Oktoberfest

My friend's birthday is October 6th, and his fiance was asking me for suggestions as to what kind of party we should have. I threw out a few suggestions, one of which was an Oktoberfest party. She loved the idea and we came up with a menu. I would handle everything relating to cooking bratwurst, she and another friend would get cheese and bread, and she would bake a couple things.

The girls got all kinds of cheese - one of the best cheese selections I have ever seen. I made a red cabbage salad and caramelized some sweet onions with chives and balsamic vinegar. I got brats at Schreiner's in Montrose and cooked them in a big tub of beer, then briefly touched them on the grill to get grill marks. They were oustanding.

My friend put on an amazing display of baking skills: she made a German potato pancake that I could happily eat with every meal for the rest of my life, and a Linzer torte, a classic Austrian pie. I do not like pie - I do not really like any kind of dessert - but this was spectacular.

This was unquestionably the best Oktoberfest festivity I have ever attended. Great food, lots of beer, and watching college football on TV instead of Oom-pah bands or drunk morons doing the Chicken Dance. It was even a better meal than the surprise birthday dinner we had for him the night before at, God help me, Sizzler. (I couldn't make that up.)