"The Pot" a family heirloom

Dad & Mom with "The Pot" (on the right) dishing up German dinner circa 1970s

 
In my family, we love to cook and of course we love to EAT!  And when we are not cooking or eating, we are talking about cooking and eating!  Our memories are woven and intertwined with the many great meals we have enjoyed.  In fact, I can conjur up scores of Christmas Eve's past by saying 2 words, "German dinner".  German dinner starts with a trip to Schreiners www.schreinersfinesausages.com in Montrose and then it is lovingly crafted on Christmas Eve in a large beat up stock pot called, "The Pot" which my Grandpa Joe handed down to my Mom years ago.

 German Dinner

• 4 T olive oil, mixed use
• 1 - 2lb pork shoulder or farmer style pork ribs, bone in
• 2 large onions, peeled & sliced
• 2 C chicken broth
• 1/2 C dry vermouth or dry white wine
• 1 lg jar sauerkraut, drained & rinsed well
• 6 juniper berries
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 lbs sausages (variety of smoked sausage, Bratwurst, Bockwurst, etc.)
• 1 lg apple cored and sliced
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 6 medium potatoes peeled and quartered
  

Directions: Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large stock pot or Dutch oven.  Sear the pork on both sides and remove to platter.  Add onions to the pot with more oil if necessary and saute until onion is translucent, about 4 minutes.  Add seared pork, ham hock, sauerkraut, broth, vermouth and seasonings.  Simmer over a gentle boil for 2-3 hours.  About 45 minutes before serving add the uncooked sausages.  15 minutes later add the potatos, apple, garlic and smoked sausages.  Cook for another 30 minutes.  Serve "family style" on a large platter with rolls, rye bread and a variety of mustards.  
Note:  If your pot is not large enough to accomodate all the ingredients, the potatos can be cooked seperately.

Last year "The Pot" was entrusted to my care.  I don't know who owned it first but if that pot could talk,  it would tell you stories of a family with full hearts and full tummys.  "The Pot" wasn't just pulled out on Christmas Eve, in fact it was lugged to the park on weekends for our large, extended family brunches throughout the 1970s and I can clearly see it perched on the stovetop in my Grandparent's kitchen for countless birthdays and holidays.

  

Mom making Gumbo with "The Pot" 1981

        Bennett, Mom & "The Pot" making German Dinner 2010