I answered my cravings and my heritage for this cooking contest- and decided to make a German Meal, using family recipes and some that I have not tried before.
Grüne Bohnen mit Kartoffeln
Grüne Bohnen mit Kartoffeln
Ingredients
Bag of Fresh Green Beans
Small Bag of Red Potatoes
2 Onions
1 Tb. Cooking Oil OR Butter
1 tsp. Nutmeg
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp. Onion Powder
Salt and Black Cracked Pepper (to taste)
1. Boil red potatoes, cut in chunks, for 20-30 minutes, or until softened.
2. Steam Green Beans until desired tenderness.
3. Pan-fry onions and softened potatoes in butter or oil, when onions are translucent and potatoes are browned at edges, add green beans, spices, and sprinkle salt and pepper.
4. Keep warm in oven until served!
Result: These were delicious! The green beans were tender but not soggy, the potatoes were delicious, and the edge the onions and spices added made it pop. Even my brother, the enemy of green beans, scarfed them down!
Homemade Spätzle
Homemade Spätzle
Ingredients
4 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cup of milk
2 T. Butter
1 tsp. nutmeg (optional- I didn't use it this time, but I have in the past!)
1. Combine flour and salt, and make a well in the center- pour beaten eggs into well, and mix together.
2. Knead dough with hands (messy!), a tough spatula, or a wooden spoon, for 10-20 minutes, until air bubbles begin to form. (While this is going on, boil water in a large pot).
3. Take a spätzle press, spätzle lid/scraper, a colander with large holes and a wooden spoon, or cut up dough into tiny balls. I personally used the lid/scraper option, as it produces nice sized noodles, and it is found for cheap online. You place it over the boiling water, and scrape the dough, pressing it through the holes. The dough falls into the boiling water, and cooks.
4. Continues this, pausing occasionally to clear the holes (the dough will bake into the slots if you're not careful) and to scoop out the finished noodles- they will rise to the top when they are done, and you can scoop them out with a slotted spoon. You can lower the temperature of the water, but this will take longer.
5. Once noodles are cooked, to even make it better, take the spätzle and put it in a large skillet with the butter, and pan-fry it for a few minutes- this will give it a richer flavor, and some of the spätzle will get a slight brown tinge, which tastes great as well!
Result: I could eat this every day. It's probably a good thing it's so hard to make, else I may! These egg noodles are a bit like a hybrid of a dumpling and pasta. They're delicious, but this is a very time-consuming process. This small batch took me almost 2 hours by itself to complete… I've had to make dishes of this for parties, and even with 2 people helping, its taken me 4-5 hours to finish cooking before! They are very yummy with fresh parsley sprinkled on top!
Wiener Schnitzel
Wiener Schnitzel
Package of Pork Chops (can also use thin chicken or turkey filets. Traditional is veal, but we don't care for veal.)
2 eggs
1/2 cup of flour
1 cup bread crumbs
Salt/Pepper to taste
Cooking Oil
1. Trim fat off of meat, and roll meat out to about 1/8 inch thickness.
2. Coat cutlets in flour, and season with salt and pepper.
3. Coat in beaten egg.
4. Roll in bread crumbs.
5. Heat oil in large pan, and cook schnitzels for about 2 minutes for each side, or until golden brown.
6. Serve immediately, with gravy, or lemon and parsley.
Result: We've had this recipe, from my great-grandmother, but no one in my immediate family has ever tried to make it. And it was delicious! About as close to restaurant quality as you can get at home! It's really good with gravy or lemon/parsley- I did make a german gravy (not pictured) for my parents, though I won't add the recipe for that (since it's not pictured), unless someone wants it!
Reaction Photos
My sister, ever the drama queen and actress, wanted to take the reaction shots. Let's just say she really, really liked it. (She claims to the point of tears, but the water is just tap water. XD)
Crying!
Utter Delight
Overall Ruling: My family said it was like being back in Germany! Very delicious- I strongly suggest giving it a try if you like hearty, good food that warms your gut, and has a nice flavor. XD And it was nice to get back to some olddddd (and I mean old) recipes. XD