I have this friend that has an amazing German heritage. Her family speaks German and sometimes when trying to talk “secretly” in front of people they will speak in German. Her grandma forgets that I understand German also, which is why I found out that her grandma lost her teeth on the way to the birthday party. “Ich habe meine Zahne verloren!” She exclaimed upon entering. I tried to stifle my giggle, but tend to have a very expressive face.
I wish I had made this dish when she was coming over, but instead I made it when my brother was here. We also have amazing German heritage, but our celebration of the culture has a lot more to do with sausages and beer than it does language. (That might also be the Wisconsin background. It’s pretty indistinguishable, really.) Regardless, it’s an excuse we didn’t even need to eat brats and sauerkraut.
You are going to have to excuse these terrible pictures. They are from the time where I was still learning how to use the basics of my camera.
The sauerkraut here is not something you do in a hurry, regardless of what the recipe says. To get it to the point where I felt it was done, it took at least a half hour, maybe longer. Maybe their idea of a hurry was different than mine? I mean, they are making Jell-O salads that take all day. These are not things that a working mom can do on a limited schedule.
Ok, so taste. Have you had a French choucroute garnie? Because it’s like that. I’m sure that doesn’t help a lot of you. Here’s what Wikipedia says about it. If you don’t feel like clicking over, it’s sauerkraut, sausages, potatoes, onions, and beer all cooked together for a nice long time and best served with mustard (not the yellow stuff, the good stuff). The long cooking time mellows the bite of the sauerkraut and everything sort of melts into each other. This has amazing similarities to that dish, but much quicker. It’s kind of like sauerkraut for beginners.
When you have time to make this “in a hurry” dish, you may want to put on your leiderhosen, put on some polka, make some spaetzle, and indulge. Even if it wasn’t my brother’s favorite, I thought it was pretty darn good.
Boiling the potatoes with the onions mellows the onions and just leaves the flavor. The small amount of water used to boil the potatoes means the potatoes don’t need to be drained and the starch from them helps to thicken the cheesy sauce. These are not the best au gratin potatoes I’ve ever had in my life. They aren’t steakhouse worthy, but you know, for something that is ready in 30 minutes or less, it’s a pretty decent side dish for any night of the week.
