Raclette at home is fun!

We got a Raclette machine from someone who was moving from Germany back to the US, but didn’t take the time to research how it works. I’m going to have LOTS of Raclette this year, after enjoying a wonderful dinner with German friends at their home!

It was really fun- for those of you who are familiar with fondue, instead of a big pot of melted cheese, everyone gets their own mini frying pan, and you decide what you want to put in it.

My friend had about 10 bowls of stuff to choose from, plus 4 different kinds of cheese. You put your meats or veggies in the pan and then a slice of cheese- she had only European cheeses that were really good :).

Then your mini frying pan goes into the machine, which is basically a plugged in broiler, and the cheese melts onto the other stuff in your mini pan.

One German accompaniment is boiled potatoes. You cut up a potato on your plate and then you slide the cooked meat/ veggies/ melted cheese from your mini frying pan onto the cooked hot potato. They also had a nice salad to add a cool and healthy taste.

The top of the Raclette machine was a grill, so we grilled some onions and mushrooms, but the other veggies were raw. I would probably sautee some of my vegetables in advance, such as peppers, but the hot dog/cured sausage pieces and sliced ham were fine cold (to start). Everything was ooey-gooey-hot after coming out of the raclette!

Some people enjoy cheese and fruit, so you can also melt some over sliced pears, apples, etc. We didn’t melt any chocolate over the fruit slices, but that could be a yummy option as well!

When I get back to the US, I’m going to look for a Raclette machine. In addition to tasting delicious, the dinner table felt like even more of a community as we built our individual meals together. You are waiting a few minutes for your cheese to melt, so there is more built-in conversation time.

Nuremberg Museum with Historic Musical Instruments

This post was going to be about the December markets in Nuremberg, but I much preferred roving the museum with row upon row of instruments! When we move away from Europe, I’ll list my favorite markets… as of this writing, Nuremberg is fine/nice, but I’m soooo glad to have found a fantastic museum there that day.

A return to Nuremberg is necessary for the somber museums. This day trip allowed me to zoom through the Germanisches Nationalsmuseum in 1.5 hours (after zooming through the markets), but you could easily spend 3 hours in the museum. It houses middle age history and architecture, conventional art, and a marvelous selection of painted items such as closets, household items (pottery, etc.), and a section of clothing through the centuries.

The entire museum is built around a Chapel (not the Cathedral pictured above!), complete with statues and a separate section of religious artwork. There was a small but amazing display of early scientific instruments such as sundials and portable navigation tools.

Check out this double piano (above)! How about a crystal flute (photo below)? Plenty of stringed and wind instruments, along with ancient and unusual ones: walking sticks with flutes and even strings! The cakes in the museum café looked nice, but there wasn’t time!

Instead, I stopped in at the Kaufhof department store nearby after the museum closed and had a stupendous piece of apple cake full of fresh apples in the top floor cafeteria. The outdoor markets provide all the usual suspects of food plus some local specialties (sausages and gingerbread, neither of which I had), falafel vendors and crepe stands, both of which I sampled!

Although the weather wasn’t super cold, it was rainy, so I will seek to balance my outdoor time at markets in the future with an interesting museum. Most if not all museums in Europe have lockers where patrons are required to leave backpacks and coats, which is a relief after wandering around markets in the cold/rain.

Advent Markets in general

Most seasonal markets in Germany have similar items available, while others have unique things to draw the crowds. The Stuttgart market follows the schedule of most, opening up near US Thanksgiving because that is often close to the first Sunday in Advent. That means it’s not always the same weekend- could be end of November or early December, depending on the year. When we were in Dresden over Thanksgiving weekend, that was the opening of their market. 

Most markets wrap up immediately before Christmas, with just a few open the week before New Year’s Eve. Speyer is one of the only ones I’m aware of that is open the last week of December. Just about every market sells some form of lanterns and seasonal illumination. The first year, we got a white paper lantern on a base that can sit on a windowsill. Last year we got an orange star with a cord for hanging, since our new house had hooks over the living room window. This year it was time for something even more fun!

Now we are just going to have to figure out what to do with our stars in the US with a German plug power cord. I enjoyed the Stuttgart market this year with a friend from out of town, who couldn’t quite understand why I was looking for the brush vendor. You have not really been to a German market until you see a booth filled with hundreds of different kinds of brushes and brooms! Last year I couldn’t think of any brushes we needed, but of course two weeks later I started a list of brushes to get this year. You can get plastic brushes in any old store, but the range of specialty brushes at the market stand is unbelievable.

For example, I got a glass water bottle this fall, which has helped me to increase my water intake. The glass straw is super helpful, and I got the perfect cleaner at the market brush vendor. I didn’t care for the typical plastic sink brush for flower vases, and got good advice as well as a couple of choices from the brush sales person. Of course, I couldn’t find the list of brushes at home from last January, although I found it the week after the market closed. But I’m happy with my two new specialty brushes.

I didn’t take a photo of the cookie cutter vendor, or the jewelry booths, or the cute ceramic houses with candles inside. Then there’s all the food and beverages, ranging in quality from so so to outstanding! Best to bring cash, as few vendors take credit cards, even if you try to buy a few ceramic houses as gifts for others.

Chocolate Market in Tübingen! Go!!!!!

For those 99% of you who like chocolate, I cannot recommend the Tübingen Chocolate Market enough! Please note, this is not the same event as the Christmas market. If there is any chance you can go during a weekday before 3pm, you will have plenty of space to walk around the stalls and get to them without standing in line. From what I understand, evening and weekend hours are absolutely packed.

I learned a few new things at this market! The first discovery was liquid chocolate poured into an ice cream cone base and eaten with a spoon. For me, this was very rich, and I probably wouldn’t get it again, given everything else at the market, but I’m glad I tried it. It was not as thick as the “cocoa” at the Krakow (Poland) Christmas market, but it was like eating chocolate fudge sauce.Check out these chocolate tools! 

A few vendors scattered around the market sold savory items, such as personal pizzas baked right there, pulled pork sandwiches, and mole turkey tacos (with chocolate in the mole). I tried a personal pizza sans chocolate, which was very nice after a LOT of chocolate. I didn’t try the chocolate dipped marshmallow treats, but they looked great! I have never seen such a variety of flavor combinations, including fancy toppings such as tiny candied orange peels. 

Same as all the other markets, you pay a deposit on a mug for your warm beverage and either return it for a refund of the deposit or keep it to take home. There was a wonderful variety of cocoa flavors- I wish I had taken a photo of one of the signs listing a bunch of interesting choices, above and beyond the regular white cocoa, milk, and dark, etc. I tried a vegan cocoa, which is gentler on my digestive system, and it tasted wonderful. I am definitely a hot chocolate snob, so I’m thrilled that it was yummy. Almost all the stands gave out samples of chocolate pieces!

What do you get when you cross a brownie with a cookie? Why, a “brookie”, of course! Mmmmm, how about a peanut butter brookie? Yes, please! There were all kinds of Italian cookies and cannolis, hundreds of different kinds of chocolate bars, and beautifully wrapped gift boxes of chocolates. I got some “spoons” for future cocoa fixings, in a variety of flavors.