beer festival called Oktoberfest is famed throughout the world. Thousands flock to Bavaria's capital, Munich, to quaff gallons of beer and eat tons of pretzels, sausages (wurst), roast chicken and more while they link arms and sway to the music of the traditional oompah bands.

While we may be far from the meadows of Munich, where Oktoberfest takes place, we can still enjoy traditional German cooking -- thanks to "The International Wine and Food Society's Guide to Germany Cookery'', by Hans Karl Adam, which is available at the Bermuda Library.

Here's a sampling of recipes which are representative of many regions of Germany: PEASANT BREAKFAST (Bauernfruhstuck) 1 lb. cooked potatoes, sliced 3-4 slices fat bacon, chopped 1 onion, diced 2 tablespoons butter 6 eggs, beaten Salt Chopped chives FRY bacon, onions and potatoes until crisp. In another pan heat butter, add eggs and make a thin omelette in the usual way. Put potatoes, bacon etc. down the middle, sprinkle lightly with salt and chives and fold over. Serve garnished with sliced tomatoes and lettuce leaves. Serve with beer.

RHINELAND ONION SOUP (Rheinische Zwiebelsuppe) 1 lb. onions, sliced 3 pints meat stock 1 lb. hot boiled potatoes salt, pepper 1 tablespoon vinegar 3 slices fat bacon, diced 1 cup sour cream Chopped marjoram Chopped parsley COOK onions in stock until soft. Rub potatoes through a sieve and add to the soup. Season with salt, pepper and vinegar. Fry the bacon brown, sprinkle over the soup. Stir in sour cream, sprinkle lightly with marjoram and parsley and serve at once. Accompanying drink: white wine.

FILLETS OF SOLE IN MOSELLE SAUCE (Seezungenfilets in Moselwein Sauce) 8 sole fillets Butter, milk, salt 2 tablespoons lemon juice 2 cups Moselle wine 1 tablespoon cornstarch 3 tablespoons mayonnaise Sliced mushrooms to taste 1 can crab meat 8 stalks asparagus (stewed or canned), chopped BUTTER well a baking dish and sprinkle with salt. Roll fish fillets, twisting them in the shape of a bow. Sprinkle with salt and lemon juice, add wine and cover with greaseproof paper or foil. Cook in a moderate oven for 12 minutes.

Remove fish, set aside and keep warm. Mix cornstarch with milk to a thin paste. Stir into fish liquid, bring to a boil on stove top, cook gently until it thickens. Remove from heat, add mayonnaise.

In another pan heat a little more butter and fry mushrooms until tender. Add crab meat and asparagus. Arrange fish in a warm serving dish, cover with mushroom mixture and pour wine sauce over the top. Serve with boiled potatoes tossed in butter.

VENISON STEAKS WITH BLACK CHERRIES (Rehlendenschnitte mit Schwarzekirschen) 8 vension steaks 1 cup black sour or Morello cherries, cooked or canned 3 tablespoons oil 6 juniper berries, well crushed 4 slices fat bacon, diced 1 large onion, finely chopped 2 tablespoons flour 1 cup sour cream Nutmeg, salt, butter 3 tablespoons red currant jelly 4 thick slices white bread MEAT should be cut from a haunch of venison which has been hung for at least 8 days. Carefully skin and lightly beat the steaks. (Venison is occasionally available at top local supermarkets -- already skinned.) Sprinkle with salt.

Heat oil and fry steaks on both sides for about 3 minutes. Place on a warm dish and keep hot. Scatter juniper berries over the top.

Pour off the oil, heat bacon until fat runs, add onion and fry until soft. Add any gravy from the meat. Stir in flour, blend thoroughly, add sour cream, whisking all the time. Simmer for 2 minutes, season with salt and nutmeg to taste and stir in the jelly.

Heat enough butter to fry bread on both sides until brown and crisp. Place bread slices on a warm, flat dish, put a steak on top of each piece and cover with the sauce. Garnish with slices of orange and serve with buttered noodles and a tart jelly. Accompanying drink: red wine.

STEAK TARTARE FOR LADIES (Steak Tartar fur Damen) 1 lb. lean beef Salt, pepper 1 teaspoon mild paprika pepper 1 teaspoon dry mustard 1 teaspoon tomato ketchup Juice 1 orange 4 tablespoons brandy 4 yolks of newly laid eggs 2 pickled gherkins 2 medium-size onions 4 anchovy fillets 1 tablespoon capers 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, lettuce, sliced tomatoes PUT meat through the finest blade of a grinder -- it must be completely free of fat or gristle. Add salt, pepper, paprika, mustard, tomato ketchup, orange juice, brandy and 2 egg yolks. Chop very finely gherkins, 1 1 onions, anchovy fillets and capers. Add these ingredients to meat mixture, mix thoroughly, then shape into a thick flat loaf or cake. Make two wells in the middle of the mass and place one egg yolk in each indentation. Slice the remaining 1 onion into thick rings and dip these in chopped parsley. Lay them like a wreath around the egg yolks. Garnish with lettuce leaves and sliced tomatoes and serve with rye bread and butter. Accompanying drinks: Doornkaat and "fizzy'' beer.

KASSEL SPARERIBS (Kasseler Rippchen) 2 lbs. smoked pork spareribs 2 cups meat stock 1 onion stuck with 2 cloves 1 bay leaf Salt to taste BOIL spareribs, without separating them, in meat stock with onion and bay leaf. Add salt. Cook gently until tender -- about 1 hour. Separate spareribs and serve with sauerkraut and boiled potatoes.

Variations: 1. Cook spareribs as above but serve in a Burgundy sauce with mushrooms and potato croquettes. 2. Cook as above, leave to cool, separate and serve with a mixed salad. 3. Separate spareribs before cooking, beat until thin. Dip in beaten egg and roll in fine bread crumbs and fry. Serve with mayonnaise. 4. Remove uncooked meat from the bones, wrap in a dough and bake for 2 hours in a moderate oven. Serve with asparagus.

LEG OF PORK WITH SAUERKRAUT AND PUREE OF PEAS (Eisbein mit Sauerkraut und Erbspuree) 1 lb. knuckle half leg of pork 2 lbs. sauerkraut 1 lb. yellow peas, whole or split 6 peppercorns 1 onion stuck with cloves 1 bay leaf 1-2 onions, quartered 1 lb. fat bacon, diced 1 small onion, finely diced SOAK peas overnight in cold water. Put meat, with plenty of cold water, in a pan, add peppercorns, cloved onion and bay leaf. Cover and cook gently for 1 1 hours. Remove from pan and keep hot. Add sauerkraut to the pan and continue cooking another hour. Rinse peas, cover with water, add quartered onions, cook until tender. Rub through a sieve. Fry bacon, add diced onion and cook until golden. Serve the meat surrounded by the sauerkraut. Serve puree separately, sprinkled with fried bacon and onion. Accompanying drink: beer.

BREMERHAVEN CABBAGE (Bremerhafener Grunkohl) 2 lbs. green cabbage Salt to taste 4 tablespoons pork dripping 1 large onion, diced 1 cup meat stock 1 tablespoon flour 2-4 tablespoons goose fat Nutmeg to taste STRIP cabbage leaves and wash thoroughly. Boil in salted water until tender, drain and chop. Heat pork dripping and fry onion until soft but not brown. Add cabbage, salt and stock. Cook gently until cabbage is soft. Mix flour with enough water to make a thin paste. Stir this into the cabbage. Stir well until sauce thickens. Add goose fat and nutmeg. Accompanying drinks: Schnaps and beer.

THURINGIAN POTATO DUMPLING (Thuringer Klosse) 2 lbs. peeled, grated potatoes 1 lb. mashed potatoes 2 eggs, beaten 3 thick slices toasted white bread Salt SQUEEZE grated potatoes in a cloth until dry, collecting the liquid that comes from them in a bowl. Mix mashed and grated potatoes, add eggs and liquid.

Break off pieces of the potato mixture and shape into fairly large balls. Cut toast into cubes, push one into each dumpling. Drop dumplings into boiling salted water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and leave dumplings uncovered in the pan for 15-20 minutes or until they float on the surface of the water. The dumplings should be served at once while they are still spongy and light. Apple puree or hot melted butter and ground sugar can be served with them.

HEAVEN AND EARTH (Himmel und Erde) 1 lb. pureed potatoes 1 lb. pureed apples Salt Sugar Nutmeg MIX potato and apple purees while both are still hot and season with salt, a little sugar and freshly grated nutmeg. Serve with fried blood or liver sausage. Accompanying drink: beer.

CREAM CHEESE OMELETTE (Quark Omelett) 2 tablespoons cream cheese Vanilla sugar 1 tablespoon raisins Lemon juice Milk 1 tablespoon butter 3 eggs, lightly beaten Sugar MIX cheese with a little vanilla sugar, raisins, lemon juice and enough milk to make a thick cream. Heat butter in a pan, add eggs and make an omelette in usual way. When it is half set, spread with cheese mixture. Fold over both sides and slide on to a dish, sprinkle with sugar and lemon juice and serve at once. Omelette can be flambeed with rum.

STRAWBERRIES, PEACHES AND PINEAPPLE IN CHAMPAGNE (Erdbeeren, Pfirschen und Ananas in Sektbad) Sliced fresh pineapple Fresh peach halves Whipped cream Strawberries Sugar Chilled sweet champagne LAY slices of pineapple in a wide shallow dish; in the middle of each slice place half a peach, fill this with whipped cream and top with a whole strawberry, sprinkle with sugar. Add enough champagne to cover the pineapple.

Garnish with pineapple leaves and serve at once.

MARZIPAN APPLES (Marzipan Apfeln) 4 large apples Marzipan Almond essence Raisins Butter 1 cup white wine Hot apricot jam Brandy Glace cherries PEEL and core apples, fill cavities with marzipan which has been well blended with almond essence and raisins. Butter casserole, half fill with white wine.

Place apples in it, cover with foil, bake in hot oven until apples are tender.

Remove from casserole, put into serving bowl and spread with hot apricot jam.

Sprinkle with brandy, garnish with cherries.

BERLIN DOUGHNUTS ("Berliners'') 4 cups flour 1 1 cakes yeast Scant 1 cup sugar 1 cup sugar pinch of salt grated rind of 1 lemon 3 eggs 6 tablespoons melted butter Fat for deep frying Plum or apricot jam Icing (confectioners') sugar SIEVE flour into a bowl and make a well in the middle. Cream yeast with 1 tablespoon of sugar and milk. Pour this into the well and gently cover it with flour. Cover and leave in a warm place for about 20 minutes or until it has doubled its bulk. Add sugar, salt, lemon rind and eggs. Work dough and add butter. Knead dough and continue working until bubbles appear and dough leaves the sides of the bowl. Cover and leave again to prove -- about another 1 hour.

Roll dough into an even sausage, cut it into 20-25 pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Leave balls to prove on a lightly floured board covered with a cloth. When they are spongy, fry them in deep hot fat in a deep small pan.

When they are a golden brown on one side, turn them and brown on the other side. Drain doughnuts on absorbent paper. As soon as it is possible to handle, squirt a blob of jam (using a forcing bag) into the centre of each doughnut.

Toss doughnuts into icing sugar or dip into a sugar glaze. If using the latter, drain before serving.

SILESIAN POPPY CAKE (Schlesischer Mohnstollen) 1 lb. (4 cups) all-purpose flour Pinch salt 1 oz. (1 cake compressed) yeast 1 cup sugar 1 cup warm milk 1 cup butter, softened Poppy filling: 2 cups poppy seeds 4 egg yolks 1 cup sugar 6 tablespoons butter 4 tablespoons brandy 1 cup milk Scant 2 cup sultanas Pinch cinnamon 1 packet vanilla sugar 3 cup chopped candied orange peel 3 cup chopped candied lemon peel 3 cup chopped almonds Glaze: Scant 2 cups icing sugar 1 tablespoon warm milk 1 tablespoon brandy SIFT flour and salt into a bowl, make a well in the middle. Cream yeast with 2 tablespoons sugar and the milk. Pour this into the well and gently sprinkle flour over the top. Cover and leave to prove. Add remaining sugar, work the dough and add butter. Knead and beat dough until bubbles appear. Once again cover and leave to prove. Roll out dough into two rounds and spread on baking tins. Letrise to double its size. Poppy filling: Mix ingredients together in a thick pan over a low heat on top of the stove. Gently stir until all ingredients are hot but not cooked. This is important as there are eggs in the mixture. Remove from heat and leave to cool. Spread this mixture on top of the dough and bake in a hot oven for 1 hour. Remove from oven and immediately place on a cake rack.

Glaze: Sieve icing sugar into milk and brandy, beating it hard, until it is of a consistency to coat the spoon thickly. Spread glaze over the cakes while they are still hot.