I was prepared to eat posole when I called Aaron and found out he was free fir lunch. We drove to East Ocean, because I had a hankering for Chinese food. Aaron ordered Kung Pao scallops and I ordered my favorite, Scallops in Lobster Sauce. We both liked our lunch. The toasted peanuts on Aaron’s Kung Pao scallops looked wonderful.
For dinner I had a menu. It is one of Suzette’s favorite German dishes; Bratwursts and Sauerkraut Sautéed in beer, mashed potatoes, and steamed asparagus.
Yesterday I went Sprouts and bought a jar of Bubbie’s Sauerkraut, plus a package of duck foie gras and a multigrain baguette and two bottles of Tisdale Pinot Noir for $7.00.
Suzette has a special recipe for bratwursts and Sauerkraut that I bet is a traditional Pennsylvania Deutsch recipe. She did a lower cal variation this time by punching holes in the brats to release fat and because they had sat in the fridge for a week and had dried out a bit.
Braised bratwurst in beer
Suzette covered and poached three brats in a skillet filled with one 12 oz. can of beer for 5 to 10 minutes.
Then she uncovered the skillet and let all the liquid evaporate leaving a residual of beer caramel on the brats coating the brats.
She then added a small amount of olive oil to prevent burning and then braised the brats until brown. She then added sauerkraut to the skillet cooked the Sauerkraut with the brats. This achieves a sauce combining the beer caramelization with the pickling liquid with the Sauerkraut.
Taste the sauce and adjust seasonings. In this case Suzette added about 1 ½ T. of sugar because the Bubbie’s Sauerkraut was very sour.
She then made whipped mashed potatoes and we steamed asparagus.
The plating of the dish was to lay scoops of brat and Sauerkraut with some sauce on a pile of mashed potatoes and serve with the asparagus. We each made our own favorite condiment combination with German mustard, mayonnaise, and horseradish.
This is a delicious dish of ancient origin, I am sure. Suzette simply says, “This is the way we have always made this dish.”
One of the things that I love about food is how it permits you look deeply into cultures and history.
We drank Belgium beers with dinner and Willy joined us for dinner, as we watched the Trump White House respond to the multiple issues it is now facing, including the withdrawal of Putzner’s nomination for Secretary of Labor, the firing of Lynch as National Security Advisor, the potential charges of ethics violations of W.H. Counsel Kellyanne Conway, and investigations of contacts with the Russians during the campaign and transition.
Now it appears there are domestic violence allegations against Bannon also.
What a mess!
Bon Appetit
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