Me and My mother had this weekend of food in Jersey when I went home. We went to some farmers markets, and apple picking. It was kind of amazing. We made beef stew, roasted chicken and baked apples that weekend. I love my mothers stew but I didn't get great photos so I'm not gonna post it. But it's really basic. Also my mom kind of goes crazy for the seasonal decorations. She has the entire house decked out in fall decorations. 

Apple picking in New Jersey is pretty rad, But we got some of these winesaps from the market instead. I think that Rome apple are better for baking because they are a little bigger and they really hold thee shape well.

 Veggies for the Chicken we got from the market

So the roasted chicken is real easy. I take a lemon punch some holes in it with a fork and then stuff it inside the chicken with some sprigs of fresh rosemary. It looks better when it's fresh than dried but you could also easily use dried rosemary. So then next you tie or truss the wings and legs which means tie them up and close to the body fo more even cooking otherwise they could burn easily. Cover the top of it with one cup of chicken stock, white wine, and a water. Then some olive oil rosemary and salt and pepper. 

Now your ready to very loosely chop some veggies ( stew style ) I like using carrots, with the green on the tops still. you can find smaller ones that fit entirely and don't need to be cut up. I use an entire onion, some red and yellow potatoes, and yams. You can use beets and various other root veggies if you like. It comes down to personal preference. Then make sure you got some olive oil salt and pepper on the veggies and begin to cook in the oven at 425 covered tightly with foil for 30 minutes. then remove the foil and cook for 2 hours basically. or until golden brown and done. If need be remove the veggies and keep the chicken in longer. Also don't forget to BASTE! otherwise it'll turn out dry,

So here's the finished product. It's good too because you can have a lot of leftovers and it makes for excellent lunch. I think it's a pretty cheap way to have a really hearty and impressive delicious fall meal.

As for the baked apples that is something my mother makes really well. I love these things I only get to eat them in the fall too. But she takes the apple and cores it. Stuffs the center with brown sugar and cinnimon, and lots of butter. Then she pours a little water into the baked dish so the apples don't burn. I can't remember but for some reason i thought she used to wrap them in foil. But she didn't this time. Anyway you just pop them in the oven and cook until they look done and are soft. Some people like them falling apart and I like them more firm.

 Serve with some ice cream or whipped cream hot out of the oven and it's an amazing desert.

Some nice apple cider to is really amazing. I love this stuff I usually destroy it. I love the bite it has. 

Hope you have a good fall. Enjoy the seasonal food while you can because it's really distinct in the fall. Apples rule! 

- kyle

Gulasch for Mucka

So I officially started work last week. I'm really excited, the photography crew I'm working with is really nice. I am also working with my mom, documenting all the artifacts, letters, and photographs we own from our ancestors. She has become quite obsessed with the subject! It's been fascinating to study my ancestry of course, and I just wanted to share some of the photos I took this past week, plus a recipe inspired by my roots.
The very top picture is of my great grandmother, Mucka. Underneath my grandparents. The family tree to the right, and then the last two photos are of employes that worked in the family hardware store "Zu den Zwei Rittern". The store has been in our family since 1825, and is now run by my mother.

  
I decided to do a little tribute to my ancestors, and make an austrian dish; potato gulasch. My grandmother used to make this for us kids allot. It's a really cheap and filling meal, and doesn't take a lot of effort to make + it's absolutely delicious, no joke, it really is, and it's a perfect fall and winter meal!

I made a gluten free version by replacing regular flour with corn flour.

Ingredients (3 big portions, no leftovers)

8 medium sized potatoes (quartered)
half of a bunch of parsley (whole)
1 red pepper (medium chunks)
1/2 of large cucumber or 1 small cucumber (cut into medium chunks)
1 large onion (finely chopped)
1/2 teaspoon ground caraway
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 bay leaf
corn flour
some tomato paste to taste
some chili flakes
salt to taste

(I'm sort of guesstimating all the spice measurements, but just start with less, and add more if you need to)

polenta patties

my new favorite at the time are these delicious pre-made polenta patties. I love them, They are two something euros for two patties, and are super good accompanied by some veggies. I had some carrots left over in the fridge (I am kind of running low on groceries) as well as some sprouts, so I threw this thing together in a couple of minutes.

For one serving
3 carrots
some sprouts
polenta patty (which consists pretty much of polenta, rice flour and some seasoning)
salt
curry powder

I was to lazy to peel the carrots (I think they were organic anyways) so I just chopped them up into some chunks and threw them in a pot of boiling water. Meanwhile I started toasting the patty. After about 5-10 minutes the carrots were soft enough to puree, and I got rid of most of the water except for a tiny little bit, so the carrots are easier to puree. Go at it with a food processor or a hand held mixer, adding a little curry powder and some salt to taste, and thats really it (ginger would have been really delicious in this as well). I just placed the polenta deliciousness on top of the "carrot soup" and garnished the whole thing with some alfalfa sprouts.
-Steffi

Wiener Schnitzel

So last week I made some classic austrian Schitnzel with a slight change. I used chicken instead of Veal. There is something disturbing about me using Veal. It freaks me out to think that it's a baby cow who has never seen daylight and has never stood up until it's killed. I also made some potato salad, and cucumber salad. There is this place hee in NYC on Ave. C. and 7th St. called Zum Schneider which is a classic german place and has some of the best food of that type in NY. But the problem is they tend to be a bunch of little elitist assholes. And it's always packed full of ex frat boys. 

Everything was super easy to make with this and surprisingly quick. Also this gave me so many leftover it was ridiculous I had so give some away.

The cook book I used was from austria and it has measurements but it really cooks more like my mother where things are done to taste. 

First I boiled some potatoes about 2-3 pounds. I wanted leftovers so I made more. You boil them but watch them so they don't get mushy, just tender. Then drain and slice them but not to thin. Bow make a mixture of vinegar, sugar, water, one red onion,beef broth, salt and pepper. Then pour it over and mixed together and garnish with chives. Then let it sit because the more it marinates the better it tastes. you can eat it warm or cold.  ( I also like a mix of red and yellow potatoes, not baking dir covered ones)

The cucumber salad is really easy. Thats just some sour cream, water, more vinegar, and some sugar. Lots of pepper, but be careful because the regular pepper is deceptively spicy. Make your mixture of wet ingredients and let it sit in the fridge, while you mince a buttload of garlic and mix in with sliced cucumbers. The garlic is key to marinate with lots of salt on the cucumbers before you mix it together with the sour cream mixture. 

The fried chicken is very easy too. What I did was pound it thin even though cutlets are pretty thin already and might be fine on there own. 

Then what I did was cut them a little on the edges so they wouldn't curl up. Then you simply flour, coat with 4 egg mixture, and bread crumbs. Then fry in oil. I used a combination of grape-seed and vegetable oil. what ever you use it will attribute some flavor to your meal. Don't ever fry in olive oil it burns too easily. Avocado oil is the best to fry anything in due to it's extremely high burning point. Also grape-seed and almond oils are excellent. Canola is fine too but not the best for you.   Fry it to its golden brown and remove with tongs. That's the easiest way. I also patted it down with paper towels to remove some grease. Have fun hope it tastes good!

- k

Another Beakfast

So here's a more Fall version of a simple breakfast I like. I try to eat as seasonally as possible when I'm not stuffing my face full of cheeze-its and frozen ellios pizza. Which is amazing. But really it's pretty simple. I don't see many people eat pear, except for salads. But I think pears are my favorite fruit.  When I went to Austria this summer steffi had me try toast with butter and ramps or small baby chives on it. It was onion grass I think. But it was amazing and just the right amount of flavor. The butter in austria is incredible too. Here it's fa too processed and tasteless. But you can find good butter from farmers markets and some good bread too but nothing will compare to Austrian baked bread. I think there should be a bakery here that specializes in Austrian bread. It's much more dense and mainly dark with many types of seeds opposed to our pristine terrible white and even whole wheat. Whole wheat is the new white bread. It's really not much better for you. I think bread and tortilla wraps are very difficult and un expected to be so processed. I prefer bread with only ingredients I can pronounce and less than 8 of them.

Also freeing bread is an excellent way to keep it and use it as toast. I tend not to finish a loa within even two weeks so freezing it for some time is an excellent idea.

- k

Avocados

I think it is fair to say that I am slightly obsessed with avocados. I would happily eat one for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and on top of that, it is my absolute favorite drunken food! I remember late nights in NYC where on my way home I would walk into numerous little delis looking for a ripe avocado to devour! I knew leaving NYC also meant I would have to leave all the beautiful ripe avocados they sell there. You can only buy stone hard ones here in vienna! It took mine more than a week to ripen. I ate my first one yesterday since I have been back in vienna, and although not as good as in NY, it was still pretty delicious!! Just spooned out the avi and put it on some delicious austrian dark bread with a little salt.

-Steffi

Kristin's Pumpkin Soup

My roommate Kristin made some really amazing pumpkin soup for the two of us yesterday. I was really beat from the weekend, so I really was no help at all in the kitchen. She prepared the whole thing all by herself, and I did the dishes after. Neither of us are really the kind of people to follow directions in cooking. We both just go by feeling, so I don't have any measurement, but I highly recommend to just go with your gut! It is a super simple recipe anyways!

One hokkaido pumpkin (you don't have to remove the skin of this pumpkin, if organic)

save the pumpkin seeds

Milk

yogurt 

lemon or white wine

pumpkin seed oil

salt

pepper

bouillon cube

(vegans- just skip the yogurt and replace milk with rice milk)

Cut the pumpkin in to medium sized pieces, and save the pumpkin seeds. Boil the pumpkin in some water until soft. Once they are through pour out some of the water and puree, slowly adding milk and water until the desired consistency is reached (trust your gut) Put it back on the flame and simmer. Meanwhile take your seeds and throw them in a pan with some melted butter or olive oil and fry them up until they are super crunchy. Let them get darker then they are in the picture, because ours were not through all the way! Add the lemon or wine, salt and pepper, as well as a little bouillon, all of this to taste. Lemon or wine, according to Kristin is essential (or else the soup is to, quote "bampfig und nussig"), so don't be shy with it. A little splash of pumpkin seed oil after serving, as well as a spoon full of yogurt, and that's it.Truly simple and really delicious.
( pumpkin seed oil is one of my favorites! it is even super hard to find in NYC, but one place I know of that sell's it is 'the cheese shop' on bedford ave. williamsburg. Sadly it is overpriced because it is so hard to find, but I think it's worth it! )

Thank you Kristin!
-Steffi
( Kristin and I have been planning on making some homemade bouillon, so I will be posting that recipe soon!)

Wiener Wald

The last couple of days have been absolutely beautiful! After one entire week of cold, overcast ugliness it finally cleared up. Now its all blue skys with some specks of perky clouds, and it even warmed up enough to leave your winter coat at home.

I had been cooped up for days, dodging rain drops when I had to leave the house to run errands, so i jumped on the opportunity and went on a little hike in the vienna woods, and soaked up some sun with the family, all of this after a not so modest breakfast with my mom.

The breakfast consisted of some really great carrot apple juice, which is the only way I can deal with the taste of carrot juice. Some smoked salmon, tomato- goat cheese salad, rosemary hash browns, and my signature fried egg with basil, and of corse the corn waffles we ate because we were to lazy to go out and buy bread!

- Steffi

Growing up

I'm a really huge burger fan. It's probably my favorite food. In the summer it's nice to make and grill your own burgers and make variations on them each time but sometimes a prepared burger is just as good. This time I bought pre-made burgers from whole foods, which are jalapeno cheddar cheese. Home made fries are easier than you think to.

When I was growing up my mom would make frozen french fries every so often when it was a late night of dinner or my dad was traveling. The problem with frozen fries is that they tend to be those ripple cut fatty ones that never seem to cook fully and therefore just sit there in a soggy mess. I really dislike soggy uncooked fatty fries. I love the thinner cut style which obviously so does most of America, with all the fast food places following suit.

This was the first time I made homemade french fries. I julienned the potatoes and then put the sticks into a bowl and coated with some olive oil, cayenne pepper, paprika, minced garlic or garlic powder, some onion powder, tiny bit of mustard powder, and dried herbs like parsley. Give it a quick toss and spread them evenly on a baked sheet covered in non stick foil. Through them in there at like 425 which is arbitrarily my favorite temperature.

The first time i did this the fries came out a little soggy but not bad. So the next time what I did was cut the sticks a little thinner just a tiny bit, and then cooked them for a lot longer, giving them the crispiness they needed. I just kept checking on them but it's surprisingly hard to burn them so just keep a look out and it'll take like 40 minutes so it's good to start them long before your meal. I also added some hot sauce in this time instead of dried chili powder.

Serve the burger with a little salad some homemade dressing and that's a full hearty meal. I will be making a more in depth burger update. Because burgers can range from very complex to very simple.

- kyle

Pandemonium Pasta

So the other night I tried to make this pasta sauce steffi's mother showed us how to make when she was last visiting New York. But I sort of failed. First my mistake was not using all plum tomatoes so the skin didn't come off two of them which I had to reboil and it was a mess. Then I used canned tomatoes and forgot to drain the liquid. And then I blended them instead of just pulling them apart. So the sauce came out super liquidly. Anyway here is how I did it tonight.

First The things you'll need are.

8-12 plum or heirloom tomatoes ( riper the better) Also it depends on how much you want to make

5 cloves of garlic ( this is also subjective because some people don't like as much garlic but I think it packs a good flavor)

1 yellow onion ( it can easily be over done so again add it to your liking but I find if you choose a nice medium sized one not some huge monster onion that it'll do just fine)

1 bunch of fresh basil

1 bottle of red or white wine ( i prefer red)

half a bunch of fresh parsley

1/4 lb or small container in the USA of olives ( olives are essential to this sauce and really give it soooo much flavor, this is where most of the salt comes from so there isn't really much need to add salt. But I would recommend black Moroccan style oil cured olives, or regular kalamata olives. Never used canned olives. I always get them from an olive bar or deli or something like that)

1 bay leaf

1 tiny tin of anchovies (depending on how much sauce you make is how much you put in. Tonight I used ten of them which was almost all of them. I would get ones that don't have anything added to them which many do. So just oil and salt cured)

a pinch of chili flakes

salt & pepper

olive oil