Rouladen and Relatives

So, we have these special little greeters at our front door...Santa Clause that used to sing and dance and get his groove on at our entrance and two little ice skating children.  Now, please understand that when I found the ice skaters, the girls were about their size, and they thought then that the dolls were adorable.  In these times when I put them out this year, I believe the phrase I heard was, "those creepy little ice skating dolls".  I think they have been watching too many SciFi Channel movies.  Yet, when I said, "Okay, I will throw them away"....the response was, "NOOOO", don't throw them way!!".   I rest my case.  Tradition always wins!!

Santa and his little friends.

Well, our greeters happily welcomed our niece Heather and her husband Matt this weekend.  They live three minutes from us down the street and are the most adorable couple.  When we moved here a little over a year ago, they were our angels.  Met with realtors, scoped out houses for us and had the most beautiful house warming basket ready for us on our move-in day (complete with toilet paper, now that is true friendship).

Heather and our youngest at the Sun River Family Reunion 13 years ago - so precious!

Heather and Matt (photo bombed by Theo)

Heather and I discussed our family holiday dinner and she had the most incredible idea for a traditional German dinner.

If you’re German, you’ve probably heard of rouladen, a very traditional dish in German cooking. If you haven’t, rouladen (roo-la-din) is a pickle wrapped in a thin piece of steak and then wrapped in bacon. Sounds strange, but it is delicious!  Tonight though, we opted out of the bacon.

This family recipe is slightly different, and slightly easier to make than what you might find elsewhere. Rouladen is something a little different if you’re looking to make a traditional meal from another country.

Traditionally, rouladen is served with spätzle or dumplings and red cabbage. Spätzle is a type of homemade dumpling in Germany which my kids absolutely love, but you can just use regular store bought egg noodles or dumplings as a substitute.  I also served it with a side of sour cream and it made the sauce so creamy along with the dish.

Rouladen
Courtesy of Heather

1 (1 1/2-pound) piece of flatiron or sirloin steak, butterflied open (by you or your butcher), cut into 4   equal pieces and pounded 1/4-inch thin
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons country-style or Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons butter

1 large carrot, thinly shaved slices

2 dill picles, thinklly shaved slices

1 carton of beef broth/stock

3 juniper berries
4 slices of bacon, cut in half horizontally (optional)

1 large carrot, rough chopped
1 celery stalk,rough chopped

1 large yellow onions diced large pieces

Special equipment: toothpicks

Slice the beef about 1/4 inch thick across the large surface. This can be done with a slicing machine or by the butcher, or by hand with a very sharp knife. This works best when the meat is partially frozen. Lay beef out flat.

Spread each slice with mustard, fill one end with 1 - 2 carrot shavings and 2 slices of pickle. Roll up from the filled end (like a jelly roll) and secure with 2 toothpicks. (This is where you would wrap it in the half slice of bacon if you are so inclined).

Melt the butter and oil in a saucepan or Dutch oven and brown the outside of the roulade in it.  Meanwhile, dice the carrot, onion and celery.

Remove the roulades to a plate, add the "Suppengrün" or mirepoix and sauté for a few minutes, until soft. Place the beef rolls back on top of the vegetables, add enough of the beef broth, to make about 1/2 inch of liquid in the pan.  Add the juniper berries.  Cover, turn temperature low and simmer for 45 minutes.

Remove beef roulades and keep warm. Puree sauce and thicken (optional) with a little cream, sour cream or "Wondra" (like Sossenbinder") flour. Season to taste with more salt and pepper as needed. Place roulades back in sauce until serving time.