I hope you had a great week!
I did lots of cooking with some of the great recipes that you
sent me. Kudos to Einzi, Diana, Barb, Sylvia, Karin and June.
Scroll down and turn some German music on from Anton aus Tirol
and then look over this weeks recipes!
I thought Mürbeteig was such a funny name for a pie crust recipe?
It sounded like a fertilizer or something.
However mürbe is a German word for "short" and Teig is a German word for "dough". It is very close to our pie dough. Sauertieg is "sourdough" and guess what Filoteig is ?
Renate asked for a recipe for a dough that her mother use to make on the counter and then added apples or cherries put a top crust on it and baked it. . Einzi Johnson caught it and said that sounds like what my mother in Germany made called Mürbeteig.
In German kitchens today it is very close to our pie dough we make in the states.
However back on the farm in Germany Einzi said it was difficult to make this without refrigeration.
Einzi writes .....My mother used to make it on the counter too. She put flour on the counter and then made a well in it and added the ingredients as needed. She was good at it and it took me awhile to find out that she made her Mürbeteig this way.It was fairly soft and she kind of smeared it in the form,than she added the apples, cherries or whatever and because the dough was soft, usually the fruits sank into the cake. Sometimes she added sweet cream to which she added eggs and a little flour and poured it over the cake before she baked it. Later it all made sense to me, her kitchen was hot and the butter was just to soft. Lots of times she used leftovers, like sour cream and eggs (where she only used the white off) so it would not be wasted.On a farm everything is used. In the older days we had a cellar and that's where all the food was kept cool. Later on we had a fridge and things were different.
I do the Mürbeteig in a springform pan , divide the dough into threes,make a bottom in the pan,take one third and make three rolls that will make the sides, then I fill the form with my apple slices (cinnamon,sugar,raisins soaked in rum and some corn starch added to the apples) then I take the last third and make a cover. Bake the whole thing until it is nice and medium brown.
The final step includes a nice cover of powder sugar or glaze which I prefer.It is one of my favorite.
Here is a youtube on how to make this Mürbeteig dough.
I tried my hand at it using Einzi's technique.
The German recipe for Mürbeteig is also called
a 3 -2-1 dough or Drei-Zwei-Eins dough
where you use 3 parts flour by weight to 2 parts butter and 1 part water or 1 egg.
Last week we had a request by Raymond Jackson for
some recipes for a chicken salad with a German twist.
We got some nice input on it.
First of all June Mckee sent me her recipe which
has grapes, walnuts and a good quality mayonnaise
of which there is none but Hellmans for her. We don't
have it here in California but I think Best Foods is
perhaps a sister brand because here it is considered the
mayo of mayo's. I made it and it was very delightful.
Barb suggested that you candy the walnuts. Gute gedanken.
She says she roasts a chicken for dinner, and makes chicken salad with the remaining chicken, and then chicken soup with Amish style noodles with the bones. Now that is a German touch,
and I bet she got that chicken on a 2 for 1 sale.
We squeeze every nickel we can out of that chicken!
Then Sylvia Norris sent me a recipe that had pineapple and peas in it, with a dressing flavored with German mustard . I saw a lot of these style recipes for German chicken salad when I searched for it. Barb Rokitka is going to try this out some this week.
Diana Smith suggested adding a bit of caraway and shredded cabbage. That sounds like it would be excellent on a sandwich.
Karin Ried who grew up in Hameln, Germany said that her mom use to make a chicken salad like a fleisch salat that had mangos and asparagus in it.
We will work more on that this week and see what we come up with. I would love to have your input as well.
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I got several great recipes from Diana Smith this last week, all winners. The first one was a simple casserole type dinner that seems easy enough to just layer and bake.
Layered Pork Ribs and Sauerkraut
ingredients
1 1/2 lbs. ( 1 large Jar) sauerkraut
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
1 1/2 lbs. ( 1 large can) diced tomatoes canned is fine
1 cup brown sugar
3 lbs. pork ribs (bone-in)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
1. Layer the ingredients in a large casserole dish or roasting pan, starting with the sauerkraut and ending with the ribs. Do NOT stir.
2. Cover the dish with foil and bake at 325 for 3 hours.
3. Remove the foil and bake uncovered for the last 45 minutes.
Here is a movie of "Weiner Dog Races" at the German Fest
in Milwaukee Wisconsin
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Requests for German Restaurants
I have been getting requests for where there are good German
restaurants to eat. I would love to start a page that has a list.
If you would send me ones that you know of I will post them for all to see.
excellent idea
Pamela Mondanaro sent me one that she likes in Buffalo, NY Scharfs Shiller Park .
Their sauerbraten is fantastic and the potato pancakes just blew me away!
They are going to have their family reunion there.
Also Brigitte wrote and said there is a lady in San Diego, CA that sells Apfelstrudel, Hoernchen
(
not greasy) all fresh and of course good brown bread with sunflower seeds on top
at the Temecula Farmer's Market every Saturday !!
I hope you enjoy the way we do the step by step recipes here with pictures.
It is hard to publish hundreds of color pictures but when I put them on CD you can print out what you want, put it in a notebook and take it right into the kitchen.
Just 16.97 plus a CD with all the step by step bonus recipes with pictures.
Below are a few of the Step by Step Recipes Featured in the Book
I order from the German Deli more frequently than ever.
I try to get in bulk to make the shipping dollars count.
Also there are sales all the time I like to take advantage of.
They are nice folks. If you don't believe me call them.
and tell them Stephen Block sent you from the German Goodies Newsletter.
Our Retail Store has moved!
Our new and improved retail store is now open in Colleyville!
The address: 5100 State Hwy 121 Colleyville, TX 76034
(817) 354-8101
Hours of operation:
Mon - Sat: 9am - 9pm
Sundays: 10am - 6pm
Recipe Requests
I really appreciate all of you that donate recipes, and help answer
folks requests. Most of the newsletter is based on what folks request and
what you donate. I love to research the recipe and then put it on here
for all to enjoy.
When you email the recipe to those that request please send the recipe to
me also at
stephen@kitchenproject.com
Have you ever made, or do you have the recipe for the layered can - ears of corn, brats, onions, kraut....I don't know all, but everything is layered in something like a trash can and heated over coals? I'd love the recipe for that.
I am looking for a recipe called Schlienbach (?). The name may not be correct. My mom received the recipe she called Schlienbach from a friend years ago. The recipe was made thicker than cake batter and very similar to a cobbler. She would put rhubarb on top which would sink while the mixture was baking. Mom is now gone, and I am hoping that by chance the recipe might sound familiar.
I'm deployed to Afghanistan right now and this is like fresh air to see and read the recipes from you. I will be taking and R&R to Germany in August traveling around the country for 20 days, can you suggest a couple of good places to eat real German cooked food. My daughter and her husband are meeting us and I would like for them to experience what wonderful cooks the Germans are. Have a great summer.
