Oktoberfest is over in Germany, but several U.S. cities, including Nashville, are keeping the party going this weekend with beer, brats, Bavarian nuts, Black Forest Cake and some hardcore chicken dancing.
Beaks up! You know you love it.
I love it.
Oktoberfest was a big deal in my hometown. Everyone went to the big pavilion at the fairgrounds to eat schnitzel, drink beer and dance the Dance of People Who Don’t Care What They Look Like Because They’re Too Busy Laughing (aka polka). There were babies in lederhosen, log-sawing contests and so many soldiers.
Soldiers know how to party.
Anyway, if you can, get thee to an Oktoberfest this weekend! And if you can’t, try some of these mix-and-match options for an Oktoberfest dinner at home:
Bready Things:
- Beer Bread. Use whatever beer you have on hand, and get ready to tear this stuff apart in buttery hunks.
- Pretzel Bites with Country Ham and Cheddar
- Pretzel Rolls. Dinner rolls that taste like pretzels. So good with soup. And brats.
Main Courses:
- Grilled Beer Brats. Serve ’em sliced with spicy mustard, piled on a bed of sauerkraut, or nestled in hot dog buns or pretzel rolls.
- Roast Chicken. Hey, they serve it at Oktoberfest in Munich, so it totally counts. And it’s delicious.
Sides:
- Beer Cheese Soup
- Candied Walnut, Pear and Leafy Green Salad. It wouldn’t be Oktoberfest without candied nuts.
- German Potato Salad. Warm potatoes, bacon and chopped onions tossed with apple cider vinegar, whole grain mustard and green onions. Serve it as a side, or put a big fat scoop right on that brat, you rebel.
- Light Loaded Potato Soup
- A Jar of German Barrel Pickles or Jumbo Dills.
Desserts:
- Black Forest Cake. A total showstopper.
- Black Forest Pie. So, you don’t have time to make the showstopper. No problem. Make this chocolate pudding pie, and add a few spoonfuls of cherry pie filling on top. High-five!
- Easy Apple Turnovers. Apple strudel is the traditional dessert, but replace the dried cherries with raisins in this recipe, and you’ll have strudel flavor without the strudel PITA. Oompah!
- Riesling Ice with Berries
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