I invited my best friends over for a German Fest on Sunday. I made a few menu items ahead of time, like this cucumber salad. When you make this ahead of time it gives the vinegar time to mellow out the onion.
This recipe comes from The Kitchn.
Ingredients for cucumber salad:2 washed, peeled, and sliced cucumbers (this was plenty for a group of 4)
1 small red onion, sliced
1/4 cup Sour cream
1 tablespoon Apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon brown mustardSugar
Salt & pepper
1/4 cup Fresh dill, chopped
All of these ingredients get combined in a bowl and then refrigerate. One tip is to set the sliced cucumbers in a colander in the sink and salt them. Let them sit for about an hour to release water. This will help prevent your dressing from getting too watery.
I also made this apple braid a day ahead. We served it with whipped cream, the fancy kind from a can!
The blog this recipe comes from has disappeared. It was from the year 2010.
Ingredients for an Apple Braid
1 box puff pasty. The box is usually in the frozen foods and comes with two puff pasty sheets.
2 tablespoons butter
3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced
4 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon group cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
Directions:
Remove puff pastry sheets form box and allow to thaw for almost an hour.
While they thaw, make the apple filling.
Peel and slice the Grany Smith apples.
Combine sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl.
Toss the apples in the sugar mixture.
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugared apples.
Cook for about 15 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated.
I have found there to be a lot of liquid, so I pour some of it down the drain.
Allow the apple filling to cool.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Lay pastry sheets side by side and press together forming one large sheet.
I highly recommend using a silpat under this pastry. I have tried parchment paper, etc before.
Spread the cooled apple mixture down the middle of the pastry.
Use a knife to cut outer border of pastry in diagonal strips. Fold them over the apple pastry, criss crossing if they are long enough. Lightly brush the pastry with an egg wash. Simply beat the egg and 1 tablespoon water together. I have a nice silicone brush for doing this. I find brushes with hairs tend to loose the hairs on your food.
Loosely cover the apple braid with plastic wrap and chill for 15 minutes.
Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, rotation the braid halfway through. The outside should be lightly browned.
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