Wednesday, June 12, 2013

German Dinner

Just wanted to show you what a typical meal in our home is like!  He he he I'm totally kidding - in April our friends had us over for "Polish Night" and the deal was that in return we would have them over for German night! So on the last day of May that's what we indeed did.

There are so many dishes that I wanted to make but I didn't want to make anyone sick so I had to cut down the menu. We enjoyed this lovely desert below that my husband made called "Mohnkranz" which is typically made in the form of a wreath or a braid. It has a vanilla poppyseed filling and then I put a glaze on top. Here's a mohnkranz recipe I found online - but Manuel has never used a recipe it's just in his head.

We also had kartoffelkloesse which are potato dumplings with like a cooked crouton in the middle. We had plain and mushroom flavor with a tangy German mushroom gravy over the top. We had schnitzel which is breaded fried pork (pounded very thin) served with curry ketchup. We also served Knoblauchsauce a German garlic sauce (aoli). Here's our schnitzel recipe just use pork instead of chicken, pound it as thin as you can and leave the curry out of the bread crumbs. Instead, mix curry powder with ketchup for the dip. You won't regret this. Germans serve schnitzel with fries.

We drank Schwarze Johannisbeere Saft (black current juice) which was very hard to find but I found it at Smith's! It's a very popular juice in Germany but not so much here. We also had Schwarze Kirschsaft (black cherry juice) and we served tart cherry juice. Cherry juice is also very common in Germany and listed as a drink on the restaurant menus - but not here. We also served Apfelsaftschorle which is like a carbonated apple cider.

We had Rotkraut which is a tangy red cabbage (has a cinnamon apple flavor) and Baybell cheeses which are very popular in Germany and you can find them at any store here. They are wrapped in wax - so be sure to peel off the wax before you eat them. They have a very yummy buttery taste.


I made a Gurkensalat with tomatoes and a creamy German dressing (my friend Lindsey absolutely loved this salad!) then we served Weiswurst (a white sausage that you boil) with a special sweet mustard form Germany and Bratwurst (both made in my husbands hometown and shipped to us) so yummy! Here's my recipe for Gurkensalat - just add tomatoes and increase the dressing.

We served German candy too! The kids loved it!

After dinner we watched a slideshow that I made of the part of Germany where Manuel is from. He's from Bavaria (the state) and a little town called Hof. Then we ended the night having a fussball table tournament. Manuel of course won!

DAILY QUESTION:

Have you ever had German cuisine? What is your favorite dish?

Mohnkranz


kartoffelkloesse


rotkraut


German cheese
Gurkensalat mit Tomaten


Knoblauchsauce, curry ketchup, Sußersenf (sweet mustard)


Pilzsoße (tangy mushroom gravy)
Weisswurst and Bratwurst (originated in Bavaria)


gummy cola bottles (made in Germany) and these little fizzy candies





Schnitzel!!

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Midway Getaway!

I love Midway, Utah! It's the closest thing to Germany/Switzerland that we have in Utah. So a couple weeks ago my mom invited me to go up with she,my sister and my brother in law. Manuel didn't want to come because of a German soccer game on TV he really wanted to see -  so, I ventured out with the kids!

I'm so glad I went - we had so much fun! We stayed at the homestead and there was a bluegrass band that played under the stars. We went shopping at the cute barn boutique, swam in the pool, swam in the crater, and ate at my favorite restaurant in the whole word - the Tarahumara! In fact we ate their twice! Did you know that the Tarahumara are a Native Americans for Northwestern Mexico? The owner is from Chihuahua, Mexico. Their salsa bar is to die for and they have a bakery with European and Mexican pastries - all made from scratch!

It was a fun weekend and I didn't want it to end! Worth missing for a soccer game? I don't think so  :)

DAILY QUESTION:

What is your favorite nearby getaway and why?

At the Homestead
The barn boutique


The girls' frog prince




Fluffy pillows and bouncy beds!






Paisley learning to float



Aunt "She She" and Cambrey






Coloring on the restaurant table
Playground outside our hotel room


lamb, mahi mahi, shrimp tacos, beans with crumbled cheese, and a salad with passion fruit dressing!

They let you replace the rice with a salad!


Cherise ordered shark tacos - tasted like steak!



Me and my brother in law Jared
Me and Cherise in the crater


The kids think this is a volcano
You can't float in this water on your own - it makes you sink




At the Homestead (our hotel)


Outside of the crater


Guava ice cream!


Vanilla flan!

Ready for church!


This is how all the homes and buildings look in Midway! You feel like you're in the Alps!





A changing spot in our hotel room
We called it the "time out spot"


Just a fourth of the salsas from the salsa bar



Yes this is a kids meal!