Frankfurter Kranz

Posted on by June 26, 2020
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Ingredients:

Batter:

  •   200 g    Butter or Margarine
  •   250 g    Sugar
  •          2    Vanilla Sugar
  •          1    Rum Essence
  •  1 pinch    Salt
  •          6    Eggs
  •   300 g    Flour
  •   100 g    Potato Starch or Corn Starch
  •     15 g    Baking Powder
  •                Butter and Breadcrumbs for Bundt Cake Form

Almond Brittle:

  •     25 g    Butter
  •   125 g    Sugar
  •   200 g    Almonds, chopped

Butter Cream:

  • 800 ml    Milk
  •          2    Vanilla Pudding (Dr. Oetker)
  •   200 g    Sugar
  •   500 g    Butter, unsalted, soft
  •    4 tbs    Red Current Jelly, or other tart red jelly
  •                Maraschino Cherries, well drained to decorate

To make cake juicier, sprinkle bottom layers witha mixture of:

  •      50g    Sugar
  •    50 ml    Water
  •   0,2 ml    Rum

 

Directions:

Cake Batter:
With a mixer blend butter, sugar and vanilla sugar together, add eggs one at a time and rum essence and salt.
Combine flour, potato starch and baking powder and add to batter, one spoon at a time.
Prepare a Bundt Cake form with butter and unseasoned breadcrumbs.
Fill batter into form.
Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes.
Let cool overnight.

Almond Brittle:
Heat the butter, sugar and almonds in a frying pan and stir until light brown.
Pour onto a cookie sheet and let cool.

Butter Cream:
Make the pudding following package instructions. The milk and sugar are the amounts used in the pudding
Transfer the hot pudding into a bowl and let cool, covered with plastic wrap to avoid the pudding surface from  forming a skin.
With a mixer cream the butter and fold in the pudding. It is important that the pudding and the butter are the same temperature to avoid curdling.
If the Cream should curdle, heat 50 g coconut oil and fold it in hot and the cream will get smooth.
Place the cream in the refrigerator until needed.

Assemble:
Transfer 3 tbs of the butter cream into a pastry bag and set aside for later.

Cut the cake twice horizontally.
Now is the time to sprinkle the two bottom layers with the rum/sugar/water mixture.
Spread the Jelly on the bottom layer and top with ¼ of the butter cream

Top with the second section of the cake and spread with another ¼ of the butter cream.

Set the third section on top and cover the whole cake with the rest of the butter cream.

Break or chop the brittle into small pieces and sprinkle over the cake.
Garnish with the pastry bag and top with the Cherries.

Place into refrigerator and cool for about 3 hours for the butter cream to firm.

Cake, kept in the fridge, is still delicious 3 to 4 days later.

 

Omeletten with Ham & Asparagus

Posted on by May 3, 2020
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In Germany we call them Omeletten
in the USA it would be a type of Pancake,
while the French call them Crêpes.

Ingredients:

Batter:

  •  2 cups    Milk
  •   200 g    Flour
  •          2    Eggs
  •   ¼ tsp    Salt
  •                Oil for Frying

Filling:

  •       1 lb    Asparagus, fresh
  •  8 slices    Ham, smoked medium sliced

Sauce:(the quick way)

  •                 Knorr Hollandaise Sauce
  •                 Milk and Butter as per package instructions

Directions:

Whisk all the batter ingredients together to form a smooth mixture and set aside to rest.
Prepare the Hollandaise sauce according to package instructions and keep warm (Naturally you can spend the time and make the Hollandaise sauce from scratch).
Clean asparagus and boil in water to desired tenderness, about 5 minutes.

In a 9 inch non-stick frying pan heat one teaspoon of oil, add one ladle of the batter (rotating pan until batter covers the bottom) and fry until golden brown on both sides.

Warm the ham slices.

Place omelette on a plate, top with a ham slice, add 2 – 3 spears of asparagus and fold over.
Smother with Hollandaise sauce.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Steak Tartare

Posted on by May 1, 2020
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Steak Tartare or Tatar

Also referred to as “Hackfleisch zum Roh Essen” – Ground Meat to eat raw.

Ingredients:

  •    ½ lb    Beef from the round with all fat trimmed off and ground at least 2 times
  •         1    Egg Yolk, can be substituted with 2 tbs cold Water
  •   2 tbs    Onions, finely diced
  •               Salt and Pepper to taste
  •               to garnish or serve with Capers, Anchovies and extra finely diced onions

Directions:

We mix all the ingredients together and serve on a platter with extra diced onions.
We also have salt and pepper at the table and usually some capers.
In our house it is served on Hard Rolls or a Baguette and a dish of butter for those who want it.

At some houses, the ingredients are served separately and everybody prepares their own.
In Germany the meat used to be served indented on the top with a raw egg yolk in it and all the other ingredients arranged around it.

Caution: As you are serving and eating raw meat you have to find a butcher you can trust to avoid cross contamination. As always, eating raw or under cooked meat may cause sickness!

Please read my post on eatsandmeats.com about Steak Tartar.

 

Lox Spinach Roll – Lachsrolle

Posted on by April 30, 2020
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Ingredients:

  •         4    Eggs
  •  150 g    Spinach, frozen
  •    50 g    Gouda or Emmentaler, shredded
  •  ½ tsp    Salt
  •  ½ tsp    Pepper

Filling:

  • 200 g    Cream Cheese
  • 200 g    Smoked Salmon
  •  1 tsp    Horseradish
  •              fresh Dill to garnish

Directions:

Thaw spinach, press out some of the water and chop (if using fresh Spinach, chop finely).
Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a bowl, beat the eggs, fold in the spinach and season with salt and pepper.

Spread the “dough” on to the cookie sheet and sprinkle with the shredded cheese.

Bake in a preheated Convection Oven for 10 minutes at 360 °F until golden brown.
Remove from oven and let it cool.
Cover with a plastic sheet and flip it over onto solid surface (like a cutting board or cookie sheet).
Carefully remove the parchment paper.

Cut the salmon into strips.
Blend the cream cheese and horseradish together and fold in the Salmon.

Spread the mixture evenly on the egg spinach sheet and roll up tightly.

Wrap into plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours.
Cut into ¾ inch slices, garnish with Dill and serve.

Grilled Celery Root – Celeriac – Vegetarian –

Posted on by April 30, 2020
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Picture downloaded from Wikimedia, Author 4028mdk09

Ingredients:

  •        1    Celeriac – Celery Root
  •   1 tsp    Salt
  •               Grill Seasoning to taste
  •               some Lemon Juice

Directions:

Slice the celery root into ½ to ¾ inch slices and trim off the outsides.
In a pot cover the slices with water, add the salt and lemon juice.
Simmer for 15 minutes.

Remove from water, sprinkle with Grill Seasoning. Place on hot grill and BBQ for 1 – 2 minutes per side.

Elisen Lebkuchen from Annelies K.

Posted on by April 30, 2020
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Ingredients:

  •   450 g    Sugar
  •          4    Eggs, large
  •   200 g    Marzipan, diced
  •     15 g    Lebkuchen Spice, click for recipe
  • Zest of    1 Lemon
  •   100 g    Candied Lemon Peel
  •   100 g    Candied Orange Peel
  •   200 g    Almonds, ground and finely chopped
  •   200 g    Hazelnuts, ground and finely chopped
  •        30    Oblaten/Wafers 7 cm

To Glaze:
Chocolate Glaze for half of the Lebkuchen and Sugar Glaze for the rest.
To decorate:
45    Almonds peeled and halved

Original clear Elisenlebkuchen Sugar Glaze:

  • 130 g    Sugar
  • 50 ml    Water
  •     2 cl    Rum

Chocolate Glaze – Couverture:

  •   150 g   Chocolate for melting – semi dark
  •    1 tbs    Crisco Shortening

 

Directions:

Beat together the eggs, sugar, Lebkuchen Spice and marzipan.
Stir in all other ingredients except the Oblaten.
Spread dough on 70 mm Oblaten the thickness of your finger, about 1 heaping Tablespoon.
Place on 2 with parchment paper covered cookie sheets (15 Lebkuchen each).

Bake in preheated convection oven at 320°F for about 20 minutes until lightly browned.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

In mean time place the 45 almonds for 5 minutes into boiling water, peel and split in half with a knife.

Melt the Chocolate and Crisco shortening and coat half of the Lebkuchen using a pastry brush.
For the sugar glaze simmer the sugar in water for 2 minutes and add the rum. Coat the rest of the Lebkuchen with it.
Coat the almond halves in the remaining sugar glaze and decorate each Lebkuchen with 1 – 3 Almond halves.

Let the glaze set and store the Lebkuchen in a cookie jar.

Holsteiner Schnitzel

Posted on by November 26, 2020
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Ingredients:

  • 4 slices    Veal Cutlets, can be substituted with Pork Cutlets
  •          2    Eggs
  •    4 tbs    Milk
  •                Salt and Pepper to taste
  •                Flour
  •                Bread Crumbs
  •                Oil for Frying
  •          4    Eggs
  •                Capers, Smoked Salmon, Gherkins, Anchovy Fillets

Directions:

Pound cutlets between plastic wrap to desired thickness.
Prepare 3 plates.  One with flour and one with bread crumbs. In the third bowl combine the egg and milk, season with salt and pepper and whisk thoroughly.
Coat the cutlets on both sides with flour, then saturate with the egg wash and cover with the bread crumbs.
For best results let breaded Schnitzel rest for 30 minutes before frying.
Heat the oil in the frying pan, add the cutlets and fry on each side until golden brown.
Fry one sunny side up egg for each schnitzel.
On a plate place an egg on top of the Schnitzel
Toast some white bread and garnish with Capers, Smoked Salmon, Sardines, Gherkins  and/or Anchovy Fillets.

Besides toast, other serving suggestions are Bratkartoffe/Fried Potatoes or French Fries an/or Red Beets.

Sometimes the Schnitzel is served as “natural”: Seasoned Cutlet, pan fried without breading.

 

Sauerbraten updated

Posted on by October 24, 2021
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Sauerbraten with Bread Dumplings and Red Cabbage

Sauerbraten with Bread Dumplings and Red Cabbage

We followed this Sauerbraten recipe at the Spring Dinner at our church, which was a great success, it is actually a combination of the other two recipes!

 

Ingredients:

  •  2 – 3 lbs    Sirloin Tip Roast or Bottom Round Roast
  •                   Salt & Pepper
  •     1 large    Cooking Onion
  •     1 stalk    Celery
  •             1    Carrot
  •    6 slices    Bacon
  •     5 cups.   Water
  •       ⅓ cup    Vinegar
  •         50 g    Sossenkuchen

Marinade:

  •      5 cups     Water
  •      1 large     Cooking Onion
  •              1     Bay Leaf
  •            16     Juniper Berries
  •              6     Whole Black Peppercorns
  •       ½ cup     Vinegar*
  •                     Salt and ground White Pepper to taste

* Add more vinegar if you want the meat more sour tasting!

Directions:

Marinating:
In a pot combine all marinade ingredients and season to taste.
Bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes.
Cool down completely!
Place meat in a Zip-Loc bag and pour the marinate over the meat.
Close bag, place in a bowl to prevent leakage and refrigerate for at least 3 days, rotating the bag daily.

Cooking:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Clean and slice onion and cut celery and carrots into pieces.
Place 4 of the juniper berries and bay leaf from the marinade in with the vegetables.
In a Dutch Oven fry the bacon until enough grease is released to be able to brown the roast.
Season roast with salt and pepper, add to the Dutch oven with the vegetables, leaving the bacon in with the roast. Brown the roast on all sides, stirring the vegetables frequently so they brown, but do not burn.

Once the roast is browned on all sides add the water with the ⅓ cup vinegar and bring to a boil on top of the stove.
Cover and place in the oven for 2-3 hours. Uncover after 1½ hours and finish cooking. Sauce should be reduced by about ⅓ in this time.

Remove roast and set aside keeping it warm while making the gravy.
Strain the gravy through a sieve, pressing down with a wooden spoon to force as much of the solids through as possible. If you use an immersion blender to liquefy the gravy before straining it through the sieve, remove and discard the bay leaf.
Return the gravy to the Dutch oven and bring to a boil.
Place the Sossenkuchen in a bowl and add some of the hot gravy, mix until it is dissolved and return to the pot, simmer briefly.
If needed add salt, pepper and Sossenkuchen to taste. Add a roux (butter & flour) if a thicker gravy is desired.

Slice the roast and arrange slices on a warm platter with some gravy drizzled over them. Serve the rest of the gravy in a separate bowl.
Generally served with Dumplings or Spätzle, Red Cabbage and Lingonberries (available at some supermarkets or IKEA).

Forcemeat

Posted on by November 22, 2020
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Great Recipe for Beef Wellington and also for Meatballs or Patties,

 

Ingredients:

  •     ½ lbs    Pork, ground
  •     ½ lbs    Veal, ground
  •      ¼ Lb    Fresh Mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
  •    ¼ cup    Onions, chopped
  •    ½ cup    Filberts/Hazelnuts, finely chopped
  •    ¼ cup    Butter
  •    ¼ cup    Heavy Cream
  •    ¼ cup    Parsley, fresh, finely chopped
  •    ¼ cup    Cognac/Brandy
  •           1    Egg
  •      1tsp    Salt*
  •  1/8 tsp    Thyme, ground*
  •  1/8 tsp    Black Pepper, ground*
  •  1/8 tsp    Basil, ground*
  •  1/8 tsp    Rosemary, ground*
  •  1/8 tsp    Allspice, ground*

 

Directions:

Mix together herbs* and spices* and get all other ingredients ready.

Melt butter in a Sauce pan.
Add Onion and Filberts and saute until onions are glassy and nuts are toasted.
Stir in Mushrooms and Cognac and saute 5 to 10 minutes.
Take off the heat and let cool.

In a Bowl lightly beat the egg, beat in the Heavy Cream and mix in the Seasoning mix.

To the bowl add the Mushroom mixture, Meats and Parsley and blend well together.

Cover and Chill.

Mixture can be used for meat balls or patties.

Raclette

Posted on by June 26, 2020
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What d’ Heck is a Raclette?

It is a Swiss Alpine Cow’s Cheese and it is also the name of a romantic/intimate dinner among friends.
For more information see the Wikipedia page.
There is a 5 minute video about an outdoor Raclette party in the Swiss Alps on YouTube, which gives you an idea of the original way and how they still do it.  “Swiss Raclette on fire” 

I also published two posts about it on my eatsandmeats.com blog,
“The Raclette” and “Fondue vs. Raclette”

Equipment needed:           A Raclette Table Grill, see the Amazon link below

Ingredients we served that worked:

MEAT: thinly sliced boneless Pork Loin, USDA Choice Beef Strip Steak(s), skinned and de-veined Raw Shrimp split lengthwise, sliced Luncheon Meat Ham and Salami or Pepperoni

CHEESE: Raclette, Jarlsberg Swiss, Muenster, Brie, shredded Mozzarella, Hot Pepper and a Mexican Blend.

PLANT BASED: Potatoes (cooked), Pearl Onions, Pickles (Cornichons), Onions – raw and fried, colored Peppers and raw and fried Mushrooms, asparagus (cooked) also preheated Carrots and Peas, and Jalapenos and Baked Garlic Cloves.

Thin sliced bread or baguette.

We added Salsa and Pizza Sauce, Frank’s Hot Sauce and Sambal Oleck, an assortment of dried Herbs and Spices, Capers and other ingredients we had in the Fridge or Cupboard, that we thought somebody would like to experience.

Set up: The main table was set up with the Raclette Grill in the middle, with Plates and Silverware. We placed side tables on all four corners, one with meat, one with Veggies, one with seasonings and don’t forget the one with drinks.

The whole meal was an interaction among all the participants, with the main conversation at the table centering on the food. Try this, reach me that, that did not work, that was delicious, let me have some more wine!

This is an event of trial and error and everyone has different tastes. The thing we found to stay away from was Chicken (chance of Cross Contamination).

Final recommendations, to add to the enjoyment of the evening, serve a soup and/or a salad as a starter, which eliminates some hunger pains in a few of your guests and if you entertain more than four, set up a second griddle or table top grill to precook the meat.

 

Merchandise and accessories for the Raclette experience can be found on
Amazon under the link here.