An Elegant Austrian Christmas Dinner

By Susanne Marie Servin , Herzerl Tours

The Menu

• Schlumberger Sparkling Wine brut (this is an Austrian sparkling wine – it may be replaced with a California Beringer brut, but please, no Asti Spumanti!) Start out with a glass of same.
• Smoked Filet of Trout with Elstar Apple Salad (may be replaced with Granny Smith) and Whipped Cream with Cranberries. Drink a 1996 Nussberger chardonnay with it. (You may substitute a Peconic Bay chardonnay from Long Island or something similar.)
• Cutlet of Veal "Imperial" with Baked Stuffed Tomatoes and Noodles. Accompany it with a St. Laurent Stiegelmar from Austria’s Pannonia region.
• Viennese Souffle with Hazelnuts and Ice Wine Sabayon. Drink Austrian Ice Wine with this.
• Viennese Coffee

Serve on beautiful Austrian ceramic dishes, such as Gmundner Keramik, and use Austrian glassware, such as Stölzle-Oberglas.

The Recipes

SMOKED FILET OF TROUT WITH ELSTAR APPLE SALAD AND WHIPPED CREAM WITH CRANBERRIES

Remove remaining bones from two smoked trout filets and cut them diagonally into two or four pieces.

For the apple salad, halve and core one apple. Cut the apple into thin slices and marinade with a few drops of lemon juice.

Combine 2 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise and 3 tablespoons whipped cream in a mixing bowl; add marinated apples. Whip 100g (3.5 oz.) sweet cream until stiff and then slowly mix with 2 tablespoons of cooked cranberries and season with freshly ground pepper.

Presentation: Place the Elstar apple salad in the center of a cold plate, arrange one or two pieces of the smoked trout close to the salad. Garnish with fresh watercress and the cranberry/whipped cream.

Serve with crusty white bread and chardonnay.

CUTLET OF VEAL – IMPERIAL STYLE – WITH STUFFED TOMATOES AND NOODLES

Season four well trimmed veal cutlets on both sides with salt and white pepper. Dust them very lightly with flour, pat off any excess.

Heat two tablespoons of oil (canola or similar; no olive oil) in a heavy sauté pan large enough to hold the cutlets without crowding them. When oil is hot brown the cutlets approximately 5 minutes per side. Transfer the meat to a heated plate and keep warm. Pour off any excess fat from the pan.

Deglaze the pan with 100g (3.5 oz.) white wine (preferably the one used to drink at dinner), then reduce by half. Add 100g ( 3.5 oz.) of a brown stock (canned will do), continue to reduce sauce until it is thickened slightly. Slowly whisk in 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, a little at a time. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.

Cut two tomatoes into halves and remove the seeds with a tablespoon. Season with salt and pepper. Stuff the halves with 120g (4.25 oz.) of blanched spinach, seasoned with salt and black pepper; put some grated cheese on top of each tomato half. Put on shallow baking dish. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake tomatoes for two minutes.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a little olive oil and a little salt to boiling water 160g (6 oz.) of noodles and cook until al dente. Drain and rinse quickly under hot water, return noodle to a pan and toss with hot butter.

Presentation: Strain some sauce on the warm dinner plates, arrange veal cutlets. Put two pieces sautéed foie gras on top and cover all with a small egg omelet. Place the stuffed tomato half at the left side of the plates and the noodles on the right side.

Serve with St. Laurent Stiegelmar 1990 (Austrian Wine) or sauvignon blanc.

VIENNESE SOUFFLÉ WITH HAZELNUTS AND ICE WINE SABAYON

serves 6-8

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Cream four egg yolks, 40g (1.5 oz) powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla sugar and cinnamon.

Whip four egg whites with 60g (2 oz.) sugar until stiff. Stir 1/3 of the whipped egg whites with 80g (3 oz.) ground hazel nuts, 50g (1.75 oz.) flour, and 20g (.75 oz.) plain bread crumbs into the egg mixture, then gently fold in the remaining whites. (It is better to have some white showing than to overdo the mixing)

Divide the soufflé mixture among the buttered and floured soufflé cups, filling each 2/3 full. Run your thumb around the inside edge of each cup do that the soufflés will form a "hat."

Bake for 35 minutes, then turn off the oven.

Ice wine Sabayon:

In a large mixing bowl whisk 3 egg yolks, 1 egg and 100g (3.5 oz.) powdered sugar with 150g (5.25 oz.) white wine and 100g (3.5 oz.) ice wine over a bain marie, stirring all the time. The sabayon has to be served immediately.

Presentation: Unfold the soufflés on dessert plates, cover half of each with ice wine sabayon.

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