Soooooo here we are. In February. And I'm writing the New Years Eve post. Can we all just have a good chuckle over that? I just pulled a fresh batch of Sally's cookies out of the oven to celebrate our one-"monthiversary" of being married and as I was taking tons of pictures, it occurred to me that I perhaps should blog about the **15** other recipes that are backlogged, before sharing the one I just made. You know, because that would make sense. I've realized that despite starting the blog while in graduate school, I actually have less time to keep up with it as a "real person" which fascinates me. This has been bothering me for the last several months, but it occurred to me that the reason I may not have the time to blog on a daily basis anymore is because CWW isn't a vice to relax me and get me out of my day-to-day craziness anymore. Instead, it's more of a hobby that I fit into my life like everything else. I have less of that desperate "I need to come home and work on the blog" after a long day of class/teaching/work. Now, I come home from a long day of work/teaching and I just want to have a glass of wine, peruse Pinterest and work on the various home projects Will and I have going on at this moment. And that is okay, because it means CWW is turning a new chapter in its life and like with all things, we have to learn to go with the flow of it. We're still cooking and sharing, but with less of the daily intensity the blog used to have. However, we hope to always keep improving on recipes, pictures, and everything else that goes into keeping up with a blog!
Since this is the New Years post, I might as well share a few resolutions I have for CWW for the new year. I hope to significantly improve the photography and will finally crack down and get Pinch of Yum's Tasty Food Photography Ebook. Like last year, we also hope to present you with more original recipes. I love my girls, Sally, Beth and Lindsey, but it's really time we break out and do our own thing. And dare I say it, my biggest hope for CWW this year is to get a formatting/website design overhaul. As in have some professional help and stop using a pre-set Google Blogger format. Maybe a domain name change to. But hey there. Let's not get too big for our britches for a simple little cooking blog supported by family and friends. We're not aiming too high, but an easier to use website wouldn't hurt :)
Now, about this darn food! This is a pretty killer recipe, my friends. Have you ever even considered making wiener schnitzel at home? Or spaetzle?!?! Yeah, us either. We used to go to a delightful German restaurant here in Williamsburg (during W&M round 1) where we could eat the best schnitzels you could ever imagine. While it has sadly since closed (although the previous owner is a yoga teacher at my studio--I love him so much and want to learn to cook from him!!), our love of wiener schnitzel did not stop when Bavarian Gardens closed its doors. After going without schnitzel for a very long time, we decided it was time to figure out how to make it ourselves. It was like The Kitchn read our mind because they posted about wiener schnitzel around Christmastime. We got a meat tenderizer as one of our wedding gifts, so it got its inaugural use on this recipe. This recipe combo also had us use our first Smitten Kitchen recipe, which excited us quite a bit. We have heard interviews with Deb on NPR and have seen the cookbook around quite a bit, but never tried a recipe. While we may not return to this one, we will definitely give her blog another shot because it's got quite the index of intriguing recipes! Anywho, enough blabbering from me. We made this fancy, divine meal for New Years Eve and said good-bye to 2013 in grand style, accompanying this fine dinner with Alewerks Grand Illumination Ale. Happy (belated) New Years to all and happy cooking from CWW!
Cooking Notes for Wiener Schnitzel: We halved the recipe since we only wanted to eat it one night and only feed ourselves. Also, when pounding the meet, we recommend putting it between 2 pieces of parchment paper, so your tenderizer isn't directly hitting the meat. Oh, and don't be afraid to really whack it!Wiener Schnitzel (adapted from The Kitchn; serves 2)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tbsp heavy cream
1/2 cup fine bread crumbs
2 pork cutlets, pounded 1/2"-1/4" thin
Canola oil for frying
S&P, to taste
Parsley, for serving
Set out three shallow pans: fill one with flour, one with the egg/lemon juice/cream, and the third with bread crumbs. Season the cutlets generously on both sides with S&P. Using tongs, dredge each cutlet in the flour, turning to coat and shake off any excess. Dip the cutlet in the egg wash, then the bread crumbs, pressing to adhere breadcrumbs to all sides. Transfer to a cutting board and allow to dry for 15 minutes, setting the coating.
Begin to heat the oil for frying in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it reaches between 350-360 degrees. Season the cutlets with more S&P. Add the cutlets to the pan and fry until golden, 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with paper towels to absorb any oil. Enjoy immediately, with a little parsley for serving!
Wiener Schnitzel Recipe: The Kitchn: Wiener Schnitzel
Cooking Notes for Spaetzle: We made the full recipe, although we figured we wouldn't need to. We then tried to freeze our leftovers using our Seal-a-Meal, which mostly just turned into a big eggy blob. This was a bit obnoxious to make, but did go really well with the wiener schnitzel. We would either try a different recipe or try it a little differently next time. For spaetzle sauce, we used garlic slivers instead of shallots and used rosemary/thyme as the herbs.
Spaetzle (adapted from Smitten Kitchen; serves 6)
2 cups all-purpose flour7 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 tbsp unsalted butter
S&P
2 cloves garlic slivers
Rosemary, chopped
Thyme, chopped
Combine flour, eggs and milk in a large bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least one hour, preferably overnight. Once properly refrigerated, prep an ice bath. Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil. Set a large colander with holes (1/4" - 1/2" wide) over the pot. Put on two potholders, then pour 1/4 of the batter into the colander and press it through the holes with a flexible spatula. Boil for 2-3 minutes before fetching spaetzle out of pot with a slotted spoon. Drop the little spaetzle's in the ice bath. Continue pouring batter into colander, repeating until complete. Keep you batter batches small so you can get cute little spaetzle's!
When you're done with the batter, drain the spaetzle well and toss it with a smidge of olive oil to keep it from sticking to itself. While you give your spaetzle a second to rest, heat a large skillet over medium-high. Heat 1 tbsp of unsalted butter, letting it melt and turn golden. Then add your spaetzle, letting it heat for a minute before sauting it. Season with S&P and cook until each piece of spaetzle is turning a toasty brown. Add slivered garlic and cook for another minute. Adjust seasonings to taste, remove from heat, then toss with herbs. Enjoy!Spaetzle Recipe: Smitten Kitchen: Spaetzle
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