One Month of Yummy German Food

     This post is not exactly a recipe. Okay, it's not a recipe at all, but rather a collection of the best things I've eaten throughout my first month in Germany. German cuisine isn't exactly world-renowned, but I've always had a special place in my heart for it. After all, I named my blog after it. Besides the fact that it's delicious, I love it because it's associated with some of the best memories I have of travel, new friends, and a general adventurous spirit. It's the discovery of all these yummy things that I never knew existed before, yet now can't stand to live without. What was my life before I discovered German cheesecake and Milka chocolate and Käsespätzle? I don't even know anymore. And that's why I feel so compelled to share all my international favorites with you. Because you deserve to get to know and love these things too.

Let's start with Maultaschen:
Maultaschen are a Swabian (regional) specialty. They're like giant ravioli filled with all kings of goodness. I actually don't know what all is in the filling, but I know part of it is meat because Maultaschen were originally invented as a way for Catholics to conceal the fact that they were eating meat during Lent. This was my first real meal in Reutlingen. Served with salad and potatoes, with a glass of Apfelschorle, it was a perfect, authentic welcome.

And now the Berlin mega-platter :
When we were in Berlin for a class trip, our professor took us all out to dinner at a restaurant known for Berlin specialties. There, you can order the same sampler platter for however many people in your party. We had 10 people, so we got 2 of these massive plates. Once again, I don't even know what all of it was. I just know that it was terrific. The pièce de résistance was that beautiful pork shoulder in the middle. We ate probably six times the amount that we should have that night, but hey, no regrets. Man lebt nur einmal.

Now, the best Jägerschnitzel I've ever had in my life and probably ever will:

Jägerschnitzel, or Hunter's Schnitzel in English is like Wiener Schnitzel, but with with a rich mushroom and wine sauce on top. The sauce really takes it to the next level, and I don't just say that because of my unconditional love for wine sauces. There was just something about this particular one at this off-the-beaten-path restaurant in Cologne that set it apart from the rest.

And now for some sweet treats:

Milka is my favorite chocolate on the planet. Sure, Ritter Sport is more famous globally, and Swiss and Belgian chocolates are generally considered the top tier, but Milka is the chocolate of the people here. It's cheap, unpretentious, and still a thousand times better than a Hershey bar. I haven't eaten a Hershey bar in the three years since I converted to Milka and I never will again. Luckily for me, Milka is getting easier to find in the US. You can usually find it at Target if you look really hard. This butter cookie kind is my favorite so far:

And surprisingly, they have an oreo version even though oreos aren't popular here. It's almost as good as a Hershey's cookies & creme. Okay I lied before, I do still love Hershey's cookies & creme only.

 And the best for last, my beloved German cheesecake:
One day in Stuttgart we had lunch at the greatest place on Earth, Vapiano, and I could barely contain my excitement when I saw this cheesecake in the dessert case. So there I was, eating my favorite food in the world in my favorite place in the world (all on my university's dime, by the way) and thinking this is the life.

I was so excited, I couldn't wait to take the picture before digging in. Later that week, I get inspired to make my version of this, and even with limited ingredients, iffy metric conversions, and only a pyrex casserole dish instead of a springform, the result tasted just how it should.

    Those are my favorite meals and snacks so far. Maybe I'll make this a monthly series, because I'll always be that tourist who inappropriately pulls out a camera in a restaurant. But I feel compelled to do it because there's just so much left to discover and share.