Guten Appetit!

For a while now, I had been wanting to try wiener schnitzel to see how it tasted. Being an avid Mozart fan, I take great pride in my German and Austrian ancestry! I decided to celebrate my heritage and made wiener schnitzel and German potato salad for dinner. It was served with sparkling red grape juice -- a very cheap substitute for wine -- since Austria is known for its sweet red wine.

I decided to go all-traditional and made the schnitzel with veal cutlets.

I made breadcrumbs simply by toasting some hot dog buns and crumbling them up.

The schnitzel was ....... simply delicious.

The potato salad was delicious as well. I normally don't like

potato salad (or potatoes in general), but this salad had a wonderful taste.

The recipes...

I got these recipes by searching around online.

Wiener Schnitzel - Viennese Breaded Cutlet

Serves: 4 (1 per person)

Ingredients:

4 veal cutlets, pounded to 1/4" thickness (you can also use chicken or pork if you wish)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

2 eggs

Oil or lard for frying

Set up 3 shallow dishes. Place flour, salt and pepper in one, and breadcrumbs in another. Beat eggs well and place in the third dish.

Heat at least 1/4" oil in large frying pan to 350°F.

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. The crust should not adhere completely, but form a loose shell around the schnitzel. Place meat immediately in the pan with the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Cook the schnitzel in batches, if necessary.

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 wedge and potato salad and serve.

German Potato Salad

Serves: 12-14

Ingredients:

8 medium potatoes

1 medium onion

1.5 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

2 tbsp vinegar (red wine or apple cider, to give it a better flavor)

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 - 3/4 cup boiled water

1 tbsp. olive oil

2 tbsp. mayonnaise

Chives (to taste)

3 boiled eggs

Boil the potatoes in their skins and cook until they are still a little firm. Do not peel the potatoes before boiling them, as the flavor will disappear. While they are still hot, peel them, then finely slice them into a bowl. 

Add finely diced onion, salt, pepper, sugar and vinegar. Add boiled hot water. Mix together and leave to stand for at least 15 to 30 minutes.

The recipe says here to add enough boiled water so that there is a small amount of liquid visible in the bowl once everything has been mixed together. If too much water is added the potato salad will become soggy. Check for excess liquid halfway through standing time and drain off if necessary.

After the standing time, add two boiled and chopped eggs, olive oil and mayonnaise to the potato salad. Mix together.

Slice the remaining egg and garnish along with chives. Mix together just prior to serving.

**The longer the potato salad is left to stand, the better tasting it becomes!**

Guten Appetit!