East German New Year's Eve recipes
Käse-Igel: Cheese Hedgehog for the Party Buffet
The Käse-Igel, a cheese hedgehog, stood in the middle of the cold buffet at birthdays, Brigadefeiern (parties of a work team) and New Year's Eve in East Germany. Half a cabbage wrapped in aluminum foil becomes the hedgehog's back, and the spines are skewers of cheese, grapes, pickled gherkin and canned mandarin oranges. No cooking is needed.
Mohnpielen: Poppy Seed Bread Pudding from Berlin and Brandenburg
Mohnpielen is the end-of-year dessert in Berlin and Brandenburg: day-old Schrippen (Berlin bread rolls), hot milk and sweet poppy seeds, layered in a glass bowl and eaten cold with a spoon. Its roots are in Silesian cooking, and it is served at Christmas or on New Year's Eve.
Russische Eier: East German Deviled Eggs for the Cold Platter
Russische Eier, or Russian eggs, are halved hard-boiled eggs with a savory filling of yolk, mayonnaise, mustard and pickle, finished with a dusting of paprika. In East Germany they sat on lettuce leaves next to sausage and cheese on the Kalte Platte, the cold cuts platter served at birthdays, weddings and on New Year's Eve.