Episode 3- St. Pauli Girl

The Costume

 Jennifer Fabello- 1982

This costume came together very quickly about three days after our return from Germany. It was about an hour project without a lot of sewing. Many of the pieces were grabbed from a few other costumes when the idea struck! The fun part of this costume was looking up all the different St. Pauli Girls throughout the years and watching how the costume changed year by year. Another fun part was the hair! The original bottle portray's a brunette while the newer bottles portray blonds (5 years running they were Playboy Bunnies!). I decided to go with old school, it required a lot of hair spray and curl cream! I also broke out the red lipstick which doesn't happen very often. Added a double dose of blush and some beer mugs and I was ready to go!

Jen England- 2011

The Episode
The best part of this episode was the research! I learned about the Yearly St. Pauli Girl contest, the original brewery was in Bremam, Germany right next to the former St. Paul's Monastery and the beer is made for export only and is not actually sold in Germany! And here I though it was just a great beer! My favorite food ever is giant pretzels, no joke, I could probably live off them, Haribo Gummy Bears and beer. Maybe in the future when puppies stay puppies forever... anyway, while in Germany, I at my weight in pretzels and loved every minute of it, in fact, I felt I didn't get enough so I dug out my old pretzel recipe for this episode! We also went to a restaurant where they served over sized plates of EVERYTHING. They even had an eating challenge that involved spaetzle and over 112oz of beer! Spaetzle is a German staple, it is hard to find a restaurant without it, which is why I chose to put it in this episode!

Recipes
Pretzel
1.5 Tablespoons Active Dry Yeast
2 Tablespoons Honey
1.5 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
3 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 Teaspoon Sea Salt
2 Eggs
1.5 Cups Warm Water (100 degrees is usually good)
Directions- Bloom the yeast in the warm water and honey for about five minutes, the yeast will be puffy and foamy, if it isn't, your water may have been too hot or too cold. In a large mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the yeast mixture, both flours, salt and one egg. Kneed on low for 30 seconds, then add the second egg. If your dough looks a little dry, add more water 1 tablespoon at a time until it comes together. When the dough ball comes together, dump it out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed it by hand for five minutes. Be careful not to tear or rip the dough as this will break up the gluten fibers, don't over kneed! Coat a large bowl in olive oil and add your dough ball, coating it lighting in oil as well. Let it rise till it has doubled in size (about an hour and a half). Remove the ball from bowl onto a floured work surface and kneed about three times, cut the sections for your pretzels, roll or stuff as desired (see video). Dip the pretzels in a mixture of baking soda and water (3 tblsps baking soda to 2 cups water) Cook at 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes depending on size. Enjoy!
Makes about 8 Pretzels

Spaetzle
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
.5 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 of 3/4th Cup Milk (use a 3/4th measure and fill it half way...)
1 egg
Seasonings (video uses 1/4 teaspoon each of garlic powder, onion powder and rosemary)
Large pot of lightly salted boiling water
Directions-
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon. Over the pot of boiling water, force the dough through a holed apparatus (colander or a skimmer spoon). Let the dough cook until they rise to the top of the water. Remove from the water and place them into a bowl with a bit of butter to keep them from sticking together. Preheat a frying pan to medium high heat with 1 tablespoon butter. Add the spaetzle and toss till golden brown all over. Serve with a bit of sour cream.
Serves 2.

Summer Beer Spritzer 
2 Cups Lemon Lime or Ginger Soda
1 Cup of Lighter Beer, Pale Ale, Heffeweizen or Light Lager (St. Pauli Girl anyone?!)
Directions-
Combine in a large mug or glass, DRINK IT!
For the younger American crowd, St. Pauli Girl makes a Non-Alcoholic beer that anyone can buy!

CASTLES! IN THE BLACK FOREST!