HUNGRY GERALD

Pleasant dinner last night. Divided the cooking duties. HG fried potatoes and cooked bratwurst (simmered in beer for 15 minutes and then grilled to a brown crisp). BSK made sublime sauerkraut. Drained Bubbie’s kraut and cooked it with onions, apples, olive oil and a bit of chicken stock. Subtle, non-acidic flavors. So. Kraut and spuds were first rate. Brats were okay. Just okay. Plenty of pungent Polish mustard and Bubbie’s Bread and Butter pickles plus Shiner Bock Beer (“The Pride of Shiner, Texas”) helped the cause, but just barely. It made HG muse: “Where are the brats of yesteryear?” For years one could get inexpensive, succulent platters of brats-kraut-home fries in scores of German restaurants throughout the five boroughs of New York City. Luchow’s, Blue Ribbon, The Heidelberg and Volk’s were the leaders of the pack and HG quaffed much beer at these Teutonic shrines of hearty eating. Other than The Heidelberg (opened in 1936) they are all gone, alas. Of course New York, being New York, still offers authentic German Food — and the great Yorkville butcher Schaller & Weber sells some of the finest brats around — but the golden age of cheap and delicious NY German restaurants is over.

Sauerkraut’s ascent to the heavens is Choucroute Garnie, the wonderful Alsatian dish of sauerkraut simmered in wine and then decked with an array of piggy goodies. It is always served accompanied by boiled potatoes, hot mustard and strong horse radish.

Here’s the way HG and BSK did it for a small dinner party last night. BSK sauteed sliced apples and onions in olive oil. Added Bubbie’s sauerkraut (drained) and some cups of of dry, white Riesling. Let it cook for a long, long time at a lazy simmer. While that was cooking, HG tossed some knockwurst into a pot of lightly boiling water — wanted the sausages to heat through but not burst. When done, HG browned bratwurst and some kielbasa. Meanwhile, BSK boiled potatoes and then smashed them (that’s right–the potatoes were smashed and not mashed). Creative BSK mixed the potatoes with some chicken stock, olive oil and chopped scallions. Sublime. Sausages topped the sauerkraut and the whole thing was washed down with plenty of Belgian ale. Great fun. Would have liked some Kassler Ripchen (smoked pork loin) with this dish but couldn’t find any in Santa Fe. But, we did have Bubbie’s sour dill pickles and they added to the merriment.