ISO: German Food to Feed a Crowd

[BethR]

My husband and I will be hosting another one of our themed food/movie nights soon. The movie will be "Das Boot" so I'm looking for recipes for German food that would be fairly easy to serve buffet-style for 10-12. I've never cooked German food before but I'm looking forward to it. TIA!
Beth

[Susan]

Hi Beth!

One of my favorite German foods is Hot German Potato Salad. The "hot" indicates temperature and not spice. My recipe is not low fat, but I can post it if you're interested.

~~Susan~~

[Susan]

Here's a recipe from the CL online search. I've never made it but it sounds yummy!

~~Susan~~

Weinkraut With Apples
You'll almost never catch Germans eating sauerkraut out of the can. This sweet-and-sour version is one of the many ways that sauerkraut can be turned into a delicious side dish. At Landhaus Scherrer they serve weinkraut topped with grilled quail; we use Honey-Mustard Game Hens.

71/2 cups refrigerated sauerkraut, drained
2 bacon slices, cut into 1-inch pieces
21/3 cups coarsely chopped onion
4 cups coarsely chopped peeled Braeburn or other cooking apple (about 11/4 pounds)
1 cup low-salt chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 bay leaves
1 (750-milliliter) bottle Riesling or other dry white wine
1 teaspoon caraway seeds (optional)


Place sauerkraut in a colander; rinse under cold water. Drain well, pressing sauerkraut with the back of a spoon to remove as much water as possible. Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Add onion; saute 5 minutes. Add apple; cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in sauerkraut, broth, pepper, bay leaves, and wine; add caraway seeds, if desired. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 2 hours or until liquid evaporates and mixture is tender, stirring occasionally.
Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 cup).

CALORIES 115 (10% from fat); FAT 1.3g (sat 0.4g, mono 0.4g, poly 0.2g); PROTEIN 2.4g; CARB 21.4g; FIBER 2.40g; CHOL 2mg; IRON .70mg; SODIUM 1mg; CALC 20mg

[SusanL]

This website may or may not help but I have used it often. Lou Pappas gives many ideas to help with buffets and dinners, there is an Austrian dinner, not sure about German. I have used some of her meal planning ideas successfully. http://www.bpe.com/food/columns/pappas/pappas_menu.htm
Good luck and let us know what you make.

[lorilei]

There is a very interesting looking GERMAN LASAGNA in this thread (posted by phantomcg) which looks perfect for a crowd. Let me know if you try it!
www.cookinglight.com/bbs/Forum1/HTML/001667.html (http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/Forum1/HTML/001667.html)

Having thought about this a bit more, I can also say that raw beef sandwiches are quite popular in German circle (though I don't know how well this idea would go over with your guests). The sandwiches can be done safely if prepared with very fresh high grade ground round ... http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif

[This message has been edited by lorilei (edited 11-13-2000).]

[Grace]

I would probably do some brats, first boiled in some beer and onions and then grilled, serve with sauerkraut and spicy mustard. There are two kinds of brats, the red ones and the white ones, I would do both (although I prefer the white ones!). German potato salad is a good idea, as well as some stuffed cabbage rolls. They would keep well in a chafing dish. Also, some nice dark bread and butter would be nice. The Vienniese Potato Cucumber salad from CL a few months back was outstanding, and very typically German/Austrian, if you want to do a salad. They also eat a lot of pickled herring (on rolls for lunch, or served as an appetizer). I LOVE that stuff - my mouth is watering thinking about it!

Good luck with your party - wish I was invited!

[BethR]

Originally posted by Susan:
Hi Beth!

One of my favorite German foods is Hot German Potato Salad. The "hot" indicates temperature and not spice. My recipe is not low fat, but I can post it if you're interested.

~~Susan~~

Sounds really good. I would love it if you could post the recipe! I'm going to include some light foods, but the entire menu doesn't have to be light. Thanks!
Beth

[BethR]

Thanks for all the great ideas. Now I have some decisions to make, but they're the kind of decisions I enjoy so keep those ideas coming! The Lou Pappas site is cool! I will definitely use it for this and future parties! Thanks to all!
Beth

[Susan]

Here you go, Beth! Enjoy!
---
Hot German Potato Salad

6 medium potatoes, boiled in jackets 15 min., allow to cool
6 slices bacon
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tbsp flour
1 to 2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp celery seed
dash of pepper
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup vinegar

Peel boiled potatoes and slice thin. Fry bacon slowly in skillet, then drain on paper towel. Saute onion in bacon fat until golden brown. Blend in flour, sugar, salt, celery seed, and pepper. Cook over low heat. Stir in water and vinegar. Heat to boil, stirring constantly. Boil one minute. Stir in the potatoes and bacon bits carefully. Remove from heat, cover and let stand until ready to serve.

I'm not sure of the number of servings but would probably double this recipe for the size of crowd you're expecting.

[venus]

How about spatzele? When I was in Germany, this was considered a delicacy. They are handmade noodles or dumplings that are usually served with stew or saurkraut. I have been searching for a recipe for them, btu I haven't found one yet--I'll keep looking.
You should also have plenty of wursts, if only for appetizers. Maybe a plate with an assortment of smoked and cured wursts, dark bread, butter, mustards and pickles?

[venus]

Spatzele is also spelled Spaetzle, Spatzel...

I found a page with some recipes and a good description:
http://www.aaltonet.com/spaetzle/spaetzle.html

[BethR]

Thanks so much Susan -- This recipe looks great! Out of curiosity, do you use white vinegar or cider vinegar?
Beth

[Susan]

Beth~
I use cider vinegar. Enjoy!

~~Susan~~

[Veronica]

I found this one on epicurious.com. It only had three reviews but all three reviewers raved about it. One said he serves it with beets, sauerkraut, and mashed potatoes. Sounds pretty German to me!

BEEF ROLLS WITH HAM AND VEGETABLES STUFFING

At The Amana Barn Restaurant, in Amana, Iowa this dish is called Rouladen; it's accompanied by potato dumplings.

2 cups chopped onion
2 bacon slices, chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped smoked ham (such as Black Forest)
1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs

8 2-ounce slices tip steak beef round
1/4 cup German-style mustard
1 large dill pickle, cut lengthwise into 8 wedges

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
2 tablespoons Hungarian sweet paprika
2 cups canned beef broth

Combine 1 cup onion, bacon and carrot in heavy medium skillet. Cook over medium heat until vegetables begin to brown, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Mix in ham, then breadcrumbs. Cool filling completely.

Using meat mallet or rolling pin, pound each beef slice between sheets of waxed paper to 6x4-inch rectangle. Spread 1 1/2 teaspoons mustard over each beef slice. Spoon 3 tablespoons ham mixture onto center of each slice. Gently press filling out to cover meat and adhere, leaving 1/2-inch border on all sides. Place 1 pickle wedge parallel to 1 long side on each beef slice. Fold in short sides. Roll meat over pickle jelly roll style, enclosing filling completely. Secure with toothpicks. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover and chill).

Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 cup onion; sauté until golden, about 8 minutes. Mix in paprika. Add beef rolls; turn to coat with butter. Add broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer until beef is tender, turning rolls occasionally, about 40 minutes.

Using tongs, transfer beef to platter. Tent with foil. Increase heat to medium-high; boil until liquid is reduced to sauce consistency, about 15 minutes.

Remove toothpicks from beef. Top meat with sauce and serve.

Serves 4.


Bon Appétit
November 1995

[BethR]

Thanks Veronica -- This looks good! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif
Beth

[Colleen]

I really like the Bavarian Sausage & Kraut supper. It's from CL maybe...October of 1999? I don't know if that is considered Germany, but it is REALLY good (or at least I thought so) it is basically egg noodles, sausage (like pepperage farms), granny smith apples, and kraut. YUM! It definitely would lend itself to a buffet style of dining.

[BethR]

Thanks for the feedback! I found the recipe (Dec 99 -- you were close!) in Mastercook. It looks pretty easy to make, too -- always a plus! Because of changes in our schedule I have a few more weeks to ponder the menu. Fun stuff!
Beth

[BethR]

Hello again --
I wanted to update everyone who helped me out on how our German food/"Das Boot" night went. I thought I'd have a few more weeks to plan this because of everyone's busy schedules, but it turned out that very few of our gang were interested in seeing this movie -- just the military history buffs. So we moved it up to last night and only fed four people. I made bratwurst boiled in water with onions and peppercorns (wanted to boil in beer but one guest is allergic), then broiled. It turned out well. Sauted some onions in a little oil, then added refrigerated sauerkraut. Big hit with others (I can only handle sauerkraut in small doses). Also made the hot German potato salad -- very yummy; I think I'll experiment with lightening this one a bit for the future. Served it all with brown bread, butter, mustard, and pickles. The food was great! The movie... well, I thought it was a good movie, but definitely not a happy one! Thanks again to everyone -- and I plan to try the other suggestions sometime soon!
Beth