Olympic Dynamic Duo - Sausage and Beer!

Which Olympic events are capturing your interest? Are those events different from what you watched when you were a kid? The countries participating in the Olympics sure are different from when I was a youngster cheering on the athletes. Of course, those were the days when the Berlin Wall was still quite erect, and the letters USSR blazed across the back of athletes’ jackets. Governments have come and gone, new countries have formed, and old countries have reunited, yet one constant still remains strong. That “WOW, How’d they do that?” factor when watching the athletes literally reach new heights and set new records continues to amaze and delight those riveted by the games.

Now a days, my children watch German athletes compete under one flag rather than two like they did when I was a kid. As I write this, Germany has the 3^rd most gold medals of all the participating countries. With more events left to take place, it will be exciting to see who stands tall on the podium.

Tonight’s menu honors the cuisine of Germany. German food is comfort food. Lots of yummy sausages and hams, crunchy kraut and savory potato dishes, chewy noodles and apple pastries, and don't get me started on those chocolate deserts!

Today, I found myself on the East Side of the big town getting school uniforms for my girls. Yep, they wear uniforms and I love it. No worries every morning about what to wear, and laundry is a snap. Anyway, there is a charming German deli about 5 minutes from where we were, so of course we stopped in. I love it when fate works for me like that!

I love deli’s. Real deli’s, not the pseudo-deli counters at the mega supermarkets. I’m talking about old world deli’s, full of home crafted unusual meats, pungent cheeses, and imported delights from the old country. The sounds of heavy accents are common place, service is not rushed, and the food is outstanding. We left the deli with ingredients to complete our Olympic Dynamic Duo, including wonderful Weisswurst (pronounced “vice-vurst”) sausage, seasoned sauerkraut imported from Deutchland, and a couple chocolate treats for the kids.

I love wiesswurst, and even better, so do my kids. (Can you hear the angel chorus at that statement?) Some folks call this bratwurst, but that’s not completely accurate. This sausage is very finely ground, mildly seasoned, fully steamed/boiled at time of purchase, and only requires a few minutes on the grill to give it that wonderful grilled flavor. One bite of these babies, and your tummy will make happy noises and your feet will do a happy dance. Mine did.

Preparing our Olympic feast was a snap. One onion, sliced in half rounds (I love half rounds), and slowly caramelized with just a wee tad of my go-to three: canola oil, olive oil, and butter. It took about 25 minutes over med/low heat. Um, I do stir my onions when they are slow cooking. I know that would make the food network groan, but it works for me. For the sausages, I simply made slits in them, every inch or so, to minimize splitting open as they grilled. They were grilled for 3 minutes per side on a medium hot grill, then nestled into a crusty, chewy roll, and topped with tangy, crunchy kraut, caramelized sweet onions, and a drizzling of spicy brown mustard.

Have mercy, these were good! Ok, ok, my kids ate theirs plain, and my gluten free baby had hers on a stick, but all in all the meal was a success. (I purchased the sticks at the craft store, baking section/candy sticks.) These beauties were served alongside creamed potatoes and fruit on the side. I wonder how you say YUM! in German?

Do you like kraut? I like good quality kraut ... just a hint of tang, lots of crunch, and mild flavor. How about onions? I like onions, especially these slow cooked, yummy caramelized gems. What about mustard? I love most mustards, especially this grainy one. Surprisingly, I'm not that crazy about straight up Dijon, but like it mixed in stuff.

You can, of course, purchase bratwurst at the store. Make slits in the sausages, about an inch or so apart, the entire length of the sausage. Poach at a low boil in water or beer, covered, for 20 minutes, adding more liquid as needed to keep the sausages poaching. Remove from the pan, and grill or broil about 3-4 minutes each side until golden and done. The sausages may split open even more … no problemo --- they hold more goodies in the bun that way!

Oh, and check this out!!!

Do ya see it? It took me a while to catch it, and I got so sophmorically excited when I finally did. Check out the label on that German beer. PAULAner! Ha! It's that fate thing again! I had asked hubbyman to pick out a German beer to go with our sausages, and look what he did. Ah, the man does has a sense of humor. Neither of us are big drinkers, we aren’t teetotalers either, but to tell the truth, I don’t know when the last time was I had a beer. That said, this beer was actually pretty tasty and stayed refreshingly cold in the frosty mug. It paired marvelously with our meal, and I actually enjoyed it. Hubbyman kept his loyalties alive, and opted for an Oregon microbrew. It’s a darker beer, almost black, and he enjoyed it.

Tune in again to see where our Olympic culinary travels will take us next.

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Now here’s something we hope you’ll really like (I sound like Rocket J Squirrel):

On a completely different subject, my youngest Olympiad would hold her own if there was an event titled “Learn how to sew on your own.”

Here’s a photo of the prototype little top that she made this afternoon. It’s 100% hand-sewn, including buttons and button holes.

She’s forever drawing up clothing designs, and this afternoon, she sewed this completely by herself. Not bad for 9 years old! Someday in the near future, in a store near you, you may find yourself purchasing her clothing creations!