German Food Night by Andrew Cohen

Welcome to Munich, Germany where the women are tall, beautiful and not afraid to eat a great hearty meal !!

Growing up in Westport, CT in the 70's and 80's, my parents did the only respectable thing that a family could do; they hired numerous au pairs (live-in maid/baby-sitter) to care for my brother and I while they worked. We had a great variety from all over Europe, The Dominican Republic, Haiti, etc., but my all-time favorite was "Daniela". Straight from the German countryside, I can safely say that Daniela was my first true love.

Her afternoon responsibilities included preparing the family dinner. Day after day, instead of going to play after school, I diligently stood by and helped her along every step of each of her recipes. I would chop vegetables, pound out veal steaks for schnitzel, boil water for spaetzel….nothing was beneath me.

Here’s a variation on some tricks that I learned from Daniela. The key to this dish, like many others, is how it is plated....one forkful of food can feature sausage, a slice of curry cabbage, mustard, a piece of roasted red pepper and some sour cream....so be sure to compose the plate well!

PS to the Girls: Guys love this dish!


Grilled German Style Sausages over Southern Chile Potato Cake
Served with Cabbage and all the German Style fixins....

(serves 2)
Ingredients:

4 links of Bratwurst or Spicy Chicken Sausage
1/2 head of white cabbage
4 big white potatos
6 cloves of crushed garlic
1 cup whole milk or half and half
Parmesan/Romano Cheese
Chipotle sauce (from a can)
Curry powder for the cabbage
Salt and Pepper to taste
Butter
Sour Cream
Spicy Mustard
Roasted Red Peppers (optional)


Potatoes
-Cut potatoes into small quaters and place in rapidly boling water
-Cover and boil for about 15 minutes until they start getting soft
-Drain water out of pot and mash up the potatoes leaving them a bit chunky (put aside)
-Gently saute 1 tablespoon of butter and 3 cloves of crushed Garlic in a different medium saucepan
-Preheat oven to 500
-Add mashed potatoes and mix into butter and Garlic mixture
-Add Salt, Pepper, milk or cream and more butter, leave on low heat, stirring constantly
-Once the potatoes taste good.....spread them on an oiled cookie sheet
-Drip the chipotle sauce, more crushed pepper and cheese on top of the potatoes
-Broil in a the broiler for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown



Cabbage
-Dice up Cabbage into slices
-Boil Cabbage in a steam pot for about 10 minutes until tender
-Sprinkle lightly with curry powder and salt - remove from heat when ready and keep covered
-Prior to serving, saute the cabbage for 5-10 minutes in a hot skillet with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Sausage

-Cut 3 1/4 inch diagonal cuts across each sausage and then grill or pan fry until golden brown


Plating the Dish



-Cut potato mixture into nice sized individual servings and place on dish
-Place Cabbage on dish
-Place 2 sausages resting on the Potatoes
-Scoop 1 Tablespoon of sour cream on plate touching the Potatoes
-Place roasted red pepper on top of the sour cream
-Place dollop of mustard on plate

Good Eats,

Andrew Cohen