Oktoberfest Dinner

Over 12 years ago my husband saw an article about a local German restaurant in the newspaper.  The article gave the restaurant a rating of 5 forks, the highest they give out.  Such a high rating seems to be few and far between, so we decided to give the place a try.  We weren’t sure what to expect since neither of us had ever had that type of food before, but that was the beginning of our love affair with the german cuisine.

A couple of weeks ago I saw an advertisement for a cooking class titled “Oktoberfest Dinner” at Chefs Catalog and thought it would be a lot of fun to learn how to make jaegerschnitzel, spaetzle, rot cabbage, potatoes and spaghetti ice.  The price was a bit heafty at $65 for a 2 hour class, but I figured it would be worth it to learn one of our favorite German dishes.

The class was scheduled for Monday evening.  I arrived a few minutes early only to find that the chef had not arrived yet and the class was canceled.  Apparently there was a miscommunication between the chef and the manager of Chefs Catalog.  The chef thought he was showing us how to make the dishes at his restaurant, however all the classes sponsored by Chefs Catalog are always at the warehouse in their special teaching kitchen.  Since the restaurant was about 30 minutes away, the group decided it would be better to reschedule the class for another night.

Although I did not get to attend the class, I did gather a few details while I was there.  Most of the other students attend classes at Chefs Catalog on a regular basis.  The classes always cost $65 for a two hour session.  The attendees are fed all of the food that is made during the session.  In fact, some even brought containers to take food home, because there is always tons of food leftover.  The session is not a hands on class, but more of a seminar.  The chef cooks in a large kitchen area and the students sit around a large horseshoe shaped countetop that surrounds the stove.  Its sounds like there is lots of chatter and discussion that goes on during the session.

I have nothing against the class, but I was expecting more of a hands on type training, specially for the $65 price tag.  So, I decided to Google the recipes and attempted to make an Oktoberfest Dinner at home instead.  It really wasn’t that hard, and turned out great.   I am getting a refund for the class, no need to learn jaegerschnitzel now!

Here are the recipes I found with some changes that I made…

German Spaetzle Dumplings

Ingredients
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 pinch pepper.
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg.
1/4 c. milk
2 eggs
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Directions
Mix together flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.  Beat eggs well, and add with the milk to the dry ingredients.  Mix until smooth.
Press dough through spaetzle maker, or a large holed sieve or metal grater.  Drop a few at a time into simmering liquid.  Cook 5 to 8 minutes.  Drain well.  Saute cooked spaetzle in butter or margarine.  Sprinkle chopped fresh parsley on top, and serve.

Note: I used a metal spoon that I rubbed along the grater to push the dough through.  I held the grater over the boiling water and allowed the dough to drop into the pot.

Schnitzel

Ingredients
4 Pork cutlets, cubed
2 Eggs; beaten
Salt and pepper.
1 c. Bread crumbs

Directions
Rub salt and pepper onto cutlet. Let stand for about 10 minutes.  Dip cutlet in beaten egg and then in crumbs.  Brown in a small amount of oil over low heat for approximately 10 minutes on each side.

Home Fries

Ingredients
3 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 tbsp butter
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Melt butter  in a large skillet over medium heat.  Place potatoes in the skillet, and stir to coat with butter.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cover and cook for 10 minutes.  Remove the lid, cook for another 10 minutes, turning frequently until brown and crisp.

I served all of the above with warm saurkraut and kaiser rolls.  Yum!

~Valerie