Getting My German On: A Mini-Oktoberfest

There is something about this time of year, with its cool, crisp air and the changing leaves, that inspires me to get into the kitchen and not just cook, but "get my German on". Yes, I just totally made up that expression. It's just that there is something about autumn that makes me think of good German (or Pennsylvania Dutch) foods. I come by it honestly, since I'm of at least 50% German heritage, although if you keep going back beyond my great-grandparents, my ancestors also lived in France, Switzerland, Ireland and England. Lot of Swiss relatives back in the 1600s, according to Ancestry.com.

In any event, I consider myself to be mostly German, and I like German / Pennsylvania Dutch food. So earlier this week, I made a full menu of such yumminess. Over the next few days, I'll be sharing the recipes with you here, but I wanted to use this post as a kick-off to the little mini-series of recipes. No worries - nothing here is a top secret family recipe.

So, what do you have to look forward to in the coming days?

Well, beginning at the top of the plate, we have the sweet, yet tangy, red cabbage.

Below that is a piece of apple & pork sausage from a local meat company. I found this at my local grocery store, and I would suspect you could find something similar just about anywhere. A good substitute would be bratwurst; I happen to prefer the Dietz & Watson brand of that. My hubby grilled the meat for our dinner, and it didn't receive any special treatment, so no real recipe there.

At the very bottom of the plate are a few potato pancakes, topped with sour cream. There was a bit of a learning curve with these, but they are definitely something I will serve again.

Lastly, over to the side you can see the spiced apple compote, also known as stewed apples.

Accompanying all of this hearty deliciousness was a glass of Simply Apple apple juice. Apple cider would work as well, but I find that most of the cider sold in the grocery store more closely resembles apple juice, thanks to all of its pasteurization and whatnot. This Simply Apple juice is still pasteurized and is safe to drink, but it has not been clarified or filtered. This gives it a much more full-bodied taste that resembles cider more than juice.

Grab a pen and paper, and check back over the next several days for my mini-Oktoberfest!