German-Style Pigs in a Blanket: Würstchen im Schlafrock

There are variations to recipes for "Pigs in a Blanket," depending upon country, but the general idea is to wrap some type of sausage with dough and then bake it. In the United States, many people, and probably most people, would think of hotdogs or cocktail sausages wrapped in a crescent roll (also known as "croissants") and baked. The Germans have a little more elaborate form, called "Würstchen im Schlafrock" (Sausages in the Robe, or also translated as, Dressing Gown), and they often use puff pastry for the wrapping, but with other ingredients, as I've shown below. I also found that instead of puff pastry, they sometimes just use bread that is rolled out, and I like it, since I don't have to run to the store for puff pastry. Mustard is a common accompaniment to sausages in German regions in Europe, but sausages with curry seasoning, called "Currywurst," which started with sausages topped with ketchup and sprinkled with curry powder, has become VERY popular in many German areas over the decades, and commercially produced ketchup with curry seasoning came to be produced,* and this "curry ketchup" is another condiment you can serve with these sausages, as well as just regular ketchup. "Schlafrock," literally "sleeping jacket," is a bit of an antiquated word nowadays in German, as both "Morgenmantel" (literally "morning cloak, coat, wrap") or "Bademantel" (literally "bathing cloak, coat, wrap") are more common, and they all simply mean, "robe."   

Good appetizer, snack or as part of a lunch.

Ingredients:

Frankfurters
pickles, sliced lengthwise
Gouda (or Muenster, Brick or Havarti)
mustard (German or Dijon mustard are more authentic, but if you only have yellow, go for it!)
white bread slices or puff pastry

Heat your oven to 400 F. Use a baking sheet (for easy clean up, cover it with foil or parchment paper). Trim the crusts off of the bread, then use a rolling pin to roll out the bread slightly, as you won't be able to get the bread off of your counter... ah, at least that's what I've heard, but the bread will become sort of like "dough." Spread a thin coating of mustard all over the bread "dough," add a hotdog or a bratwurst (not the fresh type that need to be totally cooked), add a thin lengthwise slice of pickle (or two) and sprinkle a little chopped cheese over the top of it all. Wrap the ingredients up in the bread "dough," and it might take two slices of bread to do so, but leave the ends open, not sealed (I use two bread slices to wrap the hotdogs and ingredients, then I press on these slices to secure them once I have them wrapped around. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.  

Serve with ketchup and french fries.


* For my article about "Currywurst," here is the link:  https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2016/12/currywurst-german-style-curry-sausage.html 

WORD HISTORY:
Mantle-The ultimate origin of this word is uncertain, although to me it is possibly a compound, with the first part going back to Indo European "man," which meant "hand." This gave Latin "manus," with the same meaning, and with a number of derived Latin words, including some with the more figurative meaning of "to hand over to, to put into someone's hand(s) for protection;" thus, "security;" thus also, "to give protection." The second part is possibly "tela," another word of uncertain origin and meaning, although there seem to be connections of "tela" with a "loom" and "weaving," and with a woven product; thus, "cloth." Together, regardless of the previous history, Latin had "mantellus," a diminutive form, which was a "short cloak" (a woven cloth providing protection and covering) and "mantellum," meaning, "cloak." Old English borrowed a form from one or both Latin forms as "mentel," and meaning, "an outer garment with no sleeves and with a loose fit." The geological meaning of "a layer below the immediate surface of the Earth" didn't come about until the 1940s! The meaning, "the shelf or ledge over a fireplace" was also added. The spelling may well have been influenced by French, originally "mantel," or perhaps Low German or Dutch, both also "mantel." The verb form developed from the noun in the 1200s as "mantelen" ("to cover with a mantle," then later "to protect or hide by covering"). Other Germanic languages borrowed the word from Latin, and German and Low German have "Mantel" ("coat, overcoat," also at times, "covering, casing"), Dutch has "mantel" ("cloak, coat"), West Frisian has "mantel" ("cloak"), Swedish "mantel" ("jacket, cloak").           

Frankfurters with Cheese & Bacon: Berner Würstel

This is a food item to have for a snack on its own, or as the centerpiece for lunch or even for dinner. While pretty common in Austria and parts of southern Germany (Bavaria), these are likely not unknown in Liechtenstein and parts of Switzerland, although they actually come from the Salzburg area of Austria. Understand, the "Berner" part of the name has nothing to do with the Swiss city of Bern, but rather it is the family name of the man credited with the recipe.      

Often served with mustard on the side, some people use ketchup or seasoned tomato sauce, and others are a bit more elaborate by serving chopped onions or freshly grated horseradish alongside, as well as accompaniments like potato salad, fried potatoes and/or some type of garden salad. In the U.S., what we call "Swiss Cheese" is based upon Swiss Emmentaler cheese, which indeed originated in Switzerland, but which is also produced by U.S. cheese companies with their own recipes. Emmentaler is also produced in Germany, specifically in Bavaria, and in France, where it is termed Emmental, and in some other countries too. Gouda originated in the Netherlands, but it too is imitated elsewhere.   

Ingredients (for each Frankfurter, see photo below):

1 Frankfurter
1 or 2 strips of Swiss Cheese (Emmentaler) or Gouda, cut from a slice
1 or 2 thin slices smoked bacon
small amount of oil for frying

Cut the frankfurter lengthwise from one end to the other, but do NOT cut completely through the sausage (although some do just that, and I've made them both ways; the bacon will bind around the Frankfurter either way). Put the cheese into the cut part of the frankfurter then press lightly to close. Wrap the bacon around the frankfurter to completely enclose the frankfurter. These are sometimes grilled, but I put just a few drops of oil into a skillet over medium heat and I fry the bacon-wrapped frankfurters on all sides until browned. The oil will help to prevent sticking as the frankfurter(s) begin to cook and the fat from the bacon will gradually be rendered to help even more.

For one Berner Würstel: a Frankfurter, strips of Swiss cheese or Gouda and 1 or 2 slices of bacon (thinly sliced)

2 Berner Würstel with some fried potatoes, chopped onion and tomato slices

WORD HISTORY:
Cripple-This word is related to "creep," a word from the Germanic roots of English. It goes back to Indo European "grewb/greub," which meant, "to turn, twist, to wind." This gave Old Germanic "krupilaz," meaning, "one who is bent and walks haltingly." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "crypel" meaning "a cripple," but also used adjectivally and meaning, "crippled." This then became "crepel," then "cripel," before the modern form. The noun form is considered by some to be offensive and, while it is still around, it has largely been replaced by "disabled person" and "handicapped person" (this is also largely true of the adjective, but mainly when applied to people, and of course "lame" is still used at times). The verb form developed from the noun/adjective in the 1200s and meant, "to walk haltingly," a meaning now seldom, if ever, used as a verb. In the 1300s came the further meaning "to make someone or something lame or otherwise handicapped," with the figurative use expanding further to "hinder someone or something"^ (example: "The heavy rains are crippling our effort to have a backyard barbecue"), and these are the meanings still today. Relatives in the other Germanic languages (I'm giving noun forms, unless noted): German has "Krüppel" (the exact history of the standard German form is unclear to me, but the word seems to have been at least influenced by Low German), Low German has "Kröpel," West Frisian "krepel" (?), Dutch "kreupel" (this is an adjective) and "kreupele" (noun), Danish "krøbling" (?), Norwegian "krøpling," Swedish "krympling," Icelandic "krymppill" (I'm uncertain of this, but Old Norse had the same/similar, and Icelandic is still remarkably close to its ancestor).  

^ "Hinder" is a good word to use in the meaning, and the tie can be easily seen with "hinder," as in German, a "Behinderung" is "a disability, a handicap," although it can also mean, "a hindrance, an obstruction."

Frankfurt Lentil Soup (Linsensuppe)

This soup from Frankfurt, Germany, is served with, believe it or not, Frankfurters! True Frankfurters (Frankfurter Würstchen) are pork sausages in sheep intestine casing. When the casings are stuffed with the pork and seasoning mixture, they are twisted together; and thus, they are sold in pairs. When cooking them separately, they are meant to be heated in hot, but not boiling, water for about eight minutes, otherwise the skin will burst; a definite "no, no," to Hessians.* In Germany, by German law, the sausages must be produced in the immediate Frankfurt area; otherwise, they cannot legally be called "Frankfurter Würstchen." **

Ingredients:

1 pound lentils
48 ounces beef stock 
1 leek stalk, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, diced
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/2 pound bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces (or can be diced, if slab bacon)
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 to 2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Frankfurters/Franks, with natural casing, cut into one inch pieces
parsley to garnish each bowl of soup

In a a pot/pan large enough for your soup, over medium heat, add the bacon, onion, celery and carrot. Cook for a few minutes, until the vegetables soften a bit, and a little browning is a good thing. Meanwhile rinse the lentils by first pouring water over them and swishing them around. Discard any lentils that float.*** Then rinse again in a large sieve over running water. (If your package says to soak the lentils first, or to parboil them, follow those instructions, but generally they don't require such.) Add the beef stock to the vegetables, then add the sliced leek and diced potatoes. Bring the soup to a boil, then turn down the heat to let the soup just lightly bubble. Stir in the pepper. Check the lentils, carrot and potato to be sure they are about done, but you don't want them mushy. If the soup is too thick, you can add "up to" a cup of water, without diluting the great broth. Turn down the heat to very low, so that the soup is at just a bare simmer, and add the Frankfurter pieces, stir. Let cook about 10 minutes more. Sprinkle a little parsley on top of each serving.

* Nothing "worst," than a burst Wurst! (In Hessian dialect, "Wurst" is spelled "Worscht," along with the variation in pronunciation. The soup itself is called "Linsensuppe" in standard German, but "Linsesupp," by Hessians.)

** While I did not check on this, I "assume" Germany has agreements with other members of the European Union that also protects the use of the name "Frankfurter Würstchen," just as other countries have product names they want protected.

*** I'm not sure if its really necessary to discard the "floaters," but that's what my mother and grandmother did.

WORD HISTORY:
Twist-This word, related to "two, twine and twin," goes back to Indo European "dwoh/dwah/duwo," which meant "two." This gave Old Germanic "twiss," meaning, "divide into parts." ^ This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "twist," a form which was most often used in compounds and used most prominently in "mæsttwist," literally, "mast rope;" that is, "rope support for the mast of a ship" (rope then often being two strands wound together), and "candeltwist," a forked device with inverted hollows to "snuff out candles" ("forked" is the key here; that is, two divided parts), and also "twist," meaning "the fork of a tree branch." The spelling has remained for lo all of these centuries, but the meaning of "rope," or more particularly the way rope was made, by entwining, winding strands together, became the meaning. The verb came from the same source, which then gave Old English "twislan," meaning, "to divide into two parts, to make a fork of something." Of course, it too followed the noun in meaning later. Other forms in the Germanic languages: German "Zwist" (disunity, strife, both with the notion of "dividing"), ^^ Low German Saxon and Dutch "Twist" (disunity, strife), Swedish "tvist" (strife), Icelandic "tvistur" (two in number games/lots), Danish "tviste" (seemingly archaic, "dispute, strife"). I could not find forms in Norwegian or Frisian.   

^ Just PURELY a guess, but there could have been early forms of the word, likely verbs, in the Old Germanic dialects more direct in meaning to, "divide, separate into two parts," but these words did not last, although descendants did, more especially in one or more of the Low Germanic dialects, which "may" then have passed on the word to the other continental Germanic languages (more than likely one dialect passing it to the next, not all directly from one Low Germanic dialect), thus, the similar meanings (strife, disunity). The same would be true of English, where a descendant of the original word survived, mainly for use in compounds. Old Norse had a form, "tvistra," that stuck to the original meaning, "to separate, to divide," but that meaning is not present in its descendants, which seem to have borrowed forms of the word too, so the original Old Norse form seems to have died out. Gothic had forms, based on "twis," again with the meaning "split apart, break away."        

^^ German seems to have gotten the word from Low German, along with the meaning.