Oktoberfest...Take One!

We at Foodie Family decided to celebrate Oktoberfest this Sunday! Only since hubby and I live on the other side of the country, we couldn't take part of the good company at Oktoberfest-Utah. But we did enjoy good food! Hubby spent 2 years in Germany, so he is an expert on the cuisine. So he told me a few of his favorites and I blindly took a stab at them. The recipes themselves were fun to make ( Rouladen, the meat pictured about was kind of like making sushi rolls with steak!) It was challenging, however, to know how accurately I was making the recipes because I had never tried any version of them. And because my husband is too nice to tell me how the compared to the real deal, I cannot attest to their authenticity. But I did enjoy eating and making them!

First up: Rouladen. This sounded down right disgusting to me. It was basically rolled up steak stuffed with bacon, onions and pickles. But I actually liked it. I found this recipe at Allrecipes.com, and according to the reviews, it is quite hard to make it in the USA, because its not easy to find the right cut of beef. So the american version uses flank steak, which I pounded thin as I could. It would be ideal to have a cut of meat half as thick, but we made do. Also I modified the recipe slightly, because I just rolled the entire steak, tied it, cooked it, and then sliced it. I think it made it a lot easier to work with. I also made a gravy out of the sauce to go with the homemade spaeztla!

German Rouladen

• 1 1/2 pounds flank steak
• German stone ground mustard, to taste
• 1/2 pound thick sliced bacon
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 1 (16 ounce) jar dill pickle slices
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 cube beef bouillon

1. Cut the flank steak into thin filets; about 1/4 inch thick and 3 inches wide.
2. Generously spread one side of each filet with mustard to taste. Place bacon, onions and pickle slices on each filet and form into a roll. Use string or toothpicks to hold the roll together.
3. Heat a skillet over medium heat and melt butter. Place the rolls in the butter and saute until browned.
4. Pour in 2 1/2 cups of water and add the bouillon cube; stirring to dissolve the bouillon cube. Simmer the rolls for about an hour.

German Spaetzla Dumplings (Not pictured. Recipe also from Allrecipes.com)

These were pretty easy and really fun to make. I followed the suggestion of one of the reviews and used a ziploc bag with some holes punched in the bottom to make the spaetzle. I think they were a tad bit small, but it worked great!

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 pinch freshly ground white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 gallon hot water
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1. Mix together flour, salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. Beat eggs well, and add alternately with the milk to the dry ingredients. Mix until smooth.
2. Press dough through spaetzle maker, or a large holed sieve or metal grater.
3. Drop a few at a time into simmering liquid. Cook 5 to 8 minutes. Drain well.
4. Saute cooked spaetzle in butter or margarine. Sprinkle chopped fresh parsley on top, and serve.

Obatzda
Lastly, we served Obaztda, a german cheese spread served with rye bread. I did a google search and kinda merged a bunch of recipes, because usually the recipe calls for a few tablespoons beer...

I used about 8 oz soft cambert cheese
4 oz cream cheese softened
4 oz butter softened
1/4 t paprika
1/4 t salt
1/4 t onion powder
2 green onions, sliced

mix together and refrigerate. Serve with Rye bread, crackers, pretzels or veggies.