I had to think about Christmas dinner quickly after our Christmas Market tour. Since it was our first Christmas in Germany, a kind of German traditional dish sounded reasonable. First I was interested in Weihnachtsgans, or German Christmas Goose, but I wasn't sure if I would like to handle a big bird in the kitchen on the Christmas day. I kept googling to find another idea and then Rouladen caught my eye. Rouladen is rolled beef stuffed with onions, pickles, mustard, and bacon, braised in red wine and broth with vegetables. It's a German classic, not a dish specifically for Christmas but apparently popular during winter. There were many recipes online. Generally it seemed easy to make Rouladen. More importantly J said OK with it. My project Rouladen became on. Gathering all ingredients wasn't so hard. It was right before Christmas day. I had to stand in a long line in front of a local butcher about 15-20 minutes. That was only a surprise. The common cut for Rouladen is top round. I told the butcher I was going to make Roulande. He chose a large block of meat and sliced it for me. Also he gave me bacons, telling me two slices of bacon for a Rouladen. For red wine for cooking, I went for Pinot Noir according to advice from a man at a local grocery store. The cooking part was actually easy. So, how was it? Well, the beef was dried out and got pretty chewy. It was a very lean cut. Did I need to add more liquid to braise and/or did I need to cook it much slower? The flavor was ok but not complicated. The braised vegetables were my favorite part. They were tasty. I served the dish with Kartoffelklöße, or German Potato Dumpling. It was a store-bought product. I just simmered them. I could tell that J didn't like their plain taste and gooey texture. For sides, I cooked Rotkohl, or German red cabbage as well as fixed orange, fennel, spinach salad. The traditional German cabbage dish was pretty good. My made-up salad was refreshing. Anyway, I would like to try Rouladen at a traditional German restaurant to compare.
Desserts were macarons and pralinen from
Tafelzier in Nurenberg. They were absolutely fantastic! Those gorgeous and delightful sweets were my main dish of the Christmas dinner. Overall, our first Christmas in Germany was wonderful!
