Dada's Birthday

At the risk of breaking some hearts for not making the Italian meal I thought we were making and thank you all so much for your wonderful-sounding and thoughtful recommendations. I can't wait to try them on the NEXT special occasion! My deepest apologies for standing all your recipes up:(

When I got home to CT my mom informed me she had an Austrian meal in mind in honor of a restaurant they found on their recent cross-country voyage. They fell in love with Jackson, WY and the restaurant Stiegler's at the Aspens (near Teton Village). When reading about this restaurant in one of my mom's guide books, I found a word I wish I could pronounce, Gemutlichkeit. In the Austrian chef's words this is "a feeling you get when you're surrounded by good friends, good food, and of course, good beer." Now I challenge you to come up with this word in our English language...












Dinner included some exciting homemade treats. First off, I attacked a bread recipe during the day while mom was out doing laps at the pool. The only laps I was doing was around our kitchen island trying to figure out how to plug in the DVD player to watch my Netflix rental The Aviator. The bread I tried was from the King Arthur's Flour Baker's Companion. I decided my first bread should be a relatively easy one so I went with a "quick bread" Rosemary Cheddar Cheese Bread. This bread, if I may say so myself, was unbeLIEVable and I can't wait to share with Swimster when I get back to the city.

Next up was my mom's veal milanese. We thought we were making weinerschnitzel but since it came from The Soprano's Cookbook my dad corrected us, saying if it came from an Italian cookbook we better call it veal milanese. "As if!"

Fried Veal Cutlets :

2 large eggs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup plain bread crumbs
1 pound veal, chicken, or turkey cutlets
vegetable oil
lemon wedges

In a shallow plate, beat the eggs with the cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Spread the bread crumbs on a sheet of wax paper.

Dip each piece of the veal in the egg mixture, then in the bread crumbs to coat it completely. Let dry for 15 minutes.

Pour 1/4 inch of oil into a deep heavy skillet. Heat over medium heat until drop of the egg mixture sizzles and cooks quickly when dropped in the skillet. Add only as many cutlets to the pan as will fit comfortably in a single layer. Cook, turning once, until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer the cutlets to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Eat and savor with some lemon slices.

These were the best cutlets I'd ever had. The batter wasn't too thick and bubbled nicely over the veal. Another birthday dinner success, and Dad gave Mom the ultimate compliment saying they were even BETTER than the ones they had at Stiegler's.

Last up, a homemade spaetzle dish, oddly a German/Austrian dish but this recipe comes courtesy of our French friends at one of my favorite restaurants in the city Balthazar. After my parents discovered this restaurant they immediately went and bought the cookbook and I've been enjoying it ever since! I had made this spaetzle recipe before with Swimster and Dad but without the nifty spaetzle-making tool my mom found me at Williams Sonoma.

Spaetzle:

2 cups flour
7 eggs
1/4 cup milk
salt and ground pepper
1 tsp of herbs of choice (rosemary, thyme, or chives)

Mix these ingredients together with a wooden spoon and let chill in a fridge for an hour before making.

Bring a pot of water to a boil (one hour later :) Place the dough on a large platter (one you can hold at the stovetop while making) and smooth out the dough in a thin enough layer to spoon gradually into the boiling water. You will see the dough drop in drip-like shapes, and sink to the bottom. As they pop up to the surface, a quick 30 seconds later or so, spoon out and put in a bowl. You will have to constantly be pouring dough in while taking the cooked spaetzle noodles out. *I highly recommend the spaetzle "toy" my mom bought me.* It reminds me of a tool I used when making PlayDough pasta.

Once you have drained the spaetzle, you can do one of two things. Serve as is with some butter or put on a skillet and saute over butter and light heat.

So there you have it. Our dinner was delicious and as my dad smiled and laughed and was uber-impressed said "A very memorable one too!" I hope I've inspired some of you to try these fun new recipes I've discovered. I'm suffering from a slight food coma and mom and dad have since retired to bed, where I will soon be, dreaming of blustery fall days, happy and thankful for my family, and that tomorrow is my Sunday!