I’ve been planning a fall themed menu for weeks. Then it accidentally sort of became a kinda-sorta-not-really German themed menu. Yes, I know Octoberfest happens in September. This isn’t an Octoberfest menu. It’s an October Festmenu. You can choose to celebrate … I don’t know a teacher inservice day when your kids already have plans and you don’t have to figure out what to do with. Or Thursday.
This is pretty much the second iteration of this menu. The first one, well, it was the one I alluded to last week. The one that because I rushed it, and to be honest didn’t put the care of thought into that it deserved, was a sort-of-kind-of-not-really failure. As I said last week, It was fine. It wasn’t good. Really, only one dish from the debacle made it through to this week’s final. And that dish is going to feature in this weeks I-really-owe-all-y’all Addendum – the extra bonus recipes/comments/etc. that paid subscribers receive all-too-occasionally.
I could turn this into a lesson about persistence, about working to perfect something, of turning a failure into a victory. But that’s not really what happened. I’m just going to call it a celebration of facing occasional mediocrity.
This week’s menu is a German inspired, but not even slightly authentic ode to some fall foods and flavors – or at least flavors and foods that I associate with fall. That I associate inauthentic “German” far with fall may have a lot to do with the seasons where I live: In a city with a large number of people descended from German immigrants, in a neighborhood called German Village, around the corner from a massive German Restaurant nee micro theme park, and in a time of year when you can almost hear the sizzle of brats on the grill over the loud “there is about to be a football game on the TV” intro music blaring from half the households.
And this menu does include Brats.
Sort of.
So make it a tailgate if you want.
Käsespätzle
Beer cheese is awesome. I mean, who wouldn’t love beer and cheese together. Mac & Cheese is also awesome. So why not all three?
So technically, this isn’t really Mac & Cheese in that Spaetzle probably isn’t technically “macaroni”. But a pasta with cheese sauce … well, that’s still gonna hit the mac & cheese note for me. In fact, Käsespätzle is sort of – in my opinion – the highest form of the mac & cheese art. It gets that standing not because of fancy ingredients (though funkier cheeses defiantly add to the appeal for me) but because spatzle has such an amazing texture. It just makes the whole thing more fun.
2 cups AP flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1 ½ cup cold water
½ cup real hefeweizen (or ½ cup water with 1 tsp Sodium Citrate)
1 ½ cups shredded alpine style cheese (Swiss, gruyere, Jarlsberg, etc.)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
pinch of nutmeg
Add the beer or sodium citrate mixture to a thick bottomed pan and bring to a simmer.
Working a little bit at a time, whisk in the cheese, working until it’s completely melted and smooth.
Whisk in the Dijon and add the nutmeg.
Keep the cheese sauce warm, but not boiling or simmering.
Mix the water, salt, and flour until a smooth dough forms.
Allow to rest for 30 minutes for the flour to hydrate.
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil.
Spread the dough on a flat surface such as a cutting board.
Using a thin spatula, or the back of a knife, flick strips of dough into the water.
Repeat until all dough is used.
Drain the spaetzle.
Mix the spaetzle and cheese sauce, ladle into a gratin pan, and broil briefly to heat and brown slightly.
Serve bubbling hot.
Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage
I have an undying love for red cabbage. I know that’s a sort of weird thing to say, but as far as common vegetables go it’s pretty amazing stuff. Crunchy and bracing when fresh, soft and sweet and rich when cooked – there’s almost nothing else like it in the produce case of your everyday American market. Because of that love of the red head, I’ve made dishes similar to this sweet and sour red cabbage in the past. That’s because I really love the combination of flavors, the texture that results, and the sort of magical transformation the cabbage itself undergoes in the process.
1 small head red cabbage
¼ cup raisins
1 small shallot
1 cooking apple
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp wildflower or orange blossom honey
salt and black pepper to taste
pinch of cinnamon
Trim away the outer leaves of the cabbage, then quarter the head.
Cut away the thick stem portion, then chop the cabbage into ¼ to ½ inch cubes.
Peel, trim, and finely mince the shallot.
Peel, trim, and cut the apple into ¼ inch dice.
Add the butter to a large, shallow, lidded pan over medium heat.
Once the butter is melted and has just stopped foaming, add the shallot and cook until translucent.
Add the diced apple and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the cabbage, vinegar, honey, raisins, and cinnamon.
Season with salt and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 – 5 minutes, or until the cabbage just begins to soften.
Cover, and reduce the heat.
Cook on low for 30-45 minutes, or until the cabbage is soft, and the raisins rehydrated.
Raise the heat slightly and cook until most of the liquid is absorbed.
Taste for seasoning, add salt and black pepper as necessary, and serve hot.
Smoked Bratwurst Stuffed Pork Loin
This is the second iteration of this dish I’ve made in the last two weeks. The first, while not a failure, wasn’t what I was aiming for. It was pretty, and the bratwurst helps season and moisten the pork loin – a cut that can sometimes turn out dry. But there was still something missing. Something keeping that good hunk of tasty meat from being a great hunk of delicious meat.
Turns out all it needed was some smoke.
That first iteration was roasted – and as I’ve said, it was fine. If you don’t have a smoker, you can prepare this in the oven, or over indirect heat on a low grill (which will be almost as good) but the kiss of smoke, the long slow cook, and the resulting pink smoke ring add a little something that just roasting it don’t.
The second addition wasn’t really an addition as much as an increase. I’d brushed the first try with a little mustard. The second, a lot. That additional mustard, along with a sprinkling of sugar, really built up a flavorful crust.
You can serve this dish hot – along with the mustard spiced demi-glace included below, or cool or at room temperature because the last two week’s experience have taught me that this thing makes a really great sandwich.
1 pork loin roast (aprox. 2.5 lbs)
4 fresh bratwurst sausages (or 1 lb bulk bratwurst)
2 tbsp smooth Dijon mustard
2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp finely ground black pepper
Using a long, very sharp knife, butterfly the pork loin roast.
Season both sides of the pork well with salt.
Cut the casing from the sausage and spread evenly on the inside of the pork roast (fat cap down) and leaving about 2 inches unstuffed at the end that will be the outside.
Roll the roast, and tie the stuffed roast with cooking twine so that it will keep its shape.
Brush the exterior of the roast with Dijon mustard.
Sprinkle with remaining salt, the sugar, and finely ground black pepper.
Prepare you smoker with hickory or fruitwood, and heat to ~250°F.
Smoke the loin until the interior temperature is between 150°F-160°F.
Allow to rest, covered with foil, for 20 minutes before slicing thinly.
Serve with mustard sauce.
Mustard Sauce
2 cups beef or pork stock
2 tbsp Dijon or stone ground mustard
2 tbsp softened unsalted butter
1 small shallot
2 fresh sage leaves
1 sprig thyme
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
pinch of ground nutmeg
kosher salt to taste
Peel, trim, and coarsely chop the shallot.
In a thick bottomed pan over medium heat, bring the stock to a low boil.
Add the thyme, sage, and shallot.
Cook until reduced by to ½ cup of liquid.
Strain out the solids and discard.
Whisk in the mustard.
Swirl in the mustard.
Add the nutmeg, and season with salt to taste.
Pretzel Waffle Sundae
Like a lot of my desserts, this recipe is a bit of a cop out. It’s a cop out because even though I’m calling it a Pretzel Waffle Sundae, it’s really just a recipe for a pretzel waffle. The sundae part is up to you. I put vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream on it – along with pretzel crumbs I had left over from a failed experiment last week. You could build it up any way you want.
In fact, if you want to make smaller waffles, they’d probably make a pretty killer ice cream sandwich. Sort of wish I’d thought about that ahead of time.
The waffles this makes aren’t particularly sweet – which is fine if you’re coating them with tons of sweet stuff. But if you’re looking for a sweeter waffle, try brushing the finished product with sugar syrup and tossing it back on the waffle maker for a few minutes before finishing it.
3 cups AP flour
1 ¼ cups warm water
7g or 1 packet instant dry yeast
2 tsp granulated sugar
2 tsp neutral oil
1 tsp kosher salt
3 tbsp baking soda (for the bath)
Vanilla Ice Cream
Chocolate Sauce
Whipped Cream
Crushed Pretzel Topping
Add the water, sugar, and yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
Add the flour, oil, and salt and process until a smooth dough forms.
Process for an additional 5 minutes, or until the dough is stretchy and well kneaded.
Cover, and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Punch down the dough and divide into 8 pieces.
Roll each piece into a 10-inch-long rope and form into a pretzel shape.
Arrange on a well-floured surface, cover loosely, and allow to proof for 30-40 minutes.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 3 tbsp of baking soda to the boiling water.
Heat a waffle maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Working 1-2 at a time, dunk the pretzel pieces into the boiling water.
Cook for 1 minute.
Remove the pretzel from the water, and place in the waffle maker.
Cook until browned and crisped.
Remove and allow to cool.
Assemble into sundaes by topping with ice cream, chocolate and or caramel sauce, whipped cream, and crumbled hard pretzels.