Sauerbraten (Sour Roast)

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words, and I will say there's nothing better than some nicely cut meat to make one's mouth water. Unless you're a vegetarian - then you're shit out of luck on this meal. (Sorry about that!)

I bought the lovely piece of beef you see there on the right from the local supermarket here in Old Orchard Beach, and I love when I get the fresh cuts!

Sauerbraten (Sour Roast)

• Chuck Roast Meat (2 to 3 Pounds)
• Sweet Potato (1 Large One, Sliced Thinly)
• Green Pepper (1/2, Chopped)
• Red Onion (1/2, Quartered)
• Carrot (1, Chopped)
• Red Cabbage (Wedged)
• Garlic (2 Cloves, Sliced in Thirds)
• White Balsamic Vinegar (2 1/2 Cups)
• Water (2 Cups)
• Salt (To Taste)
• Pepper (To Taste)

Instructions

• Pour the Water into the crock-pot first, and add in all of the ingredients except for the Red Cabbage. Cook on low for 8 hours.
• During the last half hour, place the wedges of Red Cabbage into the crock pot, and cook for another 30 minutes.
• Plate and Enjoy!

This was (to be honest) really good! I've never had German food, and I've never really been a fan of cabbage - but it all works so well together! After having it with the white balsamic vinegar, I want to say you really cannot use another type of vinegar - it just won't work… I think a wine vinegar would work, but at least with the balsamic it has that undertone of sweet to it. Anything more sour and this dish would've went from good and well flavored to disgusting. 

I think the deciding factor is that my dad liked it - hell he usually hates sour food and cabbage! That's the stuff that tells me if he likes it or not - or he's just being nice. (Thanks Papa!)

I'm not sure if my sister's had this yet in Germany, but I'd love to find out and see if it's similar!

I'm finished with The Clearing, and I'll be seeing ya'll tomorrow for my book review!

Back To "Deutsch" Roots Tomorrow

As the very last meal why wouldn't you want to go back to the roots? American food would never be here without all of the unique influences we have from our own personal heritages. The individuals from The Clearing may be from Pennsylvania, however Pennsylvania has a large heritage from German settlers.

I also wanted to make a German meal in honor of some of the food my sister is eating now that she's living in Germany! (Love you seeeeeester!)

I decided that some Sauerbraten (Sour Roast) was precisely what this book needs for it's ending. Just a hint of sour, and a whole hunk of meat! When I cook tomorrow it's going to be another crock-pot dish, perfect for those long work days! This is something that individuals eat in Germany quite often, and it's something new to me which shall be exciting as I generally do not eat German food. (It's not exactly common fare here in Maine.) I am looking forward to trying it though! Hopefully you can all join in tomorrow after it slow-roasts for 8 hours!

Springerle

I had an amazing little Columbus Day trip, and I really hope a lot of you got to enjoy the wonderful weekend. I know there are some of you out there that unfortunately had some bad weather out there in your forecasts, but it'll soon be over!

Ricky and I did a mini Tour De Maine from Old Orchard Beach to Bar Harbor, to Augusta our State Capitol - and it was beautiful out. We weren't feeling like making a large dinner, and therefore we decided yesterday the best thing to make would be a very small batch of biscuit-cookies. That's when I came up with the idea of some Springerle. These are actually more of a German biscuit than a cookie, however they do have more of a sweet flavor, and are something that would go well with a coffee.
Some of you may wonder why I chose a German biscuit, however Springerle is something that is popular in Pennsylvania as well because of their original Germanic descent. (Remember they changed deutsch to Dutch!)
I will point out that I didn't make the Springerle's to look anything like the real things, unfortunately I just don't have those types of molds to make the biscuit-cookies… I also realized a key error in the way I made them which I'll explain after. (I'm not making myself seem like a great baker I've realized…)

Springerle

• Egg (1)
• Sugar (1/2 Cup)
• Flour (1 Cup)
• Baking Powder (1/4 Tablespoon)
• Vanilla or Anise Extract (1/4 Teaspoon)

Instructions

• In a large bowl, whisk the Egg and Sugar for ten minutes (or until frothy).
• Add in the Flour, Baking Powder, and Vanilla and mix until the ingredients are all into one dough ball.
• Preheat oven to 300 Degrees Fahrenheit.
• Let the dough sit for 15 Minutes covered before you do anything*.
• Lightly flour your work surface and roll the dough out into a thin sheet. Press out small cookies and put on a well greased cookie sheet.**
• Plate and Enjoy!

*Traditionally you let the dough sit for one full hour or even a day. 

**I had a hard time rolling the dough, gave up, and just did small tablespoon sized drops onto the cookie sheet.

These may not look so pretty but they are actually quite delicious. Ricky also thought these would be great dipped in a very light frosting or glaze, maybe something I can do for a Christmas gift pack?

Anyway, I'm going to go and eat a late dinner! (Now that I've had dessert first!)

Catch back up with you all on Thursday!