Oktoberfest Sausage

It would appear that spring is just around the corner. We have been experiencing above average temperatures combined with beautiful blue skies. A couple of nights ago we decided to enjoy a bit of the great outdoor weather to grill. While we do grill outdoors year round it is so much more pleasant without battling inclimate weather. Oktoberfest sausage.

Oktoberfest Sausage

Wurst is a German sausage made using pork and sometimes beef or veal, spices and peppercorns. Each type of wurst has other ingredients that make the variety distinctive. There are more than a thousand varieties of wurst. Weisswurst is the traditional sausage served at Weisn (Oktoberfest) although other wursts are also served. This was a knockwurst (knackwurst) sausage made from lean ground pork by the butcher simply labled as Oktoberfest because according to him that's what everyone calls them. We put the grilled sausages on toasted sausage buns. Sausage buns are a bit larger than hot dog buns and have been dusted with cornmeal. They are sliced on the side while the top has cut mark where the dough was allowed to expand. We kept the toppings to honey mustard, caramelized onions and sauerkraut then served with a side of potato chips. It was an easy, mid-week, early spring meal that hinted of more outdoor grilling days ahead.

Eating Out on a Road Trip in Southwestern Ontario

Have you ever had one of those weeks where things just kind of piled up then the unexpected happened? Now it might start innocently enough with deciding to splurge for pizza delivery because the weekend was a planned work at home weekend. Such was the case on Thursday evening when my husband and one of the kids decided to hook a new audio system and didn't feel like a traditional dinner so we ordered out. Ordering out is quite rare for use because we pay premium delivery charges since we are rural. From there things snowballed to unexpected but welcomed travel. The problem with this kind of week is cooking quickly becomes the last thing on your mind. Well it was on my mind but life got in the way and sometimes that becomes the priority :)

Pizza & Wings

Thursday night we ordered pizza and wings from our favourite pizza parlour. The intentions was this would be our night out (but in) because we had a work weekend planned that included two smaller home renovations projects.

This was a lovely pizza topped with ham, mushroom, pepperoni and extra cheese. The sauce is quite tasty on a somewhat thinner crust. It was as always an excellent pizza! We always order the wings with the sauce on the side. I like the extra hot sauce while others like either medium or honey garlic sauce. Ordering the sauce on the side allows everyone to have their choice of sauce.

Quarter Pound Cheeseburger

Thursday saw a bit of an unexpected phone call that would see us on a weekend road trip. We had to pick up a few items for this trip so did the necessary shopping on Friday then stopped at our favourite burger joint. Now this definitely is not fast food but it is well worth the extra wait. The quarter pound burger comes topped with cheese served with sliced onions and pickles. Ketchup, mustard, salt and pepper is available on the tables. This burger is so large that it is takes a lot of effort for me to finish half of it!

It is nothing fancy but the restaurant has an excellent, cosy atmosphere. The food never fails to please either. It is not fast food but it is good food. We always bring doggy bags home.

Wendy's

When we are on the road we prefer to stop at trucker's restaurants that offer small sit down restaurants usually with a buffet. This allows us to take a much needed break while enjoying a nice meal. Saturday morning found us on the road fairly early so instead of stopping at a truck stop we ended up stopping at a Wendy's on the highway. Wendy's is one of the very few fast food restaurants I like because they offer so much more than just burgers and fries.

The food was good but unfortunately the service was not! I kid you not, my husband stood in line 36 minutes to get the food. Had it been me I would have walked away. Apparently they only had one register opened with a huge line so then they opened another where those just arriving got service before those who had been standing in line. The service here gets 2 thumbs down and something we will remember in the very unlikely event we are ever tempted to stop there again.

Wiener Schnitzel

Saturday afternoon was extremely busy especially for the guys. We (the girls) stayed home to entertain the grandbabies. Later we did a bit of sightseeing with the kids then took them to a quaint little restaurant called The Old Country Restaurant for dinner. The restaurant is located at 105 Peel Street in the picturesque town of New Hamburg, Ontario. The feature home cooked food in a nice family style restaurant. When they say home cooked they mean home cooked! The service was excellent and the food even better. The restaurant has gone onto our list of to visit again.

Their house specialty is Bavarian Style Wiener Schnitzel. Wiener Schnitzel is a thin piece of veal coated with bread crumbs then fried. My husband and I both ordered the Wiener Schnitzel. It came with a choice of potatoes, vegetable, homemade soup of the day or garden green salad for $9.95. We both chose baked potatoes but he ordered the soup of the day (beef noodle) while I ordered the salad. This would be a very easy and inexpensive meal to duplicate at home!