German Knockwurst In Beer Broth

I don’t know what is going on with me lately but I am on a roll with my German cooking! I promised myself I would try harder to learn these great dishes of Toblerone’s culture..anticipating one day that we have children of our own to share it all with. So far, looks like I’m living up to that promise!

The other day I found a package of German Knockwurst at our grocery store (made by Boar’s Head company) which I liked since it was in it’s natural casing with zero additives. I hate all that “added caramel” for color plus 8,000 extra chemicals. Just trying to stick to what is clean and good! (The German way of course!)

I wasn’t sure what I would make with Knockwurst but there is one thing I know…nothing goes better with Wurst than….yep…you guessed it….BEER!!!

What You Need:

Knockwurst (I used a pacakge of 4 for our smaller family)

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 Medium onion sliced

12 ounces of light beer (I used a can of Labatt blue…cuz I’m classy like that!)

1 Cup water

Salt & Pepper to taste

Parsley

 

Here’s How Its Done: 

First off, heat up a dutch oven with olive oil on medium heat. Add the wurst to oil, turning every couple of minutes to brown each side. I would highly recommend putting the lid on. These suckers spit hot oil at me!

 

Next up, add the onions until they are soft. I added just a little extra splash of olive oil. Again, lid on and occasionally stirring them around and turning the sausages.

 

Once onions are cooked through, remove the sausage and place aside. Next comes the fun part…or as some might see it…alcohol abuse. Pour in your 12 ounces of beer! I mean…if you ended up only pouring in 10 ounces because you were feeling a bit thirsty throughout the ordeal, that would be ok too! (I did it. No shame!)

 

As the beer starts cooking up and the fumes start to slightly intoxicate you…add in your salt, pepper, and parsley to taste! Add your cup of water  and bring to a boil. Once boiling put on low heat and let simmer until reduced and you no longer smell the alcohol. This takes about 12-15 minutes.

 

Once reduced, add back in your sausage and keep on low heat. Just need to heat the sausages through.

 

While that continued to warm up, I made my homemade Spätzle and warmed up some Sauerkraut to complete the meal. If you want a thicker sauce you can certainly add a little sauce thickener or cornstarch and water mixture. I didn’t do that to mine, I liked it as it was but to each his own!

 

There ya have it! It’s a really simple dish which requires very few ingredients. Let’s be honest…most of which you probably have in your home already!

Let me know if you try it out or what you would do to change it up!

Until next time, Readers!!!! xoxoxoxoxoxo

 

 

 

The Latest Happenings

I may be signing off here for a week or more. I have visitors coming!!!!! I don’t plan on having any downtime to write the blog so I’ll get back to you all when I find a moment! So in the interim you can follow me on facebook here or on twitter here. I’ll try to update them with pictures and the like as I go along so to be apart of the experience – follow up!

So what’s on the plan? Well my best friend and his parents are coming to town (and I hear they are loaded with peanut butter and meds!) They are staying in a beautiful area near the Alps and I will be tagging along as their tour guide and translator (ahem…or so I hope!). The plan is to do the usual when you come to a European country – drink, eat, and castles! 🙂 Of course we’re going to try to fit lots of other things in there as well as hopefully making it to an old concentration camp. That’s something I’m really interested in doing as well.

We have the Spring Fest happening here in Germany which is exactly the same as Oktoberfest except it’s obviously not in October. Pretty excited to wear my Drindl again and feel the morning after pain in my hands of holding those huge beers! How many do you think I’ll be able to handle? At Oktoberfest, I went through 3 beers (the big ones called “Maß”) and I’m thinking this year I’ll edge towards 4 or 5. I’m Irish…what more do you want?! This year we got VIP tickets and our own table full of friends and fun! Really looking forward to it again. Greatest party I’ve ever been to! If you need a reminder of how awesome it was, check out how I survived Oktoberfest here.

The day they are leaving, Toblerone and I are headed to Berlin. Primary reason was to watch the final of our favorite soccer team, FC Bayern squash the rival, Dortmund. But it just so happens that his cousin is recently living in Berlin so we will stay for a long weekend and see the sights! Really excited about finally seeing Berlin. I hear there is a great currywurst museum. I’m down for that!

So, with that being said…I’ll be back in a few weeks for you guys! I’ll try to schedule some blogs but lord knows my hands will be deep in the toilet bowls scrubbing until they sparkle so we’ll see!

Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxoxo

 

Taking A Time Out!

HELLLLLLOOOOOO!!!!!! I feel like it’s been so long since I’ve written! Granted, I was in the US for 10 days and what a WONDERFUL ten days it was!

Love from my bestie!

So, last time, I told you that I was headed back home to NY. What I left out was the precise reason why. The obvious is that I need to restock on my reese’s pieces cups and BBQ sauce but what I didn’t tell you since I was sworn to secrecy was that I picked this time frame to be there to share in the fun when my best friend got engaged!!!!! Her boyfr….ahem…fiance… had contacted me several weeks in advance so I could try to get home for on or around the 25th of February. SO thankful I was able to be there so thank you to Toblerone for giving me the greatest gift for Valentine’s Day and to M for trusting me by telling me the plan way in advance!

For me this has been so thrilling! I don’t have my sparkler yet but just watching the joy that comes along with it all got me really looking forward to whats to come! I was there the day these two met and now I’ll be there while they start the next chapter…holy cannoli…there are no words! Let the planning begin!!!!

I tried really hard to fit everyone/everything into my schedule but I ran out of time. One week really does fly and with a stomach bug for 24 hours that made it extra pleasant. I went to Green Beer Sunday for the first time in my life (which is when they bring a truck full of green beer to the Irish pub in the Irish section of town), Had a green beer for the first time ever, went shopping, was part of an engagement surprise party, went to see a movie (The Vow) for the first time in months, went to Zumba, and hugged everyone before I left! Phew!!!

Proof that I had a green beer 🙂

It was tough having to leave again but this time I did it without tears. I managed to get myself on the plane and I suppose having breakfast with my mom helped. Needed her to remind me that I’m stronger than I think! And quite possibly the many glasses of wine I had waiting for my delayed plane helped. The bartender is this guy I see everytime I’m in this airport. He’s older, hilarious, and just all around charming for a 72yr old. They called my flight to board and I didn’t want to gulp down the last remains of my wine so he said he had just the thing for me. He put it in a coffee “to-go” cup and told me that they do this for all the pilots. Hmmm…….that scares me. A plane full of pilots that are 10 sheets to the wind. Fabulous! And there at that moment went my “strength” I got at breakfast!

Wine to go! (sorry it's sideways!)

Anyways, the trip was good and now I’m waiting for March 14th to hurry up and go. This is when I head to the specialist for my Endometriosis (GRAND!) and then after that I can start the partying for St. Patty’s Day. Somehow, I have to get these Germans to appreciate a day dedicated to drinking!! It’s a tough job but someone’s gotta do it!

Am I glad to be back in Deutschland? Not particularly, however, I’m going to make the best of it even if I can’t get decent Peanut Butter here. It’s been 60+ degrees and this is helping to mask the sadness that I miss America, deeply. Oh and by the way, as of yesterday…I have been in Germany for 1 year. Isn’t it ironic that I flew to Germany the exact same day I flew there one year ago? Crazy beans!!!

So here’s hoping we see each other again soon, America. Man, how I miss you!!!

Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxoxoxoxo

I Survived Oktoberfest

I’m not totally sure how to put this into words. So, I’m glad I kept it together enough to take pictures for you all! If anyone ever gets the chance to come to Germany at the end of September I HIGHLY reccomend that you stop and check out Oktoberfest. I also reccomend that you wear steel gloves. My hand is so sore from where the handle of the glass rested. Also, you should watch the movie Beerfest 8 times in a row and drink every time they do. It’s a GREAT drinking game and good practice for what is unveiled at this Oktoberfest!

Note: It took approximately 10 minutes pushing, pulling, situating those suckers until they were in my neck…yes, you asked. They were the highlight of the night…I’m sure you’ll see these on someone’s facebook/flickr account at some point. 

I have never seen so many people in one place having that much fun. No drama, just fun, drinking, singing. Germany, one bonus point to you for throwing the best party I’ve ever been to! So, we ended up going to Stuttgart, whereas the original Oktoberfest is in Munich. However, Stuttgart is a little smaller (although, I can’t imagine how large Munich is because the “smaller” Stuttgart was very large) and a lot closer.

We arrived at 3:00pm and went to our reserved table. We were with a group of about 20 or so people so it was pretty crazy. We get off the train and walk into an amusement park practically. There are all sorts of rides and little shops, games, etc. The beer “tents” were more like houses. They must take forever to build up. Then once inside, I was completely shocked. The band was playing and there were THOUSANDS of people smashing their giant mugs together and singing, swaying back and forth arm in arm, standing on the tables. Absolute nut-house! Of course majority of people are wearing the traditional clothing of lederhosen for men and dirndl for women. It felt like Halloween and everyone wore the same thing. All different colors and variations swamped the place. INCREDIBLE!

Note: Check that mother out!! That was number 1….number 2 and 3 did not make an appearance for the camera. 

I had a total of 3 Mass the whole night…Let’s do the math, shall we? 1 Mass is 1 liter of beer…3 Liters = 101.4 Ounces. Let’s face it…I’m amazing and could have kept going! No worries, my kittens, I wasn’t the least bit drunk. I’m Irish….these Germans have NOTHING on me! 🙂 However, I drank slowly and danced like crazy. Plus it’s like 8 million degrees inside the tent so you sweat it out anyway! 🙂

Note: The Toblerone and I 🙂 

Woke up the next morning, felt fantastic, and decided to head back to the festival. We walked around and went on a ride – the scariest one I could find. Had another beer and watched the parade which was so sweet. All different groups rolled by in traditional clothing, some dating back many many years. Hats, dresses, suits, everything! They had animals and cars, and guess what they passed out instead of candy? Yup, glasses of beer and wine. Why helllloooooo there, Heaven! 🙂

Note: Sorry for the blur – all pics were taken with iPhone. This guy is carrying at least 5 Mass in each hand. This is insane to me and I have arthiritis just looking at. 

I think this is a big trend now in the states or something, I keep seeing mustache items everywhere but they had the beard and mustache groups walking down. Not sure what any of that has to do with Oktoberfest other than it’s completely entertaining when you’ve been drinking in the hot sun. The first automobile (125 years old) made an appearance also.

Anywho, I survived my first Oktoberfest with only beer spilled on my dress and can’t WAIT to go back next year….and I think we may go again in the next two weeks 🙂 I just really need to verify that it was really that fun. Second or Third time is always a charm right?  Who’s with me?!? And better yet, they have the same time of festival again in the Spring. You don’t need to ask…already bought my ticket! BAM!

Note: Traditionally the beer was brought to the beer tents by horse and carriage, nowadays it’s by truck but they still do the whole show bit of it all in the parade.

Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxoxoxo

For The Love Of…

I know, I know…I’ve fallen off the beaten path of the blog. I just got caught up in the glorious life I’m living. So shoot me. So to counter my other post about what I don’t fancy, I decided to grace you all with what I DO like.  Shall we? 

BEER FOR BREAKFAST

Literally, do it. Honestly, I was a little shocked at the fact that it was 11am…I’m hanging with the ladies and they bring out a bottle of wine. Say WHAT?! Who would turn that down!? I asked them if this was the usual and they said it was completely normal, not frowned upon, and encouraged!! There I sat, sipping the bitter goodness and thought to myself, “never will I ever have to say: It’s 5 o’clock somewhere!” So to my American friends… As you are all waking up and sipping your cup o’ joe, I’m sipping on some grape juice and NO ONE calls me an alcoholic. Queue the envy.

SPONGEBOB PANTS ARE FOR BED

To all you Walmart-goers, you have probably witnessed someone wearing ridiculous clothes or maybe received one of those emails showing the “best dressers”? You know, those infamous “Pajama- wearers”, who wear them to  go out to eat and for picnics in public places. I won’t lie, I’ve been known to don my favorite sock monkey or reindeer pj’s (yes, this is true… I do have these) back when I was younger, however, now that I’m older, I still would prefer to walk around in them but here in good old Germ, it’s not so cute. Even wearing my black workout-esque pants, is a big no no (I do it anyways). For some reason, no matter what time of day, no matter where you are going, wearing your pj’s is completely unacceptable. Most people here are always dressed nicely, not to the 9’s but decent.  If you slipped on those silky spongebob pj pants that grandma gene bought you christmas ’08, you will be stoned to death. They stare you down and make you feel like a weirdo. Like you’re so disgusting! As if! However, going along with this blog here, I think it sends a good message. Always look your best, you never know what you will end up doing or who you will see. Maybe that Ex of yours with the bad hair and you want to show them they left you for the uglier girl!  The world should be cleaned up a bit of the trash it’s accumulated. Just sayin!

I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM, WE ALL SCREAM FOR SALAD

Of course! Did you think I would actually say ice cream? That’s lame. The thing I LOVE here is the salad bars. At first, I thought it was weird and basically not a salad bar. It was a mess of shaved vegetables drowning in vinegar. I never thought I would say this but the American salads/salad bars are a little over the top (just like we do everything!). You get the wide variety of random things from sunflower seeds to beets (gag). Here it’s very simple you have German potato salad, and the following items all shredded to thin pieces and put in a bowl (separately, not all together) and mixed with a vinegar type dressing: carrots, cucumber, cabbage, and few others there are no translations for.  It’s awesome. There is lettuce…like boston lettuce but you take a few pieces in addition to the others. Sooo Delish! And so simple! I mean, it’s incredibly easy to prepare first of all but you have a few selections – aka not wasting food at the end of the day! Also, you’re eating your vegetables…without adding gobs and gobs of fattening salad dressings. Ranch dressing? No. Thousand Island? Negative. Blue Cheese? Nada.  These people got it going on! I’m on my way to finding out why the Euro’s have a less % of fat people than the Americans! Mission Fat is currently in sesh!

I’VE GOT THE GOLDEN TICKET

One of the first things I noticed when I was here was the toilet paper. There were many different choices like ones with butterflies or clouds, and not just any clouds…COLORED clouds. Yeah, pretty colors and shapes on each piece. Ahh, magnificent! I’m living a life of luxury! While watching the tube this past week Toblerone and I got fixated on an incredible opportunity regarding this stuff.

Gold imprinted toilet paper. No joke, this restaurant (odd) here in Germany has this fancy little machine in the backroom and they take whatever mold you want and make you the Crème de la Crème of toilet paper. It showed one woman, a doctor, who would put out the 150 Euro to have her fancy schmance paper made with a gold crown on it each month. She said it’s because she just likes it. Simple enough for me! Do it girlfriend!

IT’S A WOMAN’S WORLD

Yes, Angela Merkel – what a catch! Doesn’t she look like someone you just want to run up to and hug? I’m not a feminist by any means but I think it really says something about a country that can agree to have a woman as the head of their precious land (Chancellor to be precise) and not go into a rage about how a woman shouldn’t be in this position.  She has been in this role since election in 2005 and has won the hearts of many. I’ve yet to meet one person who doesn’t respect her and what she has accomplished.  Americans…get with the damn program! Hilary running for prez was a great start however the comments of, “a woman would bring too much emotion into government.” WHAT IS THAT?! Ignorance.

More so, I love the idea of a completely equal world. We need to go a long way but lord knows we’ve got an even longer way to go. I’m not into politics, nor will I ever be, and upon moving here I had no idea what type of government ran this place but learning that a woman (gasp!) was head of this and has been for many o’ years completely impressed me. I felt it was totally necessary to share. I wish we lived in a world where this was normal and I didn’t have to blog about it. Until then…

SUNDAY FUNDAY

For a good laugh, you should all be aware that Sunday Funday was invented by the Catholics. I attempted to clean and do housework on Sunday BUT I was very quickly told that it’s a Sunday. Yeah ok, whats the point?? It’s a day of relaxation. You work like crazy during the week and Saturdays you can do housework, Sundays are a day reserved for fun and relaxation. Hmm, ok. For me, it doesn’t matter. I’m not working so I’m always relaxed. (Thanks Toblerone!)  I’ve never felt so wrong about picking up gardening tool and looking (only looking) at the ground below.  Then I thought about it and what is wrong with relaxing with your family…throwing ribs on the Barbie and drinking bottles (plural) of wine?

 

 Well done Deutschland, you’ve managed to impress me and have me follow suit with your ways. *Applause* It takes a  lot for me to give in to how others live their life but I figured, some day I’m going to have to get over it and accept it and honor it. Now if only I could get my hands on some golden toilet paper. Then I would be REALLY living!  

Ciao for now readers! This weekend I will be heading out to my first disco for a girls night. This could get interesting…MAYBE I’ll blog about it, but I may not be able to. You know…what happens in….stays in.

xoxoxoxoxo

We Are Not The Champions, My Friends

Last night until early this morning, Toblerone and I had a date. A date to the UEFA Champions League game between FC Bayern Munchen (Munich) and Inter-Milan at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. He has belonged to the fan club of FC Bayern for many years so he gets first pick at tickets and the seats are usually pretty amazing. So glad he chose to take me and not a guy friend (Thanks Bubbers!) I’m going to do my best to describe in words what it was like for me. This is not only my first soccer game but my first professional game of any kind. It’s 9 in the morning here and I’m still shaking in my boots from excitement!!

To start, I did what the perfect housefrau would do and I put together a lunch box full of the following…sandwiches, chocolate, and BEER! Indeed, my readers, In this country…we can drink in the car (to an extent — but still!

After 2 hours and 45 minutes we arrive to the arena which is a sea of red and white. I have never seen anything like this where the majority of ticket holders are all cheering for the same team. Granted, there were a small percentage of Italy’s fans but lets just say they would be pummeled in a fight.  Toblerone is sooooo giddy! He’s a kid in a candy store and can’t keep his excitement in. Even the smell of food got him going on a big speech about how amazing it all is and I will never have anything like this anywhere! 

Not even 2 feet into our walk, he gets a red sausage – aka hotdog….or more like hothorse. This is the biggest hot-anything I’ve ever seen! Seriously, people. See what I mean?!?! The bun doesn’t even fit. But, it was hands down the most amazing thing I’ve ever had in a hotdog bun! 🙂 (Not pictured: The GOBS of mustard we added)

We trekked on and after many pics later (shown in slide show below) I got my first game scarf and two free beers! The scarf phenomenon. I’m not sure I understand what the catch is but everyone was wearing one or many.  I, on the other hand, used it to keep warm and to swing around and smack people in the face with when I was angry or Munich scored a goal. Not so happy people around me, oops!

For the sold out game, 66,000 people showed up and took their seats. 66,000 people…yeah…thats quite a bit. The chants were continuous throughout the game. Everyone seemed to know every song they had. Flags were waving like crazy, everyone was screaming…it was like a concert, but better.

My favorite part was the fact that I got to scream every obscenity I’ve ever learned, combining each word into one long sentence. Toblerone laughed at me but everyone else just looked straight ahead as if I never said a word. Talk about a release!! I did record some audio but…due to the many choice words coming from my mouth, I’ve decided not to post them. I don’t want anyone’s ears falling off (that means you, Mom!) Nonetheless, YouTube it to listen to the crowd’s anthems.

It’s hilarious to me that all these older men sit down around me, someone’s grandfather or father. Many other men are dressed like they are going out to a nice dinner rather than a game. As soon as the action starts, these men scream until they run out of air and faces are red. Imagine how it was growing up around men who would yell at the Cowboys or Patriots and then times that by, well, 66,000! Everyone yelling towards the ref, the team, the coach, the ball boy, whoever and not a single person on the field would hear them! I guess its way better than yelling at the tv.

Unfortunately, we are not the champions….Inter-Milan won and they are going on to compete in the Champions League. Toblerone was so upset. When Milan scored their 3rd goal, only a few minutes before the buzzer, the disappointment was genuine on every fan’s face. I’ve never seen grown men almost brought to tears over this. It was so sad to watch. As we left, for whatever reason, “You’ll Never Walk Alone” cover from the original “Carousel” musical played. (Again, if you don’t know this..we’re not friends)

We drove the long drive back home and arrived in the driveway at exactly 1:41am. Had to make one stop to get some caffeine since our eyes were drooping but it was all so worth it. Every second. I had a great time and can’t WAIT to go again!

Enough of my babble…check out the slide show for some great pictures! (Thank GOD for the new camera! woot woot!)

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