Octoberfest…At Home?

Welcome to Boone Appétit! I have some fun and exciting news I want to share with you, but you’ll have to wait (or scroll down to the end). I’m hoping it works out and can become something on a regular basis. So please take a look and I’ll see you there…..

I don’t know about you but for me October has been flying by. We’re halfway though the month and I’m only now giving thought to the idea of Octoberfest! In Germany Octoberfest starts in mid September, but this year the world’s largest beer festival has been cancelled. The original festival was held in October to celebrate the wedding of the crown prince of Bavaria to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen in 1835. As the festival grew and expanded it was moved to September to take advantage of better weather. Now, in modern times, around six million people come together to celebrate Octoberfest and celebrate they do, consuming almost two million gallons of beer! Luckily they also have many delicious German dishes to help soak up all that beer. The festivities begin with a parade then the Mayor of Munich taps the first keg with the exclamation, “O’zapft is !” meaning “It’s tapped!”. Only beer made in Munich to the strict standards of the Reinheitsgebot regulations, (purity order or law) can be served at the festival. There are six breweries that participate , Augustiner-Bräu, Hacker-Pschorr-Brãu, Löwenbräu, Paulaner, Spaten and Staatliches. Each brewery sets up huge tents. They serve their beer and lots of food with good music and dancing and after enough beer the singing starts! Parades, rides, games and other vendors are also part of the celebration. My son was lucky enough to have gone to last years Octoberfest in Munich and he gets the credit for the pictures. It’s fun for all and in times like today we could use a little Octoberfest in our lives. So why not celebrate it in your home?

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If you have a German restaurant in your town do take out. I’m lucky enough to have the Supermarket chain Aldi’s near me and they get foods from Germany for the celebration. Even if you don’t have any of these close to you there are things you can still do to enjoy Octoberfest in your home. Just about every supermarket has a brand of bratwurst or you could do a roast pork or pork chops or even a fried chicken cutlet with a brown gravy ( Chicken schnitzel with Jäger sauce.) You can serve these with potato salad or Spatzle ( German egg noodles). I’m certain you can find mustard and sour kraut in your local market. One of my favorite things to eat with bratwurst is cabbage and apples. I’ll sometimes make a quick version using sour kraut and a couple diced apples with a 3 tablespoons of brown sugar added. You can also serve apple sauce if you like. I’m going to make bratwurst with cabbage and apples. I’ll also give you a recipe for the Jäger sauce so you can put that on just about any type of meat and it’ll taste great. For dessert, apples work well for Octoberfest, here’s a link to a few easy recipes. This whole meal will be quick and easy which allows you to enjoy your time with family and anyone else you feel like inviting over. Let’s not forget the beer! I couldn’t find a German Octoberfest so I opted for Sierra Nevada’s Octoberfest, it did the trick. Do try and find a German Octoberfest if you can, it’ll add to the festivities. Next you have to have a little atmosphere and nothing says party like good old German Octoberfest music! Every music streaming service has an Octoberfest channel, turn your house or backyard into a beer garden and enjoy the time and forget about things for a little while.

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• Cooking Bratwurst:
• Remember this is your Octoberfest so you can cook your sausages anyway you feel comfortable. I’m going to be doing a tradition that was told to me by a German friend.
• 1 onion diced
• 3 tablespoons of butter
• 4 Bratwurst
• Melt the butter in a frying pan and add the onions, sauté for about 3 minutes.
• Add the sausages and cook until golden brown…easy!
• Simple Cabbage and Apples
• 1 jar or package of sour kraut 24 ounces
• 2-3 cored and diced sweet apples of your choice
• 3-4 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 Cup water
• Place the apples and water in a pot big enough to hold all the sour kraut and apples.
• Bring the apples to a boil and turn down to a simmer until they are tender.
• Add the brown sugar and butter and continue to simmer for another 5 minutes.
• Use a potato masher to mash the apples if you want a smooth apple sauce. I like to leave a few chunks in mine.
• Add the sour kraut and cook for another 10 minutes stirring to keep things from burning.
• Note: You can make this from scratch using chopped up red cabbage, it’s very tasty but takes about an hour. The procedure is the same except you cook the cabbage first as it takes longer to get tender. You may also want to add a few tablespoons of vinegar to give it that sweet and sour taste that goes so well with pork.
• Jäger Sauce (Hunter’s sauce)
• 1 clove garlic mashed
• 1 small onion diced
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon Olive oil
• 1/2 lb mushrooms chopped
• 1/4 Cup all purpose flour
• 2 1/2 Cups beef stock
• Secret ingredient* Maggi seasoning (optional )
• Heat the skillet and add the butter and oil to the hot pan. Next add the onions and garlic and cook till onions are translucent.
• Add the mushrooms and cook another five minutes.
• Sprinkle in the flour and keep stirring until you no longer see any white flour.
• Add the beef stock and continue stirring until the mixture starts to thicken a little and you don’t see any lumps of flour.
• Simmer another 5-10 minutes.
• Use this sauce on any pork dish or fried chicken cutlets.
• Another time we can make Jäger Schnitzel.

As you can see celebrating Octoberfest doesn’t have to be complicated or time consuming. It’s more about spending time with family and friends and enjoying the moment. If you don’t know any German beer drinking songs , sing a song you all know and sing it loudly! Shake off your troubles and dance a little. I mean who doesn’t secretly want to do the Chicken Dance? If you do I hope you post a few pictures below!

Now for the surprise I was telling you about. This Monday October 19 at 7PM Boone Appétit will be doing it’s very first Facebook semi-live cooking show! I say semi-live because I’ll be there to answer your questions and comments but I had to record it earlier as answering questions and cooking at the same time didn’t seem like a good idea. The show is sponsored by the Blauvelt Free Library and the link to watch it is here. I will post it on my page after it happens so if you miss it live you can catch it later. Please give me all the feedback you can. I know the production value can be higher. If it becomes a regular thing we can invest in professional lightening and sound equipment. I want to thank you all for tuning in and as always if you have any questions or comments please leave them in the box below and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Until next time Boone Appétit!