German Sticky Pasta

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My mother and I use to go to a little German restaurant downtown and get some sauerbraten (meat marinated in vinegar) or assorted German sausages with side orders of spaetzle. It was always such a treat for the two of us, unfortunately the restaurant closed so we had to start making the spaetzle ourselves which luckily for us was quite easy to do.
The spaetzle dough is soft enough to be forced through a sieve, colander or spaetzle-maker with large holes. The small pieces of dough are usually boiled (poached) before being tossed with butter or added to soups or other dishes. In Germany, spaetzle is served as a side dish much like potatoes or rice, and is often accompanied by a sauce or gravy. The cooked spaetzle can also be pan-fried with a little butter and onions; it is especially good with caramelized onions.

Spaetzle (German Dumplings)

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 c. milk

2 tbsp. water

1 1/2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

Pinch of nutmeg

2 qts. Boiling salted water

5 tbsp. butter

1/2 c. toasted bread crumbs

Beat the eggs and add the milk and water. Stir in the flour, salt, baking powder and nutmeg, mix well. Bring the water to a boil and add 2 teaspoons salt. The spaetzle should be light, so check batter by dropping 1/2 teaspoon into boiling water. Cook 6 to 8 minutes and check the noodle. If it is not light, add a couple more tablespoons of water to the batter.
Force the dough through Spaetzle maker or use a plastic bag for forming the noodles. Put all the dough into a heavy 1 quart self sealing plastic food bag and cut one corner off. Make the cut fairly small so that you can press the dough about the size of a pencil. Cut off 1 inch pieces quickly right into boiling water. Boil 6 to 8 minutes. Remove and drain.
Heat a large frying pan and melt butter. Lightly brown the Spaetzle in the butter. Top with bread crumbs and serve.