Rotkohl mit Apfeln

Red Cabbage with Apples

Sounds nasty, doesn't it? I think it can be. It has always been one of those things I can take or leave and usually end up leaving. Last night my friend Mittelhauser requested rotkohl with schnitzel. I try to please. After reading a handful of recipes (some without apples, some with bacon!) I decided to marry the best a two recipes and came up with the following. It was tasty and I even I enjoyed it. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

What you need:

1 medium head of red cabbage

2 tart apples

1 medium onion (I used Vidalia as they were abundant at the grocery store yesterday!)

3 tablespoons of butter

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup of red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons of sugar

Salt and Pepper to taste

What you do:

1. Sharpen your favorite knife. Get to slicing and dicing. Peel and slice apples. I chose thin strips that I then cut in half. Not quite diced, not quite sliced. Chop the onion. Slice the cabbage (think coleslaw).

2. In a dutch oven or heavy stock pot (about six quarts in volume) melt the butter and saute the apples for five minutes. Add onion and saute for another five minutes. Add the cabbage, water, vinegar, and sugar. Stir. Cover.

3. Cook on medium low, stirring occasionally, for about 45 minutes or until cabbage is tender, but not mushy. Alternately you can toss it in a hot oven and cook it that way.

Click here for my schnitzel recipe. It is guaranteed to please! That is... I've had no complaints yet. Grandpa Doug, if you're reading this, I promise to come to Arkansas and make Schnitzel and Rotkohl for you. I'll even serve your peas in a separate dish!

Biscuits and Gravy

For about a week I have had a hankerin' for biscuits and gravy. I broke down this morning and made some. Today's efforts just might have been my best ever. Yum.

Biscuits

What you need:

1 Tube of Pilsbury's Buttermilk Grands

or

8 Pilsbury's Frozen Buttermilk Biscuits

(I really need to learn to make acceptable home-made biscuits!)

What you do:

Bake according to package instructions. Yum!

Gravy

What you need:

1/2 pound breakfast sausage

3 tablespoons flour

1 quart of milk

salt and pepper to taste

What you do:

1. Brown sausage in skillet. Depending on fat content of sausage, you may need to add a few tablespoons of butter or bacon grease before adding the flour. Sprinkle flour over sausage stirring constantly until flour and fat are smooth.

2. Slowly begin adding milk and whisking till smooth, thick, and bubbly. Continue adding milk and stirring. I find the more patient I am with gravy, the better it comes out. Letting the gravy cook for a bit also reduces the chances of getting that "uncooked" floury taste.

3. Once you have the constency you desire, salt and pepper to taste. Serve up hot, over biscuits and whatever else your heart desires (hashbrowns, yum!).

Thy Neighbor's Goods

So I was hanging with my friends Jen and Aaron (and I am kind of long term hanging with them now) when I discovered that they had a most righteous, plastic, orange strainer (pictured above). I was jealous; literally green with envy. I offered to buy it. I begged to buy it. The price ($1,000,000) was a bit steep. I couldn't swing it. I had to place the beautiful, orange strainer in the cabinet. I was feeling bereft, dejected, hopeless.

These feelings did not last. Just a few days later I found an amazing, gorgeous, green strainer (pictured below). The price tag ($2) was closer to my budget. And the green totally goes with my new kitchen decor. Woot!