Meal #1 - Germany - Fleischkuechla

First up on my world cuisine tour is Germany. I got lucky with this country as much of my family, and half of Katelin's family are of German ancestry.  For the recipe, I went with one of my wife's favorite childhood foods that just happens to be a Scherer family classic. The recipe itself isn't traditional German cuisine, but instead a German-from-Russia cultural dish. 

The recipe is so simple to prepare and it was delicious as well. Imagine a hamburger, but instead of a bun, cover it in fried dough. The only problem I had was that I managed to splash oil all over the burner getting one of the fleischkuechla out and completely smoked up the kitchen. Overall, a very tasty and successful start to the worldwide experience.

Recipe:

Dough:
 3C Flour
2 tsp. Salt
2 eggs
Equal amounts of cream and water (I used a total of 1 1/2 cups of liquid)

Combine eggs, salt and flour. Add water and cream mixture gradually until you have a smooth dough. Let rest covered in a warm place for 3-4 hours.

Meat Filling:
2 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, chopped fine
salt and pepper to taste


Mix hamburger, onion, salt and pepper well. Shape dough into egg size balls. Roll the dough balls into circles about the size of a dinner saucer. Spread meat mixture on half of the circle, fold the dough over and pinch edges together tightly. Fry in hot oil until nicely browned on each side. Eat with ketchup, dill pickles and potato chips.

Makes about 12 servings.