{"id":5323,"date":"2015-09-13T19:12:40","date_gmt":"2015-09-13T19:12:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/?p=5323"},"modified":"2015-09-13T19:12:40","modified_gmt":"2015-09-13T19:12:40","slug":"bratwurst-potatoes-beets-cucumber-salad-beer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/?p=5323","title":{"rendered":"bratwurst; potatoes; beets; cucumber salad; beer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"bratwurst_potato_beet_cucumber\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I tweaked my German.<\/p>\n

Meaning the cookery. \u00a0I bought some frozen Vermont ‘beer brats’ on a whim while I was at the Greenmarket on Wednesday. \u00a0My enormous family is from Sheboygan and Calumet Counties in Wisconsin,\u00a0where ‘brats<\/a>‘ are an obsession, and the sausages played\u00a0a huge role in our enormous annual family reunions. \u00a0For perspective, note that\u00a0I have approximately 100 first cousins alone, and at the last reunion of my Mother’s Franconia-rooted family, when we signed in, each branch of the Woelfels was given a name tag with a different color code (I did say my family was German).<\/p>\n

I know brats. \u00a0And I know Bratw\u00fcrste<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I like German food, and I take enormous\u00a0pleasure in it on visits to central Europe, and occasionally at home<\/a>. \u00a0Most of the time the plates don’t stray far from tradition, if at all, but this time I found myself moving beyond it just a little. \u00a0The occasion was both necessity (the ingredients on hand and not on hand, the time available, and the summer heat of a\u00a0kitchen).<\/p>\n