Supper Club - States of Germany. Last night was the much anticipated Supper Club event featuring the States of Germany. We were lucky to have two native Germans among us for the event, Emil - who made Gebratene Rehkeule (roast venison) and Jutta - who made Bienenstich (Bee Sting Cake). As usual, it was a fabulous feast featuring slow and carefully prepared cooking. The prize for the slowest food at the table had to go to our faithful organizer, Tom H. of Full Fridge, who made Limoncello Sorbet (pictured above), served as a palate refresher, which takes weeks to prepare. The full photoset of our feast with food descriptions can be found at my Flickr site.



I'm also posting this as my entry for the Weekend Herb Blogging Event hosted byPat L of Up A Creek without a Paddle, as the dish I cooked contains my favorite herb, dill. In researching authentic German recipes, I found that dill is quite a favorite among German chefs. I settled on Gurken und Kartoffelsuppe (cucumber and potato soup) as my dish for the evening. I found this recipe on the Embassy of Germany website, and adapted it for serving an amuse bouche portion to 17 appreciative chefs attending the Supper Club last evening. Without futher ado, the recipe.

Gurken and Kartoffelsuppe

Serves 8 (or 17 as an amuse bouche with leftovers)

Ingredients:

8 medium red potatoes, peeled and diced
2 medium cucumbers, split lengthwise, seeded and diced
4 teaspoons sea salt
4 cups cold filtered water
1 teaspoon white pepper
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
2 green onion, sliced finely
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Directions:

In a heavy large saucepan boil potatoes in the filtered cold, salted water until the potatoes are very soft. Using a potato masher, blend potatoes into their cooking liquid, mashing to a fine consistency (or use a handmixer for 'faster food'). Stir in the pepper, milk, and sliced green onion. Hold warm until 5 minutes before serving, then add the cream and cucumber. Simmer gently until cucumber is tender, but still has texture (about 5 minutes). Serve hot.