The Hawthornes Embark On A Sauerbraten Journey.

 

Sauerbraten is one of those dishes

I've always heard about but have never made.

I'm out to change that today.

And I have a challenge for my readers.

Is there a dish out there you've heard about,

but you've never tried and always wanted to?

I don't think I've even made bouef bourguignon,

so that one's on my to-do list.

What about you?

Or if you'd like me to research a specific dish 

you've been wanting to try

and make it for you so you can cyber-vicariously enjoy it,

I'd be more than happy to.

That's what Rosie loves doing.

Just Ask Rosie.

Now, back to my sauerbraten.

Whenever I embark on a new recipe,

I research it.

I look at about a dozen or so recipes/versions;

I try to find out something about the history of the dish;

I try to get a feeling for the dish;

and then I pull everything together to make a Rosie Version,

but still make it accurate and true to the "original,"

not that there is an "original."

Sauerbraten is typically a German dish -

sauer for sour,

braten for roast meat -

a heavily seasoned pot roast, if you will;
although, its origins date back over 2000 years to Roman times,
when meat was preserved in red wine for transport
to Roman cities and settlements.
Supposedly, Julius Caesar sent amphoras filled
with wine-marinated beef over the Alps
to the newly founded Roman colony of Cologne.

Sauerbraten can be prepared with a variety of meats,

usually beef or venison,

but historically, horse figured in during the early years.

Before cooking,

the meat is marinated in a mixture

 of vinegar, wine, spices, seasonings, and aromatics
for several days.

This long marination results in a finished dish

which is pull-away tender, flavorful, and juicy.

The marinade ingredients vary,

based on regional traditions and styles throughout Germany.

As for the selection of the roast,
sauerbraten can be made with any type of roasting meat.
Generally, less expensive cuts are used -
rump roast or bottom round.

The roast is marinated, dried,
seared in oil, then braised with the marinade for 3-4 hours.

After the roast is cooked,
the marinade is strained and returned to a saucepan
where it is thickened with gingersnaps, flour, or cornstarch,
and sweetened with brown sugar and/or raisins,
sometimes tomato paste,
bringing body, a bit of sweetness, and flavor to the sauce

Ingredients for marinade

Bouquet Garni:

2 cinnamon sticks

2 tsp peppercorns

1 tsp juniper berries

1 tsp cloves

4-5 bay leaves

(Mine are fresh.

For dried use 2 bay leaves.)

sprigs of fresh thyme

bunch of parsley

Aromatics:

1 onion

1 leek

2 carrots

1 stalk celery

1 cup cider vinegar

2 cups red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon)

1 cup water

My spices and herbs:

2 cinnamon sticks

2 tsp peppercorns

1 tsp juniper berries

1 tsp cloves

4-5 bay leaves

(Mine are fresh.

For dried use 2 bay leaves.)

sprigs of fresh thyme

bunch of parsley

Gather all in cheesecloth ..

...  and tie up in a bouquet garni.

For the aromatics:

1 onion

1 leek

2 carrots

1 stalk celery

Remember -

none of this is etched in stone.

Slice and chop the veggies.

 

Bouquet garni

Chopped veggies

1 cup cider vinegar

2 cups red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon)

1 cup water

Add liquids (vinegar, water, and wine) to the pan.

Drop in bouquet garni and aromatics.

Bring marinade to a boil and let cool completely.

4 pound bottom round

I love how the butchers always

hide the fat layer in the tray.

Trim off the fat.

Leave on a little fat for flavor.

When the marinade has cooled,

pour it over the roast,

cover, and refrigerate for 3-5 days.

Turn roast 2-3 times a day

so marinade reaches all crooks and nannies.

Pretty purple color.

After about 5 days of marinating,
I'm ready to cook my sauerbraten.

I meant the roast was marinating.
Not me.
Well, yeah.  Kinda.

Heat oven to 325 degrees.

Remove meat from marinade.
Pat roast dry.
Let it come to room temperature.

Heat a Dutch oven over medium high heat.
Add in about 2 TB each canola oil and butter.
Butter for flavor.
Oil to raise the smoke point.
Add roast in and sear on all sides.
Should be 6 sides.

Add marinade to Dutch oven.

Return meat to pan,
cover tightly,
and braise for 3-4 hours.

After the first hour,
Mr. Hawthorne came in and poured in about a cup of water.
After the second hour,
I came in and poured in a cup of wine.

My house smells wonderful
and this is pull-apart tender.

Pour marinade into a separate saucepan.

If you notice,
there are lots of goodie bits in the bottom of the pan.
Give it a pat of butter.

Then pour in 1/2 cup or so of red wine
to deglaze.

Deglazing.
Let it reduce a bit to concentrate the flavor.

And as for the wines you use to cook with,
use a wine you would drink.
Never buy so-called "cooking wines."
Cook with a wine you'd drink
 since you're concentrating the flavors.

Marinade on left.
Red-wine reduction on right.

Add red-wine reduction to marinade.
Heat over low.


Strain marinade mixture.

 Discard solids.

 Return marinade to the pot.

I added in 2 handfuls of gingersnaps.

Reheat marinade/sauce.
The gingersnaps sort of dissolve,
thickening and enriching the sauce.

Slice meat.
Serve with sauce poured over top.

 Traditionally, sauerbraten is served with potato dumplings,
red cabbage, or spatzle.

Being untraditional,
I'm going with green cabbage, three potatoes, and an onion.

Sweet tater from my garden.
Red and russet potatoes from Food Lion.

Chop potatoes and add to saute pan with heated oil and butter.
Cook over low heat about 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
Add in one chopped onion and
a cup or so of shredded cabbage
and cook about 2 minutes.
Taste test.
Add freshly ground pepper and salt to taste.
Stir in 1 TB caraway seeds.

Guten Appetit!


Bottom line:
I'd rather fix my regular pot roast
with potatoes and onions and celery and carrots.

This was too heavy and rich for my simple tastes.

Rosie Makes A Bleu Cheese Pesto Loaf.

 The Hawthornes had a party last week
for our regular group of renegades.
It was Rosie's birthday.


I started making a list of hors d'oeuvres
and #1 on my list was a Bleu Cheese/Cream Cheese, Pesto,
Sun-dried Tomato, and Roasted Red Pepper Loaf.
It's been a favorite at all my fêtes.

I know.
It looks a mess,
but people got into it before I could take a proper picture.

 Cheese Loaf

2 packages cream cheese (16 ounces), softened
6 ounces bleu cheese, room temp
1 cup pesto
a few tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes
a few tablespoons roasted red peppers

I'm using a 6 x 1 1/2 inch loaf pan
and  a 6-ounce round ramekin.
Line both with plastic wrap with enough overhang to cover.
Layer each with 1/3 of the  bleu and cream cheese mixture.
Spread out evenly.
Layer on 1/3 of the pesto and spread out.
Top the pesto with some of the dried tomatoes.
Add 1/2 the bleu/cream cheese mixture to both containers.
Layer with the rest of the pesto
and top with several roasted red pepper slices.
Finish both with the rest of the bleu/cream cheese.
Cover with plastic wrap overhang.
Refrigerate.

When ready to serve,
pull out with plastic and invert on dish.
Serve with crackers.

I have found that this freezes well.


My pesto is homemade.
Almost every year, in September or October,
I have a Hurricane Harvest of Basil
and make enough pesto to last me through the year.
That link has my pesto recipe.
Cut back accordingly
if you're not harvesting large amounts. 
Before that hurricane barrels through,
I go out to my basil patch and cut EVERYTHING down.
The hurricane will take it out if I don't.

 

 I let my frozen pesto thaw out
and I mixed the bleu and cream cheese together.

 Line the containers in plastic wrap
and spread a layer of the bleu/cream cheese mixture
on the bottom, which will become the top.

 Give it a layer of the pesto.

 Next some sun dried tomatoes.

I happened to have jarred tomatoes in oil.
If you have the real dried tomatoes,
pour boiling water over them first to cover
and let them soak for about 15-20 minutes.
Drain and pat dry before using.

 Spread evenly.

 A middle layer of the bleu/cream cheese mixture.

 Then another layer of pesto and some roasted red peppers.

 A final layer of the bleu/cream cheese.

 
 Pull overhanging plastic to cover.
Refrigerate.

 Back to the ramekin.

 I'm layering away happily on my little ramekin.
First the cheese mixture, then the pesto.

 Now a little sun-dried tomato.

 A middle layer of cheese.

 A layer of pesto.

 A layer of roasted peppers.

 The final plop of remaining cheese mixture.

Smooth it out.

And guess what I forgot to do.
I forgot to put the plastic liner on first.
Crap.

I'm freezing this one,
then I'll put it in a hot water bath
and hope it will invert well.

Otherwise, just dig in folks.
Taste is all there.

I FLOVE sun-dried tomatoes and pesto together.
This is sublime.
 

Rosie Makes Smoked Salmon Appetizers For Her Partay.

I'm still posting pictures and recipes
from my birthday partay last week
and I have nifty little appetizer for you today.

 These tasty morsels disappeared 

as quickly as I could put them out.

 It's Salmon on a Triscuit.

 Smoked Salmon Appetizer

Triscuits, original

Cream cheese

Cucumber, sliced thinly

Smoked salmon, thinly sliced

Red onion, chopped

Capers

Fresh dill, chopped

Smear some cream cheese on the Triscuit.

Nestle a cucumber slice in the cream cheese.

Top with thinly sliced smoked salmon,

chopped red onions, capers, and fresh dill.

Serve immediately.

 Note:  I prepared the cucumber with salmon, capers,

red onion, and dill ahead of time, placed on a baking sheet,

and popped it into the refrigerator.

When I was ready to serve,
 I put the cream cheese on the Triscuits

and then topped them with the cucumber et al.

You don't want the cream cheese

 sitting for any length of time on the Triscuits.

Makes 'em soggy

and we don't want soggy.

This is one good cracker.

Mr. Hawthorne Prepares Zhurou Huanggua Tang.

I have a new cookbook which I've mentioned several times,

Mrs. Chiang's Szechwan Cookbook.

 Mr. Hawthorne and I have been enjoying the recipes.

We've already made 4 dishes from the book,

all off which we liked:

Ganshao mingxia or Shrimp in Red Sauce

Hongshao Rou or Red-Cooked Meat

Gongbao Jiding or Grand Duke's Chicken With Peanuts

Baicai Chao Rousi or Cabbage and Pork Shreds

 

 Today, Mr. Hawthorne is preparing zhurou huanggua tang,

or Pork and Cucumber Soup.

Pork and Cucumber Soup

4 cups water

1 thick pork chop, fat cut off, bones off, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

5 dried black mushrooms

1 cup boiling water, enough to cover the shrooms

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced into 1/2-inch cubes

4-5 scallions

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp sesame oil

Bring 4 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high flame.

Add the cubed meat to the boiling water.  After the water has come to a second boil and is boiling furiously, reduce the heat to low and cook for 45 minutes.  Skim the scum off the surface every now and then.

Put the mushrooms in a small bowl, pour boiling water to cover, cover, and let soak until you're ready to add them to the soup.

Peel the cucumber, cut in half lengthwise,and scoop out seedy pulp running down the middle.  Chop into 1/2-inch cubes.

When about 40 minutes have elapsed, add diced cucumbers to the pot.  

Drain mushrooms and cut into 1/4-inch squares.  Add to soup.

Slice scallions, both white and green parts, crosswise, into 1/4-inch pieces.

When the soup has simmered for 45 minutes, and just before you are ready to serve, add the chopped scallion, salt, and sesame oil.  Stir the soup, then raise the heat and let it boil for a few seconds.

Serve immediately.

 It's best to have the meat slightly frozen

when you cut it.

Much easier to cut that way.

 Cut into 1/2-inch cubes.

 Pour boiling water to cover the dried mushrooms.

Cover the bowl with a plate 

and leave it until you're ready to add to the soup.

 Peel cuke and scoop out seeds and pulp down the middle.

 

 Dice the cucumber into 1/2-inch cubes.

 

 Slice the scallions.

 Diced pork on left, diced cucumbers over soaking dried shrooms.

 

 Bring 1 quart water to a boil

and add in pork cubes.

Bring back to a second boil,

then reduce heat and cook for 45 minutes.

 

 Chop the scallions.

 After cooking for about 40 minutes,

add in the cucumbers.

 

 Drain the shrooms and cut into 1/2-inch dice.

 Add shrooms to the pot.

 Add in one teaspoon salt.

 Scallions in.

 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil in.

 Bring to a boil for a few seconds, stir, and serve.

 Serve in a lovely bowl bought at an Asian shop

in Rawlins, Wyoming.

With a white spoon,

from a set given to me by Glowria for my birthday.

Thanks again, Glow!

 The broth is delicate.

Very light, mild, subtle, lovely flavors.

 But, I wanted more.

More texture.

Something toothsome.
Something is missing here.

 Then I went to Mrs. Chiang's Cookbook

and checked out the recipe

and WON TONS (huntun tang)

were supposed to be added to this dish!

Won tons filled with shrimp, pork,

 spinach, ginger, scallions, and soy sauce.

Oh my.

Sheesh, Mr. Hawthorne.

Read the recipe ALL THE WAY THROUGH, please.