Dining In

Vonderful Vonderful

Hungry? Ja-wohl, Texas-Germania is for you and your friends when you want to eat big.

by Linda West Eckhardt

March 1974

(Page 2 of 2)

Beat the eggs until Iemon-colored, then combine with water. Sift together flour, salt and baking powder into large mixing bowl. Make a well in the flour mixture and add the liquid. Stir until the flour is thoroughly wet. Make a stiff dough. Add flour if necessary to stiffen. Knead for ten minutes on a well-floured board, let rest two minutes then roll dough into two very thin sheets. Set aside for three hours. Turn sheets several times while drying. Cut into narrow strips. (Did you ever see your grandmother's noodle cutter? A small roller with several cutting edges). Drop into boiling, salted water and cook 20 minutes. Serve with butter, or however you generally use noodles. What you don't cook, you can put into a plastic bag, close with a twistee and save for later use. These will keep well in the cabinet provided they are properly dried before storing.

HUNGER IST DER BESTE KOCH

IF YOU'D LIKE TO GIVE a German dinner party, the first bit of advice would be—don't eat for three days preceding the party. German food is delicious, heavy and filling. This meal is a typical example, and a great one to start with:

Marinerte Heringe (Marinated Herring)
Gurkensalat mit Sauer Sahne (Cucumber Salad with Sour Cream)
Sauerbraten—(Pot Roast)
Rotkohl Mit Aepfeln (Red Cabbage with Apples)
Bratkartoffeln (German Fried Potatoes)
A Good German Wine of your choice
Sauerkraut Kuchen (Would you believe a sauerkraut cake?)
Coffee

Three days preceding the dinner you start the:

Sauerbraten (Pot Roast)

1 4-lb. pot roast cut 2 inches thick
1 T. salt
2 T. sugar
6 bay leaves
6 pepper corns
1 ¹/2 c. wine vinegar
1 ¹/2 c. water
12 cloves
2 medium onions, sliced thin
¹/2 lemon, sliced thin
¹/4 lb. butter
20 gingersnaps, crushed

Place meat in crock or pyrex container large enough to allow meat to be covered by liquid. Combine remaining ingredients except butter and gingersnaps and pour over meat. Cover and let stand for three days. (Notice that refrigeration is not called for.) Turn meat every day. Remove meat on the third day and drain. Brown meat in butter over low heat. Gradually add all liquid and spices to meat and bake slowly in a 300 degree oven for three hours. While roast is baking, crush ginger snaps. A blender works very well for this job. When meat is cooked, remove to a hot platter. Strain juice into a small saucepan, skim grease off, heat to boiling and combine with crushed gingersnaps to make gravy.

Two days before your guests arrive begin the:

Marinerte Heringe (Marinated Herring)

6 herrings (canned)
1 c. wine vinegar
2 tsp. mixed pickling spices
3 white onions, sliced thin
1 c. water
2 slices lemon

Skin the herrings and soak overnight in water. Drain. Peel and slice onions. Mix vinegar, water and spices. Dissolve the juice of the herring in a little of the vinegar mixture and add to the sauce. Pour over herring. Cover and set aside at least 24 hours before serving.

One day before the dinner party—you'll never believe this one but don't knock it 'til you've tried it...

Sauerkraut Kuchen (Sauerkraut Cake)

²/3 c. butter
1 ¹/2 c. sugar
¹/2 c. cocoa
1 tsp. baking powder
¹/2 tsp. salt
²/3 c. drained, thoroughly rinsed and chopped sauerkraut.
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
2 ¹/4 c. sifted flour
1 tsp. soda
1 c. water

Cream butter and sugar, add vanilla and eggs. Sift dry ingredients and add alternately with water. Mix well. Fold in drained kraut. Turn into three 8-inch greased and floured cake pans. Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 30 minutes. Remove from pans immediately, cool on a rack then frost with:

Fudge Frosting

³/4 c. cocoa
1 tsp. vanilla
³/4 c. whipping cream
1 box powdered sugar
¹/2 c. butter
few grains salt

Combine cocoa, salt and sugar. Cream butter and vanilla. Combine sugar mixture and cream mixture a little at a time then beat two minutes at high speed with an electric mixer. Spread on cooled cake. Heavenly.

Another item to prepare the day ahead is—the fixin's for:

Bratkartoffeln (Fried Potatoes)

Boil six medium unpeeled Idaho potatoes until done. Peel and cut into large cubes. Cover and refrigerate until ready for frying. Dice two large, white onions, cover and refrigerate.

Just before you're ready to serve, fry the potatoes in bacon drippings in one skillet and the onions in bacon drippings in another until they turn clear. Pour onions over the fried potatoes, season to taste with salt, pepper and generous amounts of paprika. Mix and serve on hot platter (can be placed around the Sauerbraten on the same platter).

You can also do the chopping the day before for:

Rotkohl Mit Aepfeln (Red Cabbage with Apples)

1 4-lb. head red cabbage, cut fine
2 T. butter
2 c. water
¹/4 c. honey
¹/4 tsp. pepper
1 bay leaf
1 ¹/2 T. flour
2 small, tart apples, chopped fine
1 medium white onion, chopped fine
¹/2 c. wine vinegar
¹/2 tsp. salt
2 cloves
juice of ¹/2 lemon

Wash cabbage and cut fine the day before serving. Peel and slice onions. Peel and chop apples. Pour juice of the lemons over the apples. Place in three separate airtight containers and store cabbage, onions and apples in the refrigerator until the night of the dinner.

Heat butter in a large saucepan, add onions and apples and cook slowly until onions turn clear. Then add water, vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, cloves and bay leaf. Mix well. Bring to a boil, then add cabbage and stir. Cover and simmer 25 minutes or until tender. Sprinkle flour over top, cover and simmer five minutes. Mix again and serve.

On the day you're serving the only remaining item to be made from scratch is:

Gurkensalat Mit Sauer Sahne (Cucumber Salad with Sour Cream)

4 medium cucumbers, peeled and sliced thin
1 T. salt
1 T. sugar
¹/4 c. sour cream
1 onion, sliced thin
2 T. wine vinegar
¹/2 tsp. pepper

Mix cucumbers with sait and let stand an hour. Drain thoroughly then add remaining ingredients. Serve at once.

For best results, do not substitute margarine for butter, reconstituted lemon juice for fresh lemons, or distilled white vinegar for wine vinegar. Natural ingredients make that subtle difference between good and great cooking.

Nun giht es wohl manche Sachen
Wo mann nicht weiss: Wann? Wie? und Wo?
Sieh zu wie es die andern kochen
Und Koch es moeglichte ebenso.

Now, there are still many things
Where one wonders: When? How? and Where?
But observe well how others cook it
And cook it possibly like so.

If you would like more authentic German recipes like these, write the Fredericksburg PTA Cook Book, Fredericksburg, Texas 78624, send a check for $4.16.

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