We celebrated my mother's 75th birthday last Sunday with a party for her family and friends. I'm sharing a few photos today and will have more details tomorrow. 
My mother in motion. I like this candid shot of her because that's how I think of her, always on the go.
The balloon crew is working hard in the picture above. We had balloon bouquets all the way around the porch.
Some of the guests eating and mingling.
The dining room almost open for business. I'll share our menu tomorrow.
This is the final post on the Oktoberfest theme. I hope you've enjoyed it and will try some of the recipes.
I will not be posting again until October 29. I'm hosting a party for my mother's 75th birthday and will be running around like crazy next week. I hope I can remember to take pictures. I'll have some tips to share about organizing, about estimating how much food to serve for large groups and other ideas I've learned and mistakes I'm sure to make. The birthday party isn't a tea but some of the foods I'll be serving are tea foods.
*Dough*
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 T. plus 1 tsp. neutral oil
13 T. lukewarm water
*Filling I*
7 T. butter
1 c. breadcrumbs
*Filling II*
1/2 c. raisins (traditional, but optional)
4 T. rum (optional) or orange juice
6-8 c. chopped baking apples (5-6 large apples such as Gala or Granny Smith)
3/4 c. granulated sugar
1-2 tsp. lemon zest
4 T. lemon juice (about 1/2 large lemon)
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Melted butter for brushing dough (almost a whole stick or 1/2 cup)
Powdered sugar for decoration
Preparation:
To make the dough: Place the flour in a bowl with the salt and add the water, then the oil. Stir with a spoon until it comes together and you can work it with your hands. Knead the dough until it is smooth and tacky, but not sticky, about 5 minutes. If you need to add more flour, only add it 1 teaspoon at a time. Form the dough into a smooth ball, brush it with a little oil and place it back in the bowl for 1 hour, room temperature. Covering the dough with plastic wrap is fine, too.
Make Filling I: Heat the butter in a pan until foaming and add the breadcrumbs. Toast them, stirring constantly, until they are medium brown. Let cool.
Make Filling II: Soak the raisins in the rum (or orange juice). You can heat them for 30 seconds in the microwave and then soak them until you are ready for them. Peel, core and chop the apples into small pieces. Add the sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, raisins and cinnamon and mix well.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured board to about 9 inches by 13 inches. Lightly flour a clean towel with no nap, place it over the dough, grab both (towel and dough) and flip over. Straighten both, as necessary. Using your hands, gently stretch the dough thinner on all sides, working your way around the sheet of dough. Stretch it until it starts to look translucent in spots. Let it rest a minute and stretch the areas you think are too thick, again. Thick edges can't be avoided and will be cut off. Brush dough with melted butter. Spread the breadcrumbs over 2/3 of the dough and pat down evenly. Drain the apples and spread them over the other 1/3 of the dough. Cut off any thick edges of dough with kitchen shears. Using the towel, fold one side of the dough over the filling. Brush exposed dough with melted butter. Fold in ends of dough like an envelope (or burrito). Fold other side of dough up and over filling to form a roll. Brush with butter. Use towel to maneuver strudel to baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roll strudel onto parchment paper so that the seam-side is down. Brush with melted butter.
Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes and then at 350°F for 40-60 minutes longer. Remove from oven, brush top with melted butter and sprinkle with powdered sugar while still warm. Transfer to a serving platter with a large spatula (or two). Cut into 1 1/2 inch wide slices with a bread knife or serrated knife and serve with your choice:
Whipped cream
Vanilla sauce
Vanilla ice cream
Tips: If you are planning on serving the strudel the next day, leave on parchment paper and cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel. Place out of reach. Recrisp in oven, warming in microwave not as good.
Practice making strudel BEFORE you want to serve it. Make it at least once before the big day to see which steps you need to watch.
Err on the side of thicker dough. If you stretch it too thin (you know, Oma always says you should be able to read a newspaper through it!) before you put the filling in, when you wrap it you will stretch it more, and it might tear. Tearing causes the liquid to evaporate when baked, instead of steaming inside the package. It won't ruin your strudel, but it will not be perfect.
In German this is called Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte. It is probably the most famous of all German desserts. There are several steps to this recipe but the result is worth it!
2 ¼ cups flour
1 2/3 cups sugar
¾ cup cocoa
1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 ¼ cups water
¾ cup shortening
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
Cherry Filling, below
1 bar (4 ounces) sweet cooking chocolate
2 cups chilled whipping cream
¼ cup sugar
Marachino cherries
Heat oven to 350º. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. Beat flour, 1 2/3 cups sugar, the cocoa, baking soda, salt and baking powder, water, shortening, eggs and vanilla in large mixer bowl on low speed, 30 seconds. Beat on high for 3 minutes. Pour into pans. Bake 30-35 minutes until wooden pick comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes and remove from pans. Cool on racks.
Prepare Cherry Filling. With a vegetable parer or thin, sharp knife, slice across chocolate bar with long strokes to form 12-14 chocolate curls for garnishing cake. Or use a micro plane to grate the chocolate, depending on the look you're after. For best results, let chocolate stand in warm place for ten minutes before slicing. Refrigerate curls until ready to use.
Place 1 cake layer on serving plate. Beat whipping cream and ¼ cup sugar in a chilled bowl until stiff peaks form. Spread bottom layer with about 2/3 of the Cherry Filling and 1 cup of the whipped cream. Place the other layer next and spread with remaining Cherry Filling. Frost side and top of cake with remaining whipped cream.
If desired coarsely shred enough remaining chocolate to measure ½ cup. Gently press shredded chocolate onto side of cake. Garnish top of cake with chocolate curls and cherries. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Cherry Filling:
½ cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 can (16 ounces) pitted red tart cherries, well drained, reserving liquid
¼ cup Kirsch
Mix sugar and cornstarch in saucepan. Add enough water to reserved liquid to measure ¾ cup; stir into sugar mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in kirsch. Cut cherries into halves, stir into filling. Refrigerate until completely chilled.
Pretzel rolls really do have a pretzel flavor and texture. They make great sandwiches. Use Black Forest Ham, German cheese, lettuce and tomato and perhaps a big German pickle. For the tea, you'll probably want to cut the rolls in half or even quarters.
There are many German cheeses available in the US. These include Allgäuer Emmenthaler which is like a Swiss Emmental but made with cow's milk. This is the perfect cheese for serving on the pretzel rolls.
One of the best places online to order German foods and products is the German Deli. Even if you aren't interested in ordering anything, it is fun to look at the different foods. Be sure to check the candy/chocolate section!
I don’t think anyone needs an actual recipe for preparing wurst. Simply brown it or grill it and serve it on a bun. Offer sweet or hot German mustard and sauerkraut on the side. For the Oktoberfest Tea, you might want to cut the wurst in half instead of serving long sausages.
Did you know that Germans eat more than a thousand varieties of sausage? As you can imagine a trip to a German butcher can be confusing. Here are some questions that can help you identify things you don’t want to eat.
Which animal was this?
Was für ein Tier was das?
Which part?
Welcher Teil?
Please just point to the place on your own body.
Bitte zeigen Sie mir die Stelle an Ihrem Körper.
Hmm. That doesn’t look very tasty/healthful.
Hmm. Das sieht mir nicht besonders schmackhaft/gesund aus.
Did I mention that I’ve decided to become a vegetarian?
Habe ich erwähnt, daß ich mich entschlossen habe, Vegetarier zu warden?
Here are some of the many different kinds of wurst available in Germany:
Aalgellewurst – jellied eels
Cervelatwurst – scent organs
Gänseleberwurst – swollen goose livers
Geflügelwurst – things with wings
Lammzungenwurst – tongues of lambs
Leberkäswurst – clotted liver paste
Münchner Weissuwrst – brains of calves
Milzwurst – slippery spleen meats
Rauhwurst – assorted sardine parts
Schweineherzwurst – well marbled pig hearts
Wurstwurst – defective wurst :)
In German, this is called Warme Specksosse and is often used over potatoes or string beans. But for salad, pour this Boiled Bacon Dressing over any combination of salad ingredients you like. Here it is often served over simple iceberg lettuce. Don't try to make this dressing ahead as it will solidify in the fridge.
At our church picnics, this famous Pennsylvania Dutch soup is made in big kettles over real wood fires. It must be stirred constantly with a wooden paddle. It takes two strong men to lift the kettle from the fire. They use a board through the handle and carry the kettle between them. My husband's picnic job is always the soup man. Standing over the fire when the temperature outside is in the 90s, he relies a lot on me, the iced tea and lemonade lady.
This recipe calls for rivels, a kind of dumpling/noodle like spätzel. If, like my mother, you prefer your chicken corn soup without, use 3 chopped, cooked potatoes instead.
1 whole chicken
2 ribs celery, cut in chunks
3 carrots, cut in chunks
1 medium onion, cut in chunks
3 quarts of water or enough to cover chicken
Salt and pepper
2 ½ cups corn, fresh or frozen
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
2 hard boiled eggs, diced
For Rivels:
1 cup flour
1 egg
¼ milk
Add chicken, salt and pepper, celery, carrots and onion to the water in a soup pot and cook slowly until tender; 2 ½ to 3 hours. Remove chicken, take meat from bones and cut into bite-size pieces; set aside. Strain broth and pour back into pan.
Add corn to the broth and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Add chicken, eggs and rivels. Cover pan and heat for another 10 minutes. Garnish with parsley. Yield: 8-10 servings.
Rivels:
Combine all ingredients in food processor or using two forks until the mixture is the size of peas. Drop into simmering soup by rubbing between your hands.
