Scandinavian Recipe #3: Swedish Chocolate Balls (Chokladboll)

Coconut and Nonpareil versions

      Chokladboll is a Swedish confection that is often one of a Swedish child's first recipes that they are allowed to make on their own. This is a no-bake cookie/cake/ball that ended up being fairly simple with a few twists. On to the recipe. 

The ingredients.

•  4 C regular rolled oats
• 1-1/4 C white sugar 
• 1/2 C unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 C butter (softened)
• 2 TBSP strong coffee
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 oz unsweetened chocolate (melted)
• 1/3 C coconut flakes

 Directions

1. Mix the oats, sugar, and cocoa together in a bowl. Add the butter, and use your hands to mix the ingredients together to make a thick dough. Mix in the coffee, vanilla, and chocolate until thoroughly blended.
2. Place the coconut flakes in a small bowl. Pinch off small amounts of dough and roll between your hands to make small balls, about 1-1/2 inches in diameter. Roll the balls in the coconut flakes. Balls are ready to eat, or may be refrigerated 2 hours to become firmer.

"Batter" about to be shaped.

      The recipe is simply mixing ingredients into a bowl and then rolling them into golf balls. While the mixing is easy, the rolling into the golf balls is time consuming and not the easiest. I'd recommend having a helper when you are making these. It took me around 45 minutes to make 1 whole batch from start to finish by myself. The main issue I had was in the actual rolling of the balls. The dough did not hold together very well at first.They just wouldn't hold their shape at first. I decided to add an additional TBSP of coffee. You will notice in the pictures that I had some trouble keeping them round. I decided  to shape them into cubes about halfway through the process. The sprinkles or coconut  adhered much better after I made cubes.
     I found a  few other Chokladboll recipes that mentioned that you can eat these "fresh", refrigerated for an hour or even freeze them for several days ahead of time. We tried all 3 ways and I found that refrigerated produced the nicest texture. Freezing them made them too difficult to eat, and the fresh ones just fell apart to easily when lifted to the mouth. At the very least I would let them sit and meld overnight at the very least.
      I have made this recipe 3 times as of June 1st. I made them for our Super Bowl guests, for my immediate family and for one of the work "birthday days". They were a hit at all 3 occasions. The coconut versions ended up being slightly more popular than the sprinkle/non-nonpareil versions, but the sprinkle/nonpareil versions were much appreciated for those individuals who do not enjoy coconut. 
     When TH2 comes around I will be making these for the dessert table. They are relatively easy to make and they fill a different chocolate niche than the few other chocolate dishes that I regularly make. I feel 1.5 to 2 batches will be plenty for around 50 people. The fact that they can be made several days ahead of time is a great boon too. 

Lone ball

January Recipe #2: Swedish Chanterelle Mushroom Pate

The finished pate, wrapped in the ham shell.

Swedish Chanterelle Mushroom Pate 
       (I am not quite sure if this recipe is actually Swedish or it's just called Swedish by the authors. Regardless of its origin I attempted it.)

• 1 TBSP butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 shallots, finely minced
• 1 TBSP butter
• 1 lb fresh chanterelle mushrooms 
• 1/4 C fresh parsley, chopped
• 3/4 lb ground pork
• 2 egg whites
• 1-1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 C cream
• 10 thin slices smoked ham

A very simple ingredient list.

 Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan with aluminum foil.
2. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic and shallots; cook and stir until the shallot has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Scrape into a mixing bowl, and set aside to cool. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chanterelles, and cook until the mushrooms are tender and golden around the edges, about 5 minutes. Stir in the parsley, and cook for 30 seconds more, then scrape the mushrooms into the mixing bowl, and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
3. Mix the ground pork, egg whites, salt, and pepper into the mushroom mixture with your hands until evenly blended. Stir in the cream until absorbed by the pork mixture. Line the bottom and sides of the loaf pan with the smoked ham. Pack the meat mixture into the loaf pan and flatten the top.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until the pate is no longer pink in the center, and has reached an internal temperature of 160 degrees F (72 degrees C), about 1 hour. Serve hot or cold in slices.

All the ingredients before the pork and cream are added.

       After having made it and tasted the finished product I don't think it's going to matter where it originates from because it didn't exactly thrill me.

The final mixed pate as I'm loading it into the ham shell.

     It was a very simple recipe to bring together. Simply chop and mix. When I added the cream I was not expecting it to become absorbed, but it did. You can see in the above picture that the mix was not soupy.

2 slices of the final pate.

     It hadn't occurred to me that this would have the same mouth-feel as a traditional meatloaf or a pork heavy meatball. I think it reminds me of both because of the heavy use of parsley. It was a bit more bland than the last meatloaf I made. I chose to eat it with a side of bread, as if I was eating a meatloaf sandwich. I was hoping the addition of a chewy bread would improve it for me, but it did not.
The recipe does say that it can be eaten warm or chilled. I tried it both ways, but chilling it did not improve it for me. 

     I will not be adding this to the TH2. menu. I think compared to the existing recipes the light flavor of the pate will not find many fans. Also, the unusual texture will probably turn a few guests off. A bit too bland and too odd for Thanksgiving 2.7. I have one more Swedish recipe to try out this month. Look for the Swedish Chocolate Balls (not kidding) in the next few days. 

*UPDATE: The leftover pate has been in the fridge for a couple days now and there has been a textural change. It has become more dense and less like a meat loaf. The mushrooms are very springy still and the parsley flavor has intensified.I am just not a fan of that strong of a parsley flavor. The rest of the pate did improve texturally, but not enough for me to consider it for the menu.*

January's Recipe #1: Kladdkaka (Sticky Chocolate cake)

The finished Kladdkaka

The ingredients gathered together.

The Recipe: Kladdkaka

• 1/2 C all-purpose flour
• 1/4  C unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 2 eggs
• 1-1/3 C sugar
• 1 TBSP vanilla extract
• 1/2 C butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8-inch pie plate.
2. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt; set aside. Stir the eggs into the sugar until smooth. Add the flour mixture, and stir just until combined. Pour in the vanilla extract and butter; stir until well combined. Pour into prepared pie plate.
3. Bake on the lower rack of the preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until the center has slightly set. Allow cake to cool for 1 hour in the pie plate. Serve warm, or refrigerate overnight and serve cold.

 

This is right before I mixed the dry w the wet.

      This is the first attempt at a whole new cuisine, so I picked a relatively simple recipe to begin with this year. The only change I made was a procedural one. I used parchment paper to line the pie plate instead of simply greasing it. I ran into no issues with such a simple cake. 

     When eaten warm this is a gooey unleavened chocolate cake. The interior texture was reminiscent of a warm caramel or a thick shoofly pie interior. The top and "crust area" reminded me a corn flake's crispy texture. When it was refrigerated the interior texture totally changed and the inside became like a chocolate truffle. The flavor reminded me of one of those lava cakes that you get at a chain restaurant, but chewier. 
I think the ideal way to have this is either right out of the oven with some vanilla ice cream or if you prefer the truffle-like texture, I'd slice it into very thin slices.

You can see the crunchy top layer and the soft, gooey middle.

     I will be making this for the birthday day at work. I have not decided if I will bring it warm or cold though. If warm I will not pre-cut the cake. If I decide to go with the chilled version I will make relatively small slices to encourage many tastings. I will update this entry and say how well this performed. It would be nice to start the year off with a TH2 winner.

Thanksgiving 2: The Recipe Blog?

     A recipe blog? Am I changing my focus from Thanksgiving 2 prep to simply a food blog? Don't worry loyal Thanksgivers (too much?), I haven't abandoned you. I'm just going to add some depth to the recipe test entries. The idea for the addition came while talking with a few of the guests at Thanksgiving 2.6. It occurred to me that I have never posted pictures on the blog. If I add pictures and toss in a better description of the recipes I'm testing, I may attract a couple more readers. If 2 more people read the blog, maybe 1 more person will come to the event or feel like they could throw their own TH2 in their town. Both of which are the ultimate goal.

The new format for recipe testing entries will be the following:
-Name of recipe
-Ingredients
-Procedure
-Length of cook time, and ease of preparation

-Issues I encountered, if any, such as flavors and did any tasters enjoy it or how much was left if I took it to work
-Pictures will be placed where I deem appropriate, but there will always be a finished product picture

     The first birthday day is coming up at my place of business this week, so I will have an opportunity to try out my food blogging skills very soon. I realized that I made too many desserts for TH2.6, so I will have to find a couple sides or main dishes to bring into work. I have no issues with bringing a crock pot to keep food warm, but I am hoping to find a few recipes that can sit out for a few hours and not spoil.

     Now that I have a new format for the food testing blog entries, I have to come up with a method for testing to find the trial recipes. When I looked through my cookbooks, and the internet, I was overloaded with possibilities. I'm finding 3-4 times as many recipes that could work for the menu. The Scandinavians love of the Smorgasbord is right in line with the Thanksgiving 2 feast. However, I think I've come up with a decent concept. Scandinavia is made up of either 4 or 5 countries depending on whom you ask: Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and possibly Finland. I have 11 months to find around 10 recipes from 4-5 countries. Every month I'm going to focus on a different country for my recipe searching. I've decided to start with the largest country and January will be Sweden. There is a lot of overlap and redundancy among the 4(5) countries, and they each have a different language. It will take a little extra care each month to make sure I do not test the same recipe that has a different name. If nothing else this new method of blogging will keep it interesting for me. Now on to the recipes. 

Pajama Polar Palooza Preperations

     Now that I am over a month removed from Thanksgiving 2.6 and we're past New Year's Eve I can direct the event portion of my brain towards the upcoming Polar Palooza. This year's event has a pajama/sleepover theme. I get the privilege of pretending I am Sam Malone (not Woody, please) from Cheers one more time. I wonder who will be the Cliff or Norm of this years gathering. To keep the bar-tending interesting for me, I have decided to update the drink menu. Also, I am debating between a making a few adjustments towards my area behind the bar. Because I only have to focus on one small portion of this event I can really concentrate on improving my skills and improving the menu over the next month.

     Last year I had a 6 page menu available. Each page was dedicated to one broad style of drink. (Classic, Dessert, Modern, Sexy, Tropical and the Dueling Shot Menu) While talking to the host he pointed out that I had more drink choices than there were actual guests at the event. I've decided that I am going to keep the categories from last year, but decrease the number of drinks per page from 12 down to around 8. Quinton, the host, suggested I lower it even further possibly down to 5 or 6. I considered this for a long time, but when I started to edit the menus I just couldn't bring myself to remove that many drinks. I don't feel that I'm attached to any of them, but I do remember people enjoying the drinks that I'm keeping. I didn't keep track of what people ordered last time, so I am going from memory in what to remove. The only problem is that I know I am probably going to eliminate a couple of last year's favorites. Since the menu pages will change I will also have to update the "big board". I have an idea on how to utilize the new empty space on the board. I'm going to keep a marker by the board and have the guests put a mark next to the drink they ordered. I'm hoping this will encourage people to try a particularly popular drink or to try one that no one has been brave enough to taste. Marking what drink they have ordered will also let me trim next year's menu too. I think a reduced number of drinks on the menu and a way to keep track of what everyone is drinking will keep it running smoothly and keep it fun for me.

     After I started the reduction of cocktail options I had a request from the host  to create a new page of drinks specifically for the Palooza. I did a bit of research and found that there are very few cocktails named for sleeping/sleepover/pajama parties. This caught me by surprise because I would have thought this was an easy topic to create drinks about. I found a few cocktails that I thought would be good, and tweaked them a bit to create 4 wholly new cocktails. The 5th choice is one I created 2 years ago using a cereal infused milk and vodka. The drinks are: the Pillow Fight, Snowball to the Face, Teletubbie, Power Ranger and the Cap'n Crunch Shooter. These 5 drinks are brand new and unique as far as I know. The nice thing about having to create a new page of the menu was that the menu will still be reduced by around 1/3. It goes from 60 drinks to the low 40's not including the shots. If nothing else this will hopefully make the choices a bit easier for the guests.

     The Dueling Shots game menu gets a fairly large overhaul. I wanted the shot game to have a more even distribution of tasty shots to adventurous/exciting/awful shots. It is a game after all and without consequences what kind of game would it be? I have added the Battery Acid shot, Bear Droppings, Nuclear Fallout and The Facial. 3 of these are of the adventurous variety.The Dueling Shots game still requires 13 shots and will work the same as last year. To refresh everyone's memories, you play Duel Shots by first having the 2 people "pop" the 12 sided die. The high roller then gets to chooses between the 2 numbers rolled, then both players drink that shot. If it is a tie then the duelers get to drink the #13 shot. Overall, the game was enjoyed last year, and I don't think there will be a drop off. 

     Last year I wanted to add a bit of extra fanciness to the presentation by bringing some glassware to replace the plastic cups. I was saddened to find that this was an idea that didn't really work because of the limitations of the space and there is no way to add a sink to the cabana area. I enjoyed the fancy level that the glass brought, but I had an issue with getting the glasses cleaned quickly enough. I would need a whole new system to clean the glasses quickly enough to allow me to use them. I have been unable to come up with system that lets me rinse, wash and then dry them easily. I don't exactly have an unlimited amount of room, which also hinders this idea. These factors have helped me decide that I will not attempt this again.This time around I am going to get some nice clear plastic cups in a couple of different shapes. Party City has great prices on their clear plasticware and it happens to be on my way home from work. However, I will be bringing a handful of "Old Fashioned" glasses because I have a couple flaming drinks on the menus. I will only have a few actual glasses to deal with so I know the upkeep will be fairly simple.

     It will be a fun month. I have to finish up the menus and once that's done I get to test taste a few new drinks that I found. I'm also going to test out my counting ability when making cocktails. I'm going to see if I can remove the measuring devices and do it by eye. If I learn this skill I should increase my serving speed by 1/3 a least. This should be fun. .

For a sneak preview of the menu, here is the new Polar Palooza list of drinks created specifically for the gathering. 

    
    

Post Thanksgiving 2.6 thoughts.

     Now that I am far removed from the actual day I can look back at Thanksgiving 2.6 with a mostly positive eye. It took until 4pm for me to really start having fun, but I did have many hours of fun. When I started these blogs to help me to keep track of my ideas, and possible changes I knew I would have to be objective. There will be a lot of objective statements about the most recent TH2 because I did not feel that this was my best event. I did some things well, and I definitely found some items that I can fix for next time. From the feedback I have heard, the positives outweighed the negatives for the 55-ish people that stopped by to enjoy the holiday and eat some turkey. 

     The positive comments (from virtually everyone) made me feel a lot better after the gathering. Whenever someone ate a particular dish, and said they loved it, or when I saw someone go back for thirds I felt like I had some success. TH2 is mainly an eating event, and the eating went very well. This year I did a much better job at judging how much food to make. We had the lowest levels of leftovers ever. I think that if we had hit 60 people I would have had virtually nothing to put away at the end of the night. 

     The biggest “problem” I encountered this year was a time one. Now I have mentioned it in the past that I like having people arrive early to Thanksgiving 2 because it emulates how my family's Thanksgiving happens. Usually not everything is done and the early birds get to help. That may seem like an accident, but I plan it like that. The issue of time that I created for myself was probably 5 times worse than last year. To anyone with eyes I was very busy up until around 4 pm when I stopped cooking and finally sat down. Even with the help of the few early birds I was still severely behind schedule. I made the mistake of back loading my schedule to try and take advantage of the days I had taken off from work. This was a huge problem. I accomplished the set-up during the previous week, but I left too much of the cooking until the last days. All week I was following the schedule and keeping up with it. I felt very comfortable for most of the week. It turns out I was comfortable because I should have done one or two more items each day. Thursday the 5^th and Friday the 6^th should have had at least 2 more items cooked on each of those days. For example: the vegetarian turkey loaf needs to be pre-made in some fashion next year. I believe the inner stuffing can be made on Friday and then have the shell placed over it on the day of and then baked. The deviled eggs I made early on Saturday, and this is definitely a dish that can be made Friday night. I now know 100% that the only food that should be made on Saturday morning is the food that HAS to be made that day. Next year’s prep schedule will look significantly different. 

     The experiment with the indoor fire pit and the tenting of the yard did not go quite as well as I would have hoped. I am pretty sure that the smoke issues were created solely by the use of wet wood. I did not really how wet the wood on my back porch had gotten. The weather on Friday the 6^th was horrendous. It rained over an inch that day and even with the back yard tented off the wood got very wet. Thankfully, the smoke was only an issue for around an hour or 2 and there weren’t many people at the house. Once I smothered the fire and the “exhaust” hole was closed the yard area became a fairly pleasant area to hang out. One guest brought a “jet” style heater and when we fired this up around 8 or 9pm it created a genuinely warm atmosphere under the tent. I will be asking him to bring that next year. It was a great addition to the small propane heater I purchased.  As for the tenting of the yard, this was almost a complete success. The outdoor room was fairly cozy and it did create a much nicer space than a naked backyard would have been. The only downside was the smoke early on in the day. When Quinton came over to help disassemble the tenting we came up with a few ideas for next year’s enclosure. First of all, 40 feet of extra back yard was a bit of overkill, 30 feet is probably enough space. Secondly, if we change the roof shape to allow for an actual chimney I think we can try the indoor fire pit one more time. This is a decision that does not have to be made today though.  

      The final issue that isn't too much of an issue was the beer. What could be wrong with the beer you ask. Well, I bought 3 times more than was necessary. I did have fewer guests than I was expecting, but I would have needed 50 more people. The overabundance of beer has left me with several cases of beer that will not last until next year. I am thankful that around half of what I purchased has a high enough alcohol by volume (ABV) and is the right kind of beer that I can store it for a long while. I was left with 3-4 cases of beer that have to be consumed relatively soon. Thankfully, I was able to give out some well received Christmas presents this year. My family really enjoyed their variety packs. I have a feeling that I will be bringing some beer to the Polar Palooza too.

     Finally, I want to just mention that even with these issues I ran across that everyone seemed to have a generally good time. I know I did once I had caught up with the food. I noticed many beers were tried, and the ox-tail and sauerbraten were greatly enjoyed. The fried turkeys were a hit as always. Now I know to buy less beer, make fewer desserts, make more side dishes and 4 turkeys is an absolute necessity. It is time now to take a break and think only of Thanksgiving 2 in the light terms. I found a few Scandinavian cookbooks, and I have a few weeks to look them over. Let's see if I can make the viking Thanksgiving a good one. 

Final German Food Update (and why are these plums yellow?!)

The final dishes have been found! I had around 2 weeks to go and I was still finalizing recipes. This took longer than it should have, but the year long experiment seems to have worked. I was able to dig up a version of sauerbraten that I really liked and I found one more side dish, fried cabbage fritters. It may have taken 10 months to find all of the recipes for Thanksgiving 2.6, but it was worth it. I believe I have chosen dishes that will be enjoyed by many people. If no one else likes them at least I’ll enjoy the leftovers. The addition of these final 2 gives me a total of 1 German appetizer, 2 German side dishes, 4 German main dishes and 7 German desserts. All of these will go great with the 7 German beers I’ve chosen. 

     I finally found a sauerbraten recipe I like or you could say I found a version for the masses. I understand that the "sauer" part of the name comes from the mild pickling (or long marinating) step that takes place in these recipes. Instead of an overnight marinade, the rump roast is soaked in the flavorful liquid for 2 or 3 days. Not only does this soften some of the muscle fibers, but it gives a ton of flavor to the beef itself. During my testing I found that I was not quite ready for the full sauer flavor, so I found a recipe that cut half of the red wine vinegar with a dry red wine. This one simple change made all the difference for me. I can taste the sauerness, but it is mellowed by the great wine flavor. The last step of the recipe of adding gingersnaps to the gravy was genius. The gravy went from a very plain beef Au-Jus with a hint of onions to a thick, and spicy beef gravy. I think at least a few people will enjoy the thinly sliced tender beef smothered with spicy gravy.

      The final German food has been chosen. Kohl Krapfen or Fried Cabbage. The one part of the menu that has the least German influence is clearly the side dish category. This isn't due to some hatred of side dishes that the German people have. As far as I know they enjoy potatoes and vegetables as much as the next country. The lack in this area has more to do with 2 factors. The first being that Thanksgiving 2 is a traditional thanksgiving meal with a theme tacked on to the side to keep it interesting for me (the food preparer). So many of the people I know (guests included) enjoy the traditional side dishes more than they enjoy the actual turkey. Personally, I like stuffing at least 8 times more than turkey. The second reason for the Germanless-ness of the side dishes has to do with flavor. I experimented with around 10 side dishes throughout this past year. Many of those dishes had flavor profiles that were very similar to sides we will already be having. For example: the Turner onion casserole tastes similar yet better in my opinion then any of the zwiebelkuchen (onion pies) I found, and mashed potatoes have a similar flavor to any of the spaetzle recipes I tried. The kohl krapfen is one of the few recipes I found that did not have an analog already in the menu. I found the fried cabbage to have a nice crunchy texture, a simple preparation, and a very different taste then the non-fried forms of cabbage in many of the other traditional cabbage dishes. They actually come out very light due to the minimal fat used in their frying. I think they will be a hit because this is already a crowd that's prepared to devour 2 fried turkeys. 

      Why no plums? Where is the plum cake? I love plums and pie! All of these are valid questions that will probably be asked of me at TH2. Well, apparently I have had a too optimistic view of the growing capabilities of the U.S. I figured that since I can buy mangoes, and dragon-fruit and apples all year round that I could perhaps buy 2 pounds of plums when I needed them in late November. 2 weeks ago I could have bought 400 pounds of plums, this week I can barely find prunes. Unless a miracle happens by next week or I find some way to make plums magically appear I have had to replace the plum cake (zwetschgenkuchen) with a lemon cake (zitronenkuchen). I have made a similar dense pound cake-like dessert before, so I am confident that at least a few people will enjoy it. It's only the second lemon flavored dessert on the menu and this way it won't feel like a lemon overload. Hopefully, the plum fan backlash will be minor, and offset by the lemon fan hoopla.


In less than two weeks time we will have arrived at another TH2. Then it will be 3 weeks before I can start planning for the Polar Palooza and then next years Thanksgiving 2. The cycle continues.

Thanksgiving 2.6: Countdown. 1 Month to go!

     We are now one month from TH day. I have a bit left to do before the official preparation schedule starts (Nov.-24th), and I am trying to figure out what I can buy, do, or fix before then. I want to make it as easy of a time as possible. I believe there is a way to ease my way into the schedule. I lost an hour last year on the day of, and I am determined to get it back this year! With so few weeks left to gather all of the supplies and figure out the layout of the house I am now starting to feel the excitement building.

      Figuring out the layout of the house is something I can definitely do now. Recently, 2 large changes came up that will affect the set-up for the gathering. The smallest, but hopefully a very important change is happening in the main food area. I have decided to add a new table to the kitchen area. I will be moving the plates, cups, napkins and silverware to this new table. It will be in front of the refrigerator and oven. I don't want guests digging into the fridge to begin with, and this completely prevents that from happening. The main reason I am adding this extra table is because of my purchase of a double chafing dish set-up. This has added a whole new level of versatility to my food serving ability, but requires this rearranging. I will be moving the turkeys to a central place (of honor?) and have the chafing dishes located in their former place. Moving the tableware to a whole new table opens up its former counter space and will let me locate the crock pots there. Check out the re-updated directory page and see where the food will be located.

      The larger of the two layout changes will be happening outside in the yard. I have had some discussions with Quinton (host & holder of the Polar Palooza) and I think we have come up with a great plan. Last year was the first time I decided to "tent in" my backyard. There are simply too many people to accommodate solely inside my house now. Tenting in the yard opened up a 20 ft space outside. It easily became the most popular space even with a bit of a chill in the air. Last year I did 20 ft, but with Quinton's help I think we can tent in almost 40 ft of space! If you have any interest in seeing what I have in mind check out this Pre-viz model I made. I know that with 20 extra feet of space I can handle an extra 10 - 15 more people than last year. This is a must because it is possible we will have 60-65 people this year. That extra 20 feet allows for 2 more tables, and many many more chairs to be added. There is a large bonus feature of adding the extra 20 ft of tent. I get to add an additional food table. It was brought up to me that I should spread the drinks out more than last year to avoid a crowd. This new table allows for just that. I have decided to place some of the non-alcoholic drinks, the wines and the 3 pre-mixed drinks. To help ensure guests are drawn to this table I will also place a few of the more weather resistant desserts out here too. I figure as long as the sun is up and the weather cooperates we can leave the rear tent flap open for everyone to enjoy the spectacle that is the turkey fryer.

      4 weeks left and I still feel that I need a few more German dishes, mainly side dishes. The few I have tried to make did not impress me, my wife or the other taste testers. I knew I was gambling when I looked towards older, simpler recipes. It has been tough finding dishes with flavors that are not boring or strong enough to compete with the recipes I have found. I will be doing an excessive amount of cooking in the next couple weeks as I try and find 2 more sides to help round out the final menu. I have a few days off coming up, so look here to see what I made.

Until next time, when I let you know how the final recipes turn out.

German Food Update: The Great Plum Experiment

     This month I have been experimenting with plums. Why plums you may ask. Well, in my research of German dishes I have found that the German people really love plums in desserts in the same way they love a certain TV show about a talking car. This was a nice coincidence to find because plums happen to be my favorite fruit. I figured this would be perfect; they like plums, I like plums, food gold. I was more than a little surprised to see that my love of a fresh ripe plum does not equate to a love of all plum baked goods.

Plum Tart (Zwetschekuchen)
      I have never ever made a tart of any sort before this one. I have seen tarts many times in the world, but not one with a single kind of fruit. This was an odd recipe in that it had me make a huge amount of crust. I was directed to use a pie plate to press the dough into after it had sat in the fridge for several hours. I ended up not using one quarter of the dough. If I had tried to cram all of the dough into the glass pie plate there would have been about a 1/4" of space to put the plum slices into. I'm pretty sure I left too much in as it is because the crust was almost half of an inch thick. Crust thickness beside, I sliced around 8 plums and placed them in an aesthetically pleasing pattern and baked it as directed. I thought it was odd when the recipe did not have me make any kind of syrup or use an egg wash on the top of the arranged fruit. After baking I was told to add a sprinkling of sugar and then I would be done. Everyone who tasted the tart found the finished crust very tasty, if a bit thick. Everyone commented that the plums were lightly sweet, a bit tart, and a bit sour. I enjoyed the tart, but I am not sure how many other people will. The tasters were split evenly on it. Because I started with an ok recipe, I tried to find an even better replacement. 

Plum Roll (Zwetschgenschnecken)
      The second recipe I wanted to try is a breakfast-roll type of baked good. It is a dough with layers of chopped plum, slivered almonds and plum butter. The recipe made 12 bigger-than-my-fist-sized rolls. The filling was super simple to make, but the dough. . . it's always the dough that gives me problems. The recipe was very similar to a bread or pretzel dough. It was very stretchy and exceptionally sticky. The directions called for me to roll the dough into a 20" x 20" square. That is huge and I found the dough to be way too thin at that size. Since I followed the steps verbatim the first time through, I struggled when it came to rolling the dough into a huge lumpy log. The dough split and was very difficult to work with. After cutting 12 misshapen rolls and loading them into 2 pans and not the 1 called for, I loaded them into the oven. I was amazed at how much the dough had puffed up. My wife really enjoyed how these turned out in the end. The cinnamon really added a flavor she enjoyed. I was indifferent towards these. Second recipe, second lukewarm reception. In general I don't mind making dishes that I know only a few people will like, but I would like to tell people that I like what I made for them.

Plum Cake (Zwetschgenkuchen)
      The last of the 3 plum recipes I found happened to be our favorite one. Thank god, because I don't think I could have convinced my wife to keep eating plum flavored baked goods for much longer. The recipe for the cake base was very odd to me. The base was very thick compared to every other cake recipe I have ever made. It had to be scraped out of the bowl because it was so thick. This recipe had 2 characteristics that drew me to it. It was designed to be used with not-fully-ripe plums, and it didn't include any nutmeg. As anyone who buys fruit ever knows, not every piece of fruit in the store or market stall is ripe at the same time. The sugar content in this recipe was a bit higher than the previous 2 recipes I tried. I believed this helped to balance the tartness and sweetness of the plums I purchased. The lack of nutmeg in this recipe may seem like an odd positive, but when you remember that 4-6 of the other recipes I will be making for TH2 have a detectable nutmeg flavor in them, the change to cinnamon was a positive one. The part of the recipe that threw me off a little was the direction to layer the plums in any pattern you wish. This led me to believe that the pattern I chose would be noticeable after it was finished, but that didn't happen. The cake fluffed up so much during baking that any semblance of a pattern was lost. Next time I make this, the plums will simply be layered in nice, easy straight lines.

      This cake is the final dessert that will be experimented with for Thanksgiving 2.6. This gives me just under 20 different desserts to offer to everyone. I'd like all the guests to be aware that because I am creating so many different items, that there will not be a huge amount of any one item. If you know you want some zimtsterne cookies then you had better get to the gathering while the Parade is still on the video wall (between 11am and 2pm). I am going to try and make the dessert table look fancy-ish this year. I want a few nice pictures of the event this time. Until then, I have one more "birthday day" at work. I have to figure out which side dish I want to try out on my co-workers. I will take suggestions.      

The Great Beer Search 2013

     The most time consuming, but interesting “research” I have done for this year’s Thanksgiving 2.6 was finding the correct beers to serve our guests. Germany is the beer capital of Europe to most people (I prefer Belgian beers in general). Trying to find a selection of beer that represents a wide variety of the German beer styles has been rough this year. Especially tough because of the state I live in. We have some of the more archaic beer laws in the U.S. and that means I have to do a lot of extra running around to find the brands and even the quantity I want. Join me as I recount some of the “highlights” of the Great Beer Search. 

     The very first step to finding German beer is to research the German beer. Most of the beer that is popular and readily available in America is of the lager style. I knew I was going to have a lot of American ales at TH2 so I decided to focus on some of the major German styles. I wanted beer that fit into 4 categories: 1. Brewed in Germany, 2. Under $4 a bottle, 3. Not made by AB-Inbev or SAB Miller, 4.Tastes good to me and 2 other people I know. With my guidelines in hand I could start my quest. I started at the local Wegmans. I had an easy time finding the dunkel,hefe-weiss, marzen, and doppelbock. I realize this is not a full list of all lager style beers. TH2 isn’t a large enough operation for that yet. I picked styles that are different enough from one another and that had strong enough flavor to cut through all of the food. The difficulty I ran across was in finding the final German beer. . . the pilsner. The simplest and most straight-forward beer style, what a pain this turned into. Most of you know that Budweiser, Coors, and Miller’s most popular beer styles are pilsners. They do not taste very good. They are an Americanized version of the traditional pilsner. I wanted to find a German version that really showed the differences. Using my 4 guidelines I had several choices that were readily available to me, Bitburger, Weihenstephaner and Hofbrau. Hofbrau is the easy answer here. It is the cheapest, always available and fairly well known. Bitburger is the middle ground, a bit cheaper, a bit harder to find and middle of the road in taste. Weihenstephaner is a bit tougher based mostly on cost and it’s a bit tougher to find in a case or 12-pack form. I decided based on taste. I hope that the Weihenstephaner is enjoyed by the crowd at TH2. Pilsner is such a light flavor I will be telling the guests to try it first if they are going to taste multiple styles.  

     On to the American beer! I thought I had a great plan, little did I know how many different places I would have to go or how I could have saved myself a lot of trouble. Like a lot of the population in my area of the U.S. that enjoys an alcoholic beverage or two, I started my search for beer by crossing the state line. We had a wedding to go to that was out of state, so we combined the wedding with a jaunt over to Total Wine and More. The goal was to pick up 10-12 of the beers needed for TH2. I have no issue with purchasing the higher ABV (alcohol by volume) beer because I have a very dry basement to store them in until December. I found 3 of the 12 I wanted. Since I found so few on this first trip I knew I’d have to try their other location at a later date. So much for one-stop shopping. Around a month later I ran down to the closer location of Total Wine and was hoping to pick up the remaining 9 beers. It wasn’t meant to be because I found 2 of the 9. Not once, but I was twice burned by the neighboring state’s beer store. 

     After that second trip down the highway to buy beer I decided to forgo all of that business and stick to the 2-3 stores really close to my house. I would have to pay more, but I’d be home for dinner after the shopping at least. I know I talk up my local Wegmans a lot, but when I saw the quantities of the supposedly harder-to-find seasonal beers they have, I knew I could find virtually everything I needed there. So over the last 4 weeks I have picked up all but 3 of the beers I need. I am waiting to purchase the pilsner and hefe-weiss because they come in clear bottles and they are low (relatively) in alcohol, so they won’t store all that well. The final beer I need is Founders Brewery Backwoods Bastard which doesn’t come out for a few more weeks. Thankfully, I’m very close to having the most complicated and painful beer shopping experience I have ever been a part of. I learned a lot from this though. Next year I will make a single trip to the larger Total Wine. It will be in late September, right as the Oktoberfests, and pumpkin seasonals are making their first appearances. If I do not find the entire list of items I will not make a return trip. I will happily go to Wegmans and the closest beer distributor to my home. This should be a happy process, not one that causes heartache. 

     Don’t forget to check out the FINISHED BEER menu. If you fancy yourself a beer aficionado and are coming to TH2.6, I would highly recommend getting there very early in the day.

  

*You will notice that there won't be any IPA (India Pale Ale) or Pale Ales on the beer menu. There are two very good reasons for that. 1.Both styles are very bitter, especially the West Coast versions. They can be so bitter as to corrupt your taste buds for anything except an even more bitter beer/food. I want everyone to taste all of the food as it was intended. 2. I am not a huge fan of excessively hoppy beer. If there is an IPA or Pale Ale that fits the theme of a future TH2, then there will be some on the menu.

What to Expect When Your Expecting a Good Time

      This entry is more for the newcomers than the Thanksgiving 2 regulars, but I’ll also cover the subtle differences from last year’s successful event. I want you to be able to walk in from either direction and have some idea of what to look and where to head if you’re hungry, want to watch a holiday classic, need a drink or if you simply want to sit next to the fire.

      So you are in your car and driving up to the “Home of Everlasting Warmth and Holiday Cheer” that is our house. The first thing you will do is find a parking spot within a couple blocks of the house. With 60 people scheduled and around 30 cars among them this is going to be a bit rough, but persevere and you will be rewarded. Our neighbors are used to my gathering at this point. Let’s say you walk in at the front door. You will be greeted by the scent of a roasting turkey, hot fresh pies and apple and cinnamon hitting your nose. If I meet you I will direct you to take your coats/outer garments up to the second floor and remind you that the back-up bathroom is up there. 

      Since you are now ready for fun, I’ll lead you to one of the 2 name-tag stations. There will be a card that will tell you how to fill one out. These will be voluntary and the amount of information you choose to share is up to you. (I promise I won’t send your name tag info to any advertisers or other companies.) They are here to help break the ice and maybe create a conversation. Now it’s on to the good stuff. 

      The living room is a combo room. It is the first room with food in it and it's also the movie room. You'll notice a small assortment of appetizers, rolls and apperitifs. The movie/holiday special schedule will be posted soon. If you enjoy a little movie or parade with your food, this is the room for you. The parade starts the day off and then leads into holiday classics. Since you're in the living I'd appreciate it if you take a moment to admire the Christmas tree. 

      When you have made your way past the Christmas tree or decided you'd like something more substantial to eat then make your way past the tree and into the middle/dining room. I am sure you'll see a small group gathered here marveling at our library and dragons amidst their conversations. Hopefully

      The dining room tends to be a popular gathering spot for conversation. There is another appetizer table here, but the finger foods will be different in this room. If you would like a hefty conversation over some tapenade or just a piece of cornbread to have with your turkey, this is the room for you. The middle room tends to be a calm area. It is literally in the middle of everything.

      After you’ve pulled yourself away from the gripping conversation in the middle room you’ll head into the kitchen. The kitchen is less a gathering spot and more the buffet room. All of the main courses and side dishes are here and most of the desserts are here for the taking. The plates, forks, knives and spoons are right near the inner doorway. Now, don’t be silly and pass these up. Grab them before you start sniffing. If I can make any suggestions as to how to hit the food it is this: take small amounts on your first trip through. After the first trip through you will know what flavors you like. A lot of the dishes will probably be new to you because of the German theme. 

      Now that you’ve wondered at the Christmas trees, had an enlightening conversation and created an impressive plate of German themed foods I am sure you have developed quite a thirst. Well, have I got the place for you. Just outside the back door and on the porch/tented backyard is where you’ll find the drinks. We have the whole gamut of drinks for you to choose from. Just make sure if you grab a bottle of beer that you also grab a glass or cup. Beer is meant to be poured in a glass and I encourage sharing! Just keep in mind to check both sides of the tent. The pre-mixed cocktails, wine and a few desserts will be out there only. The tented are is a major congregation area. Card games have been played and much happy conversing is done outside. Just outside the tent is the fire pit and seating area. This is my favorite place to gather near the end of the night. I find it calming after a long week of preparation. 

      Now with your mental road map and knowledge of food locations and activity sites you are ready for fun. Take a look at the layout page if you want a quick refresher. We are almost at Halloween and regular Thanksgiving is on its way. I can wait!

Sophistication Comes to Thanksgiving?. . . Aperitifs and Digestifs join the Party

Apéritif: An alcoholic beverage usually served before a meal to stimulate the appetite.

Digestif: An alcoholic beverage served after a meal, in theory to aid digestion.

     I had an idea the other day to add a new albeit subtle layer to this year’s Thanksgiving 2.6. I came across several foodie articles and I realized that I was missing this very European custom in my lunch/dinner presentation. What I was missing was the presentation of an aperitif and a digestif to my guests before and after the meal respectively. In many areas of Europe before the main meal the guests have a small amount of a moderately alcoholic drink before they eat, possibly with an appetizer of some sort. The bookend to the pre-meal drink is the partaking of a digestif. After a nice big meal when everyone is just sitting around and much talking is being done is when digestifs join the party. While these are common practices in mainland Europe, it is rare to see them served in the U.S. The only time I can think of that this is ever done on a regular basis is at a wedding reception. The “cocktail hour” is as close as we get to drinking aperitifs before a meal. Although if you have been to a wedding lately I would not call the drinks served during the "cocktail hour" light, dry and refreshing. The tradition of after dinner coffee is about as close as most Americans come to drinking a digestif. While this might not be a huge tradition in Germany (this years theme) I still want to attempt this idea this year. It's very likely that the themes for the next few years will keep us in Europe, so why not try it out now when there will be a large focus on beer. 

     I plan on introducing the aperitifs to the guests as they come in and while I show them where the nametags and food locations are. Not that there is ever a problem with getting people to eat at TH2, but if there is a way to stimulate the appetite in a new way of even a few of the guests I will be happy. Also, I am providing another reason to hang around the living room and dining room. If a few people stay in the living room while eating some cured meats and enjoying a glass of Aperol then I will be a happy host. I am always looking for ways to spread people out and draw people away from the natural gathering point of the kitchen. Since we are losing the "game room" upstairs to draw people away, the use of the living and dining rooms will become especially important this year. I  am going to place 1-3 different aperitifs with a bottle of soda water and a few lemon twists on the appetizer/roll tables in the living and dining rooms. 

     It is thought that the digestif wasn't widely adopted in America because of our love of restaurant culture. Restaurants do not usually want customers to hang around and discuss topics of the day after they have finished eating. Even though it never caught on, I feel like TH2 is a great way to introduce the idea to our guests. Luckily, because of the 2 Polar Paloozas I have gotten to tend bar at, I happen to have some digestifs already because they are a common cocktail ingredient. We already have Bailey’s Irish Cream, Galliano, a brandy and homemade limoncello. I may purchase a bottle of port from one of our favorite wineries (Mount Hope Winery) if there is any interest in this idea. On the dessert table in the kitchen I am going to present 2-4 different digestifs to choose from. I will have 2 or 3 ounce glasses on the table, as opposed to a rocks glass or something similar. The glass size will encourage tasting and sharing, which is what I want. I'll be a happy host if at the end of the night I see several people sitting around the fire with small glasses and unusual bottles sitting on a table.  

        I am hoping that the locations of these spirits near the food will highlight their specialness. If I am out of position when someone new stops by then maybe they will ask questions about these bottles that are hanging out on the food tables. These two simple additions may not add much flair to the event, but sometimes a subtle addition is all that's needed.