Oktoberfest 2010
If your 3 year old does not take a nap two days in a row, she will pass out on the way home from her brother’s baseball game at 4:30 in the afternoon. And she will not wake up for dinner. Or dessert. Or bedtime prayers. Or even when she is transferred to her bed at 9:30 that night.
She will, though, be wide awake and very hungry at 3 am. Which will give her bleary-eyed mother plenty of time to empty pictures off her camera and type Oktoberfest recipes into the computer. I’m not sure the coffee will get me through the day.
We had gorgeous weather on Saturday, so most people stayed outside on our big deck. I probably didn’t need to bother to clean the house. About 64 people came, which is among our smallest. We were competing with several locals festivals, but it couldn’t be helped due to Bill’s last class for his Master’s (he’s done! he’s done!…well, except for the comprehensive final…but, he’s done!).
I generally make the same food every year. Yes, I did blog about liking variety, but this is my once-a-year party and I never make these dishes any other time. And having the same menu means that, by now (our 7th Oktoberfest), executing the party requires little to no thought, which means little to no stress.
My Oktoberfest Menu:
Bratwurst (boiled first, then grilled)
Frankfurters (I boiled them in the crockpot, because many kids don’t like grilled hotdogs)
Sauerbraten (pot roast marinated in vinegar)
Rolls (buns)
Sauerkraut (from a jar)
German Red Cabbage
German Potato Salad
Pumpkin Pie Cake
Creamy Apple Kuchen
Walnut Cake
Pretzels (Snyder’s)
The Pumpkin Pie Cake was new this year (yum!) and although I usually make Apfelkuchen, the creamy version here was a different recipe (also, yum).
 |
| Getting dressed up is half the fun . |
 |
| October in Georgia is still barefoot weather. |
My girlfriend brought Cucumber Salad (a recipe similar to this one). She also made Peter and her boys cute little Alpine hats and edelweiss flowers for the girls’ hair (see photos). I believe she got the directions from the latest issue of Faith and Family magazine, and she said they were very, very easy.
If you were going to throw a party for 50 people (3:2 adult to kid ratio), I suggest one Sauerbraten and quadruple the potato salad (the recipe is for 3 potatoes, so 4x is about 4 pounds). If you had 100 people, double those, but do not double the red cabbage or you’ll have tons of leftovers. I usually do one brat per person and have leftovers which is totally fine by me. Hotdogs, I do one per kid plus another package. When my girls are older, I hope to make the rolls from scratch. For now, I buy hotdog buns.
Of course, you have to have good mustard. This is my favorite, but I can’t get it locally (the commissary at Fort Belvoir had it in the deli section, but they don’t have it here). Instead, I had some of this and some of that.
And that’s my Oktoberfest party. My original thought (way back when) was to get other families in my circle of friends to select a theme and host a yearly party. If 4 of us spread them out, we could have a quarterly bash. Woulda been, coulda been great. And then we moved. That first Oktoberfest (dear New Jersey friends) remains the best Oktoberfest we ever had. We miss you guys.
On Camera
 |
| Why, yes, I would like a sippy cup while I pay bills and listen to Baroque classical music. |
 |
| Aw, she found my hiding spot. |
 |
| I’ve found the problem with your sink. |
 |
| It’s seriously clogged. |
 |
| Because the linen closet is a great backdrop for a picture. |
10 days later
Did I mention that Mary had a birthday?
 |
| The pink icing can’t hide the fact that this girl is a cutie pie. |
Happy Oktoberfest
8 AM
I have baked one cake and a second is in the oven. The first of two sauerbraten roasts is simmering on the stovetop. 74 bratwurst are boiled and ready to be grilled to perfection tomorrow evening. One more cake, three batches of potato salad and a very messy red cabbage dish left to prepare. Maybe cookies.
And cleaning and decorating.
And errands. Need propane. Need CO2 (right? everybody needs some CO2 for an Oktoberfest). I ran out of cinnamon, so I’ve been using apple pie spice instead. Need cinnamon. Need whipped topping.
Somebody needs to do a Latin test. Two somebodies need to finish up some history work (one essay needs to be typed and one short answer questions need to be revised).
Somebody else needs coffee and a shower.
Have a great weekend. I hope to get some recipes up by Monday. Want to taste the Pumpkin Pie Cake first to see how it is. It smells delightful.
A Christmas Tradition
When I was a young child and lived in Ohio, I remember our Christmas celebrations including oplatki, the thin, communion wafer-like “Christmas bread” that is a tradition among Eastern European Catholics. My mother is Slovak and ethnic churches are plentiful in Ohio.
When I was an older child, we moved to Richmond, Virginia. The Catholic population was not as dense there, and the ethnic groups were not very diverse. Oplatki was not available locally, so the only times we had it were years we happened to be in Ohio for Thanksgiving or some other occasion in the late fall.
Of course, now we have the internet, and online stores like the Catholic Company will happily ship oplatki right to your doorstep.
I introduced the use of oplatki with my own family several years ago when I found it available online. The oplatki is shared on Christmas Eve. The children watch the sky for the “First Star” – the sign that the Christ Child is here. In my family, we then process with the infant Jesus statue and place him in our creche. We bless the creche, then we bless the Christmas tree and officially light it. Then we sit and eat because our food has been growing cool while we attended to ceremonies. At some point, I will remember and say, “Oh! The oplatki!” and I will scurry around trying to discover the “safe spot” where I put the envelope. Usually, I find it.
The oplatki wafers are handed out. My husband makes some sort of formal speech wishing everyone a happy Christmas and a blessed upcoming year. And then there is mild chaos as we all break off pieces to exchange with each other as we give out kisses, hugs and cheery greetings. I thoroughly enjoy our Christmas Eve festivities which are all about love and not at all about stuff.
It may seem early to be talking about Christmas, but oplatki is available for order now. If you would like to try this tradition (or revive it), then plan ahead. Be sure to put your wafers in a “safe spot” you can remember.
By Crook is Much Easier than by Hook
Military ballots may not count in Illinois
New Mexico, New York, Illinois…funny how it’s never states like Texas, Idaho or Alaska. It’s that red vs. blue thing. No doubt in my mind: if the military was known for being staunch Democrats, Nancy Pelosi would be getting on the first flight to Afghanistan to personally hand out absentee ballots.
As it is, ho hum, the military is disenfranchised, again. No big deal.
Science for the youngest of many
First-born preschooler: Mama, where did the sun go?
Mama: Actually, the sun didn’t go anywhere. The earth, our planet, is rotating on its axis. Every day it does one full revolution. When it faces the sun, it is daylight. When it faces away, it is night. See, here is a grape. Let’s pretend it’s the Earth. We’re here. Now let’s pretend the lamp is the sun. Watch how one side faces the sun and the other side is away from the sun…
*******
Second-born preschooler: Mommy, where did the sun go?
Mommy: Actually, the sun didn’t go anywhere. The earth, our planet, is spinning. During the day, we face the sun and during the night, we don’t. Here, let’s spin this ball. You see how sometimes this side has the light shining right on it….
*******
Third-born preschooler: Mom, where did the sun go?
Mom: Actually, our planet is spinning like a top. Sometimes we face the sun and sometimes we don’t. So it looks like the sun has gone away, but it’s really that we have spun away from it…
*******
Fourth-born preschooler: Mom, where did the sun go?
Mom: To sleep. Like you need to.
*******
Fifth-born preschooler: Ma, where did the sun go?
Ma: It went to the other side of the world so that they can have sunlight and we can get a good night’s sleep.
*******
Sixth-born preschooler: Mommy, where did the sun go?
Mommy: To China.
SBP: China?
Mommy: Yup.
SBP: Why to China?
Mommy: It’s their turn. We’re sharing.
SBP: Why we sharing?
Mommy: Well, it wouldn’t be nice if we kept the sun all the time, right? Now they get a chance to have some sunlight and we get a chance to go to bed.
(next morning)
SBP: Mommy, where’s the sun?
Mommy: Still in China. It’ll be here soon.
SBP: Oh. OK.
…to be continued, every day and night, for the next 3 or 4 months…
I think I’ll get that To-Go, please
Terror threat to restaurants as Al Qaeda calls for attacks on government workers in D.C.
The terror group tied to the Ft. Hood killings and the Christmas Day undies airbomber urge wannabe American jihadis to open fire on crowded restaurants in the nation’s capital to massacre U.S. government workers.
{snip}
“A random hit at a crowded restaurant in Washington, D.C., at lunch hour might end up knocking out a few government employees,” Yahya Ibrahim writes in the 74-page jihadi how-to magazine.
Jihad how-to. Hmm. Never heard of a Catholic how-to kill your neighbors publication.
I’m sure, though, that this religion is simply misunderstood. A few bad apples, that’s all. It’s really a peaceful religion. Flowers, hearts, doves…not scimitars and women covered head to toe with burlap.
So glad we don’t live in DC right now. So concerned over friends and former coworkers we have in the area.
Oh, and it just hit me…I’ll be in DC in 2 weeks to run a race. The ARMY Ten Miler. Yeah. Such a warm fuzzy feeling I’ve got right now.
Just lovely.
The only thing keeping me from panicking is my annoyance
63 invitations to my Oktoberfest were sent. It asked for a response by today. I have had 20 responses.
Pathetic.
Am I cooking for 50 people or 100 or 150? I have no idea. I could cook for the 50 people I know are coming. And I could run out of food as soon as the brats come off the grill. I could cook for 150 and have sauerbraten in my freezer until April.
What’s the deal? Did 43 people forget to respond? Are 43 people waiting to see if something better than free food and beer comes up in their social calendar? Are 43 people that rude or ignorant or apathetic?
Personally, I don’t care if someone chooses not to come. I don’t care if someone feels that hanging out watching HGTV all day long is a better deal than my little fest. I completely understand if someone just wants a break and doesn’t want to have one more social obligation crowding their weekend. Been there. That’s cool.
So tell me. Email me and say, no thank you. I don’t need to hear your excuse. I just want to know if I should make food for you or not.
And if you show up here without letting me know, I will notice. And I will remember.
Reit This Way 