USO Hosts Dumpling-Making Event in Baumholder, Germany

The USO center was filled with the sound of people chatting and the aroma of spices, sausage and potatoes in Baumholder, Germany as U.S. service members, military spouses and the local German community came together for a unique and heartwarming event. Eight German women from Baumholder gave a hands-on class in making Gefüllte Klöße, a traditional German stuffed dumpling.

Everyone gathered in the kitchen to learn, and the lines of nationality blurred, as hands worked in unison to mash the potatoes, stir the sausage filling and carefully wrap the dumplings. The cooking, conversation and connections that followed are a great reflection of the German American friendship thriving in Baumholder.

“We got together and planned dumpling making so we can learn more about our German neighbors,” said Christi Kisko, a military spouse who helped arranged the event. “We will definitely be planning more events like this.”

Katja, a Baumholder resident who led the dumpling-making lesson, emphasized the tradition and personal touch for each German family behind the dish. “The recipe is different in every house. Some use sausage, some don’t. Some add more or less Brötchens. Brown sauce or white sauce. Everywhere, it’s different,” she said. Katja and the other German women were excited to share and teach a part of their local heritage.

Recipes like the one for stuffed dumplings originate from times when people in Germany lived a simple life with little money. They lived off what was grown in the garden or raised on the farm and often had no electricity. For military spouses like Gilda Vandru, the evening was unforgettable. “These women are our neighbors, but we haven’t had the opportunity to do something like this, to make food together. It was amazing they were able to come here,” she said.

The joy also extended to service members like CPL Olvera, who admitted she didn’t know what to expect when she received the cooking class invite but was very glad she decided to step outside her comfort zone.

I came here with one of my soldiers, and honestly, I didn’t know it was going to be this fun,” she said. “I love cooking and I can see events like this being beneficial for other soldiers who maybe don’t know how to cook. Coming here and learning from German people is so great.

CSM Kisko from 16th Sustainment Brigade on Baumholder, gave opening remarks to the group and emphasized the importance of this event. He praised the USO as the perfect venue for such gatherings and expressed hope that these friendships would lead to even more connections with other German communities.

As the dumplings finished steaming and people began filling their plates, a delicious aroma filled the room. But this event was about much more than food. This moment was about bringing people from two different cultures together and sharing the holiday spirit. The evening left service members and spouses with more than just a new recipe—it left them with cherished memories and a stronger sense of community.

The USO continues to play a vital role on military installations across the globe, creating spaces for connection and bringing communities together.

Gefüllte Klöße Recipe:

Dumplings: 500kg cooked potatoes, 2kg raw potatoes, Some salt

Stuffing: 2 onions, 300g bacon, 400g hamburger meat (half pork and half beef), 2 dry Brötchen, 400g leeks, 2 eggs, Salt and pepper

Bacon Sauce: 250g chopped bacon, 40g butter, 1 onion, 250ml whip cream, Salt and pepper,

Preparation:

1. Peel raw potatoes and cook in salt water
2. Meanwhile peel rest of the potatoes, wash and grate
3. The grated potatoes will be pressed through a dish towel until all liquid is out
4. Spread potatoes out on a table

5. Mash cooked potatoes and spread on raw potatoes. Knead into a smooth dough

   

6. Put dough aside and let it rest

7. Cut onions and bacon into small squares

8. Season hamburger meat with salt and pepper and fry together with onions and bacon

9. Cut brotchen into small squares and add to meat and fry for 5 minutes

10. Wash leeks and cut into 1cm stripes and add to meat, cook for 10 minutes on low heat with constant stirring

11. Take pan off stove and stir eggs in evenly

12. With dumpling dough, form 6 dumplings and press an indent into each one

13. Fill cool meat into the indent, fold edge of dough over meat and from dumplings with your hands

14. Let dumplings cook in salt water for 20 minutes

15. While they cook, cut onion and bacon for sauce

16. Fry onion and bacon in butter

17. Add cream and cook for several minutes

18. Take out dumplings carefully with a ladle after they have come to the surface