If you can't make it to Germany this year for Oktoberfest festivities, you can at least drink in solidarity. We tasted twelve beers—a few traditional German märzen beers head-to-head with some American interpretations from craft brewers.
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[Photograph: Blake Royer] Pull out the lederhosen and kazoos for Oktoberfest, the beer-and-wurst-honoring German celebration that starts tomorrow and runs until October 4. Here are some menu-planning ideas, most of which involve some combination of: sausage, kraut, and beer. Baked Apples With Barley-Sausage Pilaf Potato Salad with Vinaigrette Beer Bread Turnip and Potato Gratin Honey-Glazed Turnips Wedges Red Cabbage With Apples and Honey Sausage Stuffed Peppers Mustard-Baked Chicken with a Pretzel Crust Pork Chops with Braised Fennel and Caramelized Onions Pork Chops with Mustard and Sour Cream Sauce Kielbasa with Pierogi and Sauerkraut Sauerkraut and Sausage Paprikash Apple Cobbler with Cheddar Biscuits Black Forest Chocolate Cookies...
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Searching for the Missing Links... [Photographs: Leslie Kelly] There were men wearing lederhosen while om-pah-pah music floated through the air and tourists sipped on stout steins of beer. This must be Germany, right? No, it’s the Bavarian Village of Leavenworth in Washington, a favorite destination for Seattlites looking to get out of town and up in the mountains or float down the pristine Wenatchee River. Me? I came looking for links. Seemed fitting since my summer has been a regular sausage-o-rama. First, I worked as a brat jockey at Shultzy’s near the University of Washington. Then, there was the great hunt for the best boudin in Cajun Country. So, when I traveled to a family reunion in Leavenworth, I carved...
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I always assumed Wiener Schnitzel was from Germany, but the claim goes that it's really Austrian in origin—and that it's not served with a sauce at all, but simply with a wedge of lemon. It's also traditionally made with veal, and in fact must be made from veal if it's to be called Wiener Schnitzel in an Austrian restaurant. Then again, Wikipedia also tells a story of possible schnitzel roots in northern Italy, so who really knows? Whatever the authenticity-mongers say, this recipe made from pork with a sour cream sauce is delicious, adapted from Elise Bauer's wonderful blog Simply Recipes. It also eschews the deep-fry method often used for a pan-frying, though plenty of oil is still necessary...
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No, I cannot explain this....
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The Kitchn demystifies German wine labels by explaining the terms used to describe the wine's sugar content, quality, and vineyard origins....
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Mike Sula of the Chicago Reader says goodbye to Lincoln Square's Delicatessen Meyer, which shut its doors for the last time on Monday after 53 years in business. The Koetke family, which owned it for 48 years, sold it in 2004 to Hans Liebl, who started changing the inventory (classic German foods disappeared from shelves, and the Boar's Head logo appeared in the meat section) and eventually let the place go into foreclosure. Sula says, "Meyer's closing reflects the fading imprint of the neighborhood's once strong German-American population, which supported at least four really good delis and butcher shops until fairly recently. Now there's only one."...
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