It's all in the game: Easter Weekend

I arrived in Kiel at 10:00 Good Friday morning having set off at about 06:30 from Rheda. We had arranged that Linda would get some fresh fish and a frozen sea food mix and I would bring a filet of smoked haddock that I had in my freezer from Christmas.

So it was to be Fish Pie a la Ma' Smith! My Mam (a very religious woman) always made fish pie on Good Friday.

So it was a large filet (with the skin on) of smoked haddock (please not dyed)

A piece of salmon

A piece of cod loin

1/2 pkt of frozen pre-cooked mixed prawns, shrimps,mussels, cockles, calamari and crab sticks (thawed)

The smoked haddock filet

Frozen peas, frozen shell fish, slice of salmon, a piece of cod

Poaching liquid

1/2 ltr of full milk

3 cm piece of cinammon

5 all spice berries

3 cloves

2 cardamon pods

1/2 an onion

1 teaspoon of herb de provence

1 clove of garlic crushed

A sprig of rosemary

A few twists of pepper

A scrapping of nutmeg

No salt - the smoked haddock will give up enough salt to the poaching liquid

Poaching the haddock with herbs and spices

Remove from the poaching liquor and flake putting into the base of a terrine.

Poaching the salmon

Poaching the cod

I first poached the smoked haddock (make sure the milk does not boil or it will split), remove when it flakes easy and flake it and put it into a shallowish terrine dish, cut the salmon and cod into pieces (add any skin from the filets to the liquid), now poach and remove these before they ar e fully cooked through (just translucent). Place with the smoked haddock and add the mixed seafood.

The cheese sauce.

The poaching liquid

300ml of chicken stock (or fish if you have any)

50g of butter

2 table spoons of whole meal flour (had nothing else)

A good handful of cheshire cheese

100g of frozen peas

2 hard boiled eggs

Strain the poaching liquid and in a clean pot melt a nob of butter, add the chopped onion and fry until translucent, sprinkle with the flour and cook over a low heat until it comes away from the sides, slowly add the poaching liquid until all is combined, add the peas, continue to cook, adding the cheese, the sauce may be too thick, use the stock to slacken (it should coat the back of a spoon). Raise the temperature until it bubbles and pour over the fish in the bottom of the dish. Slice the boiled egg and put on top.

Next make the potato topping.

Floury potatoes

Large knob of butter

Slug of milk

Small handful of chopped fresh parsley (if you've got big mits borrow the young lad next door, but make sure they wash theit hands first).

I am not going to tell you how to make mash!!!!! enough to say it should be smooth and creamy.

Starting at the outside work in a sort of spiral so that the sauce doesn't leak out and run down the side (it will burn and will not look very nice (not that it bothers me, it's the taste that counts). Break the spud topping surface with a fork, it looks nice but also gets the topping brown quicker.

Now pop into a very hot oven (or under a grill) until the topping has browned.

We had it just by it's self on Friday (well we did have a bottle of Pique poul to wash it all down).

This is one of my Mam's dishes that whisks me back to my early childhood, I can shut my eyes and transpond myself back into the 50s, I still miss my Mam, she was not a kissy, kissy, touchy, touchy mother, she was a hard working, God fearing woman, that reared 8 children on my dads wages, ok later we also added to the monies that crossed the kitchen table on a Thursday and Friday, but that is a story for another day.

Friday evening was a very nice evening out with our cookery club friends (minus Kalle), we went out to a nice Mexican restaurant and enjoyed a quiet evening just eating,drinking and chatting. The service was quick and friendly, it couldn't have been better!

Lind's (pork) spare ribs

Marianna's Fajitas

And Caroline's

My shrimp Fajita

The table

We did finish off the evening with a few cocktails (BOGOF or as it is some times called Happy Hour(s)

Easter Saturday
This was Lindas cooking day, we where up and about very early as we had a few things (food and non-food) that required buying, it was to be a Mamta's lamb curry and a Tarka Dal. Linda had bought a shoulder from the local Turkish butcher and it had been in the freezer for a couple of weeks. Sunday was to be roast leg of Lamb with all of the normal trimmings so it as still a visit to get a fresh leg.

The link to Mamta's fantastic recipe:

http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_display.php?id=10363

Some of the wonderful fresh lamb (Hoggat) meat

And some more

Linda trimmed and diced the meat

Added to the slowcooker with the rest of the ingrediants.

The Dal was next and here is the Link to Mamta's recipe:

http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_display.php?id=13232

softened the onions

Making the Tarka

And the wonderful Mamta's lamb curry with a split pea and lentil Dal, plain boiled rice and a cucumber/mint Riata

The evening was taken up with visiting the Kiel Theatre to watch a modern version of Julius Caesar, it was realy good and was very well produced and on the lighter side.

Easter Sunday

I was up bright and early and decided to go for a bit of a drive, to take some spring photo's, first I headed to the Förder at Loof (a favorite restaurant over looking Kiel Harbour.

The early morning sun across the Förder

Some of the yatches waiting for a Easter sail

I then went down to the Locks at the Kiel canal (Nord-Ostsee Kanal), when at sea I had passed through these many, many times, in fact it was after passing through the other end of these and into a massive storm in the German Bite back in 1976, that ended my sea going career´and started my new life in Germany.

The Holtenau Locks at the Baltic end of the Canal

A Blackbird watching the goings on

A white bird waiting for the next ships

I next drove to the park just below the Opera House, it was silent with the exception of the birds. I watched the sun rising into the sky in the Horishima memorial park.

The memorial fountain

towards the Opera House

The bluming magnolia tree

A Blackbird collecting its breakfast, that reminds me!!!!!!

This was while waiting for the local French Baker to open (fresh rolls for breakfast), when I got there a little after 08:00, there was a que already outside of the door. This is a true French bakery, the baker even buys his flour from France, wonderful bread and fantastic patiseries!!!

The French bakers shop

The bread, freshly baked

And for those with a sweet tooth

The Sunday lunch was meant to be a traditional roast leg of Lamb, but owing to a change of plan that had been made on Friday, it meant that we took the remainder (2/3 of it) of the fishpie round to our friends. I had also brought 1.5kg of Asparagus with me from my local "Spargelhof Meloh" in Rheda. Marianne had made a nice starter of orange duck liver pate.

The orange duck liver pate, with a small salad and grey bread

The fishpie, with Meloh aspargus and sauce Hollandaise

Martin had made a smashing rhubarb desert in the Tiramasu style, now this was fantastic and I shall reproduce the recipe when I get it from him, it is in no way heavy and contains no eggs. Quite refreshing and light.

The pud befoe being attacked

I want some as well!!!

showing the layers

Easter Monday will be the roast leg of lamb!

Linda was to have cooked the Lamb pink, alas it turned out just a bit less than pink, BUT oh, did it taste wonderful, tender and ever so tasty.

Served with 2 sorts of spuds, new and roast, Turkish beans, plain steamed Cauli with butter and an intence lamb gravy. Of course we also had mint sauce.