Archive for April 2015

[RECIPE] Wiener Schnizel

AUSTRIA

Published on 4:12 PM By rika.C.

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Ingredient

3-4 skinless boar loin medallions (or pork)

1 egg, lightly beaten

salt

20g of cake flour

20g of breadcrumbs

Oliver oil

Lemon slices

Honey

Preparation

Pound the meat into a flat cutlet, about 1/4 inch thick

Slice up lemon and dip into honey overnight

Direction

Set up the station such that you have a shallow bowl of flour > egg > breadcrumb
Add the salt and any other seasoning (pepper if needed) to the beaten egg
Heat the pan with some olive oil at medium heat, and make sure it is hot enough (put a bread crumb into the pan and when it starts bubbling and sizzling, this is the right temperature)
Dredge the cutlet into flour (removing any excess), then egg, and finally breadcrumbs and put into the heated pan at medium heat
Fry until they are golden brown on each side (about 4 mins each)
Serve with lemon slices and Erdäpfelsalat (Viennese Potato salad)

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[RECIPE]: Viennese Baked Fennel with Parmesan Cheese

AUSTRIA

Published on 3:58 PM By rika.C.

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Ingredient
1 Fennel Bulb
Salt
Pepper
10g Butter or Olive Oil
5g Grated Parmesan
5g Breadcrumbs

Direction

Preheat oven at 230C
Slice the fennel bulb into thin layers (without cutting through the root), boil until tender
Drizzle with salt, pepper and olive oil and bake for 30mins
Sprinkle over parmesan and breadcrumb and bake (for 1 min or so) until golden brown

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[SALZBURG, AUSTRIA]: Marlene Dietrich & Cafe Bazar

AUSTRIA

Published on 7:19 PM By rika.C.

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In 1936, Marlene Dietrich took a seat at the patio of Cafe Bazar, and the whole town came over to get a glimpse of her glamour. Much of the interior has remained the same, with exotic chandeliers, a tint of Art Nouveau of wood paneling and geometric forms.

Situated on the banks of the Salzach, close to the Staatsbrücke bridge, it gets a perfect view of the across of the old Salzburg city.

After taking a train ride from Vienna to Salzburg, apart from visiting the local's farmer's market, I suggest taking up a newspaper and do some people watching here. (Most cafe's in Austria provide a wide range of local and some international newspapers, which I really think is the predecessor of an Internet Cafe - think about how information gets spread through these Viennese cafes in the 1900s!)

You will find families coming out for a Sunday brunch. On weekdays businessmen engaging in debates and fervent conversation on the economy. Men talking mysteriously (with their mistress?) on the phone, so what better ways to learn about a city than seeing all the action taking place in a cafe?

Thursday morning, businessmen in fervent conversations

Baked fennel with onion, garlic breadcrumbs, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and sprinkle of chive.

*Drool - enough said. To see my rendition of the recipe, click here

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[BAD ISCHL, AUSTRIA] Operetta, Konditorei Zauner and scandalous mistress of Hasburg Empire

AUSTRIA

Published on 2:43 PM By rika.C.

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What do Franz Lehar, Oscar Strauss and the Hasburg family have in common?

They all love the desserts from Konditorei Zauner, an excellent patisserie awarded with Austrian coat of arms for their traditional Austrian desserts. According to legend, Franz Lehar even paid the desserts with his composed songs!

Being a dessert geek, I travel the world to find the best dessert in town, and seek to replicate it at home. What I had at Zauner was beyond imagination!

This little fellow that I had is a dark chocolate coated layer cake with a dash of pistachios on top.

It was definitely on the sweet end, but worth every little bit as the plum jam in the middle melts into your mouth.

After a festive coffee break, don't forget to take a walk around Bad Ischl.

There's much love and hate of Bad Ischl. For love, this is the place where Emperor Franz Joseph propose to the beautiful 16 year old Bavarian princess (Empress Elizabeth, also known as "Sisi").

This is also the same place where Emperor's mistress Katharina Schratt lived right next door to the palace, where the Emperor could enjoy countless walk of happiness of Katharina. For Hate, Bad Ischl is also the place where the emperor signed the declaration of war on Serbia, July 28th, 1914, which triggered the disastrous spiral of WWI.

Despite it's dramatic history, Bad Ischl was a charming summer escape for the Hasburg family, but many others follow suit. Writers, musicians floated in and out of Bad Ischl. Johanns Strauss had a summer house here, and Franz Lehar spent a lot of time getting inspirations for his operetta as well.

The morning view

The sunset view

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[HALSTATT, AUSTRIA]: The White Gold of Hasburg Empire

AUSTRIA

Published on 1:04 PM By rika.C.

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A secluded gem - Halstatt.

It is 7am in the morning, the bus gutted an awful yawn and zig-zaged through the Salzkammergut region. I was already amazed by the beautiful river view of Salzburg, and the morning chilliness would not dampen my fervent excitement of seeing Halstatt in reality. I took the public bus 150 so that it will pass by St. Gilgen (The mountain area where Sound of Music was shot) to get the most out of the Alpine view.

It was about 11am when I arrived, and since it was still early in the morning, not a lot of tourist were around (and also partly because it is still Winter time and according to the locals most people are out of town for their vacation). I could dance and roam about this quaint picturesque village without getting poked by those selfie handheld sticks.

Halstatt, honored with a position on the UNESCO World Heritage list, could be dated back as the oldest salt mine district in Austria. In 1311, Queen Elizabeth of Tyrol granted markets right of trading salt in this small town, giving few of the prominent families the right to produce salt. The village blossomed with trade, and growth of relating industries such as boat building, salt refinery, carpentry. It was also one of the key source of income that supported the Hasburg empire - and hence the name of "White Gold for the Hasburg Empire".