Saturday 6 February 2016

Another Reason to Smile


We Germans like our Bratwurst!
It is claimed that there are 1,200 different varieties of sausage in Germany.
For now, I am enjoying this one out of my frying pan;
eating it leaves me almost cheerful, in spite of the calories contained in it.


COME FRY WITH ME     
by AP Herbert


If there’s a dish
For which I wish
More frequent than the rest,
If there’s a food
On which I brood
When starving or depressed,
If there’s a thing that life can give
Which makes it worth our while to live,
If there’s an end,
On which I’d spend
My last remaining cash,
It’s a sausage, friend,
It’s a sausage, friend, and mash.

When love is dead,
Ambition fled,
And pleasure, lad, and pash,
You’ll still enjoy
A sausage, boy,
A sausage, boy, and mash.



38 comments:

  1. Hold the snosage, but a good mash (plenty of butter) is a thing of joy and beauty.

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  2. I absolutely love bratwurst. I will never forget the first time, when friends of my parents served it, fresh from a fry pan in which they'd braised it in beer. I'll raise a toast to you, in praise of sausage, tonight, as we will be having sausage tonight, in an improvised cassoulet. Fond regards, as always.

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  3. Dear Friko, those sausages look delicious sizzling away in what I think is a cast iron pan! It would be grand to join you at the table for some bangers and mash. Over here or over there.

    What a strange winter it's been. At least daylight is returning, day by day, as usual.

    I think that I've only been slightly affected, so far, by the Google follower goings on that you wrote about in your prior post. Without any reservation, I am delighted to still be able to click on your marvelous posts, and wish you and yours well.

    xo

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  4. I grew up in the official Bratwurst Capitol of the USA, Sheboygan, Wisconsin. I still treasure those ideal brats and they are available now in California, hurray. The company is Johnsonville Bratwurst in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin. Yum. I do miss the 16 followers of my blog that were dropped by Google Friends Connect, what a sad state of affairs.

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  5. A sentiment we can all approve!

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  6. Yes! We had brats in beer last night. And next week my son wants escargot and Jager Schnitzel for his birthday!!!

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  7. I'll bet brats German style taste much better than the ones we cook on the BBQ.

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  8. Oh, Friko!
    You take me back to the days of my youth when Schmidts dispensed German charcuterie in Charlotte Street....and when we were flush there was the restaurant upstairs...
    I have a book of German sausage recipes and make my own...you will judge my dedication by the fact that while my everyday German is limited to Achtung Minen my sausage making German is, by comparison, in the stratosphere.

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  9. Yum! Enjoy. Calories don't count when you are happily eating.

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  10. haha. Love the poem! And I have a feeling I would love the bratwurst, too!

    =)

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  11. There's nothing like a hot bratwurst and a good bun.
    When my nephew was heading for Freiburg in the fall he asked if he could send me anything. This is what I asked for 'When you're settled, please go down to the Munsterplatz and buy a bratwurst and bun. Top it with mustard and onions. Take it a few steps over, near the flower sellers and please just stand there and eat it. A picture would be nice'. I was very happy to get a picture of him doing as instructed with a view of the steeple of the Munster in the background.
    There's just nothing like a bratwurst sometimes.

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  12. Hi Friko - the sausage and mash sounds so good - and such a wonderful dish on damp days ... lots of mash, stewed onions, a good gravy some mustard and a variety of sossage .... glass of red wine and company - what could be better ... as you say - not much in life. Wonderful poem .. I don't think I'd heard it before ... Happy Sunday and hope it's not tooooooo wet .. cheers Hilary

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  13. I am very fond of German sausage, especially the spicier ones. Bratwurst is good. Two of fellow diners Saturday evening chose bangers and mash from the pub menu.

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  14. When I'm in Frankfurt airport, and it's always morning, I love eating German sausages with cabbage for breakfast instead of porridge or other meal. So I understand you Friko, German sausages are very tasty ;0)
    Love this poetry!

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  15. I love your poem. I just bought sausage yesterday for some friends who are visiting today. I know that is the one food that everybody will like,

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  16. als je dit ziet krijg je gelijk enorme trek.

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  17. I'm reading this minutes after getting out of bed on a Sunday morning and believe me, I can practically smell it sizzling from here across the pond! Great photo of one of my favorite foods -- and a delightful poetic accompaniment!

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  18. Now you've done it. I opened the page, saw the sausage, and went, "OH!" right out loud. Now, there's nothing for it but that I find some for myself. The good news is that there are real Germans making real German sausages here in Texas. I intend to find some, and enjoy myself to the hilt.

    I enjoyed that little sidebar comment -- I think it's new? The one about becoming caricatures of ourselves. I'm not sure I'd say "caricature," but I do think that, as we age, we worry less about letting our real selves shine through. Who cares about the judgment of others, anyway?

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  19. I never forget my trip to Germany and my first bratwurst sizzling in a pan. A cold beer, bratwurst and mash. We do sometimes buy bratwurst in the market in the city and I usually cook it on the BBQ and then have lovely buns and lots of sauerkraut . Love the poem, I agree from the first bite :)

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  20. my dad was on a german restaurant kick for a while when I was a kid. we always went out to eat on Thursdays (the maid/cook's day off) and during this time we went to the same german restaurant every Thursday. I tired of boiled sausage early on. that seemed to be all they served and the only way they cooked it. I was so glad when we started going back to the steakhouse. not because I was a big steak fan either but there were lots of other options. I didn't start eating brats again until my kids were grown. not boiled though. I still don't like boiled sausage.

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  21. Love the poem. Sausage and mash is still a firm favourite with us, with plenty of gravy of course.

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  22. Sausages are a favorite here and there's a company that makes a reasonable facsimile of German bratwurst. We like ours with mustard and some fried cabbage as well. A good hearty meal!

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  23. We love our brats too. Sheboygan WI has a brat festival every year. Brats, mash and beer...Yum!

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  24. That looks absolutely delicious, Friko!

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  25. It's been ages since I last had a proper Bratwurst! When I'm at the Weihnachtsmarkt here, of course there are many stalls selling it, but I usually have Holzofen-Dinnede, a Swabian specialty I really love.
    But your post has made me want to eat Bratwurst right now! Trouble is, it is Sunday, and the only shop open is a garage, where I certainly will NOT go now...

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    1. PS: As for the "in spite of the calories" bit - who cares???!!!

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  26. 95% vegetarian--that looks worth cheating with--LOL! ;)

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  27. Mhmmmmm , they look rather good ! And definitely very cheering !

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  28. For me it is Irish sausage, spiced delicately with mace, thyme, white pepper, a beauteous thing to an Irish tongue. With mash and mushy peas of course.
    XO
    WWW

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  29. I'm glad it is almost dinner time!

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  30. Now I feel a bit better about the Irish sausages I ate for lunch today, which were good, but, yours look delicious. Fun poem to read.

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  31. Love the poem! (Also bratwurst.)

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  32. Sausage and mash with onion gravy - such a treat!

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  33. I spent a good many years in "Bratwurst Country" ... although not so much on Bratwurst ... but lots of road kill ... does that count for anything? Love, cat.

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  34. dear me, how do they all vary I wonder?

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  35. Looks so inviting: but I prefer mine with sauerkraut - preferably home made:)

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  36. Yumm......I am getting big chunky beef sausage out for supper with vegetable fried rice and broccoli on the side!

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Comments are good, I like to know what you think of my posts. I know you'll keep it civil.