The "Gutes Essen: Good Eating in German-Russian Country" memories cookbook celebrates the food culture of the Germans from Russia who emigrated to south central North Dakota beginning in the 1880s.
The publication shares recipes and memories from kitchens of ten local women cooks who make strudels, sauerkraut, kartoffel-kurbis strumbus, fleischkeuchla, borscht, rahmnoodla, pickled beets, stirrum, knoephla soup and kuchen.
Memories shared include, "Queen of dessert - kuchen", "A German-Russian Love Story", "Garden Beauty", "Name's Days and Birthdays", "Aunt Alice's Aunt Katie's Potato Bread Recipe", "Host a cheese button party" and "A heaping cup of history".
Recipes include ten women from Emmons, Logan and McIntosh counties, south central North Dakota, featured in the television documentary, "Gutes Essen": Mary Ann (Werre) Lehr, Lehr, North Dakota - Strudels, Rhubarb-Strawberry Jam, Rhubarb Dessert; Violet (Eiseman) Diegel, Wishek, North Dakota - Knoephla Soup, Lettuce Soup, Stirrum, Gross Mutter's Pfeffernussen; DeAnn (Haak) Larson and her sisters, Carrie (Haak) Heidrich, Strasburg, North Dakota - Cheese Buttons; Carolyn (Kuhn) Sperle (at 101 years old), Napoleon, North Dakota - Borscht; Theresa (Meier) Eissinger, Napoleon, North Dakota - Fleischkuechla, Potato Soup, Pfeffernusen; Marion (Kramlich/Woehl) Schweigert, Lehr, North Dakota - Blagenda, Bean Soup; Donna (Maier) Eszlinger, Ashley, North Dakota - Potato-Pumpkin Stumbus; LaVerna (Dockter) Kasemen, Wishek, North Dakota - Pickled Beets; Marge (Burlack) Horner, Napoleon, North Dakota - Wedding Kuchen, Rahmnoodla; Sue (Kaseman) Balcom, Mandan, North Dakota - Grandma Meidinger's Kuchen Recipe, Potato Bread, White Bread, Date Cookies, Ammonia Cookies, Molasses Sugar Cookies.
Other recipes include: Hot Potato Salad, Pumpkin Blachenta, Pickled Eggs, Pickle Pig's Feet, Pickled Fish, Watermelon Pickles, Sauerkraut, Halupsy (Pigs in the Blanket), Pork Sausage, Summer Sausage, Rice Dressing, German Kuchen, Homemade Egg Noodles, Bread Dough, Wedding Whiskey (Red Eye ), Anise Cookies, Sally Ann Cookies, German Lutheran Coffee, Honey Cookies, and others.
Comments about the cookbook:
“Gutes Essen: Good Eating in German-Russian Country” is a great reminder of the time I spend in my mother’s kitchen. For me, this was a long time ago, but I will never forget the wonderful food that came out of that kitchen. This cookbook now contains and preserves the ‘old’ recipes for future generations. I also enjoyed seeing photos of the old favorities along with copies of the original hand-written recipe cards. Gutes Essen will have a special place in my collection of cookbooks and I will enjoy sharing it will my family.”
--- Virgina (Hieb) Wanzek (90), Hopkins, Minnesota, native of Denhoff, North Dakota.
“I must write to mention that the “Gutes Essen” cookbook is very well composed. Not only the recipes, but the side articles about the people, and the pictures of handwritten recipes make it a sociologists’ book as well as a cookbook. Thank you to everyone who produced the cookbook.”
--- Loretta (Schantz) Bebeau, Minneapolis, Minnesota, native of Richardton, North Dakota.
