It's All Baloney

One of the classics of the American lunch scene is bologna or baloney.It's graced many a sandwich and has been on many a picnic. This also fed many an office worker  and school kid too over the decades.

Baloney or bologna is as many cold cuts, from, no surprise - Bologna Italy. It's derived from mortadella, the delicately flavored larded and pistachio-studded sausage. America bologna or baloney does not have this, instead it is finely ground pork, although now it can be made from beef,  and even chicken and turkey. There are also soy and venison versions too. It's distinctive flavor comes from a melange of such spices as black pepper, nutmeg, coriander, allspice and myrtle berries.Most Americans are used to eating German bologna or fleischwurst which only has garlic in to season it.There is a polony type, eaten in Britain and South Africa, which is made with a mix of beef and pork. The cold cut is big in Central and eastern Europe too, where it is called pariser and made with either, poultry , beef or pork. Not surprisingly, there is also a halal version made with turkey, chicken or ham. Home chefs can also get a ring version of bologna. This is a smaller ring and usually used in making hors d'ouevres. Many Yanks had their first taste thanks to Oscar Mayer, the famed meat company started by Oscar and his brother Gottfried in the late 1880;s Now they even have a jalapeno (!) baloney for some interesting eating.

Many love a simple baloney sandwich. Nothing beats it, fresh cut, from Boarshead or packaged from Oscar Mayer on a Kaiser roll that's been slathered with a good mustard.It's good on white bread, such as Pepperidge's Farms; but even better on their pumpernickel and rye.Of course, there is fried bologna which many people love Try slicing it into strips and then add barbecue sauce for a take on pulled pork. Serve on Hawaiian rolls with a side of pickles or cole slaw. You could also try it the way great Cajun chef, Emeril  Lagasse , baked with Dijon mustard and brown sugar. This involves a six and a half pound bologna ( the ones you see hanging in a deli or butcher shop) and baking it for five hours ,plastered with the sugar and mustard.These give it a nice crust and makes for a tasty sandwich after, which is what Chef Lagasse recommends.Bologna can be made at home, using chuck roast or ground beef along with liquid smoke, garlic, and onion powder. everything is gorund together with ice water and then formed into a log.Afterwards, it's wrapped in plastic wrap and put into the fridge for twenty-four hours. The wrap is then removed and baked in a 300 degree Farenheit oven for  half an hour. The heat is then reducue to 250 and slow baked for an additioonal two and half more hours.


Baloney or bologna is the classic cold cut.It's delicious any way , from fried , baked or just cold from the container. Slap it on a favorite bread or roll.,  Add  a lick of mayo or mustard, then enjoy, it in a tasty sandwich.

A German Summer Picnic

German food plays an important part of the American cookout and picnic.Most of what is served has Teutonic origins and came over with the many German immigrants who made this country. The food is still great and even better are the summer foods you find now in the Swabian Alps , near the soothing forests and sparkling waters of Lake Constance.

Hot dogs or frankfurters originated in Frankfurt, Germany and have been around for seven hundred (!) years. The original was a pork sausage known as Frankfurter wurstchen and were given out to the townspeople during royal coronations.In the 19th century, Johann Georg Lahner brought them to Vienna where they took the city's name - wiener - and beef was added to the pork filling They came to the US in 1870 and were made - where else- Coney Island. T hey were first served with gloves to stop consumers from burning themselves. Because of this the hot dog bun was created at the St. Louis World Fair in 1893 by Antoioine Feuchtwanger, thanks to his wife's suggestion. Now they're a part of every barbecue and picnic, even coming in such diverse meats as turkey, chicken and even caribou. What goes with hot dogs? Another German classic - potato salad. There are many different versions of it. Southern Germans make it with vinegar, mustard and even beef or chicken broth .Northern Germans make it with mayonnaise and this is what was brought to America.Here it went through some tweaks such as the addition of bacon , capers and even chili powder.

What do modern day Germans eat during the summer? Potato salad but not what most people expect. First the potatoes are different. Waxy potatoes are preferred and they cooked and peeled while still hot, Then they're sliced and mixed with chopped onions.A warm mix of vinegar , beef or chicken broth and oil is then pour over the spuds. Chives or schnittlau along with sliced pickles or mustard is added. The salad is then allowed to rest for a few hours before serving.It can be served with a crusty bread as a main dish or as a side dish.Usually a summer dinner would be a wurstsalat, a tart sausage salad prepared with distilled white vinegar,oil and onions. Sliced gherkins are sometimes added for some sweetness.It's an easy to make salad. The sausage is cut thin as are the onions. Both are then marinaded in the vinaigrette before serving.. Some Swabians add sliced baloney along with parsley to mix it up or to add color, the red and white stadtwurst.Zweibelkuchen, or onion pie is another summer favorite, usually eaten in August and September. It's similar to quiche and is loaded with steamed onions along with crumbled bacon , cream and caraway seeds. It has a simple pie crust shell and an egg base.

Enjoy the summer German style. Have hot dogs  and potato salads or go fully Swabian wtih wurstsalat and zweibekuchen. It's a tasty way to enjoy the warm days and nights ahead.