Germans have a great way to use up small amounts of leftover noodles & meat--Nudelpfanne! Literally:  noodle-pan.

While it's probably most convenient to make Nudelpfanne with leftovers (Essensreste), you might be in the mood to just make a Nudelpfanne. It's simple, delicious, and you can make it the same or different every time.

Here's the step-by-step process:

Zutaten:

The Kaffeeklatsch in Seattle, Washington is a fantastic stop for anybody hankering for a solid cup of coffee and high quality German baked goods.

Here's a sample of their offerings:

Bienenstich

Hefezopf

Pretzel (Brezel)

Laugenbrötchen

Linzertorte

Fruit Blechkuchen

Check out their menu here for more inspiration.

Kaffeeklatsch Seattle - A Social Gathering Around Coffee

12513 Lake City Way N.E.

Seattle, WA 98125

206-462-1059

www.kaffeeklatschseattle.com

The brothers Albrecht founded the discount chain Aldi in Germany after World War II. Now, four years after his brother Theo, Karl Albrecht has passed away, signaling the end of the first generation at Aldi.

The brand Aldi has grown to become a world-wide chain of discount stores, with their own Aldi-branded products and efficient store layouts, with weekly specials on special purchases--a different theme every week.

One of the things the brothers Albrecht were best known for was their incredibly high level of privacy and lack of publicity. There is only one famous picture available of them (left), partially because they were not interested in fame, but in running their business, but also because Theo Albrecht, who died in 2010, was kidnapped in 1971 and returned after 17 days and a ransom of 7 million Marks was paid.

Aldi is significant in German culture and the German economy, as anybody and everybody shops at Aldi--their products are frequently top-shelf, but with bottom-shelf pricing.

Germans have a deep love for coffee. They drink coffee in the morning with breakfast, sometimes with second breakfast, and again in the afternoon, especially when there is cake available. They like their coffee roasted dark, brewed strong, and served hot. Remember to offer coffee cream and sugar!

For Americans, German coffee is frequently very strong, perhaps too strong. For other Americans, we finally get a great cup of joe.

American coffee for Germans, well, that's another story. Unless it's from your local chain, the story will usually go like this one I heard once in Southern Germany:

"I was in the US for work. They gave me a cup of coffee and I could see to the bottom of the cup. I asked them if it was Texas coffee."

"What do you mean?" his hosts asked.

"Did you shoot a bean through it?"

Yeah, he was less than amused at the sorry state of colored water in his mug.

Speaking of mugs, Germans have mugs, but they drink from coffee cups--with saucers. Please, America, give up your mug and go for the cup & saucer. It is oh-so-delightful during your Sunday morning brunch.

"Amerikaner" means "American" and it is also the name of a most fabulous cake cookie that's available in many locations all over Germany.

They are beautiful, delicious cookies about the size of the palm of your hand and they make a fantastic sweet snack or as part of Kaffee (coffee and cake at 3 p.m. in Germany. What a delicious tradition.)

Here is a recipe for these cookies, known as black-and-white cookies here in the US. I made them for one of my German classes and they loved them. I hope you do, too!

When you bake them, let me know what you think! Leave a comment below.

Remember, if you need to cover the cookies with plastic wrap, use toothpicks to prevent the plastic wrap from messing up your fine icing job!

Here are the cookies I made with the toothpicks:

Germans have a wonderful affinity for pancakes, and their pancakes are more in the French crepe style. There is a restaurant in Ulm that specializes in pancakes, and I can highly recommend it.

If, however, you are nowhere near Ulm, here is a recipe from Kochen mit der Maus (a cookbook from the children's show Die Sendung mit der Maus), converted into American units. (Unfortunately the original webpage where I found it isn't up any more, but if anyone finds it, please let me know!)

2 German Pfannkuchen

1 egg

1 pinch of salt

a scant 2/3 C milk*