One fine day, about two and a half years ago or so, my friend Nora introduced me to the wonderful world of foodblogs - guess, I've mentioned that fact before, have I? Anyway, what I might not have mentioned is the sad fact that some food blogs come and some go simply because I'm not able to keep up with all of them - no matter how much I'd love to. However, there's one that I clearly remember from this first awakening and that has stuck with me ever since. I'm sure you know this one already: it's Nicky's Delicious Days - a wonderfully written and photographed food blog from Munich.
During my recent trip to Germany, I had the good fortune to meet up with her for breakfast and, it being the final days before the release of her first cookbook, I also had the chance to get a sneak peak into it! I probably asked her all the questions about it everyone was asking as well..;-) Add to this that we happen to come from the same small town in Eastern Bavaria (with lots of regional specialties) plus the fact that we both experience(d) living abroad and you can imagine one lively conversation!
After having seen her book, it was only a matter of days until I could finally go to the bookshop and get it. However, deciding which one of the recipes to make first took me a while. Reading it from cover to cover first (there's not only recipes but lots of stories to go with them, too) and then leaving through it two more times, I finally had made up my mind that it had to be something sweet. Well, maybe not so surprising after all, is it?
Being an avid cheesecake lover, I decided to try Nicky's cheesecake that comes from her favourite cafe in Munich (definitely need to go there next time...) and it was every bit as promised: creamy, moist, and with a little tang from lemon juice. Usually, I would make souffle-like cheesecake batters with stiff meringue that would naturally crack and sink upon cooling. So if I need to get a sturdier cheesecake that will stand up without tasting of flour or cornstarch, that's the way to go!
And in case you wondered, it didn't take me quite as long to determine what to try next..;-) So far, we've had the apple-and-bacon mini-quiches that got rave reviews as well as the goats cheese salad with green nut-dressing - which my vinaigrette-drinking husband (a trait he incidentally shares with Nicky) heartily approved of.
Next in line was the oven-baked pancake with sauteed apples (un-sauteed strawberries and nectarines in our case). Luckily this recipe proved to be even more than foolproof: Running out of time, I didn't make four separate pancakes as specified but dumped the entire batter into my Dutch oven to crisp up on the stove and bake further in the oven while we were wolfing down the main course. Luckily, the recipe stood up to this rather unconventional method and I might have even turned it into something clafoutis-like - lucky me, I've always wanted to try this classic French dessert.
There's still so much more to try...
Sorry, no recipes this time, you might just have to go buy the book!
PS: The original cheesecake recipe isn't crustless but when serving cheesecake with an accompaniment like this strawberry-rhubarb compote, I prefer to have it without the shortcrust.
