Food Friday : Sauerbraten

Now that you know how to make the appropriate side dishes; such as red cabbage, German potato salad, and potato pancakes for many German dinners. Go for the big meal - Sauerbraten! This meal needs to be planned and prepared in advance since the meat must marinate for at least three days. If you choose to have this meal with red cabbage, the cabbage can be prepared earlier and then re-heated if desired.

Sauerbraten

Ingredients:

- 4 lb bottom round roast

- 3 large onions, chopped

- 3 stalks celery, chopped

- 3 carrots, chopped

- 5 garlic cloves, whole

- 2 cups dry red wine

- 1 cup red wine vinegar

- 1 cup Coca-Cola

- 1 tbsp salt

- 1 tbsp pepper

- 1 tbsp parsley

- 3 tbsp sugar

- 2 tbsp mustard seeds

- 1/2 tsp nutmeg

- 10 cloves

- 2 tbsp tomato paste

- 2 bay leaves

- 3 tbsp olive oil

- 1/4 cup gingersnap crumbs

- Cornstarch, as needed

Method:

1) To make marinade, in stock pot, add & mix onion, celery, carrots, garlic cloves, red wine, red wine vinegar, Coca-Cola, salt, pepper, parsley, sugar, mustard seeds, nutmeg, cloves, tomato paste, and bay leaves.

2) Bring marinade to a boil, simmer for 10 minutes, let marinade cool.

3) Put marinade and roast in large sealable plastic bag, refrigerate for 2 or 3 days, turn meat every 12 hours.

4) Pre-heat oven to 350F.

5) Remove meat from marinade, keep marinade, allow roast to warm to room temp (60 minutes), season roast with salt & pepper, on stove top heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium to high heat, once hot, brown roast on all sides, pour in marinade and bring to boil.

6) Cover Dutch oven with aluminum foil (to lock in juices), put Dutch oven lid on, put in pre-heated oven for 3 to 4 hours until meat is fork tender.

7) Remove roast from oven, tent w/aluminum foil

8) Strain marinade, discard mixture solids, add strained marinade back into Dutch oven, on stove top over medium heat, whisk in gingersnap crumbs and cornstarch until gravy is thickened.

9) Serve with red cabbage, and Spaetzle or potato dumplings.

Food Friday : Red Cabbage

Another great side dish for your upcoming German dinner is Red Cabbage. The recipe below is simple to make and tastes great. Warning, be careful if shredding cabbage by hand the old fashioned way. Some of you may know what I am mentioning.

Red Cabbage

Ingredients:

- 1 large quartered & cored red cabbage shredded coarsely

- 8 red apples, peeled, cored, & sliced

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon

- 1 bay leaf

- 1/2 tsp ginger

- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

- 3/4 cup sugar

Method:

1) Place cabbage in Dutch oven with one inch of water

2) Place apples over top of cabbage

3) Add & stir in cinnamon, ginger, & nutmeg

4) Simmer for 15 minutes

5) Remove from heat, mash cabbage mixture slightly

6) Add vinegar & sugar

7) Serve hot or cold

Foodie Friday : Modern Day Irish Soup

Ok, this recipe may not be a fully 100% ethnic Irish soup; but, it is greenish, healthy, and tasty. I have heard this recipe is called Emerald Isle Soup.

Irish Soup / Emerald Isle Soup

Ingredients:
- 2 cups broccoli florets, chopped
- 1/2 cup broccoli florets, garnish
- 8 oz baby spinach
- 1 cup carrots, chopped
- 12 oz evaporated milk
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup onions, diced
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 3 tbsp flour
- 4 cups vegetable broth, split

Method:
1) Heat oil over medium heat in large skillet, add onions & garlic, heat 10 minutes.
2) Add spinach, when wilted, add flour, cook 4 minutes.
3) Bring 2 cups vegetable broth to a boil in saucepan, add broccoli and carrots. Cook until tender.
4) Add 2 cups vegetable broth to spinach mixture, stir until thickened, simmer
5) Add spinach mixture to cooked broccoli & carrots. Puree with immersion blender. Stir in evaporated milk, pepper, reheat, and top with broccoli floret.

Foodie Friday : Potato Pancakes

Everyone loves potato pancakes. They can be labor intensive but they are well worth it.

Potato Pancakes

Ingredients:
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- teaspoon pepper
- 6 medium peeled & shredded potatoes
-1/2 cup finely chopped onions
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Method:
1) In a large bowl, beat together eggs, flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper.
2) Mix in potatoes and onions.
3) Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat.
4) In batches, drop heaping spoonfuls of potato mixture into skillet. Press to flatten.
5) Cook until browned and crisp, flip as necessary.
6) Drain on paper towels.

Foodie Friday : Corned Beef Dinner

For those who crave a corned beef and cabbage dinner. This simple one pot recipe lets the food do the talking. Best of all; you can have plenty of left-overs and clean-up is easy.

Corned Beef Dinner

Ingredients:
- Corned Beef, flat cut brisket, rinsed
- Red Potatoes, skin on or off if desired
- Cabbage Heads, cored & quartered
- Carrots, pealed & cut

Method:
1) Place brisket with fat side up in large stock pot with water, add spice packet to water if supplied with meat.
2) Bring water to a boil, immediately turn down to a slow boil/simmer. When water is simmering, corned beef will cook for 3 hours.
3) With 45 minutes cooking time remaining, add cabbage & carrots to stock pot.
4) With 30 minutes cooking time remaining, add potatoes, larger potatoes must be cut and quartered for quicker cooking time.
5) Remove food items from the brine, place in separate bowls.
6) Corned beef should be allowed to cool a bit and always carve meat against the grain.

Foodie Friday : German Potato Salad

Below is the recipe for my locally famous German Potato Salad. OK, perhaps it is only famous in my mind but everyone who has tasted it over the last twenty years, loves it. Give it a try.

German Potato Salad

Ingredients:

▪ 10 lbs red potatoes

▪ 6 large onions chopped

▪ 2 lbs bacon cut into small pieces

▪ sugar to taste

▪ vinegar to taste

Method:

1) Boil potatoes till cooked

2) Let potatoes cool, then peel, & cut into bite sized pieces

3) Cut cold bacon into small pieces then cook bacon

4) Drain & keep bacon grease

5) Cook onions in a little bacon grease

6) Add potatoes, onions, & bacon in crock pot

7) Add sugar & vinegar to taste to bacon grease

8) Pour grease mixture in with potatoes, onions, & bacon

9) Mix well

10) Crock pot set to low temp

Foodie Friday : Wurstsalat

For a limited time, blogs on old family recipes and those of my own food creations will post every Friday. The recipes are mainly German and Irish.

Hey, we all need to eat. So, eat good and eat often, I always say. We will begin this series with an easy one.

Wurstsalat

Knockwurst               1 lb pealed, evenly sliced, & quartered

Dill Pickles                 2 diced

Onions                        1 diced

Olive Oil                     2 tbs

Red Wine Vinegar    ¼ cup (2 oz)

Dijon Mustard           1 tbs

Salt                              to taste

Pepper                        to taste

Nutmeg                       to taste

Parsley                        topped with fresh chopped

Method

1.      Prepare knockwurst, Dill pickles, & onions.  Combine & set aside.

2.      Combine & stir olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, & nutmeg.

3.      Pour liquid solution over knockwurst mixture, toss, top with Parsley, refrigerate for two hours.