Butternut Squash

I adore butternut squash. It's definitely up there on my list of favorite vegetables, after asparagus, eggplant, and artichoke, of course. I love butternut squash ravioli and Mom's butternut squash soup. However, funny thing is, I haven't the foggiest idea of how to cook with it.

At the market last week, one of the farmers brought a truckload of his butternut squash. At only 50¢ and fresh from the local harvest, I could not resist convincing myself that I'd figure out how to cook it later and buying one.

Luckily, a woman from a neighboring stall saw my distress and recommended her favorite way to cook butternut squash as a side dish. Unfortunately, she did not give proportions, but this leaves more flexibility depending on your taste for sweetness. You will need the following:


1 small butternut squash
2 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup brown sugar (more if you have a sweet tooth)
water
Oven: pre-heat to 350

1. Cut the squash into cubes, removing the skin and seeds in the process. Set seeds aside. Cubes should be no bigger than 1 inch x 1 inch x 1 inch. (If you are in a hurry, cut smaller cubes as they will cook more quickly).
2. Place squash in a pan with high sides; if cooking for one, I recommend a bread pan. Be sure to spread out the squash evenly along the bottom of the pan.
3. Cut the butter into smaller pieces and place on top of the squash.
4. Sprinkle the top with brown sugar. (This could also be a delicious dessert treat, but if so, you may want to use more butter and much more brown sugar).
5. Pour water into the pan until the tops of the squash cubes are completely covered.
6. Place the pan into the oven at 350 F for approximately 30 minutes.
7. Let stand to cool. Serve, and enjoy!

Toasted Seeds: A simple healthy snack
1. Scoop out the seeds from the squash and spread them out on a sheet of foil.
2. Place seeds on foil in oven with squash for about a half hour or until lightly browned.
3. Drizzle honey over the warm toasted seeds and enjoy.

Recipe: Asparagus, Goat Cheese, and Chicken, oh my!

Waltzing Matelda goes gourmet!

Or so I felt when baking with asparagus and goat cheese. I tweaked and substituted ingredients in an old epicurious recipe and ended up with a very different dish. (Originally artichokes, fontina cheese, and sundried tomatoes).

Chicken Stuffed with Asparagus, Goat Cheese, and Sundried Tomatoes

4 chicken breasts
1/2 C. sundried tomatoes, cut into very small pieces
1 bunch of asparagus, diced very small
8 oz. (or about 1 C.) goat cheese
Oregano
Olive Oil
Optional rosemary, salt, pepper

1.) Boil a pot of water, and preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2.) After reaching rolling boil, add diced asparagus for one minute, only 60 seconds. Do not overcook! After one minute, remove from boiling water and drain asparagus. Run cold water over the strainer to cool down the asparagus and prevent additional cooking.
3.) In a medium bowl, mix chopped sundried tomatoes, goat cheese, and asparagus. Add oregano and optional rosemary to this mixture.
4.) Using a sharp knife, work with each chicken breast one at a time to cut a slit in one side, opening up the middle of the chicken breast to be stuffed.
5.) Stuff each chicken breast with the cheese mixture. Be careful not to overfill; the mixture should be packed into the chicken breast, but the chicken should not be bursting. If possible, try to squeeze the slit closed once full.
6.) Heat approx 2 Tbsp of olive oil on the stove. Add stuffed chicken breasts; cook on one side for 2 minutes; flip over and only briefly cook on the other side. Add to an oven-safe pan.
7.) Put the pan of chicken in the oven for approximately 15 minutes at 375 degrees F until cooked through.

Another tasty recipe: Mediterranean Chicken with Eggplant

Asparagus Soup

One of my favorite things about Austrian cuisine is the focus on foods that are in season and using this produce for as many seasonal dishes as possible. In the early spring, we are now in asparagus season, and asparagus dishes will be all over Wien. I was craving some good Spargelsuppe, so I googled some recipes to make my own. Unfortunately, as a student lacking some key ingredients (cream), it did not turn out like the Viennese creamy version, but it was very tasty in its own right!

I modified this recipe and added/eliminated ingredients based on what I had available. I also chose not to puree my final product, so it was a very tasty chowder rather than a cream of asparagus soup.

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic
(opt) 3 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 cup fresh mushrooms, diced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 (14 ounce) can condensed chicken broth
1 chicken bouillon cube
2 cans full of water (about 2 cups)
(opt) 1 potato, peeled and diced
1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and coarsely chopped
3/4 cup half-and-half (or milk)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
(opt) 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
approx. 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
dash of ginger

1. Melt butter or margarine in a heavy cooking pot. Add olive oil. Add onions and chopped celery; after a few minutes, add diced mushrooms. Saute until tender. Press or thinly dice the garlic, as you prefer, and add to pot.

2. Stir in flour, mixing well. Cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Do not burn, or let it go lumpy.

3. Add water, chicken broth, and chicken soup base; stir until smooth. Bring to a boil. Add diced potatoes and chopped asparagus. Reduce heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes. Drop a piece of old bread on the top of the soup to soak up any excess oils. Remove bread before next step.

4. (Ignore this step if you prefer a chowder-like soup rather than cream of asparagus). Puree soup in a food processor or blender in batches. Return to pot.

5. Stir in half and half (or milk for a thinner soup) and soy sauce. Add peppers, cloves, and ginger. Bring soup just to boil. Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve hot.



Though this was very tasty, I'm still looking for an authentic Austrian-style recipe. Might try this one next time: White Asparagus Soup.

Pork and Peaches

Made this recipe tonight. Substituted regular onions for shallots and had no fresh rosemary. Turned out pretty tasty!

Pork Chops with Peaches

Cinnamon and Pork

Papers are finished, and 4/5 classes are complete. *breathes*

Last night I made dinner for my roommates using a bunch of ingredients that I had lying around needing used up. I adapted my meal from a recipe that Kat taught me. She usually cooks this using ground beef, but I had a package of pork "goulash" cuts (pork cut into small chunks, one of the least expensive meat options here) and substituted that.

Cinnamon Pork mix
Recipe from: Kat
Serving Size: 3-4 people

-1 package ground beef or small boneless cuts of pork (equivalent of "goulash" cuts)
-2 onions
-rice (approx 2 cups)
-raisins (I used two large handfuls)
-cinnamon, paprika, and chili powder
-cheese (mozzarella, parmesan, whatever you prefer)

First cook the onions in a large skillet and powder them with cinnamon. Cook until translucent and caramelized. (This is also a tasty snack in its own right, as my vegetarian friends quickly discovered). Meanwhile, start the rice. Kat's tasty trick: add a bouillon cube of chicken or veggie broth to the boiling water; the rice will absorb this flavor.
Remove onions and set aside. Add meat to pan until the meat is browned. While it cooks, powder it with *lots* of cinnamon, and also paprika and chili pepper to your liking.
Once cooked through, keep the meat in the pan and add the raisins. Stir around until raisins are puffy. Add all of the rice and onions back into the pan. Mix around, letting the juices coat the rice and form a tasty mixture. Remove from heat. Grate some cheese on top and mix in so that it melts slighty. Spoon out, and enjoy!



Additionally, Kat really likes cooking with cinnamon, and here's another favorite that's even easier:

Cinnamon Soy Pork
Recipe from: Kat
-1 package small pork cuts or other meat
-soy sauce
-cinnamon
Let the raw meat soak in soy sauce for an hour or so before cooking. Then add to a skillet (might need to add a little more soy sauce), powder with lots of cinnamon, and cook until browned and cooked through. Serve with rice. Delicious!

Topfenecken

I'm on a roll!  Today I baked some delicious Topfenecken ("Topfen wedges").  This dessert snack is delicious and easy to make! Topfen is a cheese that is a common ingredient in Austrian desserts (Topfen cake is pretty much Austrian cheesecake, and Topfenstrudel is one of the most popular strudels, only after Apfel). Unfortunately, Topfen is pretty much impossible to find in the States, so this recipe will probably be most applicable to my study abroad classmates or anyone else living in Central Europe. Therefore, I will keep all of the measurements metric. For the American readers, I will try to find a reasonable substitute when I get back to the States.

Topfenecken
Recipe from: Heidi, my teaching internship advisor
Ingredients: 250g Flour, 250g Butter, 250g Topfen (20%), salt, marmalade (apricot is best)

Mix the flour and a dash of salt; cut in the butter in small pieces and mix with a fork in order to make the dough flaky. Add the topfen. Mix until soft dough forms. Roll into a ball and chill overnight, or for at least 4 hours.

The next day, roll out the dough (not paper-thin but with only a few millimeters of thickness). Use a knife to cut the dough into squares. Put a small dab of marmalade in the middle of each square. Then pull one corner of the square up and over to the diagonal side, forming a triangular pouch. Pinch the sides closed and place on a baking pan (no grease needing).

Bake until puffed up and golden brown (approx 200 C for 15 minutes, or 350 F for 10 minutes?). Remove and Bon Appetit!



A substitute of gluten-free flour will also make deliciously flaky gluten-free Topfenecken. The gluten-free versions are a little flatter, but still puffy and flaky--apparently characteristics that are hard to find in gluten-free foods. The Topfen works wonders. Köstlich!

A Taste of Home: Chicken Pot Pie

With a craving for food that reminded me of home and with a bunch of frozen vegetables needing used, my project this week was to make Chicken Pot Pie.  Everyone seems to like to make things from scratch in Austria (it's impossible to find frosting, pre-made pie crusts, etc in stores. Not even Bisquick!), so I set out to make it all on my own.  Special thanks to Kristi and Mom for giving me tips!

For the crust, I followed this recipe, tweaked a bit for bigger proportions to make a larger crust. Put flour and a pinch of salt in a bowl and cut in thin pieces of butter; use a fork to mix and cut the butter into smaller pieces. Once the butter is broken down and the mixture looks crumbly and even, add a few spoonfuls of ice water. Mix together, and work the dough into a ball with your hands. Wrap in plastic to keep it from drying out, and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.


For the filling, I referenced this recipe but pretty much did my own thing based on what I had. I used five small boneless chicken filets, 3/4 of a large bag of frozen veggies, a couple potatoes, condensed cream of mushroom soup, and milk.  These were all items that I had lying around the house that needed used up.  Very convenient!  Add anything else that you have on hand that would be tasty inside.

Prepare: Preheat over to 425 F (or 218 C!). Chop the chicken filets into smaller pieces (bite-sized chunks). Thaw the frozen vegetables or chop/prepare a mixture of fresh vegetables (corn, peas, carrots, etc). Peel and chop as many potatoes as you'd like (I only used two small ones--they're all I had--but we decided more would have been better. Also, consider briefly boiling the peeled potatoes before adding them to the vegetable mix; this will make them softer).

First, melt a spoonful of butter in a skillet (make sure it's a big skillet!). Add the chunks of chicken to the pan and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Keep turning them over and moving them around until all the chicken is cooked through. Next, add your vegetables, chopped potatoes, soup (condensed cream of mushroom or chicken), and milk. Mix together for about 5 minutes or until the entire mixture is hot (slightly bubbling).


Remove your chilled dough from the fridge and roll it out. Do not be alarmed if it's especially hard; the butter has probably solidified together again. Let sit for a minute and slowly use your rolling pin (or other cylindrical object, such as the glass that I used ^_^) to stretch it out and roll it into a thin long shape in order to cover your baking pan. Try to keep the thickness consistent; paper-thin dough will form a crispier crust, whereas slightly thicker dough will take longer to bake but form a softer, doughier crust (and in my opinion, tastier!).

The linked recipe calls for baking your pot pie in the same skillet; instead, I decided to use a 9x13 pan (thus needing a larger crust). Pour your filling mixture into whichever pan you'd prefer to bake in. Lay the dough on top so that it completely covers the mixture; wrap the ends around the edge of the pan and pinch. Use a knife to poke slits in the dough crust; this will allow steam to escape. Melt another spoonful of butter and brush thinly onto the crust.

Put into the over and cook for about 12-15 minutes or until golden brown (varies depending on your thickness of crust). Remove, serve, and enjoy!

Austrian Recipe: Wiener Schnitzel

Time for something new to spice up this blog! This semester, I've collected quite a few recipes, most of which are for authentic Austrian cuisine. Rather than just selfishly keeping them all to myself, I've decided to post them for the world to share.  Enjoy!

Naturally, the first recipe is for one of the most quintessential examples of Viennese cuisine, which is also one of the easiest to prepare: 

Wiener Schnitzel

Materials: salt, flour, egg, breadcrumbs, thin cuts of meat (i.e. pork or turkey; in Austria, a schnitzel merely means a thin cut of meat)**
The amount of egg, flour, and breadcrumbs depends on how many pieces of schnitzel you are making. I usually make about 4 small pieces and have no problem using only one egg.

1. Salt the uncooked meat on both sides. Use a meat tenderizer (wooden hammer-like object) to make the schnitzel even thinner. This will ensure that the meat is cooked through (otherwise the breading might brown faster than the meat cooks).

2. Get three flat bowls and place the flour, egg, and breadcrumbs each in a separate bowl. Put each piece of meat first in the flour. Turn it over until it is coated in flour. Next place it in the egg, and also ensure that it is coated. Finally, put each piece of schnitzel in the breadcrumbs. This is the outer layer. Keep turning it over and ensure that the meat is completely covered in breadcrumbs.

3. Warm oil (or butter) in a skillet on the stove. Once warm, place the coated meat in the skillet. Keep turning the meat over every few minutes until it is golden-brown color.

4. Remove schnitzel from the pan and place on a paper towel. Pat off the excess oil.

5. Season to your taste; lemon is especially good. Consider serving with sauteed potatoes. Enjoy, and tell me how you liked it!


**Traditionally, Wiener Schnitzel is veal, but nowadays most Austrians prefer to use another meat for reasons of cost and ethics. Pork is the most common schnitzel found in restaurants, followed closely by turkey or chicken.