German-American Cookbook
With Emphasis On Recipes Brought To Southern Illinois In 1848 By My Family From Werra Valley
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
REBHUHN MIT ORANGENKRAUT This is a combination of two German recipes. The oranges in the sauerkraut are not in the original recipe but I found kraut done this way in a small delightful inn in the medieval German town of Eisenach, not far from our homeland in Thüringen and thought it a wonderful variation on ordinary sauerkraut. 1 Pheasant (partridge, grouse or other gamebird) Singe, clean and draw the birds. Wash thoroughly and dry. Rub cavity and skin with lemon. Place two juniper berries into the cavity of each bird. Wrap pork or bacon slices around the birds and truss them. Roast in hot (400º F.) oven twenty minutes, basting frequently. Five minutes before the birds are done, increase oven heat to 450º F. and remove bacon slices. Brown breasts thoroughly. Blaze brandy by lighting it in a warmed ladle and pour over birds. Remove birds to a platter and keep warm. Stir cream into pan and simmer over moderate heat three or four minutes. Pour over birds. For each quart of sauerkraut, use one orange. Peel oranges, removing all white skin and cut into pieces. Sauté in hot butter using 1/4 cup of butter for each quart of sauerkraut and orange slices for three to four minutes. Drain sauerkraut and add to orange. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover, simmer for ten minutes and drain. Serve each bird on a mound of stiff rich mashed potatoes. Surround with sauerkraut. Platter may be further decorated with thin orange slices and parsley or watercress sprigs. The traditional way Germans serve pheasants is to reassemble the bird after it has been carved and decorate it with its own colorful feathers to simulate a live pheasant. I have seen this done in a German restaurant and it made a dramatic presentation. I doubt if our ancestors bothered with it, but it might be fun to try on an especially festive occasion.
(Pheasant with Orange Sauerkraut)
1/2 lemon
Juniper berries
Bacon or salt pork slices
Brandy
Heavy cream
Oranges
Butter
Sauerkraut
Salt
Pepper
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
In this crisply written, thoroughly accessible book designed for the home chef, author William D. Setzekorn has adapted a full repertoire of recipes handed down through the generations. Representatives of the cuisine brought to the United States by German immigrants in the mid-nineteenth century, this treasure trove of family favorites has been adapted to suit the contemporary American kitchen. All ingredients are readily available in any market and many convenience products have been integrated without compromising the authenticity of the dishes. A full range of courses is offered here: appetizers like chicken liver pâté and stuffed mushrooms; potato, asparagus and chicken soups; a surprising array of seafood choices. There is an assortment of interesting preparations for game birds - pheasant in orange sauerkraut and duckling braised in red cabbage; roast goose with fruit stuffing. For the heartiest appetites there are plenty of savory roast, schnitzels and stews, creamed vegetables and many variations on the ubiquitous cabbage. Still hungry for something sweet...try German pancakes or one of the strudel, kuchen or cookie recipes. This is an ethnic cookbook, but one so full of homey comfort foods of any American kitchen that the German-American Cookbook will be a popular addition to any home culinary library.
About the Author
William Setzekorn is a retired architect, writer and author. His major design projects have included hospitals, schools, shopping centers and civic buildings throughout California and the Pacific Northwest. He is well known for his professional contributions to disaster recovery, having served as consultant to government agencies in South Carolina following Hurricane Hugo, Northern California following Loma Prieta Earthquake, and in Los Angeles following the Northridge Earthquake. He provided design and construction management for experimental earthquake and hurricane- resistant housing on the Island of Guam developed jointly by U.S. and the Island Government and served on Governor Keating's twelve-man task force following Oklahoma City bomb disaster of 1995 which prepared the disaster survey report presented to Congress.
He is author of five published books and contributor to over forty national magazines on diverse subjects. He has just completed a screenplay based on the life of Grace O'Malley, a 17th century Irish queen. Writing assignments have taken him to Central America, Europe, Near East, Pacific Islands and Asia. In 1986, at the request of the Franciscan friars in Jerusalem, he studied the results of archaeological work at Emmaus, El-Qubeibeh, made measured drawings on site and did an architectural rendering of a Crusader Castle once located at this shrine. This work was published in Holy Land Magazine, Omnibus, and elsewhere. Besides cooking, his hobbies include travel, heraldry, yachting, and racing Arabian horses on the California county fair circuit.