schnitzel and mushroom spaetzle

my brother served his mission in Germany and when he came home I had all kinds of questions for him about the food there. the only German food venture I had during culinary school was making spaetzle and I loved it. I mean, LOVE at first bite. my brother happened to agree about the deliciousity that is spaetzle and I've been meaning to make some ever since. so, that's what I did this weekend. I made a traditional German/Austrian meal of schnitzel and mushroom mustard spaetzle (thanks Tyler Florence for the inspiration). I will say that this meal was hard work for me. if I hadn't been balancing meat pounding and pushing spaetzle batter through a colander with nursing a hungry three month old baby by myself, I doubt it would have been such a labor of love. so don't be daunted by my griping but I probably will only make this on special occasion (and also because it's not the most low calorie meal out there - in fact, quite the contrary but it was delicious).

Tyler's Ultimate Schnitzel

4 boneless skinless pork loin chops (about 5 - 6 ounces each)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

kosher salt and pepper

2 large eggs

1/2 cup milk

4 cups plain dried breadcrumbs

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon thyme (or one spring fresh thyme if you have it)

lemon wedges

Place each chop between two sheets of plastic wrap and gently pound them with a meat tenderizer with the flat side (or, if you don't have a meat tenderizer like me, carefully pound with a rolling pin but be sure to do it evenly).

Put the flour in a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper. Whisk the eggs and milk in another shallow dish and season with salt and pepper. Pour the breadcrumbs in a third dish and season with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge the pounded pork chops in the flour and shake off excess. Then quickly soak in the egg and dredge evenly in the breadcrumbs to coat.

Lay the breaded pork chops in a single layer on a plate and refrigerate for about 10 minutes.

Heat the oil and butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add the thyme and gently lay the chops (two at a time) and cook until they are golden brown and crispy and cooked through. Remove to paper towels to drain. Season with salt and serve with lemon wedges (which really make the schnitzel taste so much better).

Mushroom Mustard Spaetzle

1 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2 large eggs

1/4 cup milk

In a large bowl combine the flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Whisk together the eggs and milk in another bowl. Making a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour the wet ingredients in and gently stir together until smooth. It should be thick and smooth. Let sit on the counter for 15 minutes (this is a good time to pound out your meat and cut up the mushrooms).

Bring 3 quarts of salted water to a boil in a large pot over medium heat. Reduce the heat to simmer. To form the spaetzle, hold a large holed colander over simmering water and push the dough through the holes with a spatula. Do it in batches and stir after they drop in the pot so they don't stick together. Cook for 3 or 4 minutes until they float to the top. Drain and give a quick rinse in cold water and set aside.

3 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon thyme

1 1/2 pounds mushrooms (I used button but I think crimini would have been even better)

2 cloves garlic, minced

kosher salt and pepper

1 cup heavy cream

2 Tablespoons whole grain mustard

Add 1 Tablespoons of butter and the oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add the cooked spaetzle and saute until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside. Set the same skillet back over medium high heat and add a bit more oil and the remaining 2 Tablespoons of butter. Add the thyme, mushrooms and garlic and saute until golden brown. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cream and mustard and let cook until thickened, about 3 minutes. Fold in spaetzle. Serve with schnitzel.

Pork Chops with Golden Applesauce

When I had my baby one of my good friends brought over dinner a few days after we returned home from the hospital. I wasn't expecting much - not because I thought she didn't know how to cook - but because most of the meals we had received that week were pretty standard. You know . . . typical crockpot fare or store-bought meals. So, when I tasted Stephanie's apple pork chops with garlic mashed red potatoes and a delicious green salad with sugared pecans I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

A few weeks later, I was still thinking about that meal and wondered, "Was it really that good or was I just starved for a decent meal?" When I saw her at church today I asked her to send me the recipe. She obliged. I made it. And it was still really good. Way good.

And yes, we serve very American sized portions around here.

4 apples (I used Gala), peeled and chopped

2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 ounces golden raisins (eye ball it - sidenote: I don't typically love cooked raisins and if you're the same, give this a shot anyway. The cook so long and tender that they almost become part of the sauce and give it a perfect sweetness.)

1 inch piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and whole

3 Tablespoons light brown sugar

2 cups apple juice or apple cider, plus a splash more for deglazing pan

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

2 Tablespoons olive oil

4 (1 inch thick) center cut boneless pork loin chops, 6 - 8 ounces each

2 Tablespoons butter

Combine first eight ingredients in a medium saute pan over medium high heat and cook until a chunky sauce forms, 10 - 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. If sauce begins to spatter as it bubbles, reduce heat back a little but it should be allowed to reduce and form quickly. Once apples are soft and the sauce forms, remove from the heat.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add olive oil to the pan. Season pork chops on one side with salt and pepper. Using a pair of tongs, add chops to the hot skillet seasoned side down. Season the opposite side of the chops with salt and pepper. Brown and caramelize the chops 2 minutes on each side, then reduce heat to medium and cook another 5 - 6 minutes, turning occasionally, until juices run clear (sidenote: my chops were quite thick so I actually butterflied them after getting a nice crust on both sides first). Remove chops from heat and let them rest a couple of minutes to let the juices redistribute. Deglaze the pan with a splash of apple juice and 2 Tablespoons of butter. Let cook down a little and pour pan sauce over the chops. Remove ginger from the sauce and top the chops with a generous portion of the warmed apple sauce.

P.S. I served this with broccoli which I broiled in the oven at 400 degrees coated in a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper until tender. Then I grated on some Gruyere cheese and let broil just a minute more until melted.

shredded pork and roasted tomatillo salsa

for my brother's "return home" dinner, I made some delicious mexican food. don't be fooled - that's not a mexican flag sticking out of green salsa. it's the german flag because that's where my bro returned from. hopefully I learn how to make a few german dishes here soon (such as: Spätzle, Klöße, Kalter Hund) so I can post them. in the mean time, here are two recipes that you won't be sorry you made.


shredded pork
*disclaimer: I will hunt you down if you do not follow the cooking time for this recipe exactly. it does not get easier than putting meat in the crockpot all day and letting it go to town.

6-7 pounds pork tenderloin
sauce:
3 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
2 (8 ounce) cans el pato sauce (in the yellow can)
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup water

mix together ingredients for sauce and pour over pork tenderloin in crock pot. cook on low for 8-9 hours. that's it suckers.

roasted tomatillo salsa
*disclaimer: the recipe for the salsa is not exact. I manipulated a recipe I found online and didn't write down the changes I made - mostly guessed. deal with it.

1 1/2 pounds fresh tomatillos
3 fresh serrano chiles
3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar

preheat broiler.

remove husks from tomatillos and rinse under warm water to remove stickiness. lay chiles, garlic, chopped onion and fresh tomatillos on a cookie sheet (evenly spread). drizzle with olive oil. place sheet on rack of a broiler pan 1 to 2 inches from heat, turning once, until tomatillos are softened and slightly charred, about 7 minutes.

remove from oven and peel garlic and pull off tops of chiles. purée all in a food processor with cilantro. slowly add kosher salt and sugar to taste.