Yesterday I had thawed out a package of three small veal scaloppini purchased at Alpine Sausage Kitchen ($20.00/lb.) several months ago, but because we found fresh cod while shopping at Costco yesterday, we had decided to forego the veal for the cod casserole.
Tonight, we decided to make a quick meal including Weiner
Schitzel, so we could watch the first installment of the new season of Antiques
Roadshow at 7:00 p.m.
I suggested a shaved Brussels sprouts casserole, but Suzette
said Susan had given us the PPI haricot verte she had made for our Friday
evening meal, so we could make a really simple meal by heating the string beans
and the PPI pasta.
I immediately said yes, but requested the traditional
approach because I have not had a real Weiner Schnitzel since we were in Vienna
7 or 8 years ago. The traditional
approach in my mind is to pound out the veal with a meat tenderizer and then to
dip the scallops of veal first in flour, then in egg and finally into bread
crumbs and then to sauté them in butter and olive oil with lemon, parsley and capers. Suzette said, “Okay,”, so I fetched the bread
crumbs and Suzette prepared the egg and flour and bread crumbs for the dipping bowls
and started a large skillet with butter and olive oil heating on the
stove.
While Suzette microwaved the haricot verte and pasta, I chopped
some fresh parsley and sliced and seeded a lemon. Then Suzette sautéed the veal scallops she
had triple-dipped in the skillet and added capers and lemon and parsley to the sauté. In less than five minutes, while I chopped an
additional ½ cup of parsley for the garnish, everything was ready and I fetched
the PPI bottles of 2010 Cameron Hughes Riesling/Chain Blanc and the 2003 Seigneurs
de Bergerac.
Suzette liked the heavier sweeter Riesling/Chenin Blanc with
the lemony, vinegary veal dish, but I liked the lighter, less sweet, more elegant
aged French Bergerac. After dinner, I
asked for a bit of the last of the Riesling/Chenin Blanc to finish my meal, to
see if the sweeter wine worked with the acidic flavors and it did but I still found
it too heavy and sweet.
I cannot think of a more elegant meal, made in less
time. We both agreed that even a fine
dining restaurant, such as Suzette’s Greenhouse Bistro, cannot serve such a
meal, because of the cost of the veal, for less than $24.00 which puts it out
of the reach of most restaurant menus.
Ah, the joys of home cooking.
Also, I had not appreciated the fineness of the exquisitely thin
haricot verte that Susan had made on Friday, because we threw them on the salad
and they got lost in Mac’s House blue cheese dressing, but tonight they stood
on their own on the plate with the pasta and both were elegant and worthy accompaniments
to the sautéed veal and created a beautiful palate of white, green and golden yellow
colors on the plate.
After dinner we had cognac and chocolate and chocolate
cookies given to us by Mrs. Page for Christmas.
Bon Appètit
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