Spaetzle anyone?

Have you eaten spaetzle yet? If not, I am recommmending it!!

I first found this wonderful pasta/noodle extraordinaire in Germany. Or was it in Austria that I first ate this interesting noodle with its crooked looks and awesome texture? I am not sure about the very first bite, because once I found it, I ordered it often. Spaetzle, 'naked' , is not all that tasty, but it picks up the flavors of other foods very well, and thus makes an excellent base for foods like bacon, ham, onions, peppers, cheeses and well, the sky's the limit! Suffice to say, that I put in the list above. Add butter, maybe a splash of olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.

Story behind the taste: The first time I 'remember' eating it was in Austria, perhaps. Terry and I were practically snowed in a small town on German/Austrian border. Snow was covering small cars, and the low rooflines had snowdrifts to the tops. So when skiing was over, it was time to eat! I ordered the specialty of the house, the spatezle, and I think we also shared our first raclette there too. Raclette is made with this really wonderful little cheese melting machine, and served with lots of little bite sized potatoes, breads, pickles and other little foods. 

Sweet dreams of Bavaria...Marci

Yummy southern style Chicken Salad: a Crumpler/King-Ham-Stephens-Randall hand me down recipe

 Ompfhgd... which means, " Hello food fans, OMG this is GOOD, " while my mouth is full. I just made southern style chicken salad, reminiscent of Meme and Aunt Stay's, from days gone by. It was soooo good, that I sat right down, found my old foodie blog and am now sharing the simple recipe with any family and friends who wonder how it's done.  So here it 'tis:

Southern style chicken salad:

Leftover chicken (works best when it's simply been boiled on stove and then chilled)
Sweet pickle relish (preferably homemade, so thanks Aunt Margie!)
Celery
Mayonnaise (Duke's if you have it!)
Salt, pepper, and the only new twist on this is that I also used Fines Herbs (Spice Island brand)

True to my lineage, I didn't measure! My guess is that for every 3-4 servings, you would use about 3 chicken breasts,  1/4 cup of each, celery and relish, and about 1/2 cup mayonnaise.

I didn't even sit down to eat it! I found white- wheat bread, smeared it on and gulped it down. Sadly, I didn't even wait to make sweet sun tea. Oh well. There's left-overs.

Enjoy!
Marci