Knoedel Day

Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012

Today was pretty relaxed.  We went to Marktkauf again for a few things, just Brad and I.  Whew, it was open :)

We were leaving the next day for a trip to Lambsheim (near Frankfurt) and we have lots of food in the fridge and no freezer. So we had steak for lunch with spaetzle!  It was really good.

We left at about 4:15 for Brad's German boss's house.  (Alex, his wife Silke and their kids Louisa and Jonathan.)  They live in Gersthofen which is where the Kuka office is where Brad will be working most of the time.  Alex told us we were having Knoedel which they served last time we were there 4 years ago.  It is soooo good, so we knew we were in for a treat!

The kids played a game while dinner was cooking.

Silke made a very traditional Bavarian meal of Knoedel and Schweinebraten.  Knoedel can be made of potatoes or bread and these are the bread kind.  (Semmelknoedel).  She let me take pictures of the process as she made them.  I want to be able to make these myself.  They are like giant dumplings, kind of.  Like stuffing, kind of.  But then again, not like either.  They are just KNOEDEL.  YUM.

Rolls sliced up, onions sauteed with parsley, then mixed with hot milk and poured over the rolls. Let soak for 1/2 hour.

Squish it all together, adding bread crumbs to get it the right consistency

How it looks when it's ready to be Knoedel-ized

Make it into giant balls about the size of a racquet ball, then into boiling salted water.  Boil for 20 to 30 minutes.

The finished product.  Not the prettiest thing, but so very good!!

Schweinebraten is a pork roast and it comes out with a super crunchy skin on top.  This was a delicious meal!  The dessert was one of the best things I have eaten so far....

The bottom layer is a 1/2 peach that she cooked in orange juice, then a layer of Bisquick-type stuff and she baked it.  The red is a raspberry jam layer, then whipped cream and almonds.  In a tiny glass.  Nummy.

The kids played another game and we all had a very good time!

By the way, after dinner, Germans like to drink really strong liquor.  The kids tried it.

Shh, don't tell the authorities.  Wait...it's Germany!