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We can thank Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Bavaria for the Oktoberfest celebrations that take place this time of year.

"The first Oktoberfest was not really a festival at all, but the public celebration of their wedding," says Lucy Saunders, author of a Web site, Beercook.com, and five cookbooks, including "Grilling with Beer" (2006) and "Cooking with Beer" (1996).

The royal party -- held on Oct. 12, 1810 in a meadow in Munich -- featured a horse race, beer, food, music and dancing. Anniversary celebrations continued each year, and the observance became a tradition in Munich where Oktoberfest has been celebrated for nearly 200 years.

You don't have to be German to celebrate Oktoberfest, but it helps to have a taste for hearty German food, which plays a large role in the fall celebration, along with oompah bands, lederhosen and polka dances. Traditional Bavarian fare such as wurst sausage, spaetzle dumplings, potato pancakes, red cabbage, sauerkraut, apple strudel and other delicacies take center stage along with the beverage of choice for Oktoberfest -- beer.

Many breweries and brew pubs, including Pittsburgh's Penn Brewery on the North Side and The Church Brew Works in Lawrenceville, get into the spirit by creating special Oktoberfest beers for the occasion.

Penn Brewery's craft-made Penn Oktoberfest beer is a traditional, Munich-style beer that is a copper-colored, full-bodied, malty lager with balanced bitterness, says Len Caric, president of the brewery and restaurant.

"Penn has stuck to the tradition, offering an Oktoberfest beer, great German food and the German bands, just like in Munich," he says. As many as 10,000 people traditionally attend Penn Brewery's Oktoberfest celebration, which is observing its 20th anniversary this year.

Available in the Fest Tent will be casual foods, including pulled-pork sandwiches, grilled wurst sandwiches, hot potato salad and apple strudel. Served in the Bier Hall will be German favorites such as Sauerbraten (roast beef), Schweinebraten (roast pork) and potato pancakes.

At The Church Brew Works, Chef Jason Marrone's special menu includes Oktoberfest Pizza, made with bratwurst, sauerkraut, Russian dressing, Swiss cheese and caraway seeds, and Wiener Schnitzel Holstein, sauteed breaded veal cutlet served with a fried egg and anchovies in a lemon caper butter sauce. Other specialties include Huhn Mit Spargel Chicken braised in a red pepper sauce and served with asparagus and sour cream, and the house-smoked pork chop, grilled and served over sauerkraut with a beet-horseradish barbeque sauce.

Seasonal desserts include Black Forest cheesecake and German chocolate cake with a coconut stout pecan frosting.

"We use a coconut-infused stout from our microbrewery to make the special icing," Marrone says.

He also uses beer in his recipes for barbeque sauce, onion soup and a sesame vinaigrette dressing made with their Celestial Gold Lager. The onion soup features seven varieties of onions and beer incorporated into the broth.

Saunders says cooking with beer has become a major component of the craft beer movement in this country.

"So many choices in styles of beer are inspiring more people to cook with beer," she says. "Also, a rise in the number of pubs and restaurants is motivation for chefs to cook with beer. The flavors of beer create a natural bridge to beer served in a glass."

At Penn Brewery, Caric says beer-braising is used to prepare the most popular German-style dish served during Oktoberfest, which is "hands down, the wursts -- the bratwurst and the knackwurst."

At Teutonia Mannerchor, a private social club and German singing society on the city's North Side, Oktoberfest is in full swing. Christel Van Maurik, whose husband, Cornelius, is president of the 2,400-member club, says the celebration with foods, music and dancing will take place each weekend through the end of October.

One of the Oktoberfest customs that their group perpetuates is sweetheart cookies, a heart-shaped gingerbread cookie that is decorated with frosting and strung on a ribbon.

"Some of the ladies in the club make them. You buy one for your girl, who wears it around her neck," says Christel Van Maurik, who also is chairwoman of the German Nationality Room Committee at the University of Pittsburgh.

Van Maurik says Teutonia Mannerchor's Oktoberfest menu is fairly comparable to those she has experienced in Germany.

"This is the closest to the original Oktoberfest as you can get," she says. "The people in Pittsburgh love traditional things, and they hang on to them as long as they can."

Celebrate Oktoberfest at home with these recipes:

Schweineschnitzel

(Pork Cutlet)

These recipes are from the Penn Brewery kitchen in the North Side.

To make clarified butter, melt 1 stick of unsalted butter in a pan or microwave oven. Pour off the milk solids at the top and use the clear liquid at the bottom for cooking. Demi-glace (sometimes labeled brown sauce) and tomato concasse can be purchased at specialty-food stores.

• 1 large egg

• 1 cup milk

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs

• 2 pork cutlets, pounded thin

• Salt, to taste

• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• Butter, as needed

• Sauce Chasseur (recipe follows)

• Sprigs of fresh parsley

• Braised Red Cabbage (recipe follows)

Whip the egg into the milk to make an egg wash. Place in a shallow dish or bowl. Place the flour and bread crumbs in separate shallow dishes.

Season the cutlets with salt and pepper. Dip the cutlets in the flour first, then the egg wash, then the bread crumbs. Chill the meat until the breading is firm.

Heat some butter in a skillet and pan-fry the cutlets until they are golden brown on both sides and cooked through, for about 4 to 5 minutes per side. (For thicker cutlets, finish in a 350-degree oven.)

Pour the Sauce Chasseur over the finished pork cutlets and garnish with the parsley sprigs.

Serve with Braised Red Cabbage.

Sauce Chasseur

(Hunter-style Brown Sauce)

• 2 tablespoons clarified butter

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 1/2 cups thickly sliced portobello mushrooms

• 2 tablespoons minced shallots

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1 cup dry white wine

• 1/3 cup brandy

• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

• 1 quart demi-glace

• 1 pint tomato concasse

• Salt, to taste

• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat the butter and olive oil until smoking. Add the mushrooms and saute until browned. Add the shallots and garlic, and saute until fragrant. Add the wine, brandy and parsley, and reduce the mixture by half.

Add the demi-glace and reduce until thickened. Add the tomato concasse. Adjust the seasoning with the salt and pepper.

Makes 2 servings.

Braised Red Cabbage

• 1/2 ounces vegetable oil or rendered bacon fat

• 1/2 cup diced onion

• 1 cup diced green apples

• 1 cup water, extra if needed

• 1/3 cup red wine, extra if needed

• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar

• 4 teaspoons granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup red currant jelly

• 2 pounds red cabbage, cut into fine strips

• 1 cinnamon stick

• 1 whole clove

• 1 bay leaf

• 2 to 3 juniper berries

• 1/2 teaspoon arrowroot

• Salt, to taste

• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a pot, heat the bacon fat and add the onion and apples. Cover and slowly "sweat" until the juices are released and the onion and apples soften. Add the 1 cup water, 1/3 cup red wine, vinegar, sugar and jelly. (Taste -- the flavor should be tart and strong.)

Add the cabbage and the seasonings. Cover the pan and braise the mixture until the apples are tender, checking occasionally to make sure the liquid does not completely evaporate.

When the cabbage and apples are cooked, thicken the mixture slightly, if desired, with a mixture of the arrowroot and a little cold water or wine. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

Wienerschnitzel

(Veal Cutlet)

These dishes come from Kleiner Deutschmann restaurant in Springdale.

The recipe indicates how much veal to cut and cook for one serving. If you are making multiple portions, let the vegetable oil reheat before frying the remaining pieces of meat.

• Whole or part of a veal tenderloin

• All-purpose flour

• 1 or 2 large eggs, beaten

• Fine dry bread crumbs

• Vegetable oil

• Lemon wedge

• Hot Potato Salad (recipe follows)

• Red Cabbage (recipe follows)

Using a sharp knife, cut into the veal to make a slice about 1/4-inch thick, but do not go through the bottom of the meat. Instead, move the knife about 1/4-inch from the first cut and slice all the way through to butterfly the portion. The piece should weigh about 6 ounces total.

Make a couple of small triangular cuts where the slices join, and lay the meat flat on a cutting board or kitchen counter. Using the waffle pattern side of a meat mallet, pound the meat to tenderize and flatten it, at least as thin as 1/8 inch.

Place the flour into a shallow dish. Next to it, pour the eggs into a shallow bowl or plate and do the same with the bread crumbs in another dish.

Place the wienerschnitzel in the flour to coat, then in the egg wash. Press it into the bread crumbs. After coating with the bread crumbs, use the heel of your hand to press the crumbs gently into the meat so they adhere uniformly.

Meanwhile, heat several inches of vegetable oil in a deep-sided iron skillet to about 365 degrees. Gently ease the meat horizontally into the hot oil and cook quickly, only about 20 seconds for each side, or until golden brown. Let drain. Place on a dinner plate and garnish with a lemon wedge.

Hot Potato Salad

• 2 to 3 pounds potatoes

• Water

• 1 cup white vinegar

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

• Salt, to taste

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1/4 teaspoon celery salt

• 3/4 teaspoon dried basil

• 2 tablespoons dried parsley

• Real bacon bits, to taste

In a large pan, boil the potatoes in water to cover. Drain and slice the potatoes -- do not dice. Set aside and cover to keep warm.

In a medium-size bowl, combine the vinegar, oil, salt, pepper, celery salt, basil, parsley and bacon bits; mix thoroughly. Pour over the potatoes while they still are warm. Mix, then reheat until hot.

Makes 4 servings.

Red Cabbage

• 1 can or jar (10 ounces) pickled red cabbage

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

• 1/4 cup white vinegar

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a pan, heat the red cabbage. As it heats, mix the remaining ingredients, then stir into the cabbage. Heat through and serve.

Makes 2 servings.

Black Forest Cake

It's not a true festival without dessert. Delight your guests with this recipe from "The Best of Craig Claiborne" (Crown, 1999) by Craig Claiborne Pierce Franey and Joan Whitman.

• 1 10-inch chocolate spongecake (recipe follows)

• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

• 1 cup water

• 2 thin orange or lemon wedges

• 1 can (8 ounces) dark, sweet pitted cherries

• 1 can (16 ounces) sour cherries

• 1/3 cup kirsch

• 1 bar (3 ounces or 85 grams) imported bittersweet chocolate

• 3 cups heavy cream

• 3 drops vanilla extract

• Scraped and/or grated chocolate for garnish

• Prepare the spongecake and set aside.

Combine 1/2 cup of the sugar and the water in a saucepan. Add the orange or lemon wedges and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 3 minutes and let the syrup cool. Discard the wedges.

Drain both cans of cherries separately, reserving the syrup, and set the cherries aside.

Combine the kirsch with the 2/3 cup of the syrup. Set aside.

Place the chocolate in a saucepan and let it melt gradually in a warm place. When it is melted, gradually add 3 tablespoons of the remaining syrup, stirring.

Whip the cream and beat in the remaining tablespoon of sugar and the vanilla.

Fold 1 1/2 cups of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. Set the remaining whipped cream aside.

Place the cake on a flat surface and, holding a long, sharp knife parallel to the bottom of the cake, slice the cake into thirds.

Place the bottom slice on a serving plate and brush with some of the syrup mixture. Add about half the chocolate mixture to the slice and smooth it over. Cover with the top slice, but place it bottom side up. Brush the slice with syrup and add the remaining chocolate mixture, smoothing it over.

Using a pastry tube, pipe 3 rings of whipped cream around the cake. Pipe one ring in the center, another in the middle and other around the rim. Arrange sour cherries in the center and between the middle and outer rings.

Top with the final slice of cake. Brush it with the remaining syrup. Add whipped cream to the top, but save enough cream to make rosettes on top of the cake. Smooth the whipped cream around the top and sides of the cake.

Use a No. 4 star pastry tube and pipe 12 rosettes, equally spaced, around the upper rim of the cake. Make one rosette in dead center. Garnish each rosette with one dark, sweet pitted cherry. Garnish the top with scraped or grated chocolate. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes 10 servings.

Chocolate Sponge Cake

• Butter and flour to prepare pan

• 6 large eggs

• Water

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1/2 cup, plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 4 tablespoons cornstarch

• 6 tablespoons cocoa

• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

• Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Butter a round 10-inch-by-2-inch cake tin. Sprinkle the inside with flour and shake the flour around until the bottom and sides are well coated. Shake out any excess flour.

Put the eggs into the bowl of an electric mixer. Bring about 2 quarts of water to a boil and pour into a casserole to hold the mixing bowl. Set the mixing bowl in the hot water and beat vigorously for about 5 minutes, or until the eggs are lukewarm.

Return the bowl to the electric mixer and continue beating on high speed until the mixture is thick, mousselike, and at room temperature. To test, run a spatula through the mass. If it is ready, the spatula will leave a track.

Meanwhile, combine the flour, cornstarch and cocoa. Sift together two or three times. Fold in the butter and pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the cake pulls away from the pan. Turn out the cake onto a rack to cool.

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