Hey, is this even the same restaurant serving as the one serving the meals uploaded here over the last few weeks?  Yes, of course it is;  it’s just that my ancient German roots pop up every so often, sometimes when I least expect it.

I think I’ve mentioned in the past that I’ve grown attached to the delicious plenty offered by the wonderful Amish folks of Millport Dairy in the Union Square Greenmarket.  On a recent visit and conversation with John Stoltzfoos at his stall, I brought back two beautiful smoked pork knuckles, weighing about 20 ounces each.  When I had spotted the Haxe on his table that day, I had immediately imagined them cooking, slowly, in a large pot of sauerkraut and aromatic vegetables.  Ideally this would be on a wintry January evening.

It should have been much colder than it was, but I couldn’t wait any longer, so tonight became the occasion for our modest Bavarian feast.  Aside from the tasting itself, this may have been the best moment:  It was about an hour into the slow cooking when I was able to share his pleasure when Barry walked into the aromas of the apartment after a ‘meetup’ earlier in the evening in Gowanus.

• two geräucherte Schweinshaxe (smoked pigs knuckles) from Millport Dairy, placed in a pot with about seven cups of drained and rinsed sauerkraut (here a mixture of Bubbies, and Schorr’s Pickles  brands), chopped onion from Hoeffner Farms, chopped carrot from Monkshood Nursery and Gardens , whole allspice berries and pepper corns,one large bay leaf, salt, and enough water to cover everything, brought to a boil and simmered for about one and a half hours before being divided onto plates
• German Butterball potatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm, boiled in heavily-salted water, drained, dried in the still-warm vintage Corning Pyrex Flameware blue-glass pot, (I love that entire beautiful old stove-to-icebox set!), halved, tossed with a little butter, and some parsley from Eataly, chopped
• the wine was a quite good, but very inexpensive Austrian white, Kremser Weinzierl Grüner Veltliner Trocken 2011 from Winzer Krems, in lower Austria