Who 's Who in The Kitchen
*™e repare Austrian Menu For International Dinner
__ _ . .
Post Staff Writer
The Uptown YWCA sponsors an
International Dinner on the last
Fridays of the first four months of
the year. February’s dinner, to be
held at 6 p.m. on the 22nd at the “Y”
at 418 E. Trade St., will feature
Austrian cuisine and entertainment.
This week’s “Who’s Who,” Elfle
Sundberg, an Austrian native, is the
chief cook and organizer for the
event. 1
Sundberg grew up in a village
about 30 miles from Graz, the
country’s second largest city. Graz
is located in southern Austria, not
far from the Czechoslovakian
border. Sundberg describes the city
as “a university town, with a very „
interesting old section closed to
traffic and lots of baroque
buildings.’’ She remarked that the
city also boasts a large selection of
armor from the Middle Ages,
adding, “It’s amazing how small
people were in those days!’’
Sundberg pointed out that meals
are somewhat different in Austria
from what they are here. “Soup is
important,'' she began. “You start
every meal with soup in Austria.”
The soups she described are a lot
heartier than a thin broth, full of
meat and vegetables. “Most every
one has a garden,” she continued,
“so you use lots of vegetables and
salads in summer, bleat isn’t really
that important; you have it maybe a
couple times a week.’’
A typical Austrian meal, she
related,might consist of soup, risotto
(rice cooked with peas, onions, pars
ley, and sometimes carrots), a
green salad - and, “since this is not
very filling, you usually top it off
with apple strudel.’’ Her recipe for
the apple strudel, which is s very
thin pastry dough wrapped around
apple slices and spices, follows.
Noting that “everyone has
chickens” where she grew up,
Sundberg reported that typical
kitchen staples Include lots of eggs,
milk, butter sad flour. Rather than
exotic spices, *You use what you
have In your area. Many people say
Austrian food is ri«h because it uses
• lot of butter and eggs and cream.
This is what we have mi our farms.”
Her mother, Sundberg asserted, “is
a great soup cook and a great
daiaert cook.” Not surpirsingly,
daughter learned from mother. She
recalled making lunch when she was
so little, she needed a stool to reach
the sink.
Another difference between
Austrian and American lifestyles is
in the permanence of housing.
Sundberg and her family moved into
^oldmbpmeforqm^h*ago, and
years to refinish it the tray she
wants it. She is philosophical about
the work ahead because “I intend to
stay here a king time.”
She explained, “In Austri*,.people
don’t move; they stay in ooe house
Ifou Select a (dace you
n^.then you look for
i one home builds up
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At Del Monte Corporation's Oufc
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Sum!berg poors freshly mode, steaming “Glaehweia” Into Austrian
goblets for her visitors.
One memory she still vivdly recalls
involved going up into her grand
mother's attic to play. Once she was
startled by a wooden arm that had
belonged to her grandfather. Her
feelings for attics is so strong that
die insisted upon a house that had an
attic with regular stairs, not just a
pull-down ladder.
Sundberg has been in this country
since 1977 and in Chirlotte over two
years. She became involved with the
“Y” when she attended an Inter
national Women’s Christmas Party
in 1992.
The menu for this month’s
Austrian dinner (which,
incidentally, is reasonably priced at
$5.50 for adults and $2.50 for chldren,
with reservations required so they
know how much to cook) consists of
a soup, a chicken goulash,
dumplings, escarole with potatoes,
and Viennese apple cake. Sundberg
is in charge of food preparation for
the event, which serves’ as a fund
raiser for the World Mutual Service
Committee of the YWCA- The
Committee aids programs in Third
World countries. Having a different
“International Dinner’’ each month
-V- ■ •
p=3 WIENER 8C*NITZELT=ai
N Wiener Schnitzel is served all
over the world as a representa
tive of European cuisine. The
word schnitzel is German for
cutlet of meat, usually of veal.
Wiener Schnitzel is simply a thin
slice of veal, breaded and fried
and sometimes topped with an
chovies or capers.
4 veal cutlets
salt, flour, one egg lightly
beaten
fine dry bread crumbs
(preferably home made) *
i lemon slices
anchovies fillets
fat for frying, heated to 365 - 375
degrees (in Austria lard is
used)
Pound meat on one side with a
, meat hammer. Turn and repeat
process until cutlets are % inch
thick. Sprinkle with salt, then
coat with flour. Djp cutlets in egg
, and coat with bsaead crumbs.
Heat a generous amount of fa( in
• deep heavy skillet; brown
cutlets in the fat for 3 to 4 minutes
on each side or until golden.
Arrange on a platter and garnish
each cutlet with a slice of lemon
and rolled anchovy fillet. Starve
| with a tossed green salad.
<^11
helps build greater understanding of
other cultures. “Learning about
different countries,” Sundberg
reflected, “enriches us. There’s
always something to learn.” Her
hope is that learning about others
will make this world a better place.
January’s dinner featured China;
March will be Iran.
If you miss Friday night’s
Austrian dinner, why not create a
different dining experience in your
own kitchen with one of Sundberg’s
recipes? Here are several to try out.
P" KAISERSCHMARRN g1
In Austria, southern Germany ,
and Bohemia, a Kaiserschmarrn 1
is a unique dessert dish made
from pancakes torn into large
pieces and tossed with sugar and
raisins. Melted butter and cin
namon are sometimaa added.
Many legends surround this dew
sert’s creation. One of them is
that Emperor Franc Joseph,
while hunting in the forest one
day, lost his jvay. A fanner’s
wife took p*ty on him, offering
5 eggs, separated
to teaspoon salt
to cup sugar
2 cups flour
to cup milk
4 tablespoons butter, melted
grated peel of to lemon
shortening for frying
to cup raisins, scalded and
dried on absorbent paper
; sugar
Beat egg yolks with salt and
sugar until very thick; add flour
alternately with milk, beating
until smooth after each addition.
Beat in melted butter and grated
peel. Beat egg whites until stiff
peaks are formed; fold into the
batter.
Heat enough shortening to coat
the bottom of skillet; pour on
enough batter to cover bottom,
tipping skillet back and forth to
cover evenly. Bake over medium
heat until pancake is lightly
browned on both sides. Then tear
into pieces with two forte |
Sprinkle with some of the raisins
and sugar, tossing gently while
heating to golden brown.
Repeat process until all the
batter ia used Serve pancakes
immediately with apple sauce or
fruit compote.
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Inc.
Austrian-born Elite Sundberg comments on the finer
points of strudel-making to YWCA’s public relations
director, Angela Pbilpott <c>, and “Y” director for
International programs. Doan Arrington <r>. (Photo
by Aadrey C. Lodato)
c_ , "/ *^v>•- ’•• *“*'■ * - ?v: N#'® ^ ”A*. »» -* -
raJK-1,. j e a Viennese apple strudel _=a
aUC. a K GLUEHWEIN
Apple Strudel is a showpiece
of Austrian desserts. A tradi
tional strudel (sometimes they
are made using a yeast dough of
puff pastry) consists of a simple
dough that is stretched out so
thinly that one can “read a Jove
letter through it”. The dough is
spread with fruit or cheese, then
rolled and baked.
2V< cups flour
Vi teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon vinegar (preferably
apple vinegar)
Vi cup lukewarm water
3Vi lbs. tart apples
Vi cup fine dry bread crumbs
2* cup sugar 7 - \ »
1 tablespoon vanilla-flavored
sugar
1 to iVi teaspoon cinnamon
Vi cup raisins >
Vi pup chopped almonds
VitovTcup butter, melted -
Put flour combined with salt
onto g board. Make a well in the
center; add oil and vinegar and
just enough water to make a
dough that can be kneaded until
smooth and elastic. Knead
dough, using as little flour on
board as possible. Form Into a
ball and let rest 90 minutes.
Pare, core and thinly slice ap
ples. Copabine apples, bread
crumbs and a mixture of sugar,
vanilla-sugar and cinnamon.
Add raisins and afmntyVi Toss
and mix well.
Roll dough on a lightly floured
cloth Continue rolling and
stretching it by hand until the
dough ip very thin. Stretch the
dough from all sides and cut off
the thick end that cannot be
.stretched any more. Lightly
brush surface of dough witii
melted butter; spoon on the
Ailing. Drizzle with the rest of
the melted butter. Roil up the
dough with the help of the cloth
and place on a greased baking
sheet. Bake in a moderate oven
(350 degrees) do to 60 minutes.
During baking brush with melted
butter. Before serving, sprinkle
with confectioners sugar. ■
(Spiced Hot Wine) ,
: 1 c. water V'
84 c. sugar
peel of 1 lemon (yellow
only, as white part
is bitter)
8 whole cloves
2 sticks cinnamon 4
2V4-3 c. wine
Heat water with all other
ingredients except wine and
simmer about 10 minutes. Add
wine and cook a while longer so
that alcohol burns off. (Sand
berg noted that this drink is often
served after skiing. It can be
made with any wine, but she
served me some made with red,
and it was absolutely «MiohHM
and had no alcohol taste to 1LV
..war- -»— -mar- ■
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