Cocoa and Lavender: The Best of the Wurst

I had my first Weißwurst when I was 14 while traveling through Germany for a month with my friends Chris and Robert.

Prior to that, a hot dog was just a hot dog. We didn't even call them Frankfurters.

I remember coming back from the trip and asking Mom to get some Weißwurst and, because of the wonderful nearby Pennsylvania Dutch community (read: Dutch as Deutsch), we were able to find them. The whole family became fans.

This post is really less about the wurst and more an opportunity to share some of the photos of our trip this summer to Salzburg, Mittenwald, and Heidelberg - places where we ate Weißwurst often. Sometimes we ate them with buns, and sometimes not, but always with a tube of German mustard at hand. We went to Cologne, too, but had a very different kind of wurst there; you will have to wait a little while for that!

Although traditionally boiled for breakfast, we pan-fried them for dinners, and served them with a simple salad. We started our big day of Alpine hiking with a couple each for breakfast. Here, back at home, we either grill or pan-fry them. Today, I made homemade hot dog buns to hold them. The mustard was a gift from our friends Laura and Arch from their trip to Germany - our last tube!

This year's trip was a great traipse down memory lane for me, having visited these areas in Germany and Austria several times since I was 14. But it was a first for Markipedia, and I loved seeing the accidental polymath take in new architecture, cultural norms, and language with such fascination. It was nice for me to be his guide.

I hope you enjoy this photo essay of our time there.

Salzburg – an independent city-state for a thousand years, and heavily rebuilt by its prince-bishops in the 17th and 18th centuries, is known as the Rome of the North. Its Baroque and Rococo beauty captured our hearts!

Mittenwald - home of violin makers since the 1600s - is a beautiful German Alpine village near the Austrian border also known for its Lüftmalerai, beautiful murals on the building facades that depict daily life, the owner's trade, or religious scenes.

Heidelberg - my German “hometown” where I played in the summer festival orchestra in the castle courtyard - has changed a lot and become über-touristic, but it still is awash with students attending the oldest German university, and the beauty and magic are still there.

Weißwurst on Homemade Buns

homemade buns (recipe follows)

Weißwurst, 1 or 2 per person

Homemade Hot Dog Buns

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 packets or 2 scant tablespoons active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water

2 cups warm 1% milk

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

6 to 7 1/2 cups flour

egg wash: 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water

sesame seeds or coarse salt

In a large bowl of a standing mixer, dissolve the sugar and then the yeast in the warm water and warm milk. Add the oil, salt and 3 cups of flour to the yeast mixture. Beat vigorously for 2 minutes with the paddle attachment. Switch to the dough hook.

Add 1 cup flour and mix until thoroughly combined. Add another cup of flour, and mix well. Add a third cup of flour (now 6 cups total) and mix. Gradually add more flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Feel the dough - when it is still very soft, but not wet and sticky, continue kneading for 5 minutes, adding a little more flour if needed to keep it from being too sticky.

Remove the dough from the hook and place in a well-greased glass or ceramic bowl. Turn the dough so the greased side is up. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a draft-free area (I often use the microwave). Let the dough rise for about an hour.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface. Divide the dough in quarters, then quarter those pieces, for 16 equal pieces..

Shape each piece into a cylinder, about 5 inches in length. Flatten the cylinders slightly.

Place them on a well-seasoned baking sheet 1/2-inch apart so they'll grow together when they rise. Cover buns with a towel and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.