By Dorothy Zehnder
Recipe:
1 pound liverwurst, mashed
I clove garlic, pressed
¾tsp.sweet basil
½ tsp. horseradish
I Tablespoon minced onion
Cream cheese for top:
8 ounces cream cheese
1 clove garlic, pressed
¼ teaspoon Tabasco or hot sauce
1 teaspoon mayonnaise
1 teaspoon mustard dijon
1 teaspoon parsley
Blend first 5 ingredients thoroughly. Shape into a ball and put on plate.
Mix first 5 cream cheese ingredients. Spread on top of liverwurst ball and garnish with parsley. This should be made the day before and refrigerated until serving. Serve with your ·choice of crackers or vegetables.
***Note from Dorothy - This is one of my family and friends' favorite dips I make. I love it too because all the ingredients blend together so well into a fantastic topping. It is so easy too. Perfect for any party especially this New Year's Eve!
History
As many locals travel to Frankenmuth this weekend for the 31st Annual Zehnder’s Snowfest, our recipe hails from the Zehnder family on the “other side of the street”. Dorothy Zehnder, co-founder of the Bavarian Inn Restaurant, recently celebrated her 100th birthday this past December 1st. Her “Braunschweiger Dip” is one of her favorites for family get-togethers, especially winter ones.
For more than 80 years, Dorothy has been instrumental with the Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn and the many operations under that name, including the Bavarian Inn Restaurant and Castle Shops, Bavarian Inn Lodge, River Place Shops, Covered Bridge Shop, Frank’s Muth, Frankenmuth Cheese Haus, a specialty line of food products, and an online store.
A 2020 Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame inductee and recipient of the Saginaw Lifetime Achievement Award, Dorothy is also the author of three cookbooks, “Cookies and Bars” published in 1986. “Come Cook with Me,” published in 2011, and the follow-up “From My Kitchen to Yours,” published in 2014. Her most recent cookbook “From My Kitchen to Yours” is filled with stories about Dorothy, cooking, her family, and the German-themed restaurant they created.
Dorothy, who grew up on a farm in nearby Reese, Michigan, founded the Bavarian Inn with her late husband, William “Tiny” Zehnder after Tiny’s family purchased the former Fischer’s Hotel in 1950. At that time, they and their 12 employees served about 50 people a day. Today, at full employment, the Bavarian Inn Corporation has approximately 1,000 employees, serves thousands of people in a day and approximately 900,000 meals annually. It ranks in the top 50 largest family-run restaurants in the USA. Dorothy’s children and their spouses, along with her grandchildren – a total of 9 family members – work alongside her every day to continue the success story of the Bavarian Inn.
“She is a mentor to more people than she knows. She is also one of the humblest people you will probably ever meet,” granddaughter Martha Zehnder Kaczynski, vice president of Bavarian Inn Lodge said. “She still drives herself to work and can be found in the kitchen almost every day of the week. She is an inspiration to so many people. She has trained literally tens of thousands of people – usually, it’s their first job working in hospitality – and she loves it.”
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