One of the most memorable dishes from our trip to Germany was a venison Gulaschsuppe (goulash soup) in the Bavarian town of Schwangau. Thanks to Stephen Cashman, we now have some venison in our freezer; however, it came a little too late for our Oktoberfest celebration. Instead, we found some elk meat at one of our favorite local country stores,... Read more
We’re rallying to wrap up our Germany trip recaps and Oktoberfest party recipes this week. And then we have a lot of catching up to do! From Nick’s newly acquired bread baking skills to Moroccan vegetable stew and Cincinnati chili to our handcrafted bedroom nightstands. Until then … I visited Tait Farm in Centre Hall last week to find out... Read more
There are probably hundreds of regional varieties of Wursts (sausages) in Germany. We were limited by what is available here in central Pennsylvania, but we were able to find a few of the more common versions to serve at our party. Weisswurst (white sausage): A true Bavarian Wurst composed of minced veal, pork, and seasonings. To follow proper German etiquette,... Read more
Wiener Schnitzel is a classic German dish that originated in Wien or Vienna, Austria. Although it’s not typical fare at Oktoberfest, it certainly has its place on every German table. We decided to do a bite size variation so that our guests could enjoy it without filling up on the real deal. Traditionally Wiener Schnitzel is made with veal, but... Read more
Germans like meat almost as much as they like beer. In fact, on the morning of our Oktoberfest party, our fridge was stocked with five pounds of pork for schnitzel, two pounds of elk for goulasch, three types of wursts, and two packages of bacon. And keeping cool in the garage were three cases of beer. Now we were pretty... Read more
In Munich, we indulged in pretzels as big as our heads. Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible to make dozens of gigantic pretzels for our Oktoberfest party. So we made 50 mini versions instead. Nick is the bread baker in this marriage, but he was busy buying beer and tenderizing meat on Saturday morning, so it was just me and the flour... Read more
(Previously: The end of the Romantic Road.) One of the most wonderful things about our trip to Germany — aside from the romantic castles and cobblestone streets, the liters of beer and pretzels as big as our heads, and the cowbells — was that we got to share it with friends and family. We met Nick’s godmother in Bad Heilbrunn... Read more
Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Cherry Cake) is a dessert commonly found in southern Germany, and one that we made a few months ago. But it would have been time consuming to slice and serve during our Oktoberfest party, so we turned the traditional cake into a cute little cookie. The ingredients are basically the same, but instead of a fluffy... Read more
Life is short. Eat dessert first. Or, in this case, blog about it first. I took off work on Friday to bake and cook and clean for our first annual Oktoberfest party. And I enjoyed every minute. Does that make me odd? I hope not. I put on my apron, laid out my cookbooks and recipe cards, and turned up... Read more
We hosted our first annual Oktoberfest party yesterday, and it was a smashing success! I hand rolled 60 mini pretzels, prepared two types of potato salad, and baked two dozen German chocolate cupcakes and four dozen Black Forest cherry cookies. Nick made five pounds of schnitzel, three varieties of wursts, and a pot of Goulasch. And it wouldn’t be an... Read more