German Food

My father grew up speaking German at home. For some time, his parents spoke only German. When Dad married, his mother taught my mother some recipes that we still have in the family. Hopefully I’ve got some of them in a box I never opened from my mother’s estate, as we moved the next day and our lives were in turmoil.

Rouladen is sliced beef around a carrot, slice of onion and seasonings that is seared then braised. It was never a favorite of mine and I’ve never made it, don’t have a recipe but could figure it out easily. Soup with farina balls, the “treasures” my sister hid because she hated them. Rice pudding.

My favorite was kugelhopf, a lemon-laced quick bread with raisins, baked in a bundt-type pan. I tried to get the recipe from Mom before she died but was unsuccessful, and have not had online success either. Mom always added enough flour, sugar and eggs in stages until it looked right. Now that I think of it, I never saw her make it but always asked if I could watch so I could get the proportions and technique right. Go out and play, you crazy kid! No, she never said that but thought it, I’m sure. Today, I’d love to make two breads, one to eat, cold or even better toasted; another for a bread pudding with creme anglaise laced with cognac.

We never made Sauerbraten. In college I looked up the recipe and we actually had room at home to marinate beef for four days. Now, sadly, I do not. When we were kids we lived in the middle of nowhere and drove further into nowhere to go to the only German restaurant in the county. That’s where we had our birthday dinners. That’s where I tried Schnitzel, latkes, and Sauerbraten. It was an incredible treat. One time I was driving with a colleague from a meeting in the Finger Lakes back home and we stopped in Binghampton NY, at a German restaurant. Even though that was over 20 years ago I still remember that Sauerbraten with red cabbage and applesauce. Perhaps someday, hopefully my Dad will be visiting, I’ll try to replicate that meal.

For me, perhaps my mother’s signature dish was what she made for our birthdays. We got a birthday request and the smart ones among us four chose her Viennese Chocolate Torte. It was a nut-based genoise with a milk chocolate ganache filling and dark chocolate glaze. Very complex flavorings for a child but something I’d love to make someday.

We grew up with lebkuchen, a German/Swiss variety of spicy cakes we received each year (stale because of shipping, waiting until Christmas when we got it in September then waiting until each of us wrote our own thank-you note before nibbling) that I’ve bought as treats for my husband’s family. They were returned because the Southern palate is unaccustomed to such “savory” desserts. I love them, which is why I love the Torte.

My mother and sisters were always the dessert people. I always cooked snacks, appetizers and main and side dishes. Interesting that my sense memories are mainly about desserts! My mother-in-law makes fantastic desserts and is called upon to make wedding cakes for family and friends near her home.

No photos, and I can’t even think of German food I cook today, it’s mostly Italian or Greek or French or downright American. Thanks for reading. Tune in tomorrow. If you want me to opine on a particular subject, let me know. Cheers, Dee