A Little Taste of Germany

I told you my husband was half German, right? Yes, I think I did. And I lived there three different times, as an Air Force daughter, an Air Force lieutenant, and an Air Force wife. So I cook a lot of German food. Don asked for frikadellen yesterday, after seeing something on TV that reminded him of them. When I was in high school, we ate frikadellen, but I really don't remember where we bought them. Dad liked them better than bratwurst, and talked nostalgically about them in the years before he died. Don says he ate them a lot as a kid, since his mother made them. When we were married, Christina and Egon, our German neighbors, made them any time they had a long distance road trip to visit relatives in East Germany. She said they were good cold.

Think large meatballs. Or seasoned hamburger patties. Don and Dad liked them on hamburger buns, like a sandwich. Some people make a creamy sauce and serve them over noodles. We had them tonight on buns.

Frikadellen
2 slices of dry white bread
1 lb. lean ground beef (or use 1/2 lb. beef and 1/2 lb. pork)
one small onion, finely chopped
one egg
half a clove of garlic
one teaspoon salt
half a teaspoon pepper
one teaspoon paprika
half a teaspoon Sambal Oelek (Hot Chilli Paste)
one teaspoon Dijon mustard
one bunch of fresh parsley
one teaspoon oregano
a splash of Worcestershire sauce

Soak the dry white bread in water for 10 minutes. Then press it in your hands to get as much of the water out of the bread as you can .Mix all the ingredients together.

You can either form little meatballs or make hamburger-style patties which you can either pan-fry or barbecue.

To go with the frikadellen, I made cole slaw. I've used bottled cole slaw dressing in the past, but I prefer to make my cole slaw this way:

Simple Cole Slaw
1/2 med. head cabbage, shredded
1/4 c Splenda granular
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp. bottled French dressing
1 Tbsp. celery seeds


Sprinkle cabbage with sugar and vinegar; mix well. Add mayonnaise, French dressing and celery seeds. Let sit about 10 minutes before serving; stir again.

food & drink