Weiner Schnitzel, Green Potatoes, Buttered Carrots

My sisters and I make dinner for one another for our birthday. I cooked for my older sister recently, even though her birthday is in November. We don’t always have the dinner on or near our birthday, just some time during the year.

Since our family is of German descent, I decided to create this dish that I had tried not too long ago. I had never had this meal before—that I was aware of anyway. I’m really surprised we never had it when we were little. This entire dinner is not low fat let me tell you right now. And it does take a bit more work, but worth it.

And for dessert – well check out the other blog: Lynn, What’s for Dessert? At some point I’ll list what we had for dessert when I made this meal. It was Hot Fudge Cake with vanilla ice cream. I’ll make that my second post for dessert. Maybe.

Here’s the recipe for Weiner Schnitzel from my friend, Carole (Lasting Impressions).

1 pound pork scaloppini slices (8-12) about ¼ inch thick and pounded thinner
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Spread ½ cup flour on a plate.
On another plate spread 2 cups breadcrumbs or cracker crumbs.
Beat 2 eggs and 1 Tablespoon milk in a bowl.
Dredge meat in flour, shake off excess.
Dig into egg mixture, then coat with crumbs.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil.
Cook the schnitzel in batches, being sure not to overcrowd them, until browned, 1-1 ½ minutes per side.
Remove to paper towels to drain, then keep warm in oven.
Serve with lemon wedges.

When I did this, my husband had picked up some pork for me. He picked up 4 really thick pork chops that equaled 2 pounds. I took two of them, cut them in half (thick wise) and ended up with four pieces of pork that I pounded really thin.

For some reason, I thought I was supposed to sprinkle the pork with lemon juice after salting and peppering (as I made this part ahead of time – and put them in the fridge).

I also cooked mine longer because I wasn’t sure about the thickness.

I used cracker crumbs. Everything else I pretty much followed.

I also looked up Weiner Schnitzel as I wondered about the name. According to some German lady: “Weiner – this word comes from the word wien, which is the Austrian city called Vienna. Schnitzel means basically meat in a crust.”

Green Potatoes aren’t really green potatoes, but the mixture is green (that goes on the potatoes). This recipe came from Penzeys Spices catalog they mail out free if you sign up or you can view it online at: www.penzeys.com

1-1 ½ pounds small potatoes, unpeeled and cut in half (I used Trader Joe’s little tiny potatoes and I still cut them in half)
1-2 TB olive oil
Sauce:
1 Fresh poblano pepper, seeded and chopped (or another mild to medium green chili pepper)
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, loosely packed
1 cup baby spinach leaves, loosely packed
3 garlic cloves (3/4 tsp PENZEYS MINCED GARLIC)
¼ tsp PENZEYS GROUND CUMIN
½ tsp salt
½ tsp PENZEYS FRESHLY GROUND PEPPER
¼ - ½ cup butter (1/2 to 1 stick) melted

Steam or boil the potatoes until fork tender (I boiled). The time required will vary based on the size of the potatoes. While the potatoes cook, combine all the sauce ingredients and puree in blender or food processor. (I did this the day before to cut down on what I had to do the day of the dinner.) It says using a full stick of butter is very delicious while ½ stick is tasty as well if you’re trying to cut back. (I used 2 pounds of potatoes therefore used 1 stick, but ½ stick would have been more than sufficient).

When the potatoes are steamed, place them in a large skillet with the olive oil and heat over medium heat. Brown the potatoes evenly. Remove from the heat and place in serving bowl, add sauce and stir to coat. Serve immediately. (Since I made the sauce ahead of time, I then reheated it. And since I wanted everything to come out at the same time, I kept the potatoes in a sauce pan with the sauce keeping them warm. I didn’t serve immediately and they were fine.)

Butter carrots:
I just peeled and cut some carrots, steamed them in a little water until the tenderness that is desired and added some butter.



Ingredients:
Pork
Bread/Cracker crumbs
egg/milk
flour
potatoes
carrots

Rating & Type: NSE/P