When we are in Utah, my family and I like to go up to snowbird to attend the Oktoberfest they hold every year.  The kids enjoy all the activities, and though we never drink any of the beer, we enjoy all the food.  Unfortunately, we missed the festivities this year (They started back in August and finished up the first weekend of October–sorry everybody.), and we had to make our own potato pancakes and applesauce to serve at home.  We found the best chicken and apple sausages and bratwurst we could find, and served it all together.  Sometime soon I’ll have to come up with a great strudel recipe.

potato pancakes

4 large Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled
1 medium onion, peeled and grated
1/4 cup (40g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 eggs
1/4 cup (55g) olive oil
apple sauce (recipe follows)
sour cream, for garnish

1.  Shred potatoes with a box grater or a food processor.  Place in a large bowl and cover with ice water.  Allow to soak as you prepare other ingredients.
2.  Carefully remove the potato shreds, and place on a kitchen towel.  Let the water settle for a minute or two, then slowly drain off the water without disturbing the white powdery potato starch collected at the bottom of the bowl.  When all the water is drained, and only the starch remains, pat the potato shreds dry and add them back into the bowl.  Add in flour, onion, salt, pepper and eggs, and mix well (clean hands work best).

3.  Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large non-stick skillet set over medium-high heat.  Working in small batches to avoid crowding the pan, drop by 1/4 cupfuls into oil and press flat with a spatula.  Add more oil to the pan as necessary. Cook until golden brown on both sides.   Place on paper towels set on a pan or oven-safe plate, and keep warm in a 200 degree oven until ready to serve.
4.  Serve with a dollop of sour cream and apple sauce.

apple sauce

5 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 cup (250g) apple cider
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a medium stock pot, place all ingredients over very low heat.  Cover, and cook  until apples are tender.

bratwurst and chicken and apple sausages

1 package each of your favorite brand of bratwurst and chicken and apple sausage
bakery hoagie rolls
grainy mustard
sauerkraut

1.  Boil uncooked bratwurst and sausages in water or beer (non-alcoholic works fine), until the internal temperature is 165 degrees farenheit, or no longer pink.  Drain water, and return to stove.  Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and saute over medium heat until browned.

2.  Serve on rolls with sauerkraut and mustard.

9 Responses to “oktoberfeast!”

1. leaca says:

   25 October 2008 at 4:09 pm

   We have been wanting to go back home to the Storytelling Festival in Utah. It is crazy all those years of living right there and never attending. We lived in Wyoming so it was a drive but we were so close. We always went to Swiss Days in Midway, Utah. I did not even know about Oktoberfest. Sounds fun.

   These look delish.
2. kat-in-texas says:

   25 October 2008 at 8:14 pm

   I’m gonna tell my sister whose family loves German food!

   She’s like you…..she can cook (and it’s edible)

   Very nice, Jaime!
3. My First Kitchen says:

   27 October 2008 at 7:15 am

   Those potato pancakes look great! I’ve never made them and always wanted to. You definitely make it sound easy. Do you think a variation with sweet potatoes would work? Maybe a fun twist for the holidays? And it’s cool to see your family still keeping with tradition and celebrating on your own even though you didn’t make it to the festival. I love seeing families have traditions around food; great meals bring us all together.
4. My First Kitchen says:

   27 October 2008 at 7:16 am

   Those potato pancakes look great! I’ve never made them before, but you make it sound super easy. Do you think you could do a sweet potato version? I’m thinking that might be a fun twist for the holidays! And it’s cool to see your family continue the tradition even though you didn’t get to go to the festival. I love to see food draw people together!
5. Connie (the write one) says:

   27 October 2008 at 7:50 am

   Yum, yum, yum! Love potato pancakes (even if I had to type potato 3 times to spell it correctly this morning)! I’ve never used apple cider when I make apple sauce. Nice touch!
6. Angi says:

   27 October 2008 at 2:58 pm

   All of this looks a-ma-zing! German food is my favorite.

   
7. Shannon says:

   27 October 2008 at 9:19 pm

   We had this for dinner tonight and it was fabulous. I had been craving it and your post made me make it,
8. Jen T says:

   28 October 2008 at 1:09 pm

   Jamie,

   We have another thing in common I found out as I was looking at your other blogs you visit. I also worked at the LRC at the HBLL at BYU! What a small world! When were you there? It is in a totally different place now, but when I was there it was on the 2nd floor with all the cubicles and CD/Tape players and you were always changing tapes for humanities students Great place to work! Go Courgars!

   Jen T
   KS BYU mom of 4
9. One Ingredient Ice Cream and Cuisinart 11-Cup Food Processor Giveaway | sophistimom says:

   29 June 2011 at 4:05 pm

   [...] potato pancakes—my food processor revolutionized the way I make these. [...]