Tasteful Tuesday: Germany!

This week I found a delicious yet different meal from Germany followed by a yummy German dessert. Don't ask me how to pronounce the name...

Schweinsrouladen

6 boneless pork chops

2 tablespoons flour 1 onion, minced 4 slices bacon, diced 1/4 cup parsley, minced 1/2 cup raisins 1/2 cup pineapple, diced 4 tablespoons butter 1 cup beer

1. Cook onions and diced bacon until bacon is crispy.
2.  Pound pork chops until thin. While pounding, work in flour as well as salt and pepper.
3.  When bacon is crispy, add parsley, raisins, and pineapple. Remove from heat.
4.  Spoon bacon mixture onto pork chops, roll up the meat, and fasten with toothpicks or string.
5. Heat butter in a large frying pan with a lid. Brown the rolled pork chops on all sides in butter. Add beer (or chicken, pork, or beef stock) and simmer on low for 15 to 20 minutes.
6.  Serve hot.

Apple Cranberry Strudel

6 cups apples, peeled, sliced, tart (Northern Spy, Macintosh, Courtland or Granny Smith)
1/2 cup cranberries, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon lemon rind, grated
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon clove
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped
8 ounces phyllo pastry sheets, thawed (half of a box, found in the frozen desserts section of your grocery store)
2 cups butter, melted
1 cup breadcrumbs, plain, finely crushed 

1.  Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. In a large bowl, mix together apples, cranberries, lemon rind, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, flour and walnuts; set aside.
3. In a small saucepan, melt 1 1/2 cups butter. In a medium skillet, melt 1/2 cup butter. Stir and cook bread crumbs with butter until lightly browned. Remove from heat.
4. Place one phyllo leaf on a dry kitchen towel and brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with bread crumb mixture.
5. Place a second leaf on top of first phyllo leaf, brush with butter and sprinkle with crumb mixture. Repeat until five leaves have been used.
6. Mound approximately 1 cup of the filling in a 3-inch strip along the narrow end of the phyllo, leaving a 2-inch border. Do not mound too thick, as the filling will spill out the ends of the phyllo once rolled up.
7.  Lift towel, using it to roll leaves over apples in a jelly roll fashion.
8. Carefully place strudel on a large cookie sheet with raised sides, allowing space for five more strudels.
9. Brush top of strudel with butter and sprinkle with bread crumbs.
10.  Repeat entire procedure for remaining five strudels.
11.  Bake strudels for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned.
12. Allow to cool for at least two hours. Cut each strudel into halves or thirds and serve. 

In other cooking news I was in a cupcake contest with Josh's family this past Sunday and tied for second! I made Chocolate Mint Surprise Cupcakes. A vanilla cupcake with mint buttercream filling and dark chocolate ganache frosting topped with Andes mints!