Oktoberfest definitely ranks as one of my favorite celebrations of the year and last weekend, we hosted our annual Oktoberfest party. This year's official Oktoberfest actually ended on October 3, so we were a little late, but honestly, is there ever a bad time for an Oktoberfest party? Never! And that did not stop us from creating some amazing dishes and drinks such as sour kraut and sausage, fruit strudel, mulled cider, and my personal contributions - Beer Cheddar Cheese Soup, Pretzel Rolls, Jägerschnitzel with Mushroom Bacon Gravy, and Lemon Garlic Scallion Spaetzle.
I got up early and my first goal of the morning was to make the dough for the homemade Pretzel Rolls. The dough needed time to rest and rise so I knew ahead of time that I would need to start this first. It's a pretty basic dough - warm water, sugar, yeast, oil, and bread flour. Once it came together in the stand mixer, I covered it in an oiled bowl with a clean damp towel to let it rest and rise.
Once the dough had risen, I separated it into twelve pieces, shaped into rolls, and allowed to rest again. After that, I dropped each roll into boiling water with baking soda because that it what gives the rolls their pretzel color and flavor. I drained them on paper towels, snipped a tiny "x" in the center, sprinkled over coarse salt, and baked them off. The kitchen smelled so good!
While the pretzel dough was resting, I started on the Beer Cheddar Cheese Soup. I cannot even begin to tell you how good this soup is, especially on a cool, Fall day. It starts with a stick of melted butter to sauté sliced carrots and red bell peppers.
After the vegetables had softened, I added salt and pepper for seasoning, and flour to act as the thickener. Once the flour was cooked out, I added chicken stock, a bottle of beer, and half & half.
You cannot have a beer cheese soup without cheese and I used a really good aged white cheddar, which I shredded in the food processor to save time. Once the cheese was incorporated into the soup, I puréed it in batches in the blender until it was silky smooth. All I needed to do after that was taste for seasoning and reheat it in the pot just before serving.
I garnished with fresh thyme leaves, crumbled goat cheese, and a drop of mustard oil. (Mustard oil is VERY potent - think of it as the strongest horseradish you have ever tasted, so one drop is MORE than enough but it added the perfect kick to the soup.)
For the Jägerschnitzel, I cut two pounds of pork tenderloin into twelve equal portions and pounded them thin. Then I dredged each cutlet in seasoned flour (garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, pepper), beaten egg with mustard, and Panko breadcrumbs. I fried each piece in vegetable oil until golden and because they were so thin, each piece only took several minutes.
The mushroom gravy is a must for this dish! It starts with frying chopped bacon until crisp. I removed the bacon and then cooked the onions, garlic, and mushrooms in the bacon fat plus a bit of butter. I seasoned with salt and pepper and once the vegetables had cooked down and the mushrooms released their liquid, I added flour to make a roux.
The final ingredients included red wine to deglaze, beef stock, and more salt and pepper. Once the gravy had thickened, I added back in the bacon and some fresh parsley.
I have made this Spaetzle many times and it really is fool proof. I have a spaetzle maker, but you can easily use a colander as well. The basic batter can be seasoned with whatever you like - I used scallions, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. The basic batter is just eggs, milk, and flour (it is a pasta after all). Once the batter is the proper thick consistency, I spoon it in batches into the spaetzle maker over a pot of boiling salted water. (The holes in a colander are similar so this would work as well.) The batter drips through the holes into the water they are ready when they float (several minutes at most). I remove them to a paper towel-lined bowl and keep dropping in batter until all of it has been used. To finish off, I melt garlic butter in a large skillet and spread out the spaetzle in a single later to allow a crust to form. After that, I toss it around, check for seasoning, and top with more scallions.
Of course we also had a beautiful spread of Oktoberfest beverages because it's illegal if you do not! I'm already excited for next year's party! In the meantime, more great recipes are on the way!
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