Proát! A toast to the German prince and princess, whose marriage celebration has continued for almost 200 years, and is now known as Oktoberfest. The month October provides a prime time to party, as one of largest parties in the world is taking place in Germany. Gather your closest friends or a larger group to celebrate the season. Oktoberfest first began as a celebration of the marriage of crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese on Oct. 12, 1810. The prince and princess invited the citizens of Munich to join them in celebrating. Since then, citizens and visitors alike continue to celebrate annually in October, with massive beer and food consumption. The food at Oktoberfest is as much a staple to the festival as beer. Hundreds of thousands of pounds of traditional food is consumed each year. According to experiencefestivals.com, a Web site with statistics and information about the world’s most famous festivals, 218,000 pairs of sausages were consumed and about 460,000 roasted chickens, in last year’s Oktoberfest.

The traditional Oktoberfest meal includes tons of apples, potatoes, and of course sausage. While hosting your own Oktoberfest party, be sure to include these scrumptious dishes, whose flavor is only enhanced by beer (or maybe its the beer’s flavor that is enhanced by the food … It remains a mystery.)

While hosting your party, put the partygoers to action in solving this mystery by serving up a few German dishes. Most of the recipes provided below are simple and delicious adaptations of classic German recipes. Split up the work and delegate each group to make one of these dishes for an Oktoberfest potluck.All recipes serve 10 to 12

German Potato Salad

Time Save: You can make this recipe before the party and reheat it on the stovetop or in the microwave right before serving.

5 pounds red potatoes

1 onion

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup flour

1/3 cup white wine vinegar

1/3 cup sugar

3 cups water

Salt and pepper

Optional: 1 pound bacon Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes.

Drain hot water off the potatoes and let stand until cool enough to handle.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into about one-eighth inch size slices.

Peel the onion and chop it into large one-half inch size piece.

Place in a frying pan with olive oil and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes.

If cooking with bacon, cut the bacon into one-fourth inch-wide pieces.

Place the pieces in a larger frying pan and allow them to cook for 10 minutes over medium heat.

Add chopped onions to bacon and fry. (no olive oil is necessary)

Remove onions (or onions and bacon) from frying pan and drain on paper towels.

Drain of most of the grease leaving close to a one-fourth cup in the pan.

Stir in the flour over medium heat, stirring constantly for about a minute, or until it begins to bubble.

Stir in white wine vinegar and sugar, then slowly add water, a little at a time, stirring until completely smooth with each addition.

Add onions or onion and bacon mixture to the pan, stirring gently to combine.

Add the potato slices and stir gently until completely coated.

Place in serving bowl and serve warm.

Bratwursts with Apples and Sauerkraut

4 tablespoons of butter

2 – 3 pounds of bratwurst

32 Ounces of Sauerkraut

1 small onion, chopped

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and finely chopped

Vegetarian: Substitute Boca bratwurst sausages, which can be found at local grocery stores.

Place bratwurst in large frying pan and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until browned.

Turn the bratwurst over and cook for another 5 minute, or until brown.

Keep in mind you will need to brown the bratwurst in 2 batches, but once they are all browned, place on a small plate.

Heat sauerkraut in large saucepan over medium heat.

Mix in onion and apple with and cook for 5 minutes. Add browned bratwurst.

Place lid on pan and lower heat to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove the cover from the pan and cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, until any liquid is cooked off and everything is hot to serve.

Easy Apple Strudel

l6 Granny Smith apples

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 cup raisins1 cup sugar plus extra for dusting

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoons corn starch

2 sheet puff pastry thawed

1 egg yolk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil and lightly coat with butter or cooking spray.

Peel and core the apples and cut into one-eighth inch thick slices.

Place slices in a large bowl and toss with lemon juice.

Add the raisins, sugar, cinnamon, and cornstarch and toss until combined.

Lay the sheets of puff pastry on a flat surface and spread half the apple mixture down the center of each sheet.

Fold the sides over the filling and transfer the strudel to the baking sheet, seam side down.

Lightly beat the egg yolk, brush yolk over the dough.

Sprinkle lightly with sugar.

Cut five evenly spaced slits across the top of the dough and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. Cool lightly and cut each into six slices.