Tour of Europe: Liechtenstein's meal

Located in Central Europe, Liechtenstein is a doubly land locked Alpine country that borders Switzerland and Austria and is the only Alpine country to be located totally in the Alps.

 

Cuisine in Liechtenstein is heavily influenced by its Swiss and Austrian neighbors, as well by French traditions.  Dumplings, cheese, pork, bacon, schnitzel, tomatoes, apples and pears are commonly eaten. Cinnamon, vanilla, fruit filled pancakes and pastries make up an impressive array of desserts. 

Although Liechtenstein is too small to have developed an extensive national cuisine, it does have some distinctive regional dishes. Käseknöpfle consists of dumplings made by squeezing a mixture of flour, water, and eggs through a perforated board. The dumplings are then layered with grated cheese and a layer of fried onions and are often served with applesauce or a salad.

 

Menu:  Käseknöpfle (Dumpling topped with cheese and onions), Asparagus, Applesauce, Salad, Apfel Ring Krapfen (Apple Ring Fritters)

Outcome:  Who would have thought that simple flour/egg dumplings would be so GOOD?  As I removed each batch of the dumplings from the boiling water and added them to the serving bowl, I sprinkled a good handful of shredded cheese over the top.  I didn’t want to crowd the pot, so we ended up making 7 or 8 batches -- our bowl was full of yummy, cheesy dumplings.  Then the fried onions were added and heaven was made!  This was comfort food all the way and was perfect on a rainy and blustery Sunday afternoon.  The information I’d read about the dumplings stated that applesauce is usually served on the side.  We tried it.  Oh my...  Warm, cheesy, gooey dumplings with a sweet/tangy applesauce?  This was over the top wonderful.  NOT A BIT was left over!  This was like "fancy schmancy" mac and cheese. 

 

Bill sautéed the asparagus and mushrooms for us – I don’t even know what he added besides a little white wine and butter, but they sure did come out tasty!

 

The apple ring fritters were quite good as well – we just dusted the top of the slices with a little powdered sugar, but I think that it would be glorious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!  (I want to try this with pears, too.)  I chose Golden Delicious apples and we cooked them slowly in just a tablespoon of butter.  The recipe called for Cognac, but I happened to have some apple brandy on hand from a previous recipe so we used that.  I LOVE having a gas range – all I have to do is tip the skillet a little and the alcohol catches immediately and burns off within seconds but it sure does leave a great taste! 

PS:  No, Kirstin, no one "licked" any "steins"!!  LOL 

Käseknöpfle with fried onions, applesauce, asparagus

Next up:  Ben chose Malta! 

Tour of Europe: Albania's meal

 

This week’s meal is from the country of Albania.  The cuisine in Albania is Mediterranean, influenced by many including Greek, Italian and Turkish cooking.  It is characterized by the use of Mediterranean herbs such as oregano, mint, basil, rosemary and more in cooking meat and fish, but also chili pepper and garlic. Vegetables are used in almost every dish.  In Greece, a popular dish is spanakopita, made by laying phyllo dough with spinach and baking it, and I found an Albanian recipe that is the same thing as spanakopita, but called byrek me spinaq.  Byrek can be made with meat or other vegetables, but I opted to make the spinach version. 

Menu:  Byrek me Spinaq (Spinach Pie), Sheqerpare (cookies in syrup)

Outcome:  The byrek me spinaq came out pretty good.  The girls wanted to help, so after Bridget sautéed the spinach, I had her sit down at the table with a little bowl of olive oil, the phyllo dough, and a baking dish.  While I was making the salad, I talked her through how to layer and brush the sheets while Brandi helped to make up the spinach mixture.  When Bridget finished with the first half of the phyllo layering/brushing, she sat back and said, “Whew!  That was tedious!!”  Of course, Brandi reminded her that she was only halfway finished!  haha.  The dish was pretty good, but we agreed that the use of phyllo dough was a bit time-consuming and we’ll probably choose a dish other than spanakopita when we get to making a meal for Greece. 


Bridget also helped make the yummy cookies – they are kind of like a cross between a sugar cookie and a butter cookie.  They came out light and crispy.  The recipe called for hazelnuts, but since both girls don’t care for them, we put whole almonds on the top of the cookies instead.  After we pulled the cookies from the oven, we put them on cooling racks with the parchment paper that was on the cookie sheet placed under the racks to catch any drips from the syrup.  I used a pastry brush and drizzled the sugar syrup over the cookies – it was so cool the way the syrup transformed into very thin threads that cooled instantly!  It reminded me of the cooking shows I’ve seen where they make a croquembouche with the sugar threads binding the tower together.  The crunchy topping was a great addition to the cookies, and we all loved them. 
Next up:    Bill chose Liechtenstein!