Stuffed Vienna Bread – Serves 8

Ingredients:

1 loaf Vienna bread (sliced diagonally almost through to crust)
1 lb Swiss cheese (grated)
1 can (8 oz) chopped mushrooms
3 green onions
2 tbl sp poppy seeds
1 teasp seasoned salt
1 cup butter
1 ½ teasp lemon juice
1 tbl sp dry mustard

Directions:

1. Stuff sections of bread with Swiss cheese and chopped mushrooms.
2. Place bread on heavy duty foil and put green onions, poppyseeds, and seasoned salt on top.
3. Melt butter, lemon juice, and dry mustard and spoon over bread.
4. Wrap in foil and bake at 350 for 40 minutes.
5. Fold back foil and pull off pieces with fingers.
6. This may also be frozen ahead, defrosted, and baked when needed.

Wiener Schnitzel – Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 veal cutlets (traditional) pounded to 1/4 inch thickness (about 5 oz. each) (you may use chicken or pork, as well)
1/4 c. flour (all purpose or brown rice)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. bread crumbs
2 eggs
Oil or lard for frying (lard is traditional)

Directions:

1. To pound meat thin you may want to place the cutlet between sheets of plastic wrap for easier washing up. Use a heavy, flat-surface pan to pound if you don’t have a meat mallet.
2. Pound the meat evenly to 1/4 inch thickness for best results.
3. Do not press the bread crumbs into the meat. The crust should not adhere completely, but form a loose shell around the schnitzel.
4. Make sure the breaded meat “swims” in fat.
5. Set up 3 shallow dishes. Place the flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in one and breadcrumbs in another. Beat eggs well and place in the third dish.
6. Heat at least 1/4 inch of oil in the pan to 350°F.
7. Working one at a time, dredge cutlets first in flour until the surface is completely dry. Dip in egg to coat, allow the excess to drip off for a few seconds and then roll quickly in the breadcrumbs until coated. Do not press breadcrumbs into the meat. Place meat immediately in the pan with the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Cook the schnitzel in batches, if necessary.
8. Fry the schnitzel for 3-4 minutes on one side. You may want to swish them around a little with your fork to make sure they are not sticking to the pan. Turn them over once and fry until both sides are golden brown. Remove from pan, allow the oil to drain off, place on a plate with lemon slices and potato salad or green salad and serve.

Baked Austrian Kas Nocken (Spaetzle) – Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

2 eggs
½ cup milk
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 ½ cups flour
1 Tbsp butter
1 onion (thinly sliced)
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine eggs, milk, salt and pepper.  Add flour ½ cup at a time.  Stir with a wooden spoon until smooth.  Let rest 10-20 minutes.  The dough should be like pancake batter – thin with more milk if necessary.
2. Meanwhile, sauté onion in butter until golden.  Set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 350.  Drop nocken (dough) through the holes in a sieve (or colander) into simmering water.  Cook until the nocken float.
4. Remove the nocken from the water with a strainer.  Place in a buttered casserole.
5. Sprinkle with grated cheese and caramelized onion.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Austrian Style Potato Salad – Serves 8

NOTES: The finished salad should be creamy and loose, with chunks of potato that keep their shape but are very tender. To maintain its consistency, don’t refrigerate the salad; it should be served within 4 hours of preparation. The salad takes more salt than you might think.

Ingredients:

2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes — (about 4 large) peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup water table salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 small red onion — chopped fine (about 3/4 cup)
6 cornichons – minced (about 2 tablespoons) (or kosher dills)
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Bring potatoes, broth, water, 1 teaspoon salt, sugar, and 1 tablespoon vinegar to a boil in 12-inch heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until potatoes offer no resistance when pierced with paring knife, 15 to 17 minutes. Remove cover, increase heat to high (so cooking liquid will reduce), and cook 2 minutes.
2. Drain potatoes in colander set over large bowl, reserving cooking liquid. Set drained potatoes aside. Pour off and discard all but ½ cup cooking liquid (if ½ cup liquid does not remain, add water to make ½ cup). Whisk remaining tablespoon vinegar, mustard, and oil into cooking liquid.
3. Add ½ cup cooked potatoes to bowl with cooking liquid mixture and mash with potato masher or fork until thick sauce forms (mixture will be slightly chunky). Add remaining potatoes, onion, cornichons, and chives, folding gently with rubber spatula to combine. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Sauteed Green Beans with Speck –  Serves 2-4

NOTE:  Speck, technically called Schinkenspeck, is a dry aged prosciutto product. Bacon or ham can be substituted if your grocer does not carry this Austrian favorite.

Ingredients:

1 lb of green beans
2 oz of schinkenspeck (minced)

Directions:

1. Simmer green beans in a large pot of water until just cooked.  Drain and set aside.
2. Heat large skillet over medium heat.  Add speck and cook until the fat renders (much like bacon).
3. Add green beans and toss with speck.

Apfelstrudel (Austrian apple strudel)

Note: This website has pictures of the process…http://chefinyou.com/2009/05/austrian-apple-strudel/. Also, it says that it serves six, but, if the photos are any indication, I expect that one batch will be sufficient.

Ingredients:

For the Strudel dough

1 1/3 cups (200 g) unbleached flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons (105 ml) water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

For the Strudel

2 tablespoons (30 ml) golden rum
3 tablespoons (45 ml) raisins
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (80 g) sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick / 115 g) unsalted butter, melted, divided
1 1/2 cups (350 ml) fresh bread crumbs
strudel dough (recipe below)
1/2 cup (120 ml, about 60 g) coarsely chopped walnuts
2 pounds (900 g) tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼ inch-thick slices (use apples that hold their shape during baking)

Directions:

For the Strudel Dough

1. Combine the flour and salt in a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix the water, oil and vinegar in a measuring cup. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour with the mixer on low speed. You will get a soft dough. Make sure it is not too dry, add a little more water if necessary.
2. Take the dough out of the mixer. Change to the dough hook. Put the dough ball back in the mixer. Let the dough knead on medium until you get a soft dough ball with a somewhat rough surface. Take the dough out of the mixer and continue kneading by hand on an unfloured work surface. Knead for about 2 minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down hard onto your working surface occasionally. Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a plate. Oil the top of the dough ball lightly. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 30-90 minutes (longer is better).
3. It would be best if you have a work area that you can walk around on all sides like a 36 inch (90 cm) round table or a work surface of 23 x 38 inches (60 x 100 cm). Cover your working area with table cloth, dust it with flour and rub it into the fabric. Put your dough ball in the middle.
4. Flour well and roll it out as much as you can.
5. Pick the dough up by holding it by an edge. This way the weight of the dough and gravity can help stretching it as it hangs. Using the back of your hands to gently stretch and pull the dough. You can use your forearms to support it.
6. The dough will become too large to hold. Put it on your work surface. Leave the thicker edge of the dough to hang over the edge of the table. Place your hands underneath the dough and stretch and pull the dough thinner using the backs of your hands. Stretch and pull the dough until it’s about 2 feet (60 cm) wide and 3 feet (90 cm) long, it will be tissue-thin by this time.

For the Apple Strudel

1. Mix the rum and raisins in a bowl. Mix the cinnamon and sugar in another bowl. Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the breadcrumbs and cook whilst stirring until golden and toasted. This will take about 3 minutes. Let it cool completely.
2. Put the rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with baking paper (parchment paper). Make the strudel dough as described below. Spread about 3 tablespoons of the remaining melted butter over the dough using your hands (a bristle brush could tear the dough, you could use a special feather pastry brush instead of your hands). Sprinkle the buttered dough with the bread crumbs.
3. Spread the walnuts about 3 inches (8 cm) from the short edge of the dough in a 6-inch-(15cm)-wide strip. Mix the apples with the raisins (including the rum), and the cinnamon sugar. Spread the mixture over the walnuts.
4. Fold the short end of the dough onto the filling.
5. Lift the tablecloth at the short end of the dough so that the strudel rolls onto itself.
6. Transfer the strudel to the prepared baking sheet by lifting it.
7. Curve it into a horseshoe to fit.
8. Tuck the ends under the strudel.
9. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter.
10. Bake the strudel for about 30 minutes or until it is deep golden brown.
11. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
12. Use a serrated knife and serve either warm or at room temperature. It is best on the day it is baked.