Oktoberfest Lebensmittel

WILLKOMMEN!

(Welcome)

(Hardly fancy, but Cheese, Turkey Sausage, on Crackers with a good German Mustard is a nice little snack.)

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Oktoberfest: German Festival

Held over a two week period ending the first Sunday in October.

The festival originated on October 12, 1810, in celebration of the marriage of The Crown Prince of Bavaria, who later became King Louis I, to Princess Therese Von Sachsen-Hildburghausen.

The original Oktoberfest takes place in Munich, Germany. The locals refer to Oktoberfest as THERESIENWEISE, also known as FESTWIESE.

Most people wonder why Oktoberfest starts in September instead of October? It’s because the days are warmer and longer in September, and people can stay outside enjoying the festivities longer in the day.

Although I have no German ancestry that I am aware of, Gordon’s mother’s parents came over to America from Germany and settled in Pennsylvania. There is a large German population in Germantown, PA. Hence the name.

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Although Oktoberfest isn’t a yearly tradition for us, it is sometimes fun to get into that Germanfest mood with some delicious foods.

We will bring a few to you here and hopefully add a few more as the years continue.

BLEIB EINE WEILE

Gordon and Julie

Some Cookbooks Gordon Picked up in Germany

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Our Mini-Oktoberfest for 2024

(Introduction by Gordon)

While I was in Germany for a two-week business trip earlier this year, I was able to visit two castles and
enjoy some of their great beer and food. We love to cook so some authentic cookbooks
were a must find. Julie was excited when I brought those home to her.

While eating at one of the restaurants, on the menu was a
hefeweizen beer with banana, cola, or cherry syrup. A friend suggested I try the cherry,
and it was delicious. The Erdinger beer seen with the white label below, is the one to get and
simply add to your taste some grenadine syrup. It literally tastes like cherry soda. The
beer taste is barely present. I also like to buy barifanalia, “things for my bar” like
mugs/glasses, bar towels, etc… as they tell a story of where you were when you had a
drink using that glass. The German restaurant owners rarely made me purchase the
glasses as they were proud of their beer. I wasn’t able to get an Erdinger one though,
but maybe for Christmas. Another great beer from there is Dinkellacker as the brewery
wasn’t far from my hotel. Of note, The Dinkelacker brewery was founded by Carl
Dinkelacker in Stuttgart's in 1888. Dinkelacker was the largest brewery in Stuttgart by
the end of the 19 th century, and still brews at that location today. A common food item in
Germany is Currywurst. They have a bratwurst that is sitting in a pool of curry
ketchup that is then doused with more curry powder. I am here to tell you it is delicious.
I had to buy some and let my family experience it. You also can’t go to Germany
without purchasing a beer stein or a smoker man which is seen as a Chef in the photo below. I grew up
with them as my parents had a vast collection which was added to yearly. I too am part
German on my mother’s side. Please try some of this great German food and beer as
you won’t be disappointed.

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The Erdinger Beer with the Smoker Man as a Chef

(Gordon’s father Milton had a vast collection of these men, only much larger in size than this one. This one is a small ornament. I think that Gordon just wanted his own. Perhaps he will inherit a few of them from his family someday.)

Our Dinner of Brats, Sauteed Onions, Curry Ketchup, German Mustards, and Sausage Balls

Our Meat and Cheese Wrapped Pretzels, with German Mustards

Gordon’s Plate Looks a Bit Delicious, but Extreme 🙂

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Leftover SausageFest

Perfect with Eggs the Following Day

(Recipes Down Below)

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First Up:

Frankfurter’s on Buns with Sauerkraut

Landsberg Mustard Pickles

(These are some of the best pickles we have ever eaten. Highly recommend!)

If you are looking for ideas and inspiration for your German table then look no further than the ethnic isle at your local supermarket. You may even be lucky enough to have a German market near you. You just have to do a little research online to find out.

This particular meal isn’t anything fancy or difficult at all, but the flavor is heaven!

Sometimes the most simple foods are the best.

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We’re almost embarrassed that the recipe isn’t more complicated than this.

Most of our items are ready made, but delicious on their own! The hardest part was grilling the Frankfurter’s.

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To cook these Frankfurters, simply turn your grill to medium high heat for about 5 min. Clean your grill with a grill brush to remove and remnants from the previous grilling. Place your Frankfurters on the grill for about 5 min. then turn as needed until the Frankfurters are browned on all sides. I am also grilling some sweet Italian brats, which take a few minutes longer to grill as they are thicker. When they are done, I like to grill the buns as well to get them nice and toasted.

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When Gordon Was In Germany, 2024

Postcards, Brochures, and a Souvenir T-Shirt

Stuttgart, Germany

Gordon has been working overseas now for a year and a half. He comes home about twice a year for a few weeks at a time. But, it was earlier this year that he and some of his co-workers flew into Germany for two weeks to attend a school and some training there. Gordon loved it! He would call me everyday to report on what he saw, and what he ate! Bragging about the food, and even purchasing some mustards and ketchups to bring back with him. He also picked up a few cookbooks. The Germans eat a lot of pork and potatoes.

He talked about all of the bakeries all over the place, and the wonderful smells that came from them.

He also talked about how cold it was. We aren’t used to the cold weather, especially with where he is working overseas. (Sorry, I’m mum on that one.) 🙂

When he came back home this October for almost 3 weeks, we decided to have a Mini-Oktoberfest for ourselves.

Here is what we came up with:

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Our Mini-Oktoberfest

Sausage Balls From The Freezer

Every year for Christmas I always make Sausage Balls for our daughter Veronica. They are her favorite Christmas treat. Gordon had requested that I save him some for when he came back home next, so I did. I thawed them out, baked them, and added them to our meal.

(We gobbled them up quickly!)

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Gordon Sauteeing Some Onions for our Grilled Brats

I realize that we do have Brats often on our website, but this was something we both wanted, and a nice addition to this Oktoberfest page.

You first want to chop up a few onions into nice half-moons.

Then, place the onions into a saute pan, with a drizzle or two of Olive Oil.

Next, add some salt! We used some Hawaiian Salt, and some German Beer Salt.

Here, Gordon is Sauteeing the Onions on the side burner of the grill, while grilling our Brats.

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The Onions and Brats are DONE!

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Our Pretzels

Obviously, we didn’t make these Pretzels ourselves. We have made pretzels before many years ago when we were living in Hawaii. Perhaps we may make them again, but not today. Today, I purchased them frozen from our Commissary. We thawed them out and baked them according to the package directions.

Pretzel Salt, and Beer Salt

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Baking The Pretzels

It was while Gordon was in Germany that I suggested that the next time he’s home why don’t we have some little Mini-Oktoberfest? Nothing big and fancy, just something simple. I knew that we would be pressed for time, what with all I had planned for us while he was home.

However, this is what I came up with:

Gordon Brushing the Pretzels with Water and Adding the German Beer Salt

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Curry Ketchups

(He had bragged about these. This isn’t something that is known here in America. Perhaps in some German neighborhoods.)

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The Brats and Onions

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The German Mustards

Our Dinner of Brats, Sauteed Onions, Curry Ketchup, German Mustards, and Sausage Balls

Here Gordon is Having his Erlinger Beer….

..and Adding Some Grenadine Syrup, Making it a Cherry Cola

Our Meat and Cheese Wrapped Pretzels, with German Mustards

The Meats and Cheese Wrapped Pretzels were my Idea.

It actually stems from this past St. Patrick’s Day when I got the idea to wrap meats and cheese around bread sticks and dip them into Thousand Island Dressing. I wanted to do the same thing to the Pretzels.

You can see our meats and cheeses in the photo above. Now just add some mustard and it’s delicious!