A Taste of the Old World for Christmas
This month's travel feature took you to the Alpine region of Bavaria. I lived there for over four years and just writing about it was so nostalgic that I've decided this year to cook up my North American version of a proper German Christmas meal.
Germans don't eat much turkey and certainly do not associate it with a Christmas tradition. In fact, I'm pretty sure our relatives still living there will be enjoying a roasted hare. I wrinkle my nose at the very thought! I guess I'm just too New World for such things.
My 3-course menu starts with leek and potato soup, which I puree until it's smooth like applesauce and then garnish with chopped chives or shallots. I cheat and use OXO chicken stock - you get a wonderful hearty soup with hardly any effort. Here's a wonderful recipe from Epicurious for leek and potato soup.
If I can find it, I serve the soup with a dark German rye bread. This is not to everyone's taste, so I might supplement with a baguette or sourdough. Almost impossible to find (but totally worth the effort) are soft Bavarian-style pretzels. I've made my own at home, but the ingredients are different on this side of the pond and I can't duplicate authentically.
The main course will be pork ribs with sauerkraut. I season my ribs with freshly ground black pepper and sea salt, then let sit for a few hours. They will bake for about 1½ hours uncovered at 325-350°F. During the last 30 minutes of baking, I sauté a small-medium chopped onion in butter (I prefer it over oil) until glassy, then toss in 1½ cups or so of prepared sauerkraut. I use regular sauerkraut, not the Bavarian-style variety (it has caraway seeds - yuck). I heat it through and then spread the mixture over the ribs and cover for the last 15-20 minutes.
The side dishes will be a tomato & sweet onion salad with balsamic vinaigrette and boiled potatoes seasoned with dill. If I'm really feeling ambitious, I might make spaetzle (German noodles) served with a simple gravy or melted butter. Here is a really basic recipe from Chef 2 Chef.
Dessert? At this point we're stuffed to the gills and only a shot or two of Jägermeister will ease the digestive process. Maybe in an hour or two we'll be up for eating my cheater version of Black Forest torte.
I use a basic chocolate cake recipe (or even a Betty Crocker mix) that I thicken up just a bit so it can handle the moisture of the filling. Ideally, I make a double recipe and bake it in a large spring form pan so that I can slice it into three sections horizontally (baking them separately is a pain because of the dome tops you'll have to slice off anyway). The first filling is whipped cream flavored with a little Kirschwasser (cherry brandy) and vanilla, stiffened with a little bit of icing sugar. The second filling is cherry sauce that you can make from fresh, frozen or canned tart cherries. You'll need to sweeten and thicken the sauce, or in a pinch use cherry pie filling.
(Sorry, purists. I had to go there.)
Assemble the cake as follows. Sprinkle a tablespoon of Kirschwasser over the bottom cake layer. Spread a third of the cream, then spoon half the cherry sauce on top. Repeat the process, ending with the final slab of cake on top. Smear the remaining whipped cream over the whole cake and garnish with shaved chocolate. If you're in a hurry, just dust some cocoa powder using a sieve.
Eat this cake in moderation! The first time I made it my husband and I were really tipsy because we each had a large slice. Or was it the Chardonnay from dinner and the Jägermeister afterward? I forget.
Prost! ("cheers")
Germans don't eat much turkey and certainly do not associate it with a Christmas tradition. In fact, I'm pretty sure our relatives still living there will be enjoying a roasted hare. I wrinkle my nose at the very thought! I guess I'm just too New World for such things.
My 3-course menu starts with leek and potato soup, which I puree until it's smooth like applesauce and then garnish with chopped chives or shallots. I cheat and use OXO chicken stock - you get a wonderful hearty soup with hardly any effort. Here's a wonderful recipe from Epicurious for leek and potato soup.
If I can find it, I serve the soup with a dark German rye bread. This is not to everyone's taste, so I might supplement with a baguette or sourdough. Almost impossible to find (but totally worth the effort) are soft Bavarian-style pretzels. I've made my own at home, but the ingredients are different on this side of the pond and I can't duplicate authentically.
The main course will be pork ribs with sauerkraut. I season my ribs with freshly ground black pepper and sea salt, then let sit for a few hours. They will bake for about 1½ hours uncovered at 325-350°F. During the last 30 minutes of baking, I sauté a small-medium chopped onion in butter (I prefer it over oil) until glassy, then toss in 1½ cups or so of prepared sauerkraut. I use regular sauerkraut, not the Bavarian-style variety (it has caraway seeds - yuck). I heat it through and then spread the mixture over the ribs and cover for the last 15-20 minutes.
The side dishes will be a tomato & sweet onion salad with balsamic vinaigrette and boiled potatoes seasoned with dill. If I'm really feeling ambitious, I might make spaetzle (German noodles) served with a simple gravy or melted butter. Here is a really basic recipe from Chef 2 Chef.
Dessert? At this point we're stuffed to the gills and only a shot or two of Jägermeister will ease the digestive process. Maybe in an hour or two we'll be up for eating my cheater version of Black Forest torte.
I use a basic chocolate cake recipe (or even a Betty Crocker mix) that I thicken up just a bit so it can handle the moisture of the filling. Ideally, I make a double recipe and bake it in a large spring form pan so that I can slice it into three sections horizontally (baking them separately is a pain because of the dome tops you'll have to slice off anyway). The first filling is whipped cream flavored with a little Kirschwasser (cherry brandy) and vanilla, stiffened with a little bit of icing sugar. The second filling is cherry sauce that you can make from fresh, frozen or canned tart cherries. You'll need to sweeten and thicken the sauce, or in a pinch use cherry pie filling.
(Sorry, purists. I had to go there.)
Assemble the cake as follows. Sprinkle a tablespoon of Kirschwasser over the bottom cake layer. Spread a third of the cream, then spoon half the cherry sauce on top. Repeat the process, ending with the final slab of cake on top. Smear the remaining whipped cream over the whole cake and garnish with shaved chocolate. If you're in a hurry, just dust some cocoa powder using a sieve.
Eat this cake in moderation! The first time I made it my husband and I were really tipsy because we each had a large slice. Or was it the Chardonnay from dinner and the Jägermeister afterward? I forget.
Prost! ("cheers")
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