blue artichoke

It's October, and though I missed Oktoberfest, I still have a hankerin' for some good German food. I found a very German-sounding dish, Baked Spareribs and Sauerkraut, in a cookbook, but it was attributed to the Pennsylvania Dutch. This shouldn't be too surprising, because the Pennsylvania Dutch aren't Dutch at all, but descendants of Germans who emigrated in the early 18th century. Their food is derived from traditional German dishes, but adapted to use ingredients available here. Following the recipe for spareribs was a Pennsylvania Dutch dessert: Orange-Lemon Funny Cake, which is funny indeed. It's a cake baked in a pie crust. In a pie crust! This I gotta try.

Baked Spareribs and Sauerkraut

The General Foods Kitchens Cookbook, by the Women of General Foods Kitchens, 1959.
We are but two, so I cut the recipe by 1/3 and still had leftovers. I started the ribs in the late afternoon, because they take so long to cook. I thought I was in trouble when I checked them after 30 minutes and they were already fully cooked. I added the sauerkraut and rest of ingredients at this point, thinking the ribs would be dry if I cooked them another 2 hours. But because GC and I weren't ready to eat dinner at 4:30pm, I took a chance and cooked them the full time, 2 hours more, and they weren't dry at all! The juice from the sauerkraut kept them moist. The apples kind of dried out, but nothing else suffered for being added an hour too soon. I also boiled some new potatoes, then tossed them in butter, salt and pepper, as a side dish.

9# spareribs
1 T. salt
1 t. pepper
4 cans (1#11 oz. Each) sauerkraut and juice, 3 ½ quarts
4 c. (~1 ½#) diced green apples
1 T. caraway seed
1 t. pepper
1 ½ c. diced onion, ~1#

Cut spareribs into 2- or 3-rib pieces. Place in a large roasting pan and sprinkle with s/p. Roast at 450 for ½ hour, turning ribs occasionally, until browned. Reduce heat to 350. Cook 1h, uncovered. Remove from oven; drain fat.

Add undrained sauerkraut and rest to the ribs. Cover and return to the oven. Continue roasting at 350 until ribs are tender and meat will slip easily from bones, ~1h, turning ribs occasionally. Add water, if necessary, during last of cooking.

Lift ribs from pan and place on one end of hot platter. Place sauerkraut on other end.

Serves 12.

Orange-Lemon Funny Cake

The General Foods Kitchens Cookbook, by the Women of General Foods Kitchens, 1959
Let's see... the orange I bought for this was stingy with the juice, so I had to top off with water. In hindsight, I should have added lemon juice, but it all turned out just fine. I added more zest to compensate for the lack of juice. I couldn't figure out how to pour the glaze mixture "gently" on top of batter; it made little wells and sunk to the bottom in places. I sprinkled both coconut and pecans on top. I cooked the funny cake in my toaster oven, because I was afraid that if I put it in the big oven with the ribs, it would taste like sauerkraut. That would be a funny cake indeed! This is really good, and interesting. The pie crust is tender and flaky; the cake batter sweet and spongy and the glaze is thick and gooey, and is just as good on the top of the cake batter as it is on the bottom. Sweet and citrusy with lots of funny textures.

½ c. orange juice
¾ c. sugar
2 T. butter
1 t. grated orange rind
Pastry for 1-crust pie
1 ¼ c. sifted cake flour
1 t. baking powder
½ t. salt
¾ c. water
¼ c. shortening, at room temp (or sub butter, but use 1 T. less milk)
2 t. grated lemon rind
½ c. milk
1 t. vanilla
1 egg, unbeaten
3 T. chopped nuts or flaked coconut for topping

Combine ¼ c. oj with sugar in a saucepan. Place over low heat. Cook and stir until mixture comes to a boil. Boil 1 minute. Add remaining ¼ c. oj, 2 T. butter and grated orange rind; mix well. Set aside to cool.

Roll pastry on lightly floured board to fit into 9” or 10” glass pie plate. Line plate with pastry, letting it extend 1” beyond the edge of the pie plate. Turn edge of pastry under and make a high fluted rim.

Measure sifted flour; add baking powder, salt and ¾ c. sugar. Place shortening in a mixing bowl. Sift in the dry ingredients. Add lemon rind, milk and vanilla; mix until moist. Beat 2 minutes, in mixer at low speed, or 300 vigorous strokes by hand. Add egg and beat 1 minute longer in mixer, or 150 strokes by hand.

Pour batter into pastry-lined pie plate. Pour lukewarm sauce gently over cake batter. When cake is baked, sauce will form a layer between cake and pie shell. Sprinkle with chopped nuts or coconut. Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes.

To serve: serve warm as a dessert for lunch or dinner. If desired, top with whipped cream or ice cream. Funny cake may also be served for breakfast as coffee cake.

1 cake serves 6.

Simple Pastry
I made this in my food processor. It's the first time I've made pastry in my food processor, and I added the liquid to the flour mixture in the processor. That didn't work so well. It clumped, the blade wouldn't turn and there was egg dripping down the side of the bowl. Lesson learned: Best to turn out the flour mixture to a bowl before adding the liquid. This dough was soft, but really easy to work with, and it baked up to a nice, flaky crust. This is now my go-to pastry crust recipe. It makes enough for 2 crusts, so I froze one to use later.

2 1/2 cups flour, plus more for work surface
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, chilled
1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening, chilled
1 egg
1 tablespoon white vinegar

In a food processor (or in a large bowl, using a pastry blender, 2 crossed knives, or your fingertips), combine the flour, salt, butter, and shortening until the mixture is crumbly and the size of peas. Break the egg into a measuring cup and beat lightly; add the vinegar and enough cold water to measure 1/2 cup. Slowly add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until a soft dough forms. Divide in half. Shape each half into a flat disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Tip: The vinegar makes the pie dough especially tender and workable, allowing you to wrap the disks of dough in resealable plastic bags and freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw partially before rolling them out.

Yield: Makes one 9-inch double-crust pie

Real Simple, SEPTEMBER 2005