Tuesday, January 6, 2009

German food, the Fiesta Bowl and apparently I'm going to have to make some New Years resolutions...

I got called out to make some New Years resolutions and post them on my blog, thanks mom, so now I actually need to come up with some...so here goes:
1. I will make it to the gym twice a day at least two times a week (that's going to be rough!)
2. I will take the programming classes I've wanted to take for a while (personal and professional betterment here)
3. I will visit my parents more...with them living in Mexico I don't get to see them in their home environment all that much!
4. I will do my best to avoid wasting resources (money, food, etc.).

I think most of these are do-able....let's find out.

Now that that is out of the way, big big stuff in my world - UT WINS THE FIESTA BOWL! No, it wasn't the game we should've played in but it's won so life is good! The evening the Fiesta Bowl was played I had some help in the kitchen (the guy I'm dating is a pretty good cook himself), and decided to do some German food...one of my favorites, spatzle was included in that list. We got all the stuff together and grilled some steaks, made spatzle and some braised red cabbage (recipe courtesy of Wolfgang Puck), all of which was delish! Here are the recipes for the Spatzle and the Red Cabbage...both come very highly recommended:

Spatzle
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground or freshly grated nutmeg
4 eggs
1 cup milk

1. Combine flour, salt and nutmeg. Add eggs and mix.
2. Pour milk into the dough little by little, until a smooth batter forms, slightly thinner than brownie batter. Let rest at least 5 minutes.
3. Bring 2 quarts of water with 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil in a heavy, 4 - 5 quart saucepan. Plan on boiling at least 2 batches from this recipe.
4. Set a large colander (one with large holes) over the saucepan and press the dough, a few spoonfuls at a time, through the holes directly into the water. OR if you're lucky enough to have a Spatzle Hobel (funny looking tool in the photo), use it instead. Boil for 5-8 minutes until the noodles are tender to the bite. Remove noodles with a slotted spoon and drain further in a sieve.

I serve my spatzle the way my mom does, with brown butter, some sauteed mushrooms and fresh green onions sprinkled over the top. No matter what, this is one great comfort food!

Braised Red Cabbage
Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium red onion, sliced
1 cup brown sugar
2 Granny Smith apples, sliced
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 cups red wine
2 cups orange juice
1 cinnamon stick
3 teaspoons ginger powder
Salt and pepper
4 pounds red cabbage, cut into julienne

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Heat a heavy casserole. Add olive oil. Saute red onion until translucent. Sprinkle in brown sugar and cook for a few minutes until it starts to caramelize.
3. Add sliced apples and deglaze with the red wine vinegar. Bring to a boil. Add red wine and orange juice, cinnamon stick, ginger powder and salt and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Add red cabbage and continue to cook for about 10 minutes on top of the stove.
5. Cover cabbage with foil and cook in 350 degrees F. oven for about 45 minutes. Remove. Taste, and adjust seasoning, if necessary.


11 comments:

Chef E said...

Ooops thanks for the reminder, she got me too! I like those recipes! When does school start for you, my son is Jan 20th, inaguration day!

Reeni said...

I've never eaten spaetzle. I would love to have that dish full of food, it looks sooooooo good!! Great resolutions. I especially like the one about not wasting resources, I'm going to steal that for myself!

Hornsfan said...

E - No school for me, only work these days - sadly school went quickly and I'm a working gal, okay, rephrase needed, I work for a tech company in Austin! My sis goes back to school on Jan 20 too!

Reeni - The spatzle is sooo easy and is really tasty too. Steal away on the resolution, it's a mutation of one of my mom's anyway!

Chef E said...

Oh I get you two confused, sorry...hey I wrote a double whammy post about mole, one is history, and the other is the recipe, maybe I should have done it all together, but was afraid tooooo big for a read...kind of like a puzzle!

Yeah you make a living in the real world...ha, my mom never made mole, she would have not liked it at all!

Dee said...

OKay! Biggest question I have is why didn't you use your brand spanking new Spaetzle hobel? The old one I left there is operational but the handle comes off. Must have had quite a workout with that alone! The dinner looks delicious & I know it was. Did you do the brown butter & green onions too?

Hornsfan said...

E - yea I wish I was the one in school -- ahh college! But alas, those days are over :) I love the Mole post - that is in my top favorite things that Mom has learned since she moved to Mexico -- the other one is made with a stuffed poblano pepper, a white sauce (not cheese) and pomegranite seeds....she'll remember the name, it elludes me right now.

Mom - the funny thing about that spatzle hobel is I forgot mine was in the pantry and Chris was using it and the handle came off - he was all freaked out he'd broken something in the kitchen and before I thought I grabbed mine (that I didn't remember I had) and explained the handle on yours is always like that!

Dee said...

Funny! That handle always comes off. I like that one other than that. Hope he didn't burn his hand. So glad the game & meal went well.

Anonymous said...

I like how your resolutions start with "I will..." rather than "I won't..." The Texas game had us on the edge of our seats...since I'm living out of the country we had to watch a re-broadcast (but no commercials!) and no Tostitos or salsa...so nothing Fiesta about it, except that Texas won!

Hornsfan said...

gastroanthropologist - thanks, i figure if i start off positive, something is bound to come of it! as far as my horns, we watched sans fiesta food too! glad you got to see a re-broadcast, don't know how i'd deal with not being able to see games regularly!

Joie de vivre said...

Twice a day at the gym is doable? Girl, you are my hero.

*Kimmie* said...

If you love German, you should definitely try the European Bistro in downtown Pflugerville sometime. It's absolutely amazing. www.europeanbistro.com