Difficulty: Easy.
Preparation Time: 45 minutes.
Portions: 3.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/3 cup long white rice
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup raisins

Preparation:

1. Mix the rice, sugar and salt in a large saucepan. Stir in the milk. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring often.
2. Reduce heat and simmer the rice for 30 minutes, or until soft and milk mixture becomes thick. Stir often.
3. Stir in vanilla extract and cinnamon.

Difficulty: Easy.
Preparation Time: 45 minutes.
Portions: 4.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup short grain white rice
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 cups milk
• 1 cup cream
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation:

1. Mix the rice, sugar and salt in a large saucepan. Stir in the cream and milk. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring often.
2. Reduce heat and simmer the rice for 30 minutes, or until soft and milk mixture becomes thick. Stir often.
3. Stir in vanilla extract.
4. Serve warm with cinnamon and sugar or fruit compote.

Difficulty: Moderate.
Preparation Time: 2 hours.
Portions: 2.5 dozen.

Ingredients:

• 4 1/2 – 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 package fresh yeast
• 1 1/4 cup lukewarm milk
• 3 Tbs. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 1/2 Tbs. butter, softened
• 4 egg yolks (reserve whites, see Step 8 )
• canola oil for frying

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl, place 4 1/2 cups of flour, making a well in the center.
2. Mix yeast, sugar and milk (warmed to approximately 110° F)  together in a small bowl until sugar and yeast are dissolved.  Pour into the well.  Mix in a little flour from the sides.  Cover the bowl with a warm towel (heated in the microwave is easiest), and place in a warm place for 15 minutes, or until a bubbly texture has formed.
3. Add the salt, butter (cut into pieces), and egg yolks into the bowl.
4. Mix by hand or spoon from the middle out, gradually adding in the flour until a soft dough forms.  Add a little more flour if dough is too wet.
5. Knead for 2 -3 minutes until dough is smooth, but not sticky.
6. Make dough into a large ball, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and place in warm spot until dough is doubled.
7. For filled doughnuts, roll dough out to 1/2 inch thick, cut rounds (2 1/2 – 3 1/2 inches in diameter) with a biscuit cutter, reusing dough no more than twice.
8. Place a teaspoon of filling into each center.  Paint the edges with egg white and place a second circle on top.  Press firmly to seal edges.  Cover and let rise for 20 minutes.
9. For unfilled doughnuts, roll to 3/4 inch thick, cut out circles, let rise for 20 minutes and continue to frying process.
10. Heat oil to 350° F.  Fry only the amount that will fit into the fryer without overlap.  Slide the doughnuts into the hot fat quickly, cover and fry for 3 minutes.  Turn over and fry for 3 -5 minutes until golden brown.
11. Place doughnuts on paper towel to remove excess oil.  If desired, when cool, roll doughnuts in powdered or granulated sugar.

Difficulty: Easy.
Preparation Time: 15 minutes.
Portions: 3 – 4.

Ingredients:

• 2 large salad cucumbers (English cucumbers would work nicely)
• 1 red onion
• 1/2 c. heavy cream
• 2 tbs. white vinegar
• 1 1/2 tbs. sugar
• salt, to taste
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• fresh parsley
• tarragon
• fresh dill

Preparation:

1. Peel and thinly slice cucumber. Salt slices lightly and let stand for an hour.
2. Mix finely diced onion, sugar, vinegar, seasonings and all herbs (except parsley) together in a separate bowl.  Add mixture into the cucumbers and mix well, covering all cucumber slices.
3. Chill for at least a half hour, but no more than an hour.  Drain off excess liquid.
4. Toss with cream, top with chopped parsley, and serve.

Difficulty: Easy.
Preparation Time: 15 minutes.
Portions: 2 – 3.

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle of red wine (750 ml)
• 4 eggs (or 8 egg yolks)
• 5 tablespoons of sugar
• one packet of vanilla sugar
• dash of cinnamon
• 2 cloves
• splash of lemon or lemon juice

Preparation:

1. Whisk the sugar into the eggs (or egg yolks) and add a little cold red wine, and then beat vigorously.
2. Add the vanilla sugar, mixing in thoroughly.
3. Add the remainder of the red wine and heat with some cinnamon, cloves, and lemon juice.
4. Just before it comes to a boil, remove the pot from the heat. Strain and let cool a bit.
5. Serve hot and foamy.

German Translation

Zutaten

• eine Flasche Rotwein (750 ml)
• 4 Eier (oder 8 Eigelb)
• 5 Esslöffeln Zucker
• 1 Päckchen Vanillezucker
• etwas Zimt
• 2 Nelken
• Zitrone oder Zitronensaft

Zubereitung

1. Eier (oder Eigelb) mit Zucker verquirlen und etwas kalten Rotwein dazugeben und dann kräftig schlagen.
2. Vanillezucker zufügen.
3. Übrigen Rotwein dazugeben und mit etwas Zimt, den Nelken und Zitronensaft erhitzen.
4. Kurz vor dem Kochen von der Feuerstelle nehmen. Abseihen und etwas abkühlen lassen.
5. Heiß und schaumig servieren.

Difficulty: Moderate.
Preparation Time: 2 hours.
Portions: 4 – 6. 12 pieces.

Ingredients:

Cake Batter

• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp. warm water
• 6 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tbsp. vanilla sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 7 tbsp. all purpose flour
• 6 tbsp. cornstarch

Topping

• 1 1/2 pint raspberries
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 2 tsp. sugar

Jelly

• 1/2 tsp. gelatin
• 1 cup water
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. red food coloring

Preparation:

1. Grease pan and lightly dust with flour.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Separate eggs.  Beat egg whites with salt until stiff, but not too dry.  Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat egg yolks with water until foamy, and pale yellow.  Gradually add sugar and vanilla.  Beat until the sugar is dissolved, and the batter has visibly increased in volume.
4. Sprinkle in flour and cornstarch ad blend well with yolks.
5. Using a rubber spatula, fold egg whites into the batter until just blended.
6. Pour batter into cake pan (form) and bake in lower oven for 16 minutes, until golden yellow.
7. Let cake rest in pan for 10 minutes before removing.  Allow cake to cool completely.
8. To prepare jelly: soak gelatin in 2 tbsp. cold water for 10 minutes.  Heat over low heat until it becomes liquid.  Add 2 tbsp. sugar and the remainder of water and heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat and cool until it is just pourable (20 – 30 minutes).
9. To prepare topping: whip the cream with 1 tbsp. sugar until stiff.  Spread evenly over cake.
10. Arrange berries on top of cream.  Pour jelly over fruit.  Let jelly set for 30 minutes.  Serve immediately.

You can also make extra whipped cream to garnish the top of the cake.  This cake MUST be refrigerated if there are leftovers.

Difficulty: easy.
Preparation Time: 1 hour, 35 minutes.
Portions: 6.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound flour (this is about 3 -4 cups, but check the flour weight for best results)
• 3/4 pound butter, softened
• 6 ounces sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup rum

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place softened butter into a large bowl.  Add sugar to butter and cream together well.
3. Scramble egg in small bowl and add into the butter mix.  Mix well.
4. Next, add in flour, a cup at a time, mixing all very well.
5. Last, blend in the rum.  Use a hand mixer if necessary.
6. Place batter in a prepared (lightly greased with cooking spray) springform pan.  Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar across the top.
7. Bake for 50 – 60 minutes.  Check at about 45 minutes and test with a toothpick.

Difficulty: easy.
Preparation Time: 15 minutes.
Portions: 4.

Ingredients:

• 3 tbs butter
• 3 tbs flour
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 large can, 2 small cans, or 2 cups of fresh quartered or sliced mushrooms
• 1 – 2 cups broth, beef, pork or vegetable
• pinch of salt

Preparation:

1. If preparing as a side to schnitzel, set the meat aside and keep warm, so you can use the same pan for added flavor. Otherwise, use a small saucepan.  Melt butter in pan, then add in flour and mix constantly over medium-low heat.  The trick is to get the flour a pale brown color, but do not burn.  This mixture should be paste-like.  If it is too thin, add a smidge more flour, if too thick, add a bit more butter.
2. Add in nutmeg and continue to brown flour.
3. If using canned, open the mushrooms and drain juice into a measuring cup.
4. Pour mushrooms into the flour mixture, and stir, cooking this way for about a minute.
5. Pour in broth with the juice in the cup, until you have 1 cup of liquid.  Add this to the pan and stir constantly.  Raise the temperature to medium.  **At this point, you want to monitor the thickness, and decide how thick of a sauce you want.  A total of 1.5 cups of liquid is perfect for my family, but you may have different tastes.  It thickens very quickly, so this is not a long process, and if you have 1 can of broth, that should be plenty, even if you go thinner.  You can even supplement with some hot water if necessary.
6. Add salt, and a pinch more nutmeg if desired.  Serve immediately.

To make this authentic in appearance and taste, knockwurst is the best to use.  However, I have made it with hot dogs to great effect.  As a German vegetarian recipe option, why not try soy dogs?  The typical side dish to serve this with is french fries, or Pommes.  I make my own, but you could also buy bagged for an even quicker meal.

Difficulty: easy.
Preparation Time: 35 minutes.
Portions: 4.

Ingredients:

• 1 package of knockwurst (5 links) OR 1 package of hot dogs
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
• 2 8-ounce cans of tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1/2 – 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder

Preparation:

1. Place butter or margarine in medium saucepan and melt over medium heat.
2. Slice links in rounds about 1/2 inch thick.  Place rounds into pan and brown, stirring often.
3. Stir in sauce.  Add in all seasonings and mix well.
4. Lower heat to medium-low, cover and allow to cook for 10 minutes.  Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
5. Check flavor and add curry at your discretion.  Lower temperature and simmer for 20 minutes more.
6. Serve with french fries on the side, adding enough sauce to dip fries.  You may also sprinkle some curry onto the wurst for garnish.

Difficulty: normal.
Preparation Time: over 1 hour
Portions: 4.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1 large onion, quartered
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 – 1 cup flour (if potatoes are dry, use less, wet, use more)
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• vegetable oil or butter, or a mixture of both (for frying)

Preparation:

1. Either grate the potatoes and onion, or use a food processor (with coarse grating ability).  Squeeze and drain out some of the juices. Allow the starch to settle to the bottom, them pour out the water.  Reserve for later.
2. Add milk, then stir in flour, salt, and eggs.  Add starch back into the batter.  Mix well.
3. In a large, heavy skillet heat 1/2 inch of oil, or oil and butter, until hot.  Drop potato batter (1/4 cup per pancake) into the skillet and fry until golden brown and crisp on both sides.
4. To keep pancakes crisp, pat with paper towel to remove excess oil, and spread out over a cookie sheet in the oven, heated only to warm.  However, serving immediately is the best way to ensure they are at their peak.