Austrian food
Have been invited to bring (or buy!!) an appetizer or dessert for a pot luck. Am I wrong, or are Austrian and German food virtually the same? All my research on the DC board indicates that I should go to a German restaurant to buy or get ideas. Thoughts?
nickdanger
Oct 26, 2004 02:25PM
No, they are not the same, but there are similarities. Austrian cuisine has, I think, more influences from the South and East (due to the many cultures and nationalities of the Austro-Hungarian empire) than German cuisine; and German cooking is quite regionally specific and totally different in, say, Hamburg than in Bavaria.
In any case, Austrian desserts would be a good way to go, starting with apple strudel. Other classics are linzertorte, Sachertorte, Ischl tartlets, vanilla crescents (Vanillekipferln) and any number of layered ccakes/tortes, often including walnuts or hazelnuts in the dough.
If you're based in NYC, the Cafe Sabarsky sells excellent strudel as well as other pastries.
Some recipes via the attached link.
Link: http://www.aboutaustria.org/recipes/r...
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I think that, if you asked an Austrian, you would hear that German and Austrian foods are very different. I, child of a German, would tend to agree with the caveat that there are likely similar dishes across both countries, but with regional variation. For example, while visiting a family years ago along the Austrian/Czech border, I was served dumplings with an entire, whole apricot inside. Yummy, and I understand typical for that region. However, my German relatives would 1) never put whole fruit in a dumpling and 2) would probably not even make dumplings in their corner of Europe.
I attached an interesting link found by googling "Austrian cuisine."
Can't help you in the DC area, but I thought that there's a Cafe Tirolio (sp?) in NoVA? Never been though.
Link: http://www.aboutaustria.org/recipes/r...
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Oh, didn't see your post on the DC board, but the Heidelberg bakery does sell Sachertorte, despite being a German bakery.
Link: http://www.heidelbergbakery.com/index...
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Great idea, forgot about the Heidelberg. BTW, my post was a while ago
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You are correct. Cafe Tirolo in Arlington, VA has been mentioned as a source.
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You are correct. Cafe Tirolo in Arlington, VA has been mentioned as a source.
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To understand Austrian as opposed to German food, google "tafelspitz".
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That's very true.
I recommend two books:
Viennese Cooking, by Hess.
This is not a user friendly touchy feely book, and the recipes are not easy to execute if you don't have some context. But the recipes are quite authentic and extensive. My mother (born in Vienna to a Hungarian mother) uses it. It's decidedly un-modern, but very Austrian-cooking-bible, if you know what I mean.
All Along the Danube by Polvay.
This is not only Viennese, but it gives a lot of context in which to understand how that cuisine developed and what the influences are. There are chapters on Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. And the recipes are somewhat adapted for a more modern, American kitchen.
And just a mention of something else - I like June Meyer's Hungarian cookbook very much.
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go with the dessert, an austrian appetizer will be difficult to find and probrably not as exciting as the dessert.
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if you'd like to try making an austro-hungarian dessert, kaffeehaus by rick rodgers is an excellent book to use with many recipes(cakes,strudels,yeast breads,slices,sweet omelets,sweet dumplings,etc. plus viennese coffee descriptions).
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His book is incredible. Have you tried anything from it?
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so far i really like the walnut crown cake/czech babka. it has a nice touch of rum flavor in the glaze and goes well with unsweetened coffee or tea.
the emperor's pancake/kaiserschmarren is a little tricky at the flipping stage, but gives good results. for that recipe i substituted a croatian plum preserve for the roasted plums.
the dalmatian four-flavor kolacky is very similiar to my bohemian grandmother's version, which i love.
the liberal use of whipped cream throughout the book is great fun!
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Actually, I am Austro-Hungarian, my paternal grandparents came from the Bergenland near the (former) Yugoslavia and Hungary borders. My father's favorite dessert was plum dumplings. I have a wonderful Austrian Cuisine cookbook that was put out by Time-Life--has soups, meals, etc. What might make an interesting appetizer would be small slices of rouladen (beef roulades). Often savory meat dishes has a sweet/sour sauce like the rouladen. Post if you'd like me to paraphrase a dish or two.
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Rouladen sounds about right. Any help would be appreciated
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Checked my "Cooking of the Viennese Empire" and found two simple appetizers that could work.
The book outlines how Austrian food really is a "melting pot" of cuisines--European, Hungarian, Yugoslavian, Czechoslovakian. The Austro-Hugarian Empire was a real crossroad between Western Europe and the East as well as the North/Scandivian. Thus you have high cuisine, inspired by the French, combined with peasant/earthy food of Hugary and gypsy culture, Yugoslavian cuisine which has a lot in common with Creek food and the hearty beer/sausage/bread cuisine of Czechoslavkia. Very vibrant and reflective of many culture--after all it was an Empire.
Here's the first
Gefullte Gurken
Cucumbers stuffed with nam and sour pickels
2 cucumbers, 6=8" long
1/2 tsp salt
2 bonless sardines
1/4 lb. boiled ham, diced in 1/4" chunks
2 hard-boiled eggs coarsely chopped
2 tsp finely chopped onions
2T minced sour pickles
1 tsp prepared French mustard
2-4 T mayo
Peel the cukes, unless English, cut tips off and hollow out the inside with a long iced-tea spoon or melon baller, leaving a shell about 1/4 " thick. Sprinkle inside with salt and let stand 15 minutes. Rub interior dry with paper towel.
Mash the sardines in a mixing bowl. Add the ham, eggs, onions, pickles, mustard and 2 T mayo. Stir together unti it holds its shape, add more mayo if dry. Taste for seasoning.
Stuff the cukes and tightly wrap. Chill for two hours or until filling is firm. To serve, slice the cukes crosswide on a slant in 1/2" slices.
Srpski Ajvar
Serbian Vegetable caviar
1 large eggplant 1 1/2 lb.s
3 large green peppers
1 tsp salt
Freshly grond black pepper
1/2 tsp finely chopped garlic
2T lemon juice
6T veg oil
2T finely chopped parsley
Prehat oven to 500 degrees. Place the eggplant an dpeppers on a rack set in a backing dish. Bake the peppers for 25 minutes and remove. Bake eggplant an addition 15-20 minutes or until tender. Wrap the eggplant in damp towel and let sit for 10 minutes to loosen skin. Peel eggplant and peppers, removing ribs and seeds. Chop very finely . Squeeze the eggplant dry in a kitchen towel or cheesecloth before placing in bowl with peppers.
Add salt, pepper, then with a wodden spoon, add garlic, lemon juice and oil, mixing together. Taste for seasoning. Chill and garnich with parsley.
Srpski ajvar is served as a relish cbut could also be a good dip for crusty breads or vegs.
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I used to work for an Austrian man who loved Lipataur (?) cheese spread. Cream cheese mixed with capers, garlic, etc. He would serve it on fried bread dough, which he called lugosh. It sounds strange but it was really good.
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I think the fried bread is Langos (pr. lahn-goash) and is Hungarian. The spread is liptauer, the local variety is from Liptau (aka liptovsky mikulas', hung. liptoiszentmiklos) and is made from a kind of farmers sheep cheese called brindza. Liptau is now in slovakia.
it is quite good, you can make a version as said with cream cheese (mixed with a bit of hoop or farmers cheese) and capers, salt and LOTS of paprika (sweet or hot).
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And caraway seeds!
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Um, nickdanger, is your party on Nov 6th perhaps? Are you in the SWFL area??? It sounds like the party I am having...
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No, different geographic location, different date, but I have to wonder about the chances that similar parties would be occurring.
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Pretty crazy, huh? I asked every one to bring a dish from a country of their family's heritage. I don't care how far they climb up the family tree, just that they don't bring American cheese! When they had a hard time deciding I told them to pick a great grandmother and get cooking!
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