Monday, April 5, 2010

German Easter Dinner

For Easter dinner, I decided to do something a little non-traditional, and make a German dinner. Since my grandparents were visiting, I knew they would enjoy it. I also invited my in-laws and JJ's cousin so they could try a German dinner. Everyone really enjoyed this meal, which made me so happy! JJ isn't overly fond of vinegary dishes, but he said it was tolerable.

I have already posted these recipes, however I don't think there were many people reading my blog back in April 2008, so I'll post them again!


On the Menu:
Sauerbraten (German Pot Roast) & Gravy
Red Cabbage
Kartoffelklosse (Potato Dumplings)
Spätzle (Egg Noodles)
Roasted Asparagus


Red Cabbage

2 lbs. red cabbage, sliced thin
2/3 cup red wine vinegar
2-4 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
½ cup finely chopped onions
1 bay leaf
1 cup water

Add all ingredients to a soup pot over medium-low heat.
Cover and simmer for 2 hours, stirring every half hour.
Taste and adjust seasonings for salt, sugar and vinegar.
Remove bay leaf and serve.

Kartoffelklosse (Potato Dumplings)


1 slice of bread, toasted, buttered and cubed
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup farina
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
3 1/2 cups potatoes, put through a ricer
2 eggs

Combine flour, farina, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
Beat mixture a little at a time into potatoes.
Lightly beat the eggs and beat them into potato mixture.
Beat until the dough forms a ball when picked up with a spoon, add more flour if necessary.
Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt heavily.
Using wet hands, form 2" balls. Stuff a bread square into each, lay on a plate. When all balls are made, drop gently into the water. Bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer. Cook for 15 minutes.

Sauerbraten

2-3 lbs. boneless beef bottom round

4 cups white vinegar
2 cups water
10 peppercorns
2 bay leaves
2 onions, chopped
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
15 oz. beef stock
1/4 cup cornstarch

Add all ingredients in a Tupperware container, place in the fridge for 1 day.
Remove the meat from the marinade, and place on a plate.
Heat 2 tbsp. EVOO in a pot on medium-high, brown the meat on all sides.
Pour the marinade into the pot, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, simmer for 3 hours.
Remove meat from the pot.
Pour the cooking liquid through a strainer and back into a pot on high.
Bring to a simmer, add 15 oz. beef stock.
Whisk cornstarch with 1/4 cup water in a small dish, pour into gravy.
Season the gravy with salt and pepper.


Spätzle



2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
3 eggs
½ cup water

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt heavily.
In a large bowl, mix all ingredients.
Spoon batter into a spätzle press, and boil for 5-7 minutes per batch.
Use a mesh colander to pull spätzle out and drain well.
If you don’t have a spätzle press, you can use a colander with small holes. (Press shown below)



8 comments:

Kelly said...

I love that you have your own spatzle press! How fun!

*Angela* said...

a little off topic-but I love your dining table! Would you mind sharing where it from?

Ashlee said...

Sure! It's from Ashley Furniture. We bought 2 extra chairs, I think it came with 6, and it extends to 90", which is the biggest they had.
http://www.ashleyfurniture.com/Showroom/Showroom.aspx?PageId=Showroom&CategoryID=10&ItemNo=D480-35&SetDomTab=1&SeriesNo=D480&CollectionId=&style=&PageNumber=1&IsClicked=1&CatPageNumber=1

*Angela* said...

Thank you!

Joanne said...

This seems like such an undertaking Ash! And it all looks so delicious. Congrats!

Dewi said...

I absolutely love the potato dumpling. And the red cabbage, ohh I'm drooling literaly. I used to eat this with roasted duck. Yum!

Mara said...

Thanks so much for the recipes... I found them looking around for German food to prepare online. I'm trying to brush up on my German cooking and learning German too at Babbel.com (http://www.babbel.com) -- it's cool to learn the language and cuisine in tandem.

Lisa said...

Just out of curiosity, do you have The Joy of Cooking?