Knödel / German Homemade Dumplings

Knödel / German home-made dumplings

The traditional german homemade dumplings can be paired with a delicious oven roasted duck, Sauerbraten (RECIPE ON THIS BLOG) orJägerschnitzel and Rouladen(beef roll-ups) or any type meat but it has to have good gravy. You can also make these dumplings stuffed with plums or apricots, glaze them with melted butter and sprinkle brown sugar on top for a sweet bavarian dessert. You will need a potato ricer like the one from Norpro Commercial Potato Ricer. 

Ingredients:

3/4-1 kg / 1.6-2.2 lbs potatoes (Russet)

100-150 g / 3.5-5.2 oz flour (as needed)

salt, pinch of nutmeg (optional) 

1 small egg (2nd egg if needed) 

Additional Ingredients for filled Knödel:

1 kg / 2 lbs plums or apricots

cubed sugar

butter

150 g / 5.2 oz bread crumbs

brown or regular sugar

cinnamon (optional)

Preparation

Scrub or wash potatoes and boil in salty water in their skins until fork tender. Peel potatoes and press through the potato ricer while still hot. Let cool. Place riced potatoes in a bowl and sprinkle 2/3 of the flour, salt on top, add the whisked egg and stir loosely with a fork. 

Knead the dough quickly with your hands, add the remaining flour if necessary (if dough still appears too dry after adding all the flour add the other egg then). Dough should be not too mushy but not too firm either. Make mandarin size dumplings with your hands. Bring water to a boil (covered) in a large and wide pot. Season with salt. Dumplings need space to float in the pot that is why you need a wide pot rather than a tall pot. Remove lid, place dumplings inside, the water should not boil to harshly, just gently. Simmer Knödel for approx. 5-10 minutes until they start floating to the top. Remove one with a slotted spoon and cut in half to check if done.

Note: Yukon Gold potatoes are not recommended as they contain too much moisture.

Recipe II

Prepare dough same as above. Roll dough into a long thick 2x2 in. 'snail' instead of rolling dough into balls. Cut thin 1/2 in. slices, put half plum or half apricot between two slices and one cube of sugar then roll into a ball. Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Melt butter in a skillet, roast the breadcrumbs until golden, remove the Knödel from the water with a slotted spoon, drain and roll in the melted butter, place on plate and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon (optional).

Foto Credit: Fotolia

http://www.bavariankitchen.com/sides/knoedel.aspx

Spätzle / German Homemade Noodles

Spätzle / German home-made noodles

The traditional german homemade noodles have been re-created by some american celebrity chefs and featured several times on HGTV's Iron Chef America. They are easy to make but you'll need a Spätzle maker to make these round shaped noodles or a Spätzle press for longer shaped noodles.

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

400 g / 14 oz fine flour

1/4 L / 1 cup water
3-4 eggs
1 teaspoons salt
Fresh parsley (optional)

Equipment: Spätzlemaker or Spätzlepress

You don't need a spaetzle maker! Just use anything metal with holes in it and scrape with something blunt. 

I learned that I could use a metal colander over the pot of boiling water in a cooking class.

Preparation

Sieve flour, add the salt, add one egg at a time and water little by little while stirring with a hand mixer. Mix for ca. 1 minute until batter is smooth and air bubbles start to form. Add finely chopped parsley to the batter if desired for a fresh taste. Let batter stand covered with a dish towel for 20 minutes in a warm place.

Meanwhile bring water to a rolling boil in a large pot. Season with salt. Pour batter into your Spätzle maker. Move top part of the Spätzle maker back and forward until all batter is used for that batch. Using a slotted spoon stir the Spätzle in the boiling water until they rise to the top. Fetch Spätzle with slotted spoon and transfer to a large colander to drain. Pour the next batch of batter into your Spätzle maker making one batch at a time. Make sure water boils, if it stops boiling you can cover the pot with a lid between batches until water returns to boil.

You can make Spätzle ahead of time or up to a day before serving them. Just before serving sauté the finished Spätzle with a tablespoon of melted butter in a skillet until warmed up.

serving suggestions: 
Jägerschnitzel
Paprikaschnitzel
Rouladen
Schweinelendchen (pork tenderloin) with mushroom sauce

tip: leftover Spätzle are great for Käsespätzle (cheese Spätzle). (SEE THIS BLOG FOR RECIPE)

http://www.bavariankitchen.com/sides/spaetzle.aspx

German Rouladen / Beef Roll-Ups Recipe

German Rouladen / Beef Roll-Ups Recipe

An authentic recipe for this filled beef roll-up, make it on special occasions and your guests will be impressed, serve withSpätzle (German home-made noodles) SEE THIS BLOG FOR RECIPE or Knödel (German home-made dumplings) and Rotkohl (red cabbage).

Ingredients:

4 thin beef loin steaks (about 8-10" L x 4-5" W) 

Salt, pepper

50 g / 1.7 oz bacon

50 – 60 g / 1.7 – 2.1 oz butter or canola oil

3 small onions

1/2 - 1 tablespoons flour

sour crème, tomato paste

3/8 - 1/2 L / 1.5 - 2 cups beef broth

1 carrot, 1 celery

2 large pickles

chopped parsley

mustard

Preparation

Tenderize the thin beef slices with a meat mallet on both sides evenly. You can overlap the beef steaks (if not large enough) and seam them together by pounding with the meat mallet. Season with salt and pepper. Spread thin layer of mustard on one side (where the filling will go). Sauté the in small cubes cut bacon with two finely chopped onions until onions are tender, add the chopped parsley. Cut the pickles into thin stripes (lengthwise). Spoon the bacon/onion mixture and add several of the thinly cut pickles on top of the mixture.

Roll up the beef tightly (fold sides first over the mixture, then roll up lengthwise, like a burrito) holding in place with toothpicks or wrap with string. Braise Rouladen in some oil (with little butter added for extra flavor) until browned on all sides. Add the finely chopped carrot, onion and celery, season with salt and pepper. Add little beef broth, let simmer covered for 1.5 hours or until beef is tender. More beef broth can be added during thecooking process. 

Remove Rouladen from pot, remove toothpicks or string and let rest, strain sauce through a sieve. Optionally you can thicken sauce with some flour:Return strained sauce to pot and simmer, add 1-2 tablespoons of flour to a small cup, add a little bit of cold water to the cup and stir with a fork making a thin paste. Add flour paste to the simmering sauce, stir until sauce is thickened. Season once again to taste. Remove sauce from heat and add the sour cream and 1 tablespoon of tomato paste (optional) and mix to combine everything. Return the Rouladen to the pot. Serve with Spätzle,Knödel, Rotkohl (red cabbage) mashed potatoes, asparagus or green beans.

If you can't find thin beef loins at your local grocery store you can ask the butcher to prepare it for you.

http://www.bavariankitchen.com/meats/rouladen.asp
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Thank You Please and Aspergers - Autism

MANNERS MATTER

Question:
*Is lack of gratefulness part of Aspergers? This has been an ongoing struggle. MOST think our son is just rude. *


OUR son never say thank you or  please  etc. on his own.  BUT we REMIND him GENTLY  "say please",  "say thank you".   He needs extra help and we step-up as his parents and give that help readily. WE make this negative a positive for him and us as well.

Time To Laugh

BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies

http://www.handletheheat.com/2013/07/the-ultimate-guide-to-chocolate-chip-cookies.html

CONTROL RECIPE - Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookies

YIELD: About 22 cookies

ingredients:

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (5 ounces or 142 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with nonstick baking mats or parchment paper.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla, beating well to combine. Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips. Scoop 1 1/2 tablespoon-sized balls and place onto prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Baking Powder:

Removed baking soda from recipe and used 1/2 teaspoon baking powder. This produced results that were more cakey and puffed while baking.

Baking Powder AND Baking Soda:

Used 1/4 teaspoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda. This produced results that were crisp at the edges, soft in the middle, with a good amount of spread. The combination of the two leaveners produced the best results in my opinion.

MORE Flour:

Increased the flour to 2 cups (250 grams) which created a more crumbly dough and very little spread. The cookies were small yet thick and relatively undercooked (ooey and gooey) in the middle.

MELTED Butter:

I replaced the room temperature butter with melted and cooled butter. Instead of creaming the butter and sugar with an electric mixer, I simply stirred the butter and sugars together then let sit for 5 minutes, until the sugar was better absorbed by the butter. This produced flatter cookies that had a shiny, crackled top reminiscent of brownies. They were also more crisp at the edges.

All Granulated Sugar:

I used 3/4 cup granulated sugar in this recipe which produced flat, white, chewy, and slightly crunchy cookies but with little flavor. Since baking soda (called for in the control recipe) requires an acid (such as brown sugar) to react, these cookies fell very flat as you can see by the way the chocolate chips protrude.

All Brown Sugar:

I used 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar in this recipe which produced thick, brown, and soft cookies with an intense butterscotch flavor. The original control recipe uses an even ratio of granulated and brown sugars. If you prefer your cookies to be flatter, chewier, or crisper, use more granulated sugar. If you prefer your cookies to be softer and thicker and have a pronounced butterscotch flavor, use more brown sugar.

24 hour CHILLED Dough:

I used the control recipe but chilled it in the fridge for about 24 hours before shaping and baking. This produced cookies that were slightly thicker, chewier, darker, and with a better depth of butterscotch flavor. If you have time, try chilling your next cookie dough for at least 24 hours, or up to 48 hours.

Final Comparison:

Blackberry Frozen Yogurt Recipe

Blackberry Frozen Yogurt Recipe is shared by Rebecca Baird of Salt Lake City, Utah.

BLACKBERRY FROZEN YOGURT

servings: 8

30 minutes + yogurt freezing time 2-4 hours

Ingredients

• 5 cups fresh or frozen blackberries **ANY type of berry works****
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 cups (32 ounces) fat-free frozen vanilla yogurt

Directions

• In a food processor, puree blackberries, water and lemon juice. 
• Strain blackberries, reserving juice and pulp. Discard seeds. 
• Return pureed blackberries to food processor; add sugar and vanilla. 
• Cover and process until smooth.
• In a large bowl, combine yogurt and blackberry mixture. 
• Fill cylinder of ice cream freezer two-thirds full; freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions. 
• Refrigerate remaining mixture until ready to freeze. 
• When yogurt is frozen, transfer to a freezer container; freeze for 2-4 hours before serving.