To celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, I decided to take part in a very special “Secret Cupid” event, otherwise known as #FoodBloggerLove. Right about now, I can see most of y’all scratching your heads and pondering on whether or not I have done gone and lost my ever-loving cotton-pickin’ mind yet again. Don’t worry, the whole “Secret Cupid” thing doesn’t involve me running around town shooting arrows at people willy-nilly or leaving heart-shaped cookies on complete strangers doorsteps. Although, I do have to admit that both of those things do sound like a whole lot of fun.
Being a “Secret Cupid” simply means that upon receiving the name of a chosen food recipe blogger, I was tasked with recreating a recipe from their own blog, creating a recipe using one of their favorite foods or ingredients, or developing a recipe utilizing their specific cooking or baking style, and that I had to keep it a big ol’ secret until today. If you remember back to last year, I took part in this same event when I shared my recipe for Lime Chicken Korma, inspired by Amy of Savory Moments. This year’s inspiration came from Amanda at Crafty Cooking Mama. Amanda is a food recipe blogger from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and enjoys experimenting with different ingredients, flavors, cuisines, and techniques. She also enjoys crafting, antiques, and junk picking.
The first thing I had to do, was to figure out which recipe I would share for this event. Thankfully that wasn’t too hard of a task. After seeing Amanda’s recipe for Spaetzle/Spätzle – German Noodles | Original & Gluten-Free, I knew that it was the clear winner. You see, like Amanda, I also grew up surrounded by many of the same Pennsylvania Dutch and German foods in Western Maryland. In fact, some of those foods are still my favorites to this day, like spaetzle. It’s pretty much one of those foods that I get all over giddy about when I see it on a menu and just have to order without even giving it a second thought.
Oddly enough, until this week, I had never actually attempted to make spaetzle for myself, even though I knew the steps involved in the process were really rather simple. Creating homemade spaetzle merely involves making a very quick dough and then squeezing that dough through a potato ricer or spaetzle maker into a big ol’ pot of boiling water. You then boil the gorgeously puffed noodles for a minute or two before draining them and eventually sautéing them in a little bit of butter. Buttered egg noodles y’all, does it get any better? I think not.
Thanks to Amanda’s recipe inspiration, B.O.B. Bob and I will be enjoying dill-infused spaetzle several days this week alongside some of our favorite German sausages. If you ask me, that’s a pretty great way to say Happy Valentine’s Day. Today, I’m asking all of y’all to please help me show Crafty Cooking Mama some #FoodBloggerLove. At the end of this post are her blog and social media links as well as a few listed recipes of hers that I think y’all might enjoy. There are also links to several other food recipe bloggers’ “Secret Cupid” posts. Please take a moment to check them all out and share some Valentine’s Day love. It’s a whole lot easier than dressing up like Cupid and shooting arrows at complete strangers willy-nilly.
Ingredients:
- Water
- 1 Teaspoon Sea Salt
- 3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Dried Dill Weed
- 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- 3 Eggs
- 1 1/4 Cups Whole Milk
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Unsalted Butter
Directions:
- Fill a large pot two-thirds full with water, place 1-teaspoon of sea salt into the water, and then place the pot over high heat until it comes to a boil.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, dill, kosher salt, and pepper; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk until well combined.
- Pour the egg and milk mixture over the flour mixture and then use a silicone spatula to mix the ingredients together for approximately 2 1/2 minutes.
- Spoon some of the dough into a ricer or a spaetzle maker and then press it into the boiling water. You will want to work in small batches so that you do not overcrowd the pot.
- Stir the spaetzle gently around until it begins to float to the top of the pot. When the spaetzle does float to the top of the pot, continue cooking it for 1 minute before placing it into a colander to drain.
- Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil over the spaetzle and use a silicone spatula to gently stir it until all of the noodles are coated.
- Repeat with the remaining dough. You will want to work in small batches so that you do not overcrowd the pot.
- In two separate batches, lightly brown the spaetzle in a little bit of butter over high heat in a large sauté pan.
Suggestions:
- Make sure to use a large pot so that the water does not boil over while you are cooking the noodles. Trust me on this one. It will make a complete mess out of your stovetop.
- When you press the noodles through the potato ricer or spaetzle press, you will want them to be between 1 to 1 1/2-inches long. Don’t worry if a few of the noodles don’t separate when they hit the boiling water. Keep stirring the water around until they break apart. A few large pieces may remain but it won’t hurt anything.
Improvements:
- Sprinkle the spaetzle with a little bit of additional dried dill weed before serving.
- Serve with a small dollop of sour cream.
Ingredients:
- Water
- 1 Teaspoon Sea Salt
- 3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Dried Dill Weed
- 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- 3 Eggs
- 1 1/4 Cups Whole Milk
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Unsalted Butter
Directions:
- Fill a large pot two-thirds full with water, place 1-teaspoon of sea salt into the water, and then place the pot over high heat until it comes to a boil.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, dill, kosher salt, and pepper; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk until well combined.
- Pour the egg and milk mixture over the flour mixture and then use a silicone spatula to mix the ingredients together for approximately 2 1/2 minutes.
- Spoon some of the dough into a ricer or a spaetzle maker and then press it into the boiling water. You will want to work in small batches so that you do not overcrowd the pot.
- Stir the spaetzle gently around until it begins to float to the top of the pot. When the spaetzle does float to the top of the pot, continue cooking it for 1 minute before placing it into a colander to drain.
- Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil over the spaetzle and use a silicone spatula to gently stir it until all of the noodles are coated.
- Repeat with the remaining dough. You will want to work in small batches so that you do not overcrowd the pot.
- In two separate batches, lightly brown the spaetzle in a little bit of butter over high heat in a large sauté pan.
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