Kraeuterrahmsosse -- herb cream sauce
There is a Instant fix product in germany, called Kraeuterrahm Schnitzel, and the sauce is just
divine. I have tried several recipes. I found this page where they fix the recipes without the fix
product. I got her recipe for this sauce, but it wasn't quiet the same. Today, I finally found it.
After starting after the ladies recipe, I finished it up with a couple more herbs and flavors. It's
my daughters second favorite sauce and now, finally, I can make it without the Instant fix product.
Happy happy joy joy.
By the way, that sauce is going good with almost any meat. Pork, chicken..... but you want to
catch the meat drippings and the sear flavors.
This is what you need:
- 1 small onion, diced (or 1 TSP onion powder, if you dont want chunks)
- 200 ml Vegetable broth (Vegeta)
- 200 ml Heavy cream or Media Crema (mexican cream, less fat)
- 1/4 TSP dry Parsley
- 1/4 TSP dry Tarragon
- 1 TSP dry Chives
- 1/4 TSP Garlic Powder
- 1/4 TSP ground mustard
- 1/4 TSPMajoram
- 1/4 TSP Aromat (strengthen the flavor. If you don't have it, it's ok)
- Salt and Pepper
This is how you do it:
Get the herbs measured in a small bowl and grind them smaller with whatever kitchen gadget you have. I used a coffee bean grinder. It will make the sauce more creamy and less chunky.
Salt and Pepper whatever meat you are using. If you have Ghee, use this to fry the meat in a pan. If you don't have Ghee, use Butter. Ghee is just clarified butter without the protein.
Put the pan seared meat in an aluminium foil and keep it warm in the oven. DO NOT CLEAN OUT THE PAN!!!! You want those tiny little flavor bits in your sauce. When you just prepare everything but don't eat yet, just keep the meat on a plate and collect the juice from there.
Add a bit more Ghee or Butter if necessary and on medium heat, fry the diced onion. Skip that step when you use Onion Powder. When it starts to get a bit brownish, add the 1 TSP sugar. Cook it for another minute or so. Now add the cream and the vegetable broth you made out of the Vegeta Bullion. Let it simmer once and then add all the herbs and spices. Be careful with the salt. Let it simmer for a couple of min..
If the sauce is to liquidy, use 1 TSP corn starch and some water to make a slurry and thicken the sauce a bit. If it gets to thick, just add some more vegetable broth.
Now add the meat AND the meat drippings back in the pan and let the meat reheat. Now you can put the finishing touch on with the salt.
Today, we had filled chicken breast with cream cheese and bacon to this dish. You can eat with mashed potatoes, Croquettes, Rice.... whatever your heart desire.
Guten Appetit
Hungarian Langosch
Langosch is actually a hungarian dish. It's more like a fast food. We have them on every
fair or Oktoberfest in Bavaria. I am not so sure about the authenticity to the actual hungarian
version, but I just looooove this version lol. So, if you ever make it to the Oktoberfest in
Munich in September, you will know what those Langosch booths sell ;-) .
This is what you need:
- 500 gr Flour (regular all purpose)
- 250 ml (1 Cup) warm water
- 100 ml warm Milk
- 2 TSP salt
- 7 gr of Active Dry Yeast
- 2 TSP sugar
- Oil for frying
This is how you do it:
Measure the warm water and warm milk and add the sugar and yeast and let it sit until the yeast
foams.
Once Yeast foams, add it to the flour and salt and knead until it forms a ball. You might add a bit more flour if to sticky or more warm water if to dry.
Let it rest for 30 min
Oil your hands and form baseball sice balls. Heat the oil in a deep dish so you just have enough that the flat Langosch can fry. I use a higher frying pan and fill the oil just a bit under a half of the height.
With your oily hands, pull the dough ball into a flat piece. If holes appear, don't worry. That will
just look cute. Now fry the dough in the hot oil from both sides until golden brown. Watch out, its pretty quick. Remove from oil and sit it on a some Paper towels for excess oil dripping.
You can eat the Langosch sweet with some marmelade or savory. At the fair, they serve it with some garlic water (just plain grated Garlic in a bit water and oil and salt), sour cream and grated cheese.
Guten Appetit
Schaschlik --- Kebab
Schaschlik is like a Kebab here in the states. You can basically put on that stick what you want.
The cooking part is a bit different though then to the Kebab here in the states.
This is what you need:
- Pork loin
- same thickness beef meat (stew meat works pretty good)
- chicken (optional)
- Liver (optional)
- Thick cut Bacon
- Onions
- Bell Pepper
- Salt, Pepper, Curry, Paprika, Garlic powder, Onion powder
- Beef Broth
- 1/2 cup oil
- Ketchup
This is how you do it:
Cut all ingredients in same size cubes. Use Sticks what would fit in an oven safe pan or regular pan. I still have little issues with this lol. (I found the medium size wooden sticks to be perfect now)
Place the vegetables and the meat on the sticks how you want. I usually place vegetables after every other piece of meat.
Sear them in a pan first before placing them in the sauce. Once their seared, place the Schaschlik sticks in a deep oven pan or a big sauce pan. Season it with salt, pepper, Paprika and Curry. Mix Beef Broth and Ketchup to a 1:1 ratio, enough to slightly cover the meat. Add the oil and cover it with aluminium foil or with the lid.
Cook it in preheated oven 350 Degrees for 60 min or until the meat is soft. In the pan it took me around 90 min..
Remove the sticks but keep the liquid. Adjust the flavor of the sauce with more salt and curry if needed. You want a nice kind of sour taste, not to spicy.
Serve the Schaschlik with the sauce on top and some french fries or just plain bread.
Guten Appetit
Croquettes -- Kroketten
Croquettes are a nice side dish. You might want to compare them with thick Tater Tots, but
with a softer inside. More like Mashed Potatoes with a crust.
They are very delicious and a perfect side dish to sunday roasts or to just Mushrooms with
sauce.
I usually make them ahead of time. when I am bored and I have nothing else to do. I finish
them up, freeze them on the baking sheet and once they are frozen I transfer them into
a freezer bowl or bag. When you need them, just take out the amount you need, spray them
with some cooking oil and place them in the oven. I give them a couple of min at the end with
the Broiler so they get a nice color
This is what you need:
- 500 gr Potatoes (for mashing) pre-cooked in salt water
- 2 Egg yolk
- 20 gr Potato Starch or Corn Starch
- 20 gr. melted unsalted Butter
- salt, Pepper, Nutmeg to taste
This is how you do it:
Best thing is to pre-cook the peeled Potatoes in salt water the night before. Or if you have left over from another dish. They should be cooled.
Mash the Potatoes really fine (through a Potato masher). You can even mash them a second time to get them really nice and smooth.
Seperate the Egg yolk and the Egg white in different bowls. Add the Egg yolks to the Potatoes and the rest of the ingredients. Stir thoroughly to get a smooth dough.
Add a bit of water to the Egg whites and stir good. In a seperate bowl add some plain Breadcrumbs.
Now take some of the dough and form it to a ball. Then roll them between your hands to get little sausages. Lay them on a non stick paper on a baking tray. Finish the dough with forming the Croquettes.
When you are done forming, take one by one and put them in the egg wash first and then roll them in the Breadcrumbs. Use one hand for the wet and one hand for the dry so you don't get messy fingers.
Once you are done, put the baking tray with the Croquettes into the freezer. Once their frozen, you can pack them up or use them right away.
If you use them, just spray a bit cooking oil on them on the baking sheet and bake them in 350 degree oven for around 10-15 min.. If the color is still a bit pale, just turn on the broiler until you get a nice golden color.
Guten Appetit
Bienenstich Kuchen
Bee Sting cake
One of the most popular cakes for germans here in the states. It's traditionally with yeast dough
but for some reason I don't like it that way. There are recipes with regular dough I prefer.
I am sharing with you now the fastest, most delicious and still impressive cake you can do to
impress people.
This is what you need:
- 4 Eggs
- 150 gr Sugar
- 100 gr Flour
- 1 pack to cook vanilla pudding (you can substitude with corn starch and Vanilla aroma)
- 1 Teaspoon backing powder
- 400 ml heavy whip cream
- sliced Almonds
- your favorite honey
- 1 pack of instant Vanilla pudding (preferable the german kind)
You can find this one at Big logs, sometimes Walmart, Commissaries...... Usually when I see it I buy a bulk lol.
This is how you do it:
Add the eggs with the sugar in a bowl (eg Kitchen aid) and whip it on medium to high speed until its light colored and thick-ish. Now add the flour, pudding powder (or the cornstarch with around 1 TBS Vanilla) and 1 TSP Backing powder. Whip until its all combined.
Cover the walls of your round baking form generously with butter so nothing sticks. Preheat your oven to 325 degree and put in the cake for around 15-20 min.. After the 15-20 min remove it and cover the top with sliced almonds and drizzle honey on it generously (also so they stick to the cake). I do that now because I figured that the Almonds with honey are to heavy for the cake dough and sank into the cake. You don't want that to happen. Now put the cake back into the oven for another 10 - 14 min. (a total of 30 min). Make the test with a stick to see if the center is done.
Let the cake completely cool off before you remove it from the form.
I make the filling the day I have my guests coming over so its super fresh. For the filling you simple take the 400 ml heavy whip with the instant vanilla pudding and whip it until stiff peaks form (I usually just carefully turn that dish over and if nothing is moving or floating out, its good )
Now half the cake in the middle and apply all of the cream and put the lid back on (with Almonds up) and decorate it with a bit icing sugar.
Now enjoy your cake with your family and/or guests
Sarmale
Romanian sour Cabbage rolls
Sarmale, or Sarma, or Krautwickel, are a dish you can find everywhere in Europe. There are
some differences in between the Krautwickel (german version) and the Romanian Sarmale.
For example, for Krautwickel you don't "sour" your cabbage. In Romania, in fall, they "pickle" the whole Cabbage heads to make them last longer. That is giving them the typical sour taste. Also, german Krautwickel don't have rice in the filling and are pan fried first and then cooked in a dark gravy. Sarmale aren't pan fried and are cooking in a Tomato sauce, usually with some smoked meat. If you can't find smoked meat, you can use bacon too. But I prefer more like smoked pork hocks or other cuts.
Since this is a popular and traditional dish, I am sure, every family has it a bit different. And, of course, you will have to work with what you can get. Unfortunately I do not have pickled Cabbage heads or can purchase them somewhere. So I do a lil trick to kind off sour them a bit. Not the same, but getting close.
This dish is traditionally eaten at christmas, new years and eastern. But you can eat it in between as well. It is also great to freeze for later use.
What you need:
- 1 head of green cabbage
- 1 lbs of mixed ground meat (pork, beef)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup (100ml) oil for sauteing
- Thyme dry
- Dill and Thyme stacks
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 TBSP black pepper corns
- handful 5 min rice
- 2-3 TBSP Tomato Paste
- smoked meat, Bacon for example. Cut in pieces (use the thick cut)
- Sauerkraut (or rest of cooked cabbage)
- Tomato sauce 1 liter or 4 cups
- 1 small can V8 Vegetable juice (yes, thats a little twist right here with "american" products)
- Salt and pepper
This is how you do it:
Boil in a big pot water with salt and Vinegar. Put the cabbage head in it and wait till the first leave is peeling off basically by itself. Once it is peeled off and soft, remove it to a dish. Continue until most leaves of the head are off.
While the cabbage is cooling off, prepare the meat. Saute the onions until their soft, add the garlic to it. Remove from heat. In a big bowl add the ground pork and beef, Rice, cooled sauteed onions, salt, pepper and Dill. Mix well.
Remove the hard stem from the cabbage leaves but make sure not to cut through the whole leave. Depending on the size of your preferred rolls, half the leaves or cut in thirds.
The rest of the cabbage, chop finely into thin sauerkraut like slices.
In a Casserole dish or dutch oven, prepare with a layer of Thyme and Dill stacks (when you don't have, just use some dry version) and some of the cut sauerkraut (or Sauerkraut from a can). On top of this layer start laying out the cabbage rolls. When you have finished one layer, add more Thyme and Dill stacks, cut bacon and more chopped cabbage, 1 Bay leave and the half of the pepper corns. You may add here the rest of the oil you have left after sauteing the onions. This step is not necessary but gives a great flavor.
Add as many layers as you need to finish the meat mixture, continuing that "pattern". Don't forget to put in the "middle layer" the second Bay leave and the rest of the Pepper corns. If you use a big Casserole, it might be just 2 layers. I had a dutch oven, so I had several layers.
Once you are done, finish that layering with chopped Cabbage and smoked meat or Bacon.. Now add 1 liter Tomato sauce and 1 small can of V8. It should cover the cabbage rolls. If not, add a bit water.
Cover with aluminium foil or the lid of the dutch oven and place it in a 400 degrees oven for around 2 hrs.. After the 2 hrs, remove the lid or foil and leave in another 30-35 min..
This dish is traditionally served with sour cream, the smoked meat it was cooked in, the chopped Cabbage and some "Mamaliga" (Polenta)
Pofta mare
Guten Appetit
Lamb
I want to add a quick recipe for all of you, whom are afraid to make Lamb. Lamb is a very strong
flavored meat and, if not cooked right, can get dry very quickly. Then it's almost impossible to eat because it tastes very...... ugh lol.
Here is a very easy and good recipe we like a lot and it works every time. Unless you have a whole
Lamb rack, what you can cook uncovered, this is how you should do. You can play of course with
the herbs.
This is what you need:
- Lamb meat
- salt, pepper, thyme
- Olive Oil
- Lemon juice
- Aluminium foil
This is how you do it:
Cut the Aluminium foil in nice sizes, enough to pack on piece of meat at a time. Salt, pepper and put thyme on each side of the lamb meat. Pour a tiny bit of olive oil and lemon juice onto the foil.
Tip the meat in the liquid and then turn it around and lay it in. Tuck the foil to nice little pouches.
Lay this pouches of meat into a dutch oven or casserole dish. Place that dish in a preheated 300 Fahrenheit oven for 1 1/2 - 3 hrs.. It's going slowly and low heat. If you have thin pieces of meat, check the meat after the 1 1/2 hrs.. It should be done but just had reached that status.
You can serve the meat with rice and Salad or with whatever you like.
Guten Appetit
