{"id":3417,"date":"2012-08-25T22:00:34","date_gmt":"2012-08-26T02:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/?p=3417"},"modified":"2024-12-04T17:32:45","modified_gmt":"2024-12-04T22:32:45","slug":"sit-down-and-eat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/?p=3417","title":{"rendered":"Sit Down and Eat!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Linda Burton posting from Bismarck, North Dakota <\/em>\u2013 After the fifth person suggested I eat at Kroll\u2019s, I decided to go for it. \u201cWhere can I find some German food?\u201d was the question I\u2019d been asking around this town with a German heritage and a German name. I checked Kroll\u2019s website first, looking for their address, and soon fell into such a giggle fit I didn\u2019t care if the food was good or not, I just wanted to be there. Kroll\u2019s is a 50\u2019s-style restaurant with locations in Bismarck, Mandan, Minot and Fargo and has been serving up German (and American) food since 1972, according to their online blurb. Go there for your Knoephla, they sell it by the bucketful (bring the bucket back for a refill), or your Fleischkeuchele; have a little Kuchen for dessert. But the menu isn\u2019t what was making me laugh. It was Clara, and Carol, and Eileen, Kroll\u2019s \u201cgirls\u201d who will make you laugh too, just watch. http:\/\/www.sitdownandeat.com\/flash\/german.html<\/a><\/p>\n

And then, Sit Down And Eat! <\/p>\n

As a southern girl who grew up eating down-home chicken and dumplings, I took to the Knoephla right away; it\u2019s a chicken-based creamy soup with German dumplings called \u201cknoephla;\u201d here\u2019s one recipe.<\/p>\n

The Soup<\/strong><\/p>\n

4 cups water, 2 cups chicken broth, 1 large onion diced, 1 stalk celery diced, 2 cups potatoes diced, 2 bay leaves, 2 chicken bouillon cubes, 1 teaspoon salt, 1\/2 teaspoon pepper, 1\/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 cup cream<\/p>\n

Knoephla Dough, a German dumpling<\/strong><\/p>\n

3 cups flour, 1 1\/2 teaspoons baking powder, 3\/4 teaspoon salt<\/p>\n

Directions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Soup: In a big soup pot add water and broth, then add onion, celery, potatoes, bouillon cubes and spices. Boil until potatoes are done, about 12-15 minutes. Add cream and knoepfla. Simmer 30-40 minutes.<\/p>\n

Knoephla Dough: Mix flour, salt, and baking powder together to make a fairly stiff dough. Add enough water to make the dough stiff — 3\/4 cups or more depending on how much gluten is in your flour. You can use milk in place of the water — some do. Roll into 1\/2 inch ropes and cut with a pair of scissors into 1\/2 inch pieces right into the simmering soup.<\/p>\n

As you can imagine, everyone has their opinion as to the best recipe \u2013 no garlic, no bay leaves; add chicken, add carrots, use more cream. There are even disagreements as to exactly what size the knoepfla should be. At Fried\u2019s Family Restaurant in Mandan they choose to cut the knoephla in small bits, saying they absorb the liquid better that way; Kroll\u2019s are at least an inch thick. I find it delicious either way. Make it a day ahead and allow the knoephla time to absorb more liquid; as you know \u201ceverything tastes better the next day,\u201d just like Thanksgiving leftovers.<\/p>\n

For all who aren\u2019t familiar with German cooking, the Fleischkeuchele is seasoned ground beef wrapped in pastry and deep fried; the Kuchen is a custard\/fruit-filled pastry that is almost pie, but isn\u2019t. I agree with Clara, and Carol, and Eileen. Sit down and eat!<\/p>\n

Accolades<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fried\u2019s Family Restaurant\u2019s knoephla soup was featured in Bon Appetite Magazine<\/em> in an article \u201cThe United Plates of America: A guide to the best things to eat, drink and buy in all 50 states\u201d in May 2009. http:\/\/www.friedsfamilyrestaurant.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Kroll\u2019s Diner\u2019s North Dakota Rancher\u2019s Skillet was chosen by the Food Network Magazine<\/em> as the Best Breakfast in North Dakota, under \u201c50 States, Fifty Breakfasts\u201d http:\/\/www.sitdownandeat.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

And one more tickler, a TV Commercial you\u2019ll really like http:\/\/www.sitdownandeat.com\/flash\/krolls_needhelp.html<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Linda Burton posting from Bismarck, North Dakota \u2013 After the fifth person suggested I eat at Kroll\u2019s, I decided to go for it. \u201cWhere can I find some German food?\u201d was the question I\u2019d been asking around this town with a German heritage and a German name. I checked Kroll\u2019s website first, looking for their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4586,839],"tags":[1036,1034,1037,1032,1033,1031,1035],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3417"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3417"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15501,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3417\/revisions\/15501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}