Blog Post #1: There's no place like home... REVISED!

There's no place like home....

There is one thing that everyone in this world should always value. And that one thing is family. Since a young age, I personally always preferred to stay home with my family and enjoy a hot, delicious smelling meal, made by my mother’s own hands. Most children like the idea to go out to a fabulous restaurant, idealize all the possible meals they could have, and maybe have a chance of getting a dessert. But why go out and spend money over a meal that a family member could make just as well? And I can guarantee that there is more heart and soul put into a home cooked meal then one of the thousand meals passed out of a kitchen from T.G.I.F. Dinner at home is a chance to bond and relax at the dinner table with your loved ones, so, why pass it up? I believe dinnertime is a time for the family to sit down together and enjoy a meal around the table, rather than going to a noisy restaurant with typical, on-par food.

With my heritage being primarily German, the idea of sitting around the dinner table everyday has been ingrained in my head for Germans respect the idea of ‘family time’ greatly. My grandparents immigrated over to the US after my Opa (German for grandpa) was able to leave his home in Rothenburg after completing his time for the German army in World War II. He first went back to pick up my Oma (German for grandma) and together they moved to Brooklyn in New York City. And with them they brought my favorite types of German delicacies, which I have grown up on. My Oma is an outstanding cook and with every meal she is able to create smells so mesmerizing, tastes so delicious on my taste buds that I want to enjoy her cooking forever. My Oma was born in Rothenburg and grew up with 12 other siblings and it was her responsibility to be the cook with her other sisters. Therefore, she is very talented when it comes to cooking. Anyways, after my mother was born a couple years later after my grandparents arrived in New York, all of my Oma’s skills were passed on to her. And not only were my Oma’s cooking skills passes on, the idea of family bonding was just as important. I guess I have been spoiled my entire life having these scrumptious dinners such as warm, stomach-filling bratwurst with sauerkraut or fresh ‘out of the oven’ leberkaese on a bread roll. My family’s cooking has always brought my family together and so it is my goal, that when I have a family when I get older, to unite my family through my cooking.

My Oma and Opa enjoying lunch while in Rothenburg Germany. Opa is eating what I am cooking however with a different type of noodle called spaetzle.

However, I have not yet to learn these skills myself. For the culinary skills my mother has, seems to have passed by my genes and only were given to my sister. I decided that it was time to polish my cooking skills by making one of my favorite German noodles, kaese nudeln (more commonly known as Cheese Noodles).

Let’s start my journey into the art of cooking German delights.

Kaese Nudeln (Cheese Noodles)

Ingredients:

8 oz of sour cream (regular, not the low fat stuff)

1 egg

8 oz of grated Swiss cheese (either find some already shredded within a bag or purchase a grater and grate 8 oz of Swiss cheese; I found buying shredded cheese the easiest.)

1 package Light 'n Fluffy egg noodles (extra wide) 12 oz

Plus a 3 quart covered casserole dish (you can use a smaller dish but it will take multiple bakings)

1. Cook noodles as directions state on back of package... then drain.

2. Mix sour cream together with the one egg, and then mix in the 8 oz of swiss cheese. You may have to use your hands to get it completely mixed.

3. Preheat oven to 350.

4. Grease the inside of your casserole dish with margarine. Combine cooked noodles with the sour cream mixture thoroughly, might need to dig in there with your hands again.

5. Bake for 30 minutes.

You will want the top of the noodles to be slightly crunchy while the bottom layer to be cheesy and creamy. Yumm.

Success! The noodles are done.

I also recommend sprinkling some salt on the top since apparently Americans don’t like Swiss as much as Germans do.

At the completion of my cooking experiment, the food came out looking correct so I had several friends sample it. Funnily enough, my German friend loved it while it was an ‘acquired’ taste to others (all of them commented it needed salt). On the positive side, no one told me my cooking was horrible. Therefore, I successfully made a German meal! Hopefully when I have my own family, I will be like my mother and oma, letting the kitchen be a place for the family to come together.

Germany is not only famous for their delicious noodles and cheeses, but also for their amazing desserts; Desserts that luckily my family know how to make. When I visited Germany as a child I was always amazed by the foods my Aunts would place on the table. Let’s just say, it’s easy to gain weight in just two weeks when you visit my family in Germany. For every time I walked into one of their houses I would get the ‘pinched’ cheeks and either my Aunt or Uncle commenting, “Do you eat, child?? You are skin and bones! Doesn’t your mother feed you?!” And then they would proceed to push food in front of face and coerce me to eat it. Honestly, who am I to refuse?

The one dessert that I would always succumb too would have to be the raspberry and peach cakes that my family in Germany and at home make. Ever since I was little I remember my Oma and Mom making these scrumptious cakes that seemed to melt in my mouth with every bite I took. My sister and I would sit on the counter and ‘help’ which usually consisted of eating leftover peach’s or raspberry’s.

The raspberry and peach cakes my family makes.

Cooking is a bonding time especially at dinner when everyone has a chance to talk about what they want in the peace of their home. No loud people in the booth next to you complaining about their job or an arguing couple. No, for at home, you can relax, take off your shoes, and eat an appetizing home cooked meal. Though this may sound cheesy and clique, there is no place like home for the authentic tasting meal of your culture and great company like your family.

~~~All photos were taken by either myself, a friend, or a family member ~~~