Showing posts with label German Cuisine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label German Cuisine. Show all posts
Thursday, December 23, 2021
Pfeffernüsse – Sorry, Mom, but these German “Pepper Nut” Christmas Cookies are the Best!
Every year, in the weeks leading up to the holidays, my mother and aunts would bake batches, and batches of what I thought were the “best” Christmas cookies ever. They were soft, buttery, sugar cookies shaped like trees, Santa’s, stars, and snowmen, finished with a simple icing, and to me they were absolute...to read the rest of Chef John's article about Pfeffernüsse, please follow this link to become a member.)
Follow this link to get a complete, printable written recipe for Pfeffernüsse!
And, as always, enjoy!
If you want more information about why the blog format has changed, and why we're now offering complete written recipes, please read all about that here.
Saturday, March 9, 2019
German Potato Dumplings (Kartoffelkloesse) – Dial-Up Some Delicious Dumplings
Sorry for the late upload, but I had some mysterious modemissues, and this German potato dumpling video took over 5 hours to upload! Iwas having flashbacks to those good, old dial-up AOL days, and they weren’t goodflashbacks. I do miss that cool modem sound, but that's about it.
Anyway, it’s late, but I wanted to post theingredient amounts, and maybe I'll add some more info tomorrow, although these areso basic that’s probably not necessary. The only tip I’ll give is that Ithink baking the potatoes works better than boiling them whole. Peeling, quartering,and boiling until tender will also work, but don’t overcook them, otherwisethey'll absorb too much water.
By the way, if you’re German, or know the same things theydo, I’d love to learn why we're sticking croutons in the middle of these things. Itotally get the crumbs on top, but inside? If you have an explanation, I’d likelove to hear it, and in the meantime, I really do hope you give these a trysoon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 8 to 10 German Potato Dumplings:
2 large russet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
salt, freshly ground black pepper, and cayenne to taste
pinch of nutmeg
2 large eggs
1 cup flour
fresh chives to garnish
For the croutons/crumbs
1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 cup)
2 cups fresh bread cubes
Posted byChef Johnat3:04 AM21comments
Labels:German Cuisine,Potato,Side Dish
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
Grilled German Potato Salad – Warming Up to a Great Summer Side Dish
I’ve never been a huge fan of German potato salad, for twovery good reasons. First of all, my love for mayonnaise borders oninappropriate, and secondly, the potatoes always seem to be under-cooked.
Ienjoy many things cooked al dente, but potatoes are never, ever one of them. Iknow people want clean, neat slices, but to me that’s just not a good enoughreason.
However, if they’re cooked tender, especially over somesmoky coals, I can forgive the lack of mayo, since this is a very flavorfulchange of pace, and as I mentioned in the video, perfect for bringing to acookout. A German potato salad must be eaten warm, or at least room temp, soplacing a bowl of this on a sunny picnic table works out very well.
I use a ton of bacon in my version, because it’s bacon, butif you do decide to use less, you’ll have to add some vegetable or olive oil tothe dressing to make up the difference. You could just use less vinegar, butthen you might not have enough dressing to really soak the potatoes, whichwould be a shame. So, what I’m trying to say is, use a lot of bacon. Eitherway, I really do hope you give this great potato salad a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 8 Portions Grilled German Potato Salad:
2 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, grilled until just tender
1/4 cup freshly chopped Italian parsley
For the dressing:
8 ounces sliced bacon
1 cup diced yellow onion
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
cayenne to taste
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
Note: If you want you dressing tangier, add more vinegar,but if you want it less so, you’ll have to adjust with vegetable oil, since youcan’t add more bacon fat.
Posted byChef Johnat5:16 PM17comments
Labels:German Cuisine,Grill Recipes,Potato,Side Dish
Friday, September 22, 2017
How to Make Spätzle (aka Spaetzle) – Little Sparrows for Big Meat
Apparently “Spätzle” translates to “little sparrows” inGerman, which makes a lot of sense when you consider their shape. What doesn’tmake sense is why these micro-dumplings are also called “spaetzle.” Is it analternate spelling? A different recipe? I’m hoping maybe some of our Germanfoodwishers can clear this up.
Since my favorite German restaurant calls this stuff spätzle,that’s what I went with, and they are as easy to make, as they are hard tocorrectly pronounce. You only need a few ingredients, all of which yougenerally have on hand at all times, and they take just minutes to cook.
Once boiled, you can toss in butter like I did, or sauce themany way you’d sauce similarly shaped pasta. While wonderful served as-is, theymake the perfect side dish to any large hunk of slowly braised meat. I pairedmine with a pork shoulder stewed in hard cider, and it was amazing.
I thought I’d posted a video for that, but it was actually acider-braised pork cheeks recipe I was thinking of, which would work perfectlyhere. So, I may have to do a braised pork shoulder after all. In the meantime,I’m sure you’ll have little trouble figuring out what to serve yours with, andI really do hope you give this Spätzle recipe a try soon. Enjoy!
Makes 2 portions:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus more to adjust
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
pinch of cayenne
1 tablespoon cream fraiche, sour cream, or yogurt
3 tablespoons milk
Posted byChef Johnat7:54 PM65comments
Labels:German Cuisine,Pasta,Side Dish
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
The hardest thing about this amazingtarte flambée recipe isn’t the prep, or finding some exotic ingredient, it’sactually trying to explain to your guests why it’s not called pizza. I’mreminded of that old saying, “If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, andlooks like a duck, sometimes it’s a trout.”
That’s right, while this is a pizzaalmost everywhere else, in certain places on the German/French border, it goesby the totally dessert-sounding name of tarte flambée. Just tell people thename comes from the fact it used to be cooked in a fire, and then trail off.
Once your crust is pre-browned andtopped, you have several options for bringing this to a successful, andhopefully crispy conclusion. Since the bottom is already browned, I usuallyjust broil it on high, about 8 inches from the flame, for about 5 minutes, oruntil the top is looking just right.
The other method would be to pop itin a 500 F. oven, for about 7-10 minutes, or until you’re completely happy. Or, you canactually do both – start in a hot oven, and then give it a minute under thebroiler to seal the deal. Either way, I really hope you give this tarte flambéea try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 4 tarte flambée:
4 balls prepared pizza dough (about 5ounces each) Note: Wolfgang Puck pizza dough recipe would would perfectly
12 ounces bacon, sliced
1 large yellow onion, sliced, cooked with salt, until soft, but not caramelized
For the cheese mixture:
1 cup formage blanc
1/4 cup crème fraiche
pinch of nutmeg
salt and freshly ground black pepper totaste
cayenne to taste
Posted byChef Johnat10:36 PM15comments
Labels:Appetizer,Cheese,German Cuisine,Pizza,Pork
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Beef Rouladen – German Engineering You Can Eat
For something that looks and tastes as impressive as thisbeef rouladen, it’s actually one of the simplest stuffed meat recipes I know. Everythinghappens right on the meat, and after a quick roll and tie, we simmer in thegravy until tender. The beef and fixings flavor the sauce, the sauce flavorsthe beef, and everybody wins.
Regarding the meat, one of the great things about thistechnique, is that you can pretty much use any cheap cut of beef they have onsale. I used some round steak, but rump, chuck, flap meat, and other similarcuts will work.
Tell your butcher you’re making rouladen, and they will hookyou up with what you need. If they’ve never heard of rouladen, then you shouldprobably find another butcher. As I mentioned in the video, this can be scaledup to any size group. Just use a bigger pot, and the recipe will work as shown.I really hope you give this Rouladen recipe a try soon. Genießen!
Ingredients for 2 Beef Rouladen:
2 (about 1/4-inch thick) slices of cheap beef, about 6ounces per slice. I used round, but rump, chuck, flap meat, and any other longcooking cuts will work.
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
4 strips pancetta or bacon
paprika to taste
sliced onion, as needed
6 slices dill pickle
1 tbsp vegetable oil
For the gravy:
2 tbsp butter, added to the pan drippings
1/4 cup flour
3 cups beef broth, veal, or chicken stock
salt to taste
Posted byChef Johnat2:46 PM35comments
Labels:Beef,German Cuisine
Monday, September 24, 2012
Beef Short Ribs "Sauerbraten" – Oh, Snap!
I had heard that some sauerbratens were finished bythickening the sauce with ground gingersnaps, but hadnever tried it since it just sounds so wrong. It certainly doesn’t seem veryGerman. Cookies in a sauce? What’s next, laughing in public?
Anyway, I’ve had a lot of “do something German!” food wisheslately, and since I’ve wanted to post another short ribs recipe, this seemedlike the perfect opportunity to go full cookie. The results shocked and amazedme. This was comfort food at it's finest.
The 24-hour marinade ensured the succulent rib meat had thatsignature tanginess, and those little cookies not only gave the sauce abeautiful texture, but also added a great spicy sweetness. I am now officiallyin favor of using cookies to finish savory sauces.
With cooler weather on the way, it’s time to rediscover thesimple joy of slowly stewed meat, and what better way than with this delicioustake on a German classic? I hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
For the marinade
3 lbs short ribs, seasoned with salt and pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2/3 cup cider vinegar
2/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups water, plus 1 cup cold water at end to coolmarinade down
2 bay leaves
9 whole cloves
12 juniper berries
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon salt
*Marinate at least 24 hours
Then stew with:
1 chopped large onion
1 chopped carrot
2 ribs celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup water
1 cup chicken or beef broth
2 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup crushed gingersnaps
salt and pepper to taste
View the complete recipe
Posted byChef Johnat12:07 AM20comments
Labels:Beef,German Cuisine,Sauces,Stews
Monday, July 9, 2012
Crispy Pork Cutlets with Creamy Jalapeno Green Onion Gravy – Say Auf Wiedersehen to the 3-Pan Breading Station!
This is what happens when you have two food wishes in yourhead at the same time. I’ve wanted to do a schnitzel video für immer, butthanks to another recent food wish, I was also craving biscuits with creamgravy. So, I sort of did both, and it worked out well. Very well.
The crispy pork cutlet part of the presentation is verysimple and straightforward, but it did afford the opportunity to share my new breading system. With all the time you’ll save, you can hitthe gym to burn off this less than light, but extremely satisfying meal.
I’ve never been a big fan of the 3-pan breading system. Once you dredge meat in the prescribed dish of seasoned flour, you haveto toss the rest. The whole idea is to simply coat the meat with flour, so whynot just sprinkle on already seasoned meat? We use much less flour that way,and with zero waste.
From there, we’re not dipping these in a bowl of beateneggs. Why do that, when we can just dump one egg on to the same plate and tossto coat. Faster, easier, and one egg is plenty for four cutlets.
As far as the cream gravy goes, the jalapenos and greenonion probably seem logical, but some may raise an eyebrow overthe diced dill pickle. I’m not sure exactly why I added them, but Ijust had one of those feelings. Pickles and pork, dill and cream sauce, it feltright, and it tasted even righter.
By the way, you can substitute veal, beef, turkey or chicken forthe pork without missing a beat. Anyway, I hope you give this easy pork cutlet, delicious cream gravy, and/or new breading system a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 8 Cutlets (makes four entrée size portionsof 2 cutlets each):
2 fully trimmed pork tenderloins, cut into 8 pieces, poundedflat
salt and pepper to taste
flour as needed
2 eggs
about 3 cups panko breadcrumbs
For the gravy:
2 tbsp melted butter
1/3 cup diced dill pickles
1 or 2 jalapeños, small dice
1 bunch green onions, chopped
salt and cayenne to taste
1 1/2 tablespoon flour
1 1/2 cup cold milk, plus more to adjust thickness if needed
View the complete recipe
Posted byChef Johnat1:00 AM51comments
Labels:German Cuisine,Pork,Sauces,Spicy
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Braised Red Cabbage – That is All
No matter how basic or boring an ingredient or dish is, I can usually come up with something to pontificate on, but for this lovely braised red cabbage recipe, I’ve got absolutely nothing.
I could go on about how I’m not sure what that color red is called, but I did that in the video. I could joke about taking one for the team, and keeping this side dish purely vegetarian for a change, but there’s nothing funny about not adding bacon.
I could suggest a few easy ways to turn this into an amazing one-dish meal, by adding some smoked sausage or leftover pork ribs, but that’s probably so obvious that I’d be insulting your intelligence.
Or, I could have gone into a great, old prep cook anecdote about how I won $10 from a pastry chef in 1987 by juggling red cabbages on the hotline during service, but that would have meant making up the story, since it was actually cantaloupes.
No, I’m not going to mention any of that. I'll simply suggest that if you want an easy, gorgeous looking, and very tasty vegetable side dish, then you should give this a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 4-6 portions:
2 tbsp butter
1 small Red cabbage, sliced thin, about a 1 1/4 pounds
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup red wine
2 tbsp red wine vinegar, or to taste
2 tbsp white sugar
pinch of caraway seeds
salt and pepper to taste
*Note: there are SO many ways to tweak this recipe! Raisins, currants, shallots, onions, leeks, apples, and pears are just a few things that rock in this recipe.
Posted byChef Johnat4:20 PM31comments
Labels:German Cuisine,Side Dish,Vegetables
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Canned Cheeseburgers? How do you say WTF in German?
As the old cliché goes, you just can't make this stuff up. The photo you see here has not been doctored. It's directly from the German website Trekking-Mahlzeiten, which offers ready-made meals for hikers. They're selling, for $3.95 euros each, a canned cheeseburger. Of all the food products I've wished existed, I can say that a canned cheeseburger has never crossed my mind. I've added a link to the site in hopes that someone orders one, and writes a review for the site. Frankly, I just don't have the guts to try one myself.As disturbing as the thought of a canned cheeseburger is, what really bothers me about the photo are the garnishes. I'm assuming it doesn't come dressed with lettuce and tomato, and that these are just "serving suggestions" to make the whole thing seem less horrible. But, cucumbers? Cucumbers? Do German's put cucumbers on their cheeseburgers? Imagine the shame for the citizens of Hamburg. It's enough to make you want to move to Frankfurt. UPDATE!!!
Thanks to a tip from scallywag, here is a live taste test of the above mentioned canned cheeseburger! I don't speak German, but you really don't have to in order to understand this review. Enjoy?
Posted byChef Johnat12:21 PM36comments
Labels:Blog News,German Cuisine
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Roast Pork Tenderloin with Apple Cider Dijon Pan Sauce - Déjà Vu to You Too
I've used pork tenderloin in several video recipes on the site, and I always say the same things; easy to cook, tender, tasty, fast, etc. So, I'm not going to bore you with why I love this cut of pork again. I'm sure you don't want to hear how it needs almost no trimming, and cooks in only about 20 minutes again. No need to explain about the delicious pan sauces that can be made once it comes out of the oven, like this amazing Apple Dijon Sauce. Deglazing, reducing, finishing with butter…you've probably been there and done that. What I will say however is that if your planning on cooking a holiday dinner, and you're not the most confident cook in the world, you should consider this recipe. It's really hard to screw up, and believe me I've tried. Of course, that's assuming that by now I've convinced you to get a meat thermometer, and you use it on this pork to get a perfect internal temperature for maximum succulence. Teaser Alert: I also will be posting a great, health cauliflower and potato side dish video soon that will be perfect with this roast pork and sauce. Enjoy!
Posted byChef Johnat3:49 AM23comments
Labels:French Cuisine,German Cuisine,Pork,Sauces
Monday, September 24, 2007
Cider Braised Beef Brisket - Slow Food for Fast Times
Braising is such a great cooking technique in general, and in particular for the new cook. It's such a forgiving method; The meat is always moist, the timing doesn’t have to be exact since it’s virtually impossible to overcook, and easy to put back in to cook longer, and best of all…most braised recipes make there our sauce or jus (natural juice)! This is a classic beef brisket dish I learned from a German chef many years ago. As you'll see in this video recipe, it takes about 10 minutes to prep, and after a nice, leisurely 3-hour braise, you have an amazingly aromatic, and succulent brisket. This is a great dish any time of the year, but it is especially perfect on that chilly fall night, or for that holiday dinner party. Since the average brisket runs about 5 to 6 pounds, it’s great for entertaining. And the leftovers? Forget about it; there is nothing like a brisket sandwich.
There is an aroma that this dish produces as the apple cider, garlic, and rosemary vapors somehow escape the tight foil wrap and waft throughout the kitchen and house that no scented candle has ever come close to surpassing. This is a great meal, and the best kind of aromatherapy. I served it with a new carrot dish I just developed that uses Chinese 5-spice with some surprisingly results. I will show that video recipe soon. It was a perfect match for this dish. Enjoy.
Ingredients:
5 pound beef brisket
6 cloves garlic
1 tbl dried rosemary
salt and pepper to taste (this needs to be seasoned generously)
1 pint apple cider
2 tbl olive oil
1 yellow onion
Posted byChef Johnat11:57 AM35comments
Labels:Beef,German Cuisine,Stews
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