Our Adventures So Far...

We like to start out days with a wonderful walk with Roxy. We start our loop headed east to the far side of Sosua and into Playa Chiquita - passing by the 1+ million dollar waterfront homes. We circle back and start to make our way to Playa Sosua to meet up with Paul, Barb and Dave (and Shirley when she arrived) for our morning coffee at Mofongo King. We try to walk 10+ km each morning.

So far we have met up with friends for Taco Tuesday at El Conde, Karaoke at Plan B - (said to have Ed Sheeran singing one night), Ottimo’s for Italian pasta and Chinese Take out at Holly and Duff’s place over at the Blue Garden Condos.

Today we headed into Puerto Plata (Dave, Paul, Barb, Rick and Brenda) to do a a little touring around. When we got off the Guagua (public bus system - or known as the “chicken bus”) we happened across a wonderful local cart serving up traditional Dominican breakfast sandwiches (served all day) - fried eggs (fried in oil), cheese, avocado, shredded cabbage, salsa picante, ketchup, mayonnaise .. all on a toasted roll. Of course it is all washed down with either a sugary drink or beer - yes beer at lunch. What a great find.

We wandered around looking at the craftsmanship of hand rolling cigars, handmade leather goods, local stones in jewelry shops and a number of local-wares type shops.

Back on the Guagua and home to Sosua - Roxy with her tail wagging when we walked through the door.

Yesterday was an interesting day. Saturday - the day before the Super Bowl. There seemed to be a ton of people arriving to town for the big event.. by motorcycle, fancy cars (mustangs, corvettes) and most likely by the public "chicken bus".

"Fuller" brush salesmen were out in full force - hoping for just one sale
One guy had an armful of buckets, basins and garbage bins.
Another lady had a large plastic basin on top her head: full of plastic shoes - flip flops, sandals ect. Another guy had brushes, brooms and other cleaning products. They carry, hang and place as many items on their head as they can fit; wandering the streets in hopes of a sale of sorts. They mostly go around the local areas and sell their wares door-to-door: aka "Fuller brush salesmen".

We joined some of our friends to try a new restaurant (new to us) in Sosua - Germania Resort and Restaurant. It think the resort and restaurant must have been pretty amazing in its day. It is a large complex with a large garden, pool, cabana with bar, restaurant and

appartment/housing rentals. It is unfortunate that the family that owns and runs the establishment has not been able to keep up with the maintenance. The gardens are overgrown and the pool water is green with algae. The lady pretty is much running the place by herself as her husband has taken ill. She cooks, serves, and cleans for the entire restaurant. The food has a german flare with the most unusual dish being "pork knuckle". The pork knuckle comes on a large platter surrounded with sauerkraut, dumplings and potatoes. It is enough to feed 4. What a wonderful night out with friends!

Recipe of the Week: Week 1

German Jägerschnitzel with Mushroom Sauce

Jaegerschnitzel or Jägerschnitzel (meaning "hunter's cutlets" in English) is a traditional German dish of creamy mushroom sauce served with meat cutlets.

Several other variations of this recipe exist, for example, with bacon or red wine, but the most common sauce is sautéed mushrooms with white wine and cream. These can be common button mushrooms, pfifferlinge (chanterelles), or mixtures of several mushrooms.
You also can bread the cutlets if you like. This dish is an excellent companion to your favorite mashed or fried potato recipe.

For the Jaeger Sauce:

1 tablespoon butter (unsalted)
1 small shallot (or 1/2 cup chopped onion)
8 ounces mushrooms (sliced, your choice of variety)
1/2 cup broth (vegetable or beef)
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons half-and-half (or cream, divided)
2 tablespoons flour (all-purpose flour or brown rice flour)
3 tablespoons parsley (fresh, chopped)

1/4 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste (freshly ground)

For the Schnitzel:

1 pound pork (cutlets, from roast cut 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick)
3 tablespoons flour (all-purpose or brown rice flour, or panko bread crumbs)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste (freshly ground)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)
2 tablespoons butter (unsalted)

How to Make It:
Make the Jaeger Sauce

Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat.
Add the shallot or onions and sauté until translucent.
Place the sliced mushrooms in the pan and brown for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Pour in the broth and white wine and cook for 3 minutes.
Add 1/2 cup of half-and-half or cream, bring the mixture to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for several minutes.

In a small, separate bowl, mix the remaining 2 tablespoons half-and-half or cream with 2 tablespoons of flour.
Add the flour slurry to the mushroom mixture and bring to a boil, stirring to avoid clumps.

Add the fresh chopped parsley.
Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Turn off the heat and cover the pan with aluminum foil to keep warm while cutlets are cooked.

Make the Schnitzel:

Lay the pork cutlets out on a cutting board.
Cover the cutlets with plastic wrap and use a kitchen mallet or your fist to pound the cutlets until thin (1/4-inch thick or less)
In a separate bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons flour, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper and set aside.

Melt the 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a medium-sized skillet.
Dip each cutlet into the flour mixture. Shake off the excess, place in the skillet and sauté in the butter for 3 minutes on each side or until the pork cutlets are cooked through.

Remove from heat and transfer to a serving platter. Retrieve the still warm creamy jaeger sauce and pour it over the cooked cutlets and serve.