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Königsberger Klopse
Könisgerg Style Meatballs in Sour Cream Gravy

The city of Könisberg is located now right north of the Polish border,
it is now called Kalingrad.
König means King in German and berg is mountain
It was part of the Prussian empire.
Prussia was a state of old Germany. Being a port much of their
cuisine is based around fish.

(Königsberg) Kalingrad is located right above Poland)

These meatballs do have just a bit of fish in them but you could never tell.
Another interesting note is that minced meat , what we call
say ground beef in the states, was also popular along ports,
like Hamburg, Germany. For some reason the little meat patties,
often somewhat salted, were easy to eat for the busy port workers and
the sailors. This would be some way similar to Jerky that hunters and campers
carry, that are preserved. This is of course the birthplace of the Hamburger.

So one the popular dishes of this area became, these meatballs called
"Klopse". They are not your average chef Boy R Dee either. These are
very tender , moist and have a succulent flavor, spiced with a sauce that
has sour cream, a bit of lemon, capers and some add a bit of sugar to balance it.
They also are seasoned with one of all the Food Network chefs like to use
and that is Anchovies. Don't turn me off yet...you don't taste the anchovies,
They have an interesting way of adding flavor to something, whether it is a salad
dressing or a meatball

Heidi Boepple-Nikolaidis and Anette Holmes brought up this dish after
Lee Ewald had emailed me wondering about a good traditional recipe
for a dish his mother made called German Klomps.
I posted it on Facebook and no one from Germany had ever heard the term "KLomps"
Finally Hedwig Piacetino suggested they may be talking about Klopse or meatballs.

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Below are a few of the Step by Step Recipes Featured

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It's Still Spargel Season

Spargel or Asparagus is very special in Germany. In early
April begins "Spargelzeit" or the asparagus season and ends traditionally
on June 24th running through the feast of John the Baptist

They have Spargelfests all over Germany , though more in major growing areas
like Baden-Württemberg.

They even crown a Spargelqueen!!!


As you can see German's prefer the white asparagus to the green
Below is a White Asparagus farm where they mound the dirt around the
shoots to keep them from turning green.

My friend Karen Kinanne goes to Germany frequently and especially loves
Spargelzeit because you can buy beautiful bundles of white or green asparagus
with nice thick tender shoots. much more meaty than the typical thin stalks we
get in the states.

In restaurants they often have their regular menu and a menu just dedicated
to Spargel dishes.

Karen says " I had dinner with a woman about 70 years old,
who as a young woman had worked as an  asparagus  cutter to  earn money when there
was no work or ways to get extra cash, under the Soviets. 
She talked about how hard the work
was because she  had to be stooped over the whole time, moving from plant to plant,
and careful not to tread on any developing stalks. 

More on the History of Asparagus

Here are a few asparagus recipes,
I couldn't find any white asparagus but I DID find some thicker shoots.

This is a recipe for basic steamed asparagus,
I found an old long pot with a basket to do this with.
It works very well also to steam it in a large skillet with just an inch of water.

Let's do some peeling
and basic
Steamed Asparagus
with a Creamy Herb Sauce
with step by step pictures

Another popular way to do the asparagus is to just
Brown some butter and toss it, or brown butter and
lemon and a little lemon zest as I did here.

Here the asparagus didn't even touch any water. It was pan roasted in a little
olive oil and finished with chopped garlic, salt and pepper.

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Spargelsuppe
A Light Asparagus Soup

This soup is made out of the trim pile from the recipe above.
the peel and the butts have a lot of flavor in them and you can simmer them and get
the starter or base of a light meal. Get an extra mile out of that expensive asparagus.

Let me show you how I get an extra meal out of that bunch of asparagus
Light Asparagus Soup

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Then there is a
Heartier Spargelsuppe

Let's make this heartier version of
Spargelsuppe
with step by step pictures.

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Plum Kuchen
Pflaumenkuchen

The Pflaumen This is what we see most in the supermarkets that is very round and has a clinging pit

The Zwetschge or Zwetche is deeper purple and often narrower and has a freestone pit , is often the plum of choice used in making prunes. My grandmother preferred these and called them Italian plums

I made this kuchen crust with wondra flour
and it came out very nice!

My guess is that you could use pastry flour and it would also be very light.
Sometimes kuchen crusts are very dense and tough.

This is a Swetchekuchen plum but you can use the recipe interchangeably .

Let's make this
Plum Kuchen
with step by step pictures

Just substitute the Wondra for the basic

Kuchen dough recipe here

Charlie Kilo and Ursula Houser suggested that Jakobs brand German Coffee (Kaffee) is a good
one to use with Kuchen.
I tried this one

Jacobs Krönung Kaffee

This is made from a blend of beans from around the world and nicely roasted.
If you click on the link you will see comments after comments of how much folks like
this German coffee!

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My New Book
Besides doing German Cooking
I have been selling Vanilla Beans now for 10 years.

Vanilla Enchantment, history, folklore, recipes using vanilla beans by Stephen Block

This is my new little book that talks about the history of Vanilla, All the different uses besides cooking for vanilla and of course recipes for the basics, like making your own vanilla extract, vanilla sugar, vanilla oil and vanilla powder and recipes for desserts, ice creams, and even savory foods. Add to Cart   9.97 also bonus CD with step by step pictures

Table of Contents VANILLA THE ROMANTIC LEGEND (The History of Vanilla) …………………………………………………….……. 4 THE FRAGRANT HISTORY OF VANILLA . 5 THE VERSATILE VANIL L A BEAN ( ITS MANY USES )…………………………………………………….6 WHERE IS VANILLA GROWN ? …………………… 14 VANILLA - THE FLOWER ……………………………….………..10 VANILLA FUN FACTS……………………..……….17 AN AFTERNOON WITH VANILLA (Making some basic flavorings like a quick Vanilla Extract, Vanilla Sugar , Vanilla Syrup and Vanilla Oil. ……………………………………………………………………….…….23 Recipes Desserts And Pastries CHANTILLY CREAM ………………………….……………………….26 5 STAR VANILLA ICE CREAM……………….………………27 BEN AND JERRY’S VANILLA ICE CREAM.…28 CHOCOLATE SORBET…………………………….………….…29 BEST VANILLA FUDGE RECIPE……………….………30 BLACK AND WHITE CREME BRULEE ……....31 EASY VANILLA WAFERS…………………………………….…..33 KAHLUA CUSTARD………………………………………………….…34 PEACH ICE CREAM ……………………………………………………..35 VANILLA FUDGE HEARTS…………………………………….37 CHOCOLATE CHIP PECAN COOKIES…………39 HONEY VANILLA POACHED PEARS …………….40 VANILLA BEAN CHEESECAKE……………..………….41 VANILLA BEAN PANNA COTTA ……………..…………43 Drinks MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE ……………….…….…….46 KALUHA……………………………………………………………..48 BAILEY’S IRISH CREAM……………………………………….……49 THE BEST VANILLA MILKSHAKE……………...…..52 ICE CREAM SODA……………………………………………….………53 VANILLA MARTINIS …………………………………………….…..…..54 COCOLATE MARTINI ………………………………….………..…..55 VANILLA CREAM CICLE ……………………………….….…….55 Main And Side Dishes CARRIBBEAN CRUISE PRAWNS…………………..…..57 SEAFOOD SAUTE VERA CRUZ…………….……...59 SCALLOPS JANET TE………………………………………..…..60 STUFFED HALIBUT MONTEREY …………….…….62 HEART SHAPED PORK STEAK ………………………..66 CHILII VANILLA BBQ SAUCE……………………….….….69 Salads and Salad Dressings VANILLA VINEGAR…………………………………………………………..72 VANILLA VINAIGRETTE …………………….……….……………..74 STRAWBERRY VINAIGRETTE……………………………..76 GREEN SALAD WITH FRESH FRUIT AND VANILLA POPPY SEED DRESSING……………….….77 ARUGULA NECTARINE SSALAD ……………………77 Breakfast STUFFED FRENCH TOAST………………………….………80 JAMAICAN BANANA CREPES…………………………….82

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