Warm Up With German Apple Cake.

The American tradition of Groundhog Day, initially began in Britain with Candlemas Day. Priests would hand out blessed candles to the residents of their community on February 2nd.  This tradition dealt in opposites, if the candles were distributed on a sunny day, harsh winter would keep ahold of the land.  If it was a stormy day, winter weather would end soon to welcome beautiful spring. 

Eventually the tradition was adopted by Germans, and they used a creature to predict the weather, the hedgehog. If the day was sunny and the hedgehog saw his shadow, people expected more winter weather; conditions were stormy and the hedgehog didn't see its shadow, spring was near.  When the Germans began to immigrate to Pennsylvania, in the 1800s, the hedgehog was not a native of the land, but the groundhog was.  The tradition remained, just the fortune teller changed.

Now while the 2020 prediction, from the groundhogs, is spring will come sooner this year; they have made a huge oops in many areas of the country.  Around 11am this morning, snow began to fall in Monticello, Utah; Dove Creek, Colorado and upper Utah showed photos and videos of their extreme snowfall.  Calendar wise, spring is about six weeks away; weather wise, winter will let go when it decides to, not when a groundhog says to.

Typically a fall harvest fruit, the apple, has become available for public consumption via supermarkets, local markets and farmers markets.  On a cold, windy, harsh winter day, wouldn't it be lovely to have a delicious slice of German Apple Cake along with a hot cup of tea or hot cocoa!?!

I found this recipe on another food blog, Plated Cravings, and found it to be easier than many other recipes online.  I also like how the cake looks, with pretty apple slices nestled into moist cake.

So I will simply share that recipe here, giving credit to that food blog, of course.  In addition will be photos of how it went along, with a very tasty finale.  By the way, I made a double batch of this cake as I enjoy sharing.

German Apple Cake

(Plated Cravings: German Apple Cake )

Ingredients:

4 small apples
1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla sugar or vanilla extract
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups cake flour (see instructions above)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp milk
Powdered sugar

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease the bottom of a 9- or 10-inch springform or use parchment paper.

Peel, quarter, and core the apples. Thinly slice each quarter lengthwise without cutting all the way through.
















In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until creamy, about 1 minute. Add sugar and mix until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time and beat for 30 seconds on high speed after each addition.
Add vanilla sugar (or extract), salt, and lemon juice. Beat until combined.
Combine cake flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer running on low speed add half of the flour, then 1 tbsp milk, followed by the remaining flour, and then the remaining milk. Beat until just combined. Don't overmix!





Transfer batter into prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Distribute the apples with the sliced side up on top.

Bake in the lower third of the oven for 45 minutes, until lightly browned and a skewer comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and remove the springform ring. Let cake cool on the bottom of the springform pan to room temperature.

Sprinkle powdered sugar over the cooled cake and serve with sweetened whipped cream.

Reminder, apples are available all year long, so don't wait for a particular season.  Simply bake and enjoy!

Mary Cokenour

The Enticing Schnitzel Adventure.

Growing up, there were basically only two ways we ate Schnitzel; first was a thin veal cutlet fried in bread crumbs, served with a side of fried potatoes and vegetables.  Second was what I would equate to Italian style which is veal parmigiana; thin veal cutlet fried in bread crumbs, covered in tomato sauce and cheese, served with a side of pasta.  Doing research for this article, I found there was half a world of different styles all originating in Europe, Russia or Scandinavia.  For the sake of my own sanity, and not to bore you all senseless, I'm only going to deal with three styles: Wiener Schnitzel and Jager Schnitzel (both from Germany) and Becki odrezak (Croatia, my ancestry).

Schnitzel is essentially made with a meat product such as veal, beef, pork or wild game (elk, deer, wild boar which will make all you hunters happy).  The meat is sliced thin into cutlets, anywhere to 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch in thickness; then pounded out to 1/8 or 1/4 inch in thickness.  Leave a little fat around the meat; during deep frying some of the fat will melt, keeping the meat moist and juicy; the rest will crisp up.   In the United States, Country Fried Steak could be looked at as a form of Schnitzel; a cutlet of beef which is only slightly pounded out, but left thick, and fried with a coating of flour and/or bread crumbs (I like to do 2/3 plain bread crumbs, 1/3 cornmeal mix).

Pounding out the meat breaks up any connective tissues and fibers, so the finished product will be very, very tender.  Use the flat side of a meat tenderizer as you want to flatten out the meat to almost double its original size, but not to the point of being able to read a newspaper through it, or shredding the meat itself.  Tenderizing meat is great for getting out frustrations, but don't think of anything too maddening; you want to flatten out, not annihilate.  First a basic recipe for making Schnitzel which works for whichever meat you choose to use, then the different styles you can play with.

Schnitzel

Ingredients:

 1 lb. tenderloin of meat (pork, veal, beef or wild game)

 1 tsp. each salt and ground black pepper

 1 Tbsp. paprika

 2 eggs plus 2 Tbsp. water, beaten together

 3 cups plain, dried bread crumbs (fine ground)

 Oil for frying (I recommend peanut oil, canola if not available)

Preparation:

Cut the tenderloin into 1/4 inch slices (about 10-12 slices), place between 2 sheets of clear plastic wrap and pound out to 1/8 inch thickness.  Mix together the salt, black pepper and paprika; season both sides of the meat slices.

Pounded out Pork Cutlets.

Fill a large skillet with 1 and 1/2 inches of oil and set on medium-high heat.  Dip the meat slices into the egg/water mixture, press into the bread crumbs (both sides) and shake off any excess.  When oil is ready (sizzles when drops of cold water are sprinkled over the oil), put 3 of the prepared slices into the skillet.  It takes only 2 minutes on each side to fry them, so keep an eye on them; remove to paper towels to drain any excess oil.

Note: using unseasoned bread crumbs will allow the seasoning placed previously on the meat to "pop" when eating it.

Time to country hop and eat like locals; I'm going to Croatia first, since that is the land of my ancestry.  Remember when I said above that I ate Schnitzel with fried potatoes; since the meat was being deep fried; throwing some potatoes into that oil to make a side dish was the norm.  That’s basically it, fried meat with fried potatoes; yes, I’m a meat and potatoes lady!

Now when you think of Schnitzel from Germany, two versions come to mind.  The first is the popularly known Wiener Schnitzel; a fried veal cutlet with a sunny side egg on top. A teaspoon of melted butter in an eight inch skillet over medium-high heat; carefully drop in your raw egg as to not break the yoke; season with a dash of salt and pepper.   Use a spatula to move around the white and clear liquids of the egg, so they will cook thoroughly around the yoke.  Carefully place it over the cutlet; when you cut into that yoke and down into the cutlet, the yoke will become a rich sauce for the fried meat.  

The second version is Jager Schnitzel, or "Hunter's Schnitzel", which is done up normally with pork, served with a rich, creamy mushroom sauce; the name "Hunter's" alludes to the hunting of wild game such as boar.

Creamy Mushroom Sauce

Ingredients:

 2 Tbsp. canola oil

 1/2 lb. sliced mushrooms

 1 and 1/2 cups beef stock

 1 Tbsp. cornstarch

 1/2 cup sour cream

Preparation:

In a deep 10 inch skillet, heat oil on medium heat, sauté’ mushrooms for 5 minutes; add beef stock and simmer for 20 minutes.  Stir occasionally to keep from boiling.  Reduce heat to low; whisk in cornstarch and sour cream.  Continue to whisk until sauce thickens; serve over fried cutlets.

Makes about 1 and 1/2 cups.

Whether you try out any of these Schnitzel recipes, or decide to visit the recipes of other countries, remember to enjoy the adventure!  

 Mary Cokenour

Eating for Good Luck in the New Year.

When I lived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, we celebrated the New Year by going to one of the local churches and feasting in a family style, all you can eat, Pork and Sauerkraut meal.  This tradition came to Pennsylvania with the Amish and the Mennonite; a German or "Pennsylvania Dutch" tradition to bring good luck for the incoming New Year.

Once I moved to Utah, I found there was no typical New Year food tradition; no reason behind it, there just wasn't one is what I was informed.  Oh I went online and tried looking it up; found the Pennsylvania one, a Deep South tradition, even listings for the Chinese New Year, but no, no traditional Utah one, not even Mormon related.

The recipe I'm posting today deals with, of course, Pork and Sauerkraut; and finding the origin of this combination goes back to; well good question as pickled cabbage can be found in many cultures, even the Chinese.  My personal recipe is more of Croatian descent, except I add potatoes like they do in Germany; in the Ukraine, they add barley; however I have had one woman of Irish descent tell me that the idea of adding potatoes was stolen from the Irish.  Wherever it came from, the concept is still the same, eating it on New Year's Day to ensure good luck, good health and prosperity all year long.

I like using sauerkraut that is from a jar or a bag; it tastes better and the canned variety seems to have a metallic taste to it.  When it comes to the pork, you have lots of options; smoked kielbasa or sausage, roasted pork roast, fried or baked boneless pork chops; you can add bacon or ham too.  My recipe is a quick stove top dish, so make sure the pork product you use is cooked before hand.

 

Pork and Sauerkraut

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
2/3 cup diced red onions
8 baby potatoes, peeled, parboiled and cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 cups sauerkraut, drained
1 (14 oz)smoked sausage, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 Tbsp paprika
1 tsp caraway seeds

Preparation:

Heat the oil in a large skillet, medium-high heat; add the onion and potato slices and cook until onion begins to soften. Turn potato slices occasionally to keep from over browning.

Add the sauerkraut and sausage slices; when the ingredients begin to sizzle, mix thoroughly. Let cook another five minutes before mixing in the paprika and caraway seeds. Continue to cook another three minutes, but check to see that nothing is browning or drying out too quickly.

Makes 4 servings.

Mary Cokenour