November Highs and Lows 2015

Hello again, friendly readers. We come to the end of another month, and that means I recap my highs and lows of the last 29 days.

The obvious low was the terrorist attack in Paris on Friday the 13th. I am so sick of people killing each other, especially in the name of God. People of all religions consider their god all-powerful and all-knowing, right? I am no theologian, but I am very confident that a GOD does not need puny humans to do His work for Him. If He wants people to die (which I am unconvinced He does), He has the power to take care of that Himself. I do not believe He wanted Catholics to kill Protestants and vise versa generations ago, and I do not believe the Christian God or the Muslim Allah want their followers to kill each other - no matter how much nutball humans twist the holy books.

But on to happier things. I love November in Germany. It begins with my birthday and ends with Christmas markets!!!! The air is crisp and cool, the leaves are raked, I've unpacked my winter clothes, and my warmest winter Federbett is on my bed. I burrow into that thing like a hibernating hedgehog.

HIGHS

• Of course we went to Straub's Krone for a birthday buffet lunch.

Starters - there are samplings of 13 different dishes on my plate. All delicious!
The one at 6:00 is cow tongue.

I actually chose the vegetarian option that day:
Tagliatelle mit  Steinpilzrahmsoße / Tagliatelle with Porcino-Cream-Sauce

and the dessert samplings

• I made the Quittenchutney from our Kochkurs to go with pork tenderloin, and it turned out ok!

ingredients for quince chutney

• I also baked a Rührkuchen (pound cake) from scratch. Yeah I know, big deal. Who can screw that up? But after my apple pie failure (see below), this was very satisfying.

• spending a weekend in Breisach with a fabulous and fun branch of M's family for the 80th birthday of their Oma (M's father's cousin).


• meeting fellow American expat blogger Adventures of La Mari, her husband, and their Mops at the Hohentwiel ruins in Singen. So much fun!

Abner, the Mops

fabulous ruins

• participating in the first annual Worldwide Read a Terhune Book day. Albert Payson Terhune was one of my favorite writers when I was a child. He is most famous for writing stories about collies and is responsible for my adoration of the breed.

• dinner at our neighbors' house. I cannot believe I didn't take any photos, at least of the food! It was delicious - venison pate, salad with Pfifferlinge, Zweierlei venison, the most delicious Rotkohl I've ever tasted, mashed potatoes, poached pears, and two different kinds of gluten-free brownies I baked and brought for dessert.


• joining the Freundeskreis Asyl Horb and getting involved (finally) with local efforts to help the refugees. This was in response to my second "low" of the month (see below). In the last 10 days I have met Syrian refugees in the area, worked with a class of 15 or so who have just started learning German, had coffee with refugees and other volunteers which is a weekly thing, and offered to help translate the Freundeskreis website into English as soon as it's up and running (few refugees arrive here knowing German, but some know enough English that a translation could be helpful).


• watching this late night clip, and this one, and especially this one. I am starting to think that the best way to catch up on American news is to watch the Daily Show and the Late Show.

LOWS

• my first attempt at baking an American-style Apple Pie. It might look almost ok, but it was a total failure and, in fact, inedible.

• coming across several Facebook posts by Americans I know ("liked" by other Americans I know) crying out to refuse Syrian refugees in America or their particular U.S. state. I came to the realization that such people are simply terrified of the "what ifs," and there's no reasoning with fear. That doesn't mesh well with the whole "...home of the brave" business, or with the spirit of joy, love, and giving at Christmastime, or with the notion of coming together and sharing bounty at Thanksgiving, or with the Golden Rule, but fear is a crazy, debilitating thing.


• reading about the various GOP (Grand Ole Party = Republican) presidential hopefuls and their visions of the world. What in holy hell is going on over there, folks? The pyramids were built to store grain? Muslims should be rounded up, registered, and perhaps have some kind of marking put on their clothes to identify them? Rabid dogs? Bad peanuts? Admitting only refugees who practice the right religion? And all this time, they're squealing like halfwit children in a poopy sandbox over 10,000 refugees in one year (more than 4 million Syrians have been displaced by war since 2011). 

Other Moments

• While in Breisach, M and I went into a vinothek to purchase a bottle or two of wine to enjoy that evening. We were assisted by the owner, who was incredibly helpful and friendly. She asked what we like, broke open a few bottles for us to taste, suggested others... M considered out loud going up the hill to get our car so we could transport several bottles home. The owner said if we buy at least 2 cases, she'd drive them up to our hotel after closing. Tempting! Then she happened to mention that shipping is free starting at 5 cases. €310 later, we walked up the hill to our hotel with our two bottles of wine, a Corkcicle wine chiller, and a fancy red wine pouring thingy, happily anticipating the arrival of the rest of the wine the following week.
  
  
  

• A new friend (who is my daughter's age and decided right about the same time I did to jump in and get involved with the Freundeskreis Asyl) and I sat in on a German intro class to observe, and the teacher included us in every activity. It was really enjoyable! The students were all refugees from Syria between the ages of about 20 and 55, and as with every class, some students learn faster than others. The faster ones helped the others with either quick explanations in Arabic or telling them what to say. They struggled, they laughed, they volunteered to go to the board for a writing activity, they listened, they took notes, they gave their best efforts, and they were clearly proud when they did or said something correctly. Some had studied outside of class, and others hadn't. If there was a difference between that class and every class I have ever taught, I didn't notice it - except that they were all adults and classroom management was not an issue! I loved it.

I hope you all had a good month, too, with more highs than lows, more love than fear, and more joy than pain.

Out for Dinner in Nagold

On the enthusiastic recommendation from an acquaintance of ours, we went out to eat last Friday night at the Eisenbahn in Nagold. Since we can't always eat at our favorite restaurant, it's helpful to hear about other good restaurants in our general area. Nagold is a lovely small town with plenty of history, beautiful buildings, several parks, a large playground, and castle ruins to hike to on a hill above the town, and it is good for shopping. It is not touristy but absolutely worth a day's visit.

The  Eisenbahn is located at Olgastrasse 1, not far from the Bahnhof. It's a Gasthof, so they also have rooms for overnight stays. The short version of our review of the meal is that the prices are reasonable, the portions are sizable, the service was excellent, and the menu definitely appeals to those looking for regional Swabian cuisine. The atmosphere is nice and gemütlich, the room and table decorations are simple and inviting, and the menu is varied. There is a lot of Schwäbisch on the menu - sayings, descriptions, etc. - which I find charming.

My dad would (will!) love this restaurant. When he comes to Germany he wants authentic German food, not Italian, Chinese, etc. He likes to try local specialties, loves Maultaschen, and appreciates a filling and satisfying meal.

I took the picture of the menu before I'd settled on my decision, but I ended up ordering the Waidmannstopf, which is pork tenderloin and chanterelles in a cream sauce with Spätzle. I forgot to ask for a kleine Portion (small portion), so I had to request our server to box up my leftovers, which she gladly did. I probably could have finished it, but I wanted to leave room for fresh strawberries with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream!

The meal began with a gemischter  Salat (mixed salad), and I really liked the dressing. It was somewhat creamy and not too tart. In Germany a mixed salad has some lettuce, tomato, sometimes peppers, etc., but underneath there is also potato salad, finely grated carrots, thinly sliced radishes, corn, cucumber salad, and/or a red beet salad. There are usually five different types of salads on the plate. Americans need to know that restaurants in Germany have their own house dressing, and you do not get to choose a different one from a list of ten possibilities.

Notice that I always have the sign for the strawberries in my sights...

M ordered the Schlemmertopf, which was similar to my dish but also with beef and a darker sauce. We tried each other's, and I am really happy that I ordered what I did. The Schlemmertopf was also good, but for me the pork and sauce really hit the spot. Both are very Swabian dishes - meat and mushrooms, Spätzle (homemade noodles), and tons of sauce. They were very filling, the Spätzle were clearly homemade, and everything we had was convincingly made from fresh products. We cook with fresh produce and meat at home, so it's a real turn-off for us to be served frozen or canned vegetables, deep-fried potato products, packaged Spätzle, or sauce from a jar or prepared mix at a restaurant. At the Eisenbahn the Spätzle and sauces are homemade and the chefs use recipes from the current owner's great-grandmother!

This was what was first served on my plate, but there was another hot plate on the side with the rest - another serving about the same size! Since I had my mind set on this since I'd walked in...

...I went easy on the main course and brought it home for leftovers.

Naturally, since it's May, they had a special Spargelkarte (asparagus menu) and many of the choices looked quite tempting. I had just bought two kilos of Spargel that morning, though, to cook for Mother's Day - so we decided to order from the regular menu instead.

The service was friendly and attentive in a German way. This is one of the things I love about dining out in Germany - the server will usually check on you once during your main course, but otherwise he or she leaves you in peace to enjoy your meal! In the States they're at your table every five minutes interrupting your conversation to ask how things are, refilling your drinks whether you want a refill or not, and often whisking away people's plates while they're chewing their last bites and before others have finished their meals. In Germany the server usually waits until it appears that everyone at the table has finished (which you can signal subtly by placing your knife and fork together at the side of your plate), then she comes once and asks if everything was ok - which is exactly how it was at the Eisenbahn. Lovely!

Our only complaint is that the side dishes were limited to mainly Spätzle or Pommes (french fries). We like Spätzle, and theirs were really good! But I don't really like french fries, and I'm not always in the mood for Spätzle. With a Zwiebelrostbraten, for instance, I prefer Bratkartoffeln. They do offer Kroketten (like tater tots), Rösti-Taler (hash browns), and Salzkartoffeln (boiled potatoes) with certain dishes, so perhaps it's possible to request one of those sides instead of Pommes or Spätzle.

Update: I have heard from the Wirt (owner) that it is certainly possible to substitute side dishes, and that they sometimes have Bratkartoffeln as well. Good to know for next time!

All-in-all, we were pleased with our meal and will definitely return to the Eisenbahn, especially with guests. Parking is not a problem near the restaurant, and they have a nice Biergarten for when it's nice enough to sit outside. Although it was not busy the Friday evening we were there (it was Mother's Day weekend, so most families were saving dining out for Sunday...), our acquaintance recommended reserving a table because it was very busy both times he dined there recently. It is possible to reserve a table via email, which was a bonus for me - I still don't love talking on the phone in German if I can avoid it - and I received a response within one hour.

Wednesday is their Ruhetag (the restaurant is closed), as it states on their website, "damit d'r Wirt a'mol Zeit für d' Wirtin hat!" (so that the innkeeper also has some time for the hostess/his wife!).

Asiatischer Kochkurs

On Saturday M and I attended our second Kochkurs (cooking class) at the fabulous restaurant in our little town. The Kochkurs is something the Chefkoch is starting to do more regularly, much to our delight! The theme this time was Asian cooking, which we don't do a lot of, to be honest - but we knew it wouldn't matter. For us the point is the skills and information he teaches us, the tips on where to buy various ingredients, learning how to make our own sauces, and listening to anything else he has to teach us.

Our menu:
Glasnudeln mit Rindfleisch, Chili, und Koriander
Thai Curry Suppe mit Garnelen Zitronengras Spieß
Chicken Teriyaki mit Wokgemüse und Eiernudeln
Sago Pudding mit Mango und Sesamkaramell

the kitchen, before we messed it all up

The Kochkurs started at 10:00, and we only returned home around 16:00! The restaurant is normally open on Saturdays for lunch, but on the days he does the Kochkurs, the Chefkoch closes his restaurant and the students invade the kitchen. We each got an apron and a copy of our menu and instructions. He started out explaining the food we'd be preparing for the four-course menu we'd also get to enjoy, answered whatever questions we six students had, and then we dug in.

Under his instruction and guidance we did all the preparations that could be done ahead, so lots of schnibbling of vegetables, combining ingredients for the marinade and dressing, preparing the meat and shrimps, and mixing and cooking the pudding, which would then be poured into dessert cups and chilled until the end.

Our Chefkoch is not only a master chef but also an excellent teacher. We weren't just putzing around in his kitchen - he taught us the best way to peel a clove of garlic, that it's best to peel peppers for something like stir fry because the peel is hard for many people to digest, that it's essential to get the pan very hot before adding meat to fry, how best to peel ginger (with a cheap spoon!), and which ingredients can be easily substituted for the ones in his recipes ("If you don't have maracuya juice, just use orange juice"). Those tips were especially helpful for me, because I'm one of those who tends to stick blindly to a recipe out of fear of screwing it up by substituting. He explained the how and why of almost everything we did and always got our attention when moving to a new major step so we'd know what to do at home when we try to recreate these dishes.

One major difference between German and American recipes is that German ones tell you which herbs and spices to add, but often not how much. It says "etwas Curry" ("some curry). When asked "how much more [herb] should I add?" our Chefkoch often answered with, "about double what you just added."  I know that's one of my big cooking problems - I never season anything enough.

using a scissors to cut loose the right amount of glass noodles
from the package

showing us why meat loses its healthy red color so quickly

anrichten: dishing up the Glasnudelsalat

I think he's telling us here about his fabulous mixer that also heats
while mixing, which is excellent for making Hollandaise sauce, for instance.

Although we worked with ingredients we've never used at home before (lemon grass, mango, curry paste, coconut milk...), he showed us that these recipes are absolutely do-able at home by mere mortals like us! Everything was hands-on instruction, demonstration, and explanation.

He gave us some tips on where to buy local fresh produce and that we should always buy seafood frozen, since there is no fish that comes to our area fresh from the fisherman. What's marketed as "fresh fish" in our grocery store, for instance, has been frozen (and thank goodness) on its journey from the sea to Horb.

I learned that when I buy a pot of herbs, they'll last longer if I re-pot them right away into a bigger pot. Perhaps I should have known that already, but I've never bothered except in the summer when I plant the herbs outside. When asked, the Chefkoch told us which type of pans he prefers and why, how to clean a stone mortar (don't ever put it into the dishwasher!), and what parts of a leek are good for which purposes (you can use more than just the middle white part!).

one part of the dining area - the open kitchen where he works is just
to the left, so guests can watch the action while they dine!

It was a perfectly enjoyable and informative morning and afternoon! Just like last time, I came away having learned a lot, and having tried (and helped prepare) several dishes I may not have ordered. The Thai Curry Suppe was admittedly too hot for me (I have a wimpy palate), though I did enjoy half of the serving. And that soup is what confirmed what I have long thought - although there are foods I don't like and foods I haven't yet dared to try, I am pretty sure I would eat anything cooked by this chef. That soup contained three ingredients I really don't like (curry, ginger, and coconut [milk]), and yet I found it tasty. If I ever get the courage to try sauere Kutteln (sour tripe, which I think is the lining of a cow's intestine), saure Nierle (kidneys), or Hirnsuppe (brain soup) - all dishes I've heard of here in Swabia - it will only be at this restaurant. I, however, am not sorry those dishes aren't currently on his Speisekarte!

butterflying and skewering the shrimps with lemon grass

One of the other students said that she had grown tired of going out to eat because there just aren't many restaurants around that offer such a fabulous dining experience, delicious and special food, and that "extra something" that she would eagerly return to or recommend them to others. But then recently she came to Straub's Krone and was really impressed. Swabians don't give empty praise, and we could only nod in agreement. That's why we dine here about once a month!

We are in Swabia, after all. What would a Kochkurs be without
a bottle of wine with which to toast our first course?

tossing the strips of beef  - make sure the pan is HOT!

grinding coriander seeds and mixing the Teriyaki sauce
Don't bother with a lightweight mortar - this sucker weighs
7 kg (15 pounds)

explaining the next step while M keeps stirring the pudding

After our first preparations were completed, we finished and dished up the salad course and sat down with the Chefkoch to enjoy our first course with a glass of wine. We chatted about all kinds of topics, some related to cooking and some not, and then we cleared the plates and got back to work. Each course after that worked the same way. Despite the chatting and relaxing, our Chefkoch never once rushed us or indicated that we should quit yammering and get back to work so he could have a rest before having to open up for dinner business! He gave the impression that he wanted to be right where he was, teaching us whatever he could in those several hours, and enjoyed doing it.

At the first Kochkurs we attended in 2013, he taught us how to make Bratkartoffeln at my request, and I haven't failed at that since (before then it was kind of hit-or-miss for me). We learned tons of basics that day which have become normal for us now, and I have no doubt that we'll keep learning new techniques with every class we take.

This is the Sesame Caramel garnish we made for the dessert:

Mix soft butter, warm OJ, sugar, and 1 Tbl of sesame seeds.

Spread thinly on parchment paper.

Bake  for 10-15 minutes and let cool.
Gently break it into the size pieces you want.

We are already looking forward to the next Kochkurs, which he said will be during the Spargelsaison! We couldn't get enough of his asparagus dishes last spring (Germans go mad for white asparagus during the roughly 6-week season), and since we only have one (delicious) home recipe, we're eager to learn more from him!

I will end with the final products - the dishes we prepared.

Glasnudeln mit Rindfleisch, Chili, und Koriander

Thai Curry Suppe mit Garnelen Zitronengras Spieß

Chicken Teriyaki mit Wokgemüse und Eiernudeln

Sago Pudding mit Mango und Sesamkaramell

Martinstag, 11. November

On November 11th Americans celebrate Veterans' Day. This date is special in Germany as well, as it is Martinstag, or the Feast Day of St. Martin. If your name is Martin, this is your day!

The tradition of the Namenstag goes back to the Middle Ages. Birthdays were not seen as very important, and often a person didn't even know his own birthday. Perhaps this was because the mortality rate among infants and children was rather high, and by the time a child had made it through the most critical period, the family members may not have recalled on exactly which day the child had been born. Dates other than significant church calendar dates weren't terribly important anyway.

A child named Martin therefore celebrated his Namenstag on 11. November every year, because that was the day assigned to the name Martin (to honor St. Martin of Tours). The Namenstag or feast day was normally assigned based on either the baptism date (as in the case of St. Martin of Tours) or the death date of the saint. Although the custom began with Christian origins, it has become more of a cultural thing than a religious one nowadays. At the same time, the Namenstag tradition is more common in Catholic regions and in Catholic families. Protestants don't have to feel guilty about recognizing the day, though, since Martin Luther was baptized on 11. November.

There is at least one saint assigned to every day of the calendar, but some Namenstage are more significant than others and recognized with various traditions or rituals. One that's known throughout the western world is, of course, Nikolaustag, or St. Nick's Day, which is celebrated on 6. December. There's a really lovely story behind the tradition of hanging stockings by the fire that are filled in the night with treats, which I'll write about at the appropriate time.

In Germany Martinstag is (somewhat surprisingly) not a holiday, but it is recognized and celebrated by many. Like the American holiday of Thanksgiving, a bird is the traditional beast to be consumed, but while Americans prepare and eat turkey, Germans cook and serve goose. And of course there's a story behind that!

"Die Gänse haben St. Martin verraten, dafür müssen sie jetzt braten."

St. Martin of Tours was a Roman soldier who was baptized when he was an adult and became a monk. When the citizens of Tours wanted to make him a bishop, he did not feel up to the task and ran away. While his pursuers were hot on his tail, he hid in a barn full of geese thinking they'd be thrown off the trail. Unfortunately the noisy beasts weren't too thrilled with their visitor who was stepping on their food and stinking up the joint, and they honked their disapproval and annoyance. His goose was therefore cooked, as they say, and he sheepishly accepted the ordination.

The quote above is "Because the geese St. Martin betrayed, today they land upon our plate." (I tried to make it rhyme, but it sounds much better in German.)

"Run, damn you! RUN!"*

*Photo credit

November also happens to be the time of year when geese are fattened and ready for eatin'. Not everyone could afford a fattened goose, so it was also common to serve a duck or chicken. And not everyone wants to eat goose. It's a very fatty bird, with about 30% fat to its meat. In its defense, though, it's also high in protein and minerals such as iron, magnesium, and zink. M has had goose on his Namenstag before, but I have never tried it and don't recall ever seeing it on a menu in the U.S.. Our plan for this evening is to have dinner at our favorite restaurant, where they are serving a special Martinstag menu of Martinsgans. I can't wait!

And here it is. Goose, stuffing, dumplings, roasted chestnuts, Rotkohl, and gravy.
I'd write more, but I'm in a food coma.

For those who want more history and tradition...the Martinsgans was served traditionally on 11. November as the last big meal before the Advent fasting time. At the end of Advent, goose was served again - on Christmas Eve. If I'm not mistaken, the "Christmas Goose" is mentioned near the happy end of the well-known Dickens tale. Nowadays approximately 10 million geese land in an oven or pan between Martinstag and Christmas.°

In the Middle Ages the traditional Christmas dinner was a Schweinbraten - pork roast. Why was this replaced by goose? The most popular explanation is that Queen Elizabeth I was in the middle of a Christmas feast of goose when she received the news that her navy had defeated the Spanish Armada. She took this as a good omen and declared the goose as the Christmas Roast in 1588.

I can't end without mentioning another Martinstag tradition that those of you living in Germany may see in your villages - the Martinsritt. Elementary school children make paper lanterns (with candles inside) in school and then gather - usually in the early evening - with their teachers, classmates, and parents, and parade through the streets singing songs about St. Martin. There is almost always a rider dressed in a Roman costume with red cloak on a horse leading the procession. The parade ends with a bonfire and snacks for all. This tradition reminds people of the story of St. Martin before his conversion, when he was a Roman soldier who came upon a poor man freezing in the cold winter. Martin stopped his horse, split his cloak down the center with his sword, and gave the homeless man half of his cloak to keep warm. The next night as Martin lay sleeping, he saw Jesus in his dream wearing the half of the cloak he had given the homeless man. This story (yes, told even in public schools) helps to teach young children the value of sharing and being kind to strangers.

My daughter The rider is wearing a red sweatshirt instead of a red cloak,
but this will have to do until I actually witness a Martinsritt.

Had I known of this story when I was a child, I would have asked my dad to tell it to me over and over again. My mom would have felt touched that I wanted to hear a story about sharing, but really it would have been because there was a horse in it.

11:11 (am) on November 11th every year is also the official start of "the Fifth Season", or Fasching. Things don't get nutty until the weeks before Ash Wednesday, but the season has begun nonetheless.


°Source: "Dem heiligen Martin zu Ehren." Schwäbisches Tageblatt; Südwest-Presse/Neckar-Chronik. 31. October, 2014.

Holiday Hike

Yesterday was Allerheiligen, or All Saint's Day, which I wrote about last year. It's a day to remember the saints we honor throughout the year on their feasts days. Today is Allerseelen, which is a day to honor and remember the regular souls who have passed away. These are both Catholic days, and though I'm not Catholic I live in the predominantly Catholic south of Germany, so yesterday was a stiller Feiertag. With today being Sunday, southern Germany is essentially closed for business the whole weekend. Restaurants and museums are open as well as most gas stations along the Autobahnen, but I had to make sure the grocery shopping was done by Friday.

I should mention Friday as well - that was Reformation Day, which of course is a Protestant holiday. In most of the northern states that is a holiday, so they had a long weekend but could do their grocery shopping on Saturday.

After having a nice lazy morning, one of us came up with the idea to go for a walk to some nearby Burgruine (castle ruins) which we've known about but have never searched for. We've made a mental note to wear our hiking boots next time we go exploring.

The castle has some history, of course, but it's a little dull so I'll only mention that it was built in the second half of the 13th century.

This would have been a cool time for a train to go by -
I would have loved that photo. The trains were scheduled,
however, to pass only when we were too far away for photos.

Here are the ruins. There are a few informational signs,
but this is not a former castle that people come from
far away to see. If we hadn't known what we were looking
for, we would have missed it.

There's just something about castle ruins.
The lighting wasn't great, but oh well.
There were trees growing out of the sides of
these stone walls. Nature always wins in the end.

We like to hike off the beaten path when we can.

From here we could choose the unadventurous route of going back the way we'd come, which would have been pretty strenuous, too. The damp leaves made the steep slope rather slippery, and going back up the side of a valley sounded less than appealing. So we opted for the flatter dirt road which we were hoping would angle upwards gradually.

It did not. We got to the level of a stream as we heard one of the trains roar past a few hundred feet above us as the road continued heading downish with an occasional optimistic slope upwards. The picture above shows the springs from which this stream originates. The water is deliciously pure and clear.

At one point I was a little ahead of M and saw something that brought out an "Oh my GOD!" M automatically braced himself to fight a stag or wrestle a rabid wolf while I fled to safety, as I said, "It's a horse!" A woman on a beautiful black steed was trotting along the road on a holiday trail ride. I grinned like an idiot for the next few minutes - that's what horses do to me.

By the time we saw the rooftops of the town on the Neckar east of Horb we realized we'd have to climb up the side of the blasted valley anyway. Good thing we're so fit (yeah, right). We huffed and puffed our way up the hill visualizing the dinner we'd reward ourselves with later.

We keep finding new places for walking/hiking that are right around where we live, and despite the huffing and sweating, we enjoy taking these walks. It's great exercise (even though this walk was only 7 km, it was enough up and down steep hills to burn a few calories), we're out in the fresh air on a beautiful fall day, and we're exploring new sites right in our area. We're surrounded by history and wilderness, and I think that's pretty cool!

We ended the day at our favorite restaurant, and I ordered this as my appetizer:

Ziegenkäse im Speckmantel gebraten und hausgemachtes Pflaumenchutney
Fried bacon-wrapped goat cheese with homemade plum chutney

To savor the dish I made three bites each out of the bite-sized bits of cheese and bacon. I followed that with locally shot Wildschweinrückensteak mit süß-scharfe Pfeffersoße und glasiertes Gemüse, or wild boar in a sweet-spicy pepper sauce and glazed vegetables.

Before we left we reserved a table for Martinstag (11. November), when I'll try goose for the first time! Goose is the traditional German bird to consume on 11. November - more on that in a future post.

It was a really nice way to spend Allerheiligen and my birthday, and a good start to the quiet weekend.

Eating Wild

This post started out as a brief description of a wonderful meal we ate yesterday, and it became a long "I LOVE this restaurant!" post instead. 

For M's birthday this month I of course made a reservation at our favorite local restaurant, where the Chef/cook/boss/owner and his wife know us well. He greeted us before we sat down and said he had something special to prepare for us if we were interested, and it was "Wild." Wild means it is either venison or wild boar, and M told the chef a while ago that he should let us know anytime he has Wild, and we'll come if we can. The chef knows a hunter in this area, and so the Wild that comes to the table here is local.

Straub's Krone

(If you are a vegetarian or vegan for moral reasons, you may want to skip the next few paragraphs, but for more about the restaurant, start again at the paragraph just above the buffet photo.)

M and I indicated our interest, and the Chef (which appropriately means "boss" in German, but he's also the chef) said when he saw we were coming he saved for us a Kitzrücken. I know that Rücken means "back" (tenderloin, usually), but I didn't know the word "Kitz." I looked quizzically at M, and both he and the Chef said at the same time, "Bambi". I've heard people jokingly refer to venison as "Bambi," but I know the German word for venison. It starts with Reh- or Hirsch- normally. So I realized right away that they meant young deer, or fawn. Without hesitation and without hearing the accompanying side dishes, we told him we'd be happy to have that. He said he would get it started because it needed time to rest in the oven.

We sat down and ordered a bottle of water as we always do and two glasses of Sekt (champagne, for simplicity's sake) to toast M's birthday. We told the hostess (the Chef's wife) we didn't need menus. We each had a salad following some slices of baguette with their homemade herbed olive oil.

The Chef brought out the cooked piece of Bambi Kitz on a platter with a sprig of rosemary garnish to show us before he plated it. It looked and smelled divine.

This is the delicious little devil:

What you see is Rehkitzrücken mit zweierlei Pastinaken und Maronenkartoffeln, or young venison tenderloin with parsnips prepared in two different ways with chestnut potatoes. The parsnips were 1.) pureed and served in a ring around the edge of the plate and 2.) the crispy chips on the top. Both delicious. There were pieces of potatoes next to cooked chestnuts nestled under the slices of venison. The dish was topped with an edible flower, which we also ate!

The combination of everything was simply amazing, and this was such a wonderful treat for Martin's birthday dinner. What I didn't realize until later was that the evening's special was leg of Kitz. The Chef cooked the tenderloin just for us!

I wondered what the English translation of "Kitz" is, but there isn't one. We don't eat fawn in America. It's not even legal to kill them. I told the Chef that after the meal, and he said, "Na, der Jäger hat ihn erlegt, und ich hab' ihn genommen." ("Well, the hunter got him, so I decided to take him.") I don't even feel guilty saying we're glad he did! I don't think it's common here to shoot fawns, but perhaps official hunters have special permission when the deer population gets too numerous.

I found this through a google search:
"There is no [English] term for fawn meat. This is likely because people do not generally eat it: In most countries, the US included, it is illegal to hunt dear under a certain age... From a culinary standpoint, deer meat is rather mild, given its lack of fat, so there isn't a strong reason to seek out baby deer."
~Robert Love, Software Engineer at Google

Well, Robert, not so much. I would admit that the guilt factor would dissuade me from seeking out baby deer meat, but Kitz prepared like this was darn delicious.  This young Chef is a Zauberer - a magician - in the kitchen and we are so fortunate that he grew up here and returned to establish his Stüble after his training and apprenticeships under top chefs in other fine restaurants. We feel a wee bit spoiled having a place like this within walking distance of our home!

We truly appreciate having a restaurant in our town where the talented Chef knows us, knows what we love to eat, and conjures wonderful meals from every piece of meat he brings into his kitchen. He does vegetarian dishes, too! On Sundays they offer a buffet lunch with seasonal salads and starters, a choice of one of three main dishes (a vegetarian dish is always one of the choices), and a dessert buffet with delicacies served in small portions so that one can try several without feeling overfull.

Sunday salad and starter buffet

A sample of the dessert offerings

The Krone has an open concept, meaning that the main parts of the dishes are cooked in an open kitchen that the guests can see while they dine. The messy, loud, and background work is done in the back kitchen. Since the Chef is right there in his cooking space when people walk in, he always greets everyone personally. He usually comes over to each table to wish diners a Guten Appetit!" and thanks guests and bids them a good evening as they leave. Since he cooks on a Präsentierteller (on display), he has somehow learned to never look frazzled even when the restaurant is full - I can't even manage to appear calm when I'm cooking for just the two of us!

This is a casual family restaurant which serves fancy and delicious dishes, and I highly recommend it in the unlikely event that you find yourself in our tiny village. Is it worth a drive from, for instance, Stuttgart? Absolutely! I'd call for a reservation, though, just to be safe. The menu, which changes seasonally and yearly though the specialties always remain, is on their website.

We have brought almost all of our visitors here, we dine here together at least once a month, and we have never once had a bite of anything we didn't like. I try a spoon-size portion of almost everything on the Sunday starter buffet and have therefore tried dishes I wouldn't have ordered otherwise. They come up with such interesting combinations, foods I'd never heard of (Quitten, for instance, which are quinces - I'd never heard of them in either language), and delicious recipes for the popular seasonal foods like weißer Spargel (white asparagus) and Pfifferlinge (chanterelles).

If you have special dietary needs, that's no problem, of course. A guest at a neighboring table one Sunday said she really wanted a certain dish but was lactose intolerant so the sauce wouldn't work. The Chef prepared a different sauce for her. Their decor is simple, elegant, and personal, and the paintings on the walls were created by a local artist. Well-behaved dogs - even large ones - are welcome. We once had a Weimaraner lying under the table next to us.

I have no connection to the restaurant, they didn't ask me to advertise for them, and they don't even know yet that I'm writing this post. I'm just telling you about a restaurant we love and hope will stay forever in our little village!