I grew up with my father, mother, and three brothers in Stockton, California. Stockton, in the sixties, (when I was growing up), was a city of about sixty thousand people. The city is located in central California, forty miles south of the capitol city of Sacramento, or, in the heart of the San Joaquin delta.

Since the California gold rush, the city of Stockton, which lies along the great San Joaquin River, has served as an inland port. Many tons of supplies have been exported and imported along the great river, to and from San Francisco.

Stockton also lies in the middle of some of the richest farm land in the world. The vast industrial growth of the state to include mining, logging, railroads, shipping and production, have, over the years promulgated the immigration of a great many different people. There was of course, already a population of Native Americans. There later came Germans, Mexicans, Irish, Chinese, African Americans, Japanese, Portuguese, Italians, and Filipinos.

My mother’s family, although they were German, came from Russia and my Father’s family originated from Southern Germany. As I recall growing up in Stockton, the diverse array of food available was amazing! There were restaurants that served every type of food from Portuguese to Chinese. There were also ethnic festivals, where traditional food was served. Some of my favorites were the Portuguese festival, Italian spaghetti feeds, Cinco De Meyo day, and of course…Oktoberfest!!

While my family was familiar with all of these ethnic, culinary possibilities, as well as the usual hamburgers and fried chicken, most of the food we ate was German. Most German food requires a lot of preparation, and my mother had four boys to draft as kitchen help. We learned at an early age to peel and chop, and since my mother canned or pickled almost everything, my brothers and I, particularly myself, as I was the oldest, became very adept at food preparation.

I eventually married a young woman of Hawaiian and Filipino decent. The combinations of food preparation which she was used to, was obviously different than mine. In fact, as I remember, when we first met, she asked me if I would like a hot dog. I said yes, and was presented with a plate containing a hot dog and a side of steamed rice.

The concept of a pile of rice with every meal was new to me because in my family, we ate only variations of potatoes. On the other hand, my new wife I discovered, had never eaten a baked potato. She was a very good cook within the style of cooking that she was accustomed to. I, on the other hand could hold my own with most any amateur German style cook.

After thirty years, though my wife’s culinary skill (in most areas) exceeds my own, I have developed a large variety of my own recipes. Many of my German style recipes are variations of those that my mother or grandmother used. I also have a line of favorites that I learned from my wife and her family, and of course a good deal of “in between“ recipes. Having served twenty three years in the U.S. Marine Corps, I have also had the opportunity to sample, (and to try and re-create) many interesting dishes from far away places.

I thought that I would like to present a few of the recipes that I have used most often over the years. These are easy to prepare, and good “manfood.” Everyone else will like them too!

1) Pork roast and Sour Kraut: Good, hearty supper. 2) Bratwurst and Potatoes: quick, hearty lunch or supper. 3) My “famous” baked beans. 4) My “Manhattan Style“ Clam Chowder: great for football Sundays. 5) Pork and Peas: Filipino party food, (there may be a formal name for this dish, although I am not aware of one). 6) German Red Cabbage: good side for a sandwich, or Weis wurst. 7) Plagenta Tarts: a favorite of mine since I was a little boy, (my Grandmother Karline Schmierer’s recipe).

Pork Roast and Sour Kraut

Ingredients

• One Pork roast, approximately four pounds
• One package dry onion soup mix (one could mix onion powder, garlic powder, spices, etc., instead of using the “mix,” but the soup mix tastes the same and saves time).
• Twelve oz. of sour kraut. I prefer refrigerated sour kraut, but any will do.
• One large apple
• Five-seven whole pepper corns
• Four-five whole cloves
• Two bay leaves
• One tablespoon brown sugar

Method

1. In a large, covered saucepan, brown the roast, (roast must be thawed if frozen). When roast is completely browned, cover with water and add dry soup mix. When water comes to a boil, turn down the heat, and let roast simmer, covered, until it is tender enough to cut with a fork, (about two hours).
2. When roast has been simmering for an hour and fifteen minutes, prepare kraut. Drain liquid and put kraut into a kettle. Peel and [finely] chop apple and add to kraut, along with pepper corns, cloves, bay leaves and brown sugar. Add one cup of the juice from the simmering roast, and let the sour kraut simmer for about forty five minutes. Check the level of liquid in the kraut periodically, as it may be necessary to add a bit more juice from the roast, if the liquid tends to cook away. Save the remaining juice from the roast to make gravy.
3. When the roast is done, (tender enough to cut with a fork), drain the juice through a strainer into another saucepan. In a coffee cup of water, mix flour until the mixture begins to thicken. Put the saucepan of meat juice over medium heat and add one cup of water, and one cube of beef bullion. When mixture starts to boil, turn heat down just a bit, and slowly, stir in water and flour mixture until gravy thickens.
4. Serve with any green vegetable, (I like green peas). My favorite desert with this, is strudel and ice cream.

Bratwurst and Potatoes

Ingredients

Six bratwurst, or, two wurst for every person that you are planning to serve. It is always a good idea to ask your butcher if he has his own recipe for bratwurst…you might be surprised.

• Four large potatoes
• Four large carrots
• Five pepper corns
• Four whole cloves
• Two bay leaves

Method

Skin potatoes and carrots and cut into chunks about the size of an ice cube. In a large, covered saucepan, brown the wurst. When sausage is browned, cover with water, and add the vegetables, pepper corns, cloves and bay leaves. Cover, and let simmer until sausage is done, (inside should not be pink). Salt and pepper to taste.

Goes well with sour kraut or red cabbage

Joe’s “famous” Baked Beans

Ingredients

• One package, (sixteen oz,) of small white beans
• Two smoked pork hocks
• One large onion, chopped fine
• One and one half cup water
• Two eight oz. cans of tomato sauce
• Three quarter cup of ground chili powder
• Three tablespoons of dry mustard
• Three tablespoons of ground black pepper
• Three tablespoons of salt
• One and one half cup of molasses
• One quarter cup of cayenne pepper sauce, (I prefer Crystal)

Method

1. Empty package of beans into a large, covered baking pot. Wash thoroughly. Drain water, and cover with fresh water. Let beans soak overnight, or at least two hours. When it is time to prepare beans, set pot on stove and bring to a boil. As soon as the beans begin to boil, reduce heat and add two tablespoons of baking soda. A thick green foam will rise. Blow at the foam and it will subside, or just remove pot from stove for a few seconds and then return to the heat. Within I a few minutes, the simmer will become consistent. Let beans simmer for a half hour.
2. After the beans have simmered for a half an hour, remove from heat, drain and wash beans. Keeping beans in the same baking pot, add one and a half cups water, tomato sauce, chopped onion, pork hoks, and all remaining ingredients.
3. Put the lid on the pot, and place into a pre-heated oven at five hundred degrees. Bake at five hundred degrees for thirty minutes, then reduce heat to about two hundred, fifty degrees and bake for at least eight hours. I usually put these beans in the oven about nine or ten in the evening, and by about seven o’clock in the morning, they are perfect!!
4. My favorite way to serve these beans is with a ham, and they always make great leftovers.

My “Manhattan Style” Clam Chowder

Ingredients

• Four strips of bacon, diced
• One large onion, chopped fine
• Two twenty seven oz. cans of diced tomatoes
• Four seven oz. cans of chopped clams, (or diced, if preferred)
• Four large potatoes, peeled and cut into ice cube size squares
• Four large carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
• Two celery stalks, diced
• Three tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• One quarter cup of cayenne pepper sauce
• Two tablespoons “Lowry’s” season salt
• Two tablespoons ground black pepper
• In a large pot, cook bacon bits until crispy.

Method

1. Do not drain the grease, but add the chopped onion, (the onion will absorb the grease), and cook until transparent. When onion pieces are soft, add tomatoes with their liquid. Open the four cans of clams and add the liquid. Save the clams for later.
2. Add the potatoes and carrots and simmer for about fifteen minutes. When potatoes and carrots are beginning to become soft, add the remaining ingredients, except the clams. Simmer until all vegetables are soft and turn off the heat. Add the clams, let the soup set for about ten minutes and serve.
3. Goes great with crackers and cold vegetables.

Filipino Pork and Peas

Ingredients

• For-five pork chops, or a small pork roast, or three or four country pork ribs…any pork that you don’t mind cutting up.
• One medium onion
• One twelve oz. can of tomato sauce
• One fresh ginger root
• Two twelve oz. cans of green peas
• One tablespoon of salt
• Two bay leaves

Method

1. Trim fat from meat and cut meat into small chunks. Dice the onion. In a large saucepan, add one fourth cup olive oil and sauté meat and onion until meat is brown. Add tomato sauce and one can of water. Also add salt and bay leaves. Skin ginger root, add approximately two tablespoons of grated root to mixture. Sprinkle with black pepper, cover and simmer at low heat until meat is tender. When meat is tender, add the two cans of peas along with the liquid. Simmer for another five minutes.
2. Taste the stew, and add more salt or pepper if desired. Serve over steamed white rice.
3. If not familiar with cooking rice, and you do not own a rice cooker, her is an easy method: Empty one cup of white rice into a kettle with a cover. Wash the rice and drain. Continue this process until the water in the kettle is clear. Add water to the rice until the water level reaches the first digit of your middle finger as your finger touches the top of the rice. Cover and simmer at medium heat until the rice is soft…about twenty to thirty minutes.

German Red Cabbage

Ingredients

• Six-eight slices of bacon
• One large onion, chopped
• One half cup of red wine vinegar
• One half cup water
• One half cup sugar
• One head red cabbage grated or chopped

Method

1. Chop bacon and sauté until bacon is crisp. Add remaining ingredients and steam until cabbage is tender. Stir one more time and serve. This also goes well with German dishes such as Roulade and Sauerbraten.
2. All of the above recipes go well with home made beer. Although this is a whole topic unto itself, utilizing the modern kits available at your local home brew shop, and with a small investment for re-usable equipment, anyone can turn out an impressive home brew to accompany a great dinner. It is a lot of fun too!

Plagenta Tarts

Pastry Dough

Sift two and one half cups of flour into a bowl with one half teaspoon salt and two teaspoons of baking powder. Cut in three quarter cup of shortening, as you would for pie dough. Add one beaten egg, one half cup of milk and one teaspoon of vanilla. Mix well, and divide into four balls. With a rolling pin, roll each ball into about a twelve inch square.

Cut each big square into six inch squares. Place about one third cup of cooked filling onto each square. Brush corners of dough squares with caned milk or cream. Bring opposite points of pastry over filling, overlap and seal. Brush top of tart with cream and sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake at 350degrees for thirty to thirty five minutes. Makes about sixteen tarts.

Filling

Combine five cups of mashed, (well drained), peeled and cooked banana or butter squash, with one third cup butter, one half teaspoon salt, two tablespoons of chopped onion, one quarter teaspoon of black pepper, one cup, plus two tablespoons sugar and one teaspoon ground cardomon. Cook mixture for approximately twenty minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cool before using in the pastry.