The German food experiment begins

This is the first year I am going to Europe for my Thanksgiving 2 sub-theme. Last year’s theme was a journey into the past, into Colonial America. The German beer selection is what really led me to that country this year. Whenever I have encountered German food in the past I can definitely say I liked it, but I can't say it's my favorite cuisine. The choice for this year is really based on the beer. As of today I’ve now made 5 dishes of the 20 or so I have found. I think I'm going to like this experiment a great deal.

The first dish I decided to try was the molasses/honey cookie lebkuchen (pronounced leeb-khoo-ken). The February "birthday day" at my office came up and I knew I was going to participate. I chose this cookie because I felt it would keep all day and be accepted. While making it I found the lebkuchen to be a dry dough, but overall a very easy recipe. I used dry fruit instead of the dried candied fruit peel that the recipe calls for. I think this single substitution was a good one. It came out tasting like a cross between a moist gingerbread cookie with just a hint of "rock cake". (The rock cake is a scone-like cookie I have made for Harry Potter Movie Marathons over the years)  Everyone that tasted the cookies at work seemed to genuinely like them, but it is an office so I wasn't taking the verbal compliments to heart. I’ve found that the best way to judge at any office is by how quickly the item disappears. My friends and family have also enjoyed them. The molasses provides most of the flavor, while the fruit and almonds add small hints of flavor as you hit them, and the honey keeps the cookies very moist and soft. I've decided that the lebkuchen are definitely making an appearance at TH2 this year.

The second experimental food is one I haven’t had before this month, the bratwurst. I am on a quest for the next 6 months to try and find and then eat at least 5 different types of German sausages. I have found one German market/butcher near my office. I thought it would be best to start with the easiest and simplest sausage I could find, the readily available Johnsonville bratwurst. Thankfully, I enjoyed them. I am curious to buy them at the butcher and see what the differences are. I have a feeling that the huge Amish community in PA may help me with this sausage experiment also.

The third dish I tried is German Sausage Chowder. It has kielbasa, cabbage, potatoes and Swiss cheese. As with most soups it’s a fairly easy recipe to make. Basically, toss ingredients into a pot, boil it and add the cheese. The only issue I have with this is the choice of Swiss cheese. I’m not a huge fan. When I made the chowder for the first time, I followed the recipe line for line. I wanted to get an idea of what the writer was going for.The positives I found: The thickness was perfect. It looked and tasted like chowder, it had a very smooth mouth-feel, and the cheese flavor was just right. The Swiss was not overpowering. I found only one negative: The sausage flavor was not very evident unless I had a piece of sausage on my spoon. After some thought, I came up with a way to improve it. I’m going to cut down on the cabbage by a bit and I’ll be replacing it with more onion. Also, I'm going to brown the sausage in the pot before the whole process starts, and then caramelize the onions in the fat from the sausage. Finally, I will be adding a 2^nd pound of sausage, which will probably be bratwurst. I’m hoping these few changes will make me feel more comfortable with serving it to other people. I made a second pot of this for an event I was going to. I brought an entire Crock-Pot and left with only 25% of it. For the amount of food that was at the gathering and I think that's pretty good. I liked the browned sausage and onions. This one will be making the trip to TH2.6.

Th 4th dish is one I was a bit concerned about. It's gurkensalat or cucumber salad. It is like a coleslaw more than a lettuce salad. I made the first batch of this for the just passed Easter dinner. I liked the flavor of the dressing, but I found it a bit watery. I thought I had removed a large amount of water, but to me it didn't feel like enough. My parents and wife enjoyed it, so It has 4 positive reviews so far. I found it a bit sweet, but not too much so. I was able to taste the dill and the paprika, but the parsley disappeared. I have a few small changes to make, but I will make it at least once more, just to get a larger review pool.

Finally, the March “Birthday Day” at work came up and I went back to dessert-land. I found a German Apple Cake recipe that was pretty simple, yet tasty. The recipe calls for a rectangular flat glass pan, but I’d prefer to use a tube or a Bundt pan for aesthetic reasons. I proceeded to make it twice, once in the glass pan, and once in the Bundt pan. The glass pan produces a crisper crust, while the Bundt pan created a nicer shape and an exceptionally moist cake. I clearly need to practice another time or two to lower the moisture content a little. This was a big hit at work. 90% of it was gone by lunchtime. I will take that and my wife's endorsement as enough praise. There will be German Apple Cake!

If I can keep up this pace I should have just about 20 German dishes in my repertoire for Thanksgiving 2.6. I had 10 Colonial themed dishes last year. If I can narrow it down to 15 dishes by the beginning of November then I’ll be in good shape. It seems like Thanksgiving 2.6 is very far away, but by keeping it in my mind all year it feels like it will be less hectic as the day gets closer.