All European Dinner

Thursday,October 25th.
Another clear fall day, but the temperatures dropped to the 32°F (0°C) mark last night.
While J.P. was working to convert our sightseeing van into a mini-motorhome I was busy preparing a fall supper for our dear friends, Rogette and William, who took good care of Molly this summer whenever needed.

It will be an "All European Dinner":
Mediterranean soup as an entrée,

German green beans with roast as the main course

and a Norwegian semulepudding (semolina) with cherries for dessert.

How does that sound?

There were some potatoes left and a tiny bit of roast. The rest: GONE!

I had to smile when I saw this photo. Nice plates and glasses - and then what: the Casserole on the table. :))
That's how we had it: very casual!

Recipe for the soup is to be found here, if you like. But you might need a translator.

Steak and green String Beans

Today I decided to start my own blogging about the eternal question:

What shall we have for dinner today?

I try to keep my dinner cooking in a time frame of about 30 minutes and there are no fancy pots and pans or extraordinary ingredients in my kitchen.
This is about plain home cooked meals.
Mostly I do not plan meals ahead. I open the fridge door, peek inside and inspiration hits me - or not.

A look in the fridge shows a pound of fresh, green beans and two steaks (New York Strip Loin). And - of course- potatoes.
I see - writing about my dinner cooking gives me a clue that we do eat a lot of potatoes. But my husband LOVES them. No meal is a good meal without potatoes - must be the German heritage.

Start with stringing the beans. Modern beans are much easier to prepare than the ones I knew as a child. They always had long strings coming off.

Then bring potatoes and beans to a boil. They will be done at the same time.

While my husband is preparing (with salt, pepper and honey) and grilling the steak, (this seems always to be a "Man-thing"), I cook up a white sauce that is to go with the beans.

Melt 2 tbsp margarine or butter, add 1 1/2 tbsp flour and braise this for some seconds. Fill up with milk while stirring rigourously. When it got the right consistence add salt and nutmeg. Turn down the heat to low and stir occasionally.
Drain beans in a colander, keep 1/2 cup of the fluid to flavour the sauce. 
Place beans in a bowl and dress with the sauce. In Europe I used to have "summer savory" to flavour the beans with, but I was not able to find this herb here - so I give it a slight sprinkle with parsley instead.

By now the potatoes and the steaks are ready as well.

Dessert: Yoghurt and strawberry jam.

Remark:If available we use the old-fashioned type of yoghurt. The one that when cut with a knife doesn't loose its shape. It is more tart but way better.

I despise the "creamy" type. The slightly slimy texture of the "modern" yoghurt seems like pre-digested to me .

Our meal today: Steak and green String Beans