sure, taste really is a personal thing – I´ve found many southern dishes to contain too much fat and lard for me to like them – maybe I like it bland? )))) As for Asian cuisine, I prefer Japanese over Thai or Vietnamese – no offense intended.

Bottom line, I guess the recipe is simply “wrong”, or they´ve forgotten something. The trick with the Würzfleisch (“spiced meat”) is that the spices are added to both meat and sauce, and when the two are mixed, the flavors do so, too. The cheese “lid” is to prevent the stuff from becoming cold too fast, and to preserve it in case you want to re-heat the meal. I´ve never eaten this dish without the meat being mixed with sauce, goulash-style.

I cook my northern dishes by heart rather than with recipes, but if you like, next time I make Würzfleisch, I´ll take notes and mail you what I did. Maybe that´ll taste a bit better than the recipe you were using?

Sorry.

being from Schleswig-Holstein, I guess you forgot two things (or, maybe the recipe didn´t mention it). The first is a thick, rich sauce. Usually, you eat Würzfleisch either from little earthen bowls, like 8cm in diameter and 3-4 cm high, and you place your meal inside (one serving), add sauce until the bowl is nearly full, cover it with grated cheese (ingredient #2 not mentioned ) and place it in the oven until the cheese is molten. Use spicy cheese like Emmentaler or Havarti to add some flavor. You can also substitute the mushrooms with little diced potatos if you like, and use a sauce that contains mushrooms.

Northern cuisine is not bland. Once you´ve tried a real (!) Würzfleisch, Bauernfrühstück, or (my favorite dish) Finkenwerder Scholle, and you know what it´s supposed to taste like, i guess you´ll love it as well.

Steer clear of a dish called “Swattsuur” though. Just some advice…

@kelsey: That would be great if you joined in!

@rhona: I found German food pretty bland until I moved to Bavaria. I think maybe I just find north German cuisine bland. South German cuisine is pretty darn tasty. I think this is only the first or second recipe that I haven’t really enjoyed so far out of this book.

@dave: Yeah, I was surprised about the lack of Kaiserschmarrn, maybe the authors consider it more of an Austrian recipe (?), but it’s certainly popular here. We haven’t gotten to Kartoffelschmarrn yet, but let me know if you want the recipe posted and I can do that.

@rita: I was thinking of getting Steinpilz for the rabbit dish. They were selling them in downtown Regensburg last time I was there. Good luck getting a rabbit. Not sure how available they are in the smaller city center markets.

If I try it, I’ll let you know.