Hanukah cookies have become my quintessential holiday cookie. And it’s hard not to love the flaky, buttery dough, wrapped around whatever delicious filling you choose.

Growing up we always used a combination of cinnamon and toasted walnuts for our filling, but for our latest version my mother and I chose a delicious fig jam. The jam caramelizes slightly in the oven, making a sweet, slightly sticky filling that is beautiful inside the tender dough. Topped with a sprinkle of powdered sugar, they are my perfect Christmas treat.

Rugelach
Servings: 4 dozen cookies
1 cup butter, cubed
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg yolk
¾ cup sour cream
Powdered sugar
½ cup jelly 

In a medium-sized bowl, cut the butter into the flour using a pastry cutter or two forks until coarse crumbs form. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolk and sour cream together, then add into the flour mixture. Mix until just blended. Divide into three portions, flatten each into 1-inch disks, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 3 days.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Remove one portion of dough from the refrigerator and let it warm for several minutes. Dust the dough lightly with powdered sugar and roll out between two pieces of parchment paper or non-stick baking mats into a 1/8-inch thick circle. Spread the jelly in a thin layer over the surface of the dough. Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 16 wedges, and roll the wedges up, starting at the wider end. Transfer to a lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the remaining dough. When cookies are lightly browned, remove from oven and cool on wire racks. Dust with powdered sugar to finish.

Even though I find myself in Germany days before the most American of holidays, we’re still planning to cook a Thanksgiving meal this week. And thankfully my sister just happens to be in town, along with some of her best friends from New York, so we have some great company to celebrate with! Although I’m going to try and find a turkey to roast for TH, I’m also planning on including a few German recipes in the menu.

One dish that I’ve made for some of our best Thanksgiving meals is German red cabbage. It’s something that I’ve been eating, either out in German restaurants alongside a nice plate of bratwurst and potatoes, or this home version, since I was a child. A good dose of tangy apple cider vinegar mixes with brown sugar to create a tart, slightly sweet flavor, helping to cut through rich meat preparations (making it an excellent addition to the Thanksgiving table). And it’s simply made, just chop up onion, apple, and cabbage and let the dish cook while focusing on the more intricate elements of the meal.

German Red Cabbage
Servings: 4 quarts
2 tablespoons bacon fat
1 medium onion, skin removed and thinly sliced
2 medium red apples, cores removed and thinly sliced
1 medium head red cabbage
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup water
1¼ teaspoons salt

In a medium-sized, heavy-bottom pot, heat the bacon fat over medium heat. Add the onion and apple and cook 5 minutes until it just starts to sweat. Add the red cabbage, cover with sugar, vinegar, water, and salt, and cover. Reduce heat to low and cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is soft.

This time of year cinnamon seems to go with just about everything. Try adding a dash to a latte, a handful to the brine for pork chops, and a sprinkle on top of an apple tarte tatin. But nothing says autumn splendor quite like the spicy bite of gingersnaps, when the power of cinnamon, ginger, and funky blackstrap molasses combine in the quintessential holiday cookie. Gingersnaps are one of my favorite cookies (any time of the year really), and the delicious smell of these beauties baking helps set the festive mood.

Although I don’t go overboard with the ginger in my version (I skip the grated fresh ginger),  I do like to add chopped ginger chew candies, creating a spicy caramel-like bite in each one. I also roll them in sugar twice, ensuring a nice crunchy exterior. If you prefer the commercial, crisper taste, cook these at 350°F as the recipe instructs, but if you’d like a chewier, softer cookie, reduce the oven temp to 315°F.

Gingersnaps, slightly adapted from Bon Appètit
Servings: 4 dozen cookies

2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1½ teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground clove
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup dark brown sugar
½ cup vegetable shortening
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
½ cup blackstrap molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼cup finely chopped ginger chews candy
1 cup sugar 

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, salt, and pepper, and whisk together. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or using an electric mixer), beat brown sugar, shortening, and butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down sides halfway through. Reduce speed to low and add egg, molasses, and vanilla; beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat on low just to combine. Mix in the ginger chews (dough will be very wet and sticky).

Place dough on a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper and form a log. Roll the plastic wrap around the dough, making it even all around, and refrigerate until firm, for roughly 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or non-stick baking mats. Remove the dough from refrigeration and unwrap. Fill a wide, shallow bowl with the sugar. Using a sharp knife, cut several ½-inch pieces from the dough and drop into the sugar. Cover the dough completely in sugar, roll into balls, then re-cover in sugar. Transfer onto the baking sheets, spacing balls 1½-inches apart. Repeat with the remaining dough. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are firm and centers appear cracked, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks and let cool.

I’m one lucky gal—part of my job as a writer for StarChefs.com has me tasting with chefs all over the country, and for the past few weeks I’ve been in San Francisco. I’ve had a number of fabulous delicata dishes, making it one of my favorite gourds lately. The crispy skin and creamy texture of the winter squash offers the perfect contrast all in one vegetable. And it’s super easy to cook at home; just coat it in a little butter and brown sugar, and it roasts into a delicious side dish.

This dish is inspired by Chef Marty Cattaneo, who recently prepared a similar, stunning composition at his Los Gatos outpost Dio Deka. Cattaneo infuses the rich, smoky flavor of bacon into a consommé, which he pours over perfectly cooked abalone and scallops. For texture, he adds a mixture of soft and crunchy quinoa. It is a divine dish, one I still can’t get out of my head, weeks after I originally tasted it. In my version, I’ve swapped in delicata for the abalone, toasted the seeds to provide crunch, and put together a simplified bacon jus. It’s a warm, comforting fall dish, a perfect way to enjoy the autumn flavors and relax after a long week. It would also make a wonderful addition to the Thanksgiving table, if you’re already starting to put together your November menu.

Brown Sugar Roasted Delicata, Buckwheat, and Bacon Jus
Servings: 4 portions
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus extra
1 onion, diced
12 ounces apple wood-smoked bacon, diced
1 medium-sized delicata squash
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
½ cup brown sugar
Salt
Black pepper
1 cup dried buckwheat groats
Arugula

For the bacon jus: Heat a pot over medium-low heat. Add the oil and onion and cook until the onions begin to turn translucent. Add the bacon and continue to cook until the bacon becomes aromatic and the fat renders. Cover the bacon and onion with water, cover the pan, and simmer for two hours. Pour the mixture through a cheesecloth-lined strainer, reserving the liquid. Freeze overnight.

For the delicata squash: Preheat the oven to 450°F. Cut the squash in half, remove the seeds, and reserve. Cut one half of the squash in half again, and then quarter. Cut the other half into thin strips. Place the squash on a lined sheet tray and rub the butter onto the squash. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the squash and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, removing the thin slices after they are crispy and golden. Continue roasting for an additional 10 to 15 minutes until the larger pieces are fork tender. While the squash is roasting, clean the seeds of any fibers, and season with salt, pepper, and additional olive oil. Place seeds on the sheet tray during the last five minutes of the roasting period, and cook until the seeds are golden and crispy.

For the buckwheat: In a small sauce pot, combine the buckwheat groats with 2 cups water. Season with salt. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, until the water has reduced and the buckwheat groats are tender.

To serve: Remove the bacon jus from the freezer and use a sharp knife to cut the white fat layer off. Discard. Place the remaining brown layer into a small saucepan and cook over medium until jus is melted and warm. Lightly season arugula with olive oil, salt and pepper. Plate the buckwheat, delicata squash pieces and slices, and squash seeds. Garnish with the arugula salad and bacon jus.

I didn’t make it to the farmer’s market during my trip to San Francisco last week, but Chef Banks White, at Hotel Shattuck Plaza, was kind enough to send market fruit to our rooms. I quickly gobbled up the late season Cherokee tomatoes and juicy figs, but saved the plums for home.

Santa Rosa plums are one of my favorite varieties, with their rich ruby  color and juicy, tangy flesh. Add a little creamy hazelnut frangipane and a nice tender dough, and you have quite the pastry. This tart is very easy to make—the dough and nut paste are quite simple—but it’s a stunning, rustic presentation, a great dessert for dinner parties topped with a little whipped cream.  And it’s fun to save a little of the frangipane to put together makeshift poptarts with the extra dough scraps.

Santa Rosa Plum-Frangipane Tart, adapted from Chez Pim
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup whole wheat flour
8 ounces cold butter, cubed
¼ cup cold water
½ cup whole almonds
2 tablespoons sugar, plus extra
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1 tablespoon cinnamon
4 large Santa Rosa plums, thinly sliced 

For the pastry dough: Place the flours and 8 ounces butter into a large mixing bowl, tossing to coat the butter in flour. Using two forks, slowly break up the butter chunks until walnut-size pieces form. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the cold butter.  Working quickly, combine the water into the flour, forming a shaggy dough. Fold over several times, shape into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Remove dough from refrigerator, unwrap, and place on a well floured surface. Roll out into an elongated rectangle and fold in half. Turn dough 90 degrees, roll out again, and fold in half. Repeat one more time, then roll out to a ¼-inch square. Place dough on a lined sheet tray and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

For the frangipane: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place almonds on the tray and bake for 10 minutes until the nuts are toasted golden. Cool and grind in a food processor with the 2 tablespoons sugar. Add the butter, egg, and cinnamon and pulse until well combined.

Remove dough from the fridge and use a pairing knife to round the edges into a large circle. Spread the frangipane into an even layer, leaving a ½-inch border along the edges. Form circles with the plum slices, completely covering the frangipane. Sprinkle a thin layer of sugar onto the edges of the tart shell. Bake the tart for 35 to 40 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Cool slightly and slice.