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Hello our beloved readers! It's Alicia here with another post from my month of German food. If you missed the previous post, basically every month I am picking a different country and making one authentic (as possible) meal a week. This helps me to spice up our meal plan, and have fun cooking again.
Last week I made bratwurst with himmel und erde (heaven and earth). And it was so good! This week I decided on a German classic, Schnitzel! On the side we made a Swabian Potato Salad. I got both of these recipes from The Daring Gourmet. Kimberly is German so I thought I couldn't get more authentic than that! Traditional German Schnitzel
Schnitzel is essentially a very thin, breaded porkchop. It's crispy on the outside and nice and tender on the inside. Usually you have to pound your boneless pork chops until they are about a 1/4 inch think, but my local grocery store sells pork chops that thin already. Perhaps I should have pounded my chops out to be more authentic or traditional. But I also have two very needy children at home so I thought this time saver was ok. I also bought them bone in because it was $3 cheaper per pound for the same thickness and cut of meat but with a bone. I was able to easily cut the bone off and have my boneless chops.
I really stupidly forgot to salt my pork before I breaded it. I'll blame mom brain for that one. But it wasn't a huge problem I just salted the whole thing after it was done frying. But next time I will surely salt my meat before putting the toppings on. These cook up nice and fast so they kind of perfect for those days when you don't have a lot of time. And they were so good! I can only imagine how good they would be if I didn't forget to salt them. I mean look at that beautiful golden color. Just lovely. We squeezed some lemon juice on ours and it was just perfect. Swabian Potato Salad
Swabia is a region in the southwest of Germany, and that is wherethis recipe comes from.
When I started this culinary adventure, I asked my friends and family what their favorite German dishes are. One answer I got was German Potato Salad. I am not sure if this is the same salad they were talking about, But if it wasn't, it should be. This is honestly one of the best potato salads I've ever tasted. Ok, it's the best. Seriously, the flavors were just so amazing! And confession, I didn't read this recipe until 20 minutes until before we were going to eat it. I had forgotten about a side dish until I started making the schnitzel. I had to call my husband and ask him to bring me key ingredients, like the potatoes. So, I didn't do my due diligence on this recipe either, and it was still one of the best things ever. I took some shortcuts by slicing up the potato before I boiled it, and obviously I didn't let it sit for the hours it needed. But when I took the leftovers out of the fridge the next day to have for lunch. WHOO! It was so good! So I'm excited for the next time we make this and I do it correctly. This salad deserves it. So be warned that this is not something you just whip together (though it will still be good), the potatoes do need to marinate for an hour or so. It's worth it though, believe me. The leftovers are divine.
Have I convinced you to go to The Daring Gourmet and try these recipes out? Please do. They are so good! And if you do please come tell us what you thought! Or have you decided to try this experiment in your own menu plans? How is it going for you?
Next week I am making Käsepätzle, so be sure to come back and check it out!
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Have you ever eaten a meal somewhere that was so good that you couldn't wait to get home to replicate it for your family?
That happened to me with this meal. While I was in California with Alicia when she had her baby, her husband decided to grill for dinner. I helped him a bit, but his ideas for flavors in the food were so fantastic that as I ate the meal, I was in heaven! You have seen other recipes from my SIL here and here. He is a great cook. This meal consisted of Skewered Shrimp, Grilled Corn with Cilantro-Lime Butter, Rice and Grilled Pineapple. I took charge of the butter for the corn, and I loved the results. I may not be able to eat corn any other way now. It was that good! Now that I am home from California, I decided to have all of my kids who live in Phoenix over and my husband and I got the grill going for the Columbus Day holiday. We cooked up the same menu, but also added some grilled chicken for those who may not enjoy sea food. I think most of us ate both!
The Grilled Chicken
I used boneless skinless thighs. I did a rub that consists of brown sugar and salt. Go heavy on the salt. To about 3/4 c of brown sugar, I put about 4 T of salt. I find that this rub only works on the grill. Some how the grill doesn't let it come out tasting too salty. I just dredged the chicken in the brown sugar-salt mixture and let it sit a few minutes before grilling it. It came out so moist, tender and delicious! It is really simple to do and gives amazing results! My kind of recipe.
The Skewered Shrimp
For this recipe, I used large, frozen shrimp that had already been deveined, I just had to peel it.
After I peeled it, I put it in a bowl to marinade for about half an hour. This is what I used as a marinade:
Skewered Shrimp Marinade
1/2 stick of butter (1/4 c) melted 1 T lime zest The juice of 1/2 of a lime 1/2 tsp. garlic powder salt and pepper to taste (I used coarsely ground pepper) Blend the ingredients all together and toss in the shrimp to coat completely.
When the shrimp had marinated for about 30 minutes, I put them on skewers. I use metal skewers rather than purchasing bamboo ones. I have a dozen of these. Poking the skewer through the tail, and then the body, I put about 5 shrimp to a skewer. It came out perfectly, filling all 12 skewers. It takes very little time to grill them. Just put them on the grill for a couple of minutes per side and get some nice grill marks. If they finish before everything else, I just pop them in a warm oven so they don't get cold. They taste so good! I love shrimp, and this is one of my new favorite versions!
The Grilled Corn with Cilantro Lime Butter
Knowing how much I love seafood, it may be surprising to many when I say that this corn was my favorite part of this meal. Here is how we cooked it:
Husk the corn and without adding anything to it, place it on the grill and cook it for a couple of minutes per side, just enough time to heat it through and to give it a little char. (See the picture?) It really doesn't take very long. Then, when you take it off of the grill, slather it with Cilantro-Lime Butter. Here is the recipe for that:
Cilantro-Lime Butter
2 sticks of butter (1 c), softened 1/4 c. chopped cilantro leaves (for this butter, try to avoid the stems) The zest of 2 limes juice of 1/2 lime 1/2 tsp. salt Blend it all together and use to slather on corn. It will probably be good on other veggies, too. I just haven't tried it yet.
When we serve the corn, I like to cut it off the cob, add more of the butter and mix it with the rice that we serve on the side. It is just so delicious!
By the way, there is a lot of zesting going on with this meal, so I really appreciated my zester that I blogged about here. You can purchase one here. Also, for the lime juice I used my citrus squeezer that my SIL taught me about! It is so handy and simple to use. Both of these gadgets would make nice little bridal shower gifts or Christmas gifts! I wish I had had them years ago, they would have saved me so much trouble and mess as I cooked.
The Grilled Pineapple
I have a confession to make about the pineapple. When my SIL made it, he grilled it. When we made it, we were all getting hungry and everything else was ready, so we just popped it in the microwave. It was still so good. Heating up pineapple makes it so juicy and the flavor just bursts in your mouth.
To grill (or microwave) the pineapple, first use a peeler corer to get it ready. Trust me, when it comes to pineapple, this is the best gadget ever. It is such a time saver! It slices the pineapple into one long spiral, so I just use a knife to cut down one side, and that gives you rings. Drizzle the rings with melted butter and sprinkle on brown sugar. That is it! Now just pop them on the grill or into the microwave or oven and you have heavenly pineapple that compliments this entire meal so well.
For a drink, I made some of Alicia's Watermelon Slush Punch. Mine didn't come out as well as her's did. I think it was because my ice cubes weren't all of the way frozen. But, it still tasted pretty good and was a good compliment to the entire meal.
Speaking of Alicia, today is her birthday! I am so proud of her! She is an intelligent woman and a wonderful wife and mother. It is hard to believe that my middle child is already the mother of 2, and she is doing it all so beautifully! Happy Birthday Alicia! I made her a cake from long distance. You can see it here.
If you are looking for something different and delicious to grill, I hope you give these ideas a try! Especially the corn! You won't regret it! Here is a recap of our favorite gadgets for this meal:
You've heard it first here! The Dating Diva's Holiday Bundle Flash Sale is going live tomorrow, October 11th! You won't want to miss it!
The reasons for this post are three fold, so read on!
Depending on the number of people you will be serving, I make that many potatoes for my salad. We were serving 7 adults, (because not everyone could come) so I cooked 7 potatoes. Scrub them, then either boil them or cook them in the microwave until nice and tender. There is nothing worse than a hard potato in a potato salad!
We don't always peel our potatoes for potato salad, it is up to you. I baked them in the microwave this time and then peeled the skins off easily. It makes for a prettier pictures. Also, while you are cooking your potatoes, you should be boiling about 6 eggs.
Now you will add the first secret ingredient! Italian salad dressing.
Now you chop up a couple stalks of celery, some onion and pickles. I used dill pickles this time, but sometimes I use sweet and they are both equally good. The amount that you use is according to your taste. I used 2 celery stalks, 1/2 of a small onion and about 1 c. of small pickles. Mix these ingredients in with the potatoes, plus about 1/4 c. of pickle juice.
Now, back to those eggs! Click on the pictures to see my tips.
The egg slicer really is a nice little gadget. I have had mine for a long time. But, here is a Kitchen Aid one that would match my mixer! Here is one that cuts all different kinds of slices and wedges!
Now it is time for the final ingredients, including one more unexpected one.
Now, the amount of mustard you use is up to you As a matter of fact, this time I felt that the amount shown here was a little bit too much. But some people like a mustard potato salad, so it is up to you. Also, at this point I add a little salt and pepper, about a tsp. of garlic powder and 1/2 tsp. of turmeric. Mix it all together really well.
I like to put lots of slices because everyone love to get one on their salad. I asked my husband to remind me to take a picture of a serving of the salad on a plate before we ate it all, but he failed me in that request! Wow! You give a guy one job....(jk).
I am going to give you a written recipe, but I want you to remember that many of the ingredients are a matter of taste, so you will want to add more or less according to what you like. I am giving you this 7 potato recipe. You will need to change amounts accordingly if you make a larger or smaller salad.
Now I am off to finish that tutorial for Valentine's for your little boys! (or girls, too) So come back tomorrow and see how they turned out! I am loving them!
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Creators of Hot Cocoa Bombs! (copyrighted)
Author
Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to eleven! I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born. Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out! Read more about us here! Archives
April 2024
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