Glühwein Recipe

George Hirsch December 21, 2024

Many German town centers have street markets during the Christmas season, with stalls selling cookies, arts and crafts, wooden toys, and other festive items. Almost every street corner seems to boast Bratwurst and Glühwein stalls. Light a roaring fire and pour yourself a small glass of warm, spicy red wine. Below is a basic recipe, but vendors in Germany will offer additional flavorings, such as elderberry cordial or a shot of dark rum. At home, spike it, too, if you choose.

Heat your Glühwein in a large saucepan on the stove or in a large jug in the microwave, but don't let it boil, or the alcohol will evaporate. If you want a less alcoholic drink, mix in apple juice or water.

Glühwein Recipe

Makes 6 servings

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle

1 bottle of full-bodied red wine

1 small lemon

6 orange slices

10 cloves

3 cinnamon sticks

4-6 Tablespoons sugar

3 ounces brandy

Preparation

Pour the wine into a large saucepan. Cut the lemon into quarters. Stick the cloves into the rind of one quarter. Slice the rest thinly. Add the lemon quarter and orange slices to the pan with the cinnamon and sugar. Heat slowly until hot, but do not allow to boil. Add brandy and serve in heatproof glasses or small cups. Place a metal teaspoon in the glass before adding the hot liquid to prevent the glass from breaking.

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Nougatkugeln

George Hirsch December 16, 2024

Aka the chocolate truffle, the bite-sized petit four is made from a creamy mixture of chocolate ganache, usually with butter and cream. However, this German version I've prepared below has less fat in the recipe but does not sacrifice the decadent chocolate flavor. As I've written prior, the quality of the truffle is primarily dependent on the quality of the chocolate you start with. I can't stress this enough.

Nougatkugeln

chefgeorgehirsch.com | Makes about 35 truffles

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

*2 Tablespoons espresso or strong brewed coffee, or as needed

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup hazelnuts or almonds, lightly toasted & ground

Optional filling: To make an all-chocolate truffle: substitute 1 cup semisweet chocolate, ground medium-fine, for the hazelnuts.

Optional flavoring: Reduce espresso by 1 Tablespoon and substitute with 1 Tablespoon of Frangelico (hazelnut flavor liquor), or Grand Marnier (orange flavor liquor). SEE DIRECTIONS BELOW

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid overheating. As the chocolate begins to melt, remove the bowl from the heat.

In a separate bowl, combine the confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder with a wire whisk. Mix in espresso, vanilla, and nuts. The mixture should be slightly thick; add additional espresso if the truffle mixture needs to be slightly smoother.

Cool mixture slightly, and with a small scoop or by hand, form small balls by shaping them into 1/2- to 3/4-inch diameter balls. Dip the balls into the melted chocolate.

Garniture: Place your coatings for the truffles on a plate and roll truffle balls in one of the following:

Toasted crushed nuts

Powdered sugar

Cocoa powder

Tempered chocolate striped over truffles

Coconut

Shaved chocolate

Chill until firm. Nougatkugeln is best when served at room temperature.

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There's a Sop in My Soup

George Hirsch December 12, 2024

Of course, there is - what would a French onion soup be without a toasted crouton, aka a sop? Sops are used for soaking up a warm liquid, broth, or wine, and was the term used in days of yore. I guess it was only natural that the word soup derived from sop.

The mixture of these five onions gives a nice character to the soup. But, no sweat if you have less than five. Use a sweet onion such as OSO, which I found this week at the market, and you'll have a tasty version. The so-called bar of success in making an onion soup is all the slow cooking and gradual 'caramelizing' of the onions. The onions' natural sweetness adds a rich, robust flavor and golden brown color, the prize in this soup.

*This easy to prepare hearty soup for a cool night makes for a wonderful dinner or rustic appetizer.*

CREAMY FIVE-ONION SOUP

Makes 6-8 servings

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 each sweet onions*, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

6 each Chipolini onions, chopped

1 each red onion, chopped

1 green onion, chopped

1 Tablespoon flour

1/2 cup tomato sauce

2 teaspoons dried thyme

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon Fresh ground black pepper to taste

1 cup white wine

1/2 cup potatoes, peeled and chopped

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups beef broth

Optional:

1/2 cup half and half

French bread croutons

Parmesan, Emmental, or Gruyere cheese

Preheat a large soup or saucepot to medium heat. Add olive oil, sweet onions, garlic, cipollini onions, red onion, and green onion. Cook for 10 minutes without stirring until the onions in the bottom of the pot begin to brown. Stir, and allow the onions to continue to brown further. Stir and allow onions to cook for an additional five minutes. The total cooking time of onions will be about 20 minutes or more.

Season with thyme, bay leaves, and pepper; add tomato sauce and flour, and stir. Add white wine and cook for 5 minutes or until dry. Add chicken broth, beef broth, and potatoes. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer, cover, and cook for about 30 minutes.

Remove bay leaves then, and puree one-half of the soup in a blender or food processor.

Return pureed soup back to soup pot. Bring soup back to a boil; reduce temperature to a simmer. Add optional half and half. Serve with a toasted French bread crouton, top with grated Parmesan, and melt Emmental or Gruyere cheese.

*Note on onions: Soup may be made with any type of sweet onions and garlic only. Or, you may add any onion family, such as leeks, chives, etc.

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Stollenschutzverband

George Hirsch November 30, 2024

Much like the Dutch Kerststol or the more familiar Italian Panettone during the holiday season, the German Stollen is a loaf-shaped dense sweet dough or bread-like cake containing dried fruit, covered with cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar, or fondant icing.

The German people take their stollen seriously. So much so that they have an official association of Stollen Bakers, so when shopping for your stollen loaf, be sure it dons the golden “Seal of Quality" on the package. Only products labeled with that seal are genuine Dresden Christmas Stollen. The Stollenschutzverband (Trade Protection Society Dresden Stollen) awards this quality seal as an authenticity certificate and guarantees that the respective Stollen has been made by hand in Greater Dresden and meets the high-quality demands of the Stollenschutzverband, like from Bäckerei & Konditorei Gnauck Bakery. I wouldn't want you eating an unofficial Stollen!

Traditionally, Dresden’s bakers and pastry chefs celebrate the so-called Stollen Festival every Saturday before the 2nd Advent in Dresden, Germany. This year it will be celebrated on Saturday, December 9th.

If you dare try, here's an authentic recipe, translated—note measurements in grams.

Dresden Stollen -recipe with one "Metze" (4 kg) flour for 6 four-pound-stollen

4000-gram wheaten flour

1600 gram butter

500-gram butter lard

600-gram preserving sugar

750 gram sweet almonds, pulverized

250-gram bitter almonds, pulverized

600-gram candied lemon peel

3000-gram seedless raisins

1000 gram milk

250-gram yeast

50-gram salt

100-gram lemon peel

10-gram Macis

300-gram rum

1 gram vanilla pod

Dresden Christmas Stollen (translated from native tongue, German)

The Dresden woman Lenelies Pause delivered in her monography about the "royal Children," a stollen recipe in his highly developed form. It demonstrated the high school of the art to bake Dresden stollen:

"There are a lot of tales. History tells they don't use milk; they better take the rich cream, 2 cans, full, directly from a farmer. It is the speech of a "Metze" (4 kilograms) dusty wheat flour. This "Metze" devours desirous 2 kilograms of the best butter, snatch 3-kilogram seedless raisins with themselves, and satisfies themselves with 1 kilogram of almonds. It desires a hand full with bitter glassy candied lemon peel planed orange peel, also takes a breath mace - rubbed soft over a piece of sugar with powerless hand -, demands a charge of the good old Arrak, and takes the sugar not in the modern crystallized form, but after the good old tradition as a hat which is packed in blue paper, and then also only martyred, sifted and on the lemon rubbed off. The Stollen is an unready child only mixed, formed, and baked. With 1000 gram melted hot butter, the stollen will be slowly and softly touched und steeped; sugar smells like vanilla, sinks up like snow clouds, till it is finally carried home with a sweet aroma, which marches through the whole city in the days before Christmas and all bakeries, which breaths out of all corridors."

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Best Chocolate Cake Ever

George Hirsch November 8, 2024

Simple solutions can give you the best results. Machines and gadgets are very important to many people, but I enjoy cooking when a simple whisk, spoon, or spatula does the job. This is the case with the Chocolate Torta recipe from my TV series George Hirsch Lifestyle episode, Old World Traditions. Enjoy.

Mix by hand and bake. Forty-five minutes later you’ll be savoring this Italian Pastry delight!

George_Hirsch_Chocolate_Torta titled.png

George's Chocolate Torta

Makes 12 servings

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

1-1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsweetened Dutch cocoa powder

1-1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 cup water

1/3 cup sweet butter, melted

1 egg, beaten

1 egg white, beaten into whole egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 325°. Lightly grease a 9-inch cake pan and line with baking parchment paper; set aside.

In a small bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine cocoa and granulated sugar until blended. With a wire whisk, beat in water, then melt butter, egg, egg white, and vanilla until smooth. Add flour mixture and beat until smooth. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. On a wire rack, cool for ten minutes in a pan. With a small spatula, loosen the cake from the sides of the pan. Remove to a wire rack and cool completely. Place on a plate and sprinkle with confectioner sugar and a dollop of fresh whipped cream. To serve, cut into small wedges.

Baking Tip:

This cake actually tastes better when baked and aged one day in advance. When making ahead, allow it to cool completely on a wire screen, then cover it tightly in an airproof container or place the baked chocolate torta back into the cake pan and wrap the top with film.