TammyM > wrote:

> Yep, I saw that after I posted this. Well. maybe I'll post a strudel
> recipe and then make it? :-) I'm becoming quite the strudel scholar,
> pulled out every one of my pertinent cookbooks. Ten of them so far,
> including George Lange, a Romanian one, a Serbian one, a Croatian one,
> Austrian, general Eastern European ... but I've discovered I don't have
> a Czech-Slovak one so .... amazon here I come :-) <knew you'd
> appreciate that!>

Those are all the wrong strudels. Here is the right one, from _Cooking
of the Vienna's Empire_ by the great Joseph Wechsberg.

Spitzbubba

Gebackener Fleischstrudel

Meat Filling for the Strudel

To serve 5

4 tablespoons lard
1 1/2 cup finely chopped onions
5 cups ground boiled or some other simply cooked beef or veal
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups beef stock, fresh or canned

Heat the lard in a 10-inch skillet until a light haze forms over it,
then add the onions and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until lightly colored.
Add the ground meat and cook it for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring
occasionally. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the paprika,
parsley and eggs. In a small saucepan melt the butter. When the foam
subsides, stir in the flour, continuing to stir until all the flour is
absorbed. Add the stock and cook over low heat, stirring, about 5
minutes. Stir the sauce into the meat mixture. Refrigerate while you
prepare the Strudel (see below). To fill the Strudel, follow the
directions given with the Strudel recipe.

Strudel
To make 1 six-foot Strudel (cut into sections)

3/4 cup lukewarm water
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon white vinegar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 1/2 cups bread flour (all-purpose flour will not do)
3/4 teaspoon salt
Melted butter
Bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 450°. In a small mixing bowl, combine the water,
egg, vinegar and butter, all of which should be at room temperature,
then add the mixture to the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir
by hand for about 5 minutes or by using an electric mixer with a pastry
arm for about 3 minutes, or until the mixture becomes a firm dough.

Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a floured surface to knead
it. Traditionally, Strudel dough is kneaded by repeatedly lifting it up
about 2 feet and throwing it against the table, continuing for about 10
minutes, or until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. However, the
dough can be kneaded like other doughs - by pulling it into an oblong
shape, pressing it down and pushing it forward several times with the
heels of the hands, then turning it slightly and repeating the process
until it is smooth and elastic. This usually takes about 10 minutes.

Form the dough into a ball again, place it on the floured surface, cover
it with a warm (but not hot) inverted metal or earthenware bowl and let
it rest for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cover a large table (about 6 to 4 feet) with a tablecloth,
and sprinkle the cloth generously with flour. With a pastry brush, coat
the top of the dough with melted butter. Roll it out to a thickness of
about 1/8 inch, then begin stretching it over the backs of your hands.
Working quickly, continue lifting the dough and stretching it by pulling
your hands apart until it is almost paper-thin and drapes over all 4
sides of the table. With scissors, trim off the thick outer edges of
the Strudel dough.

Brush the stretched dough generously with melted butter and then
sprinkle it with bread crumbs. Place whatever filling you plan to use
along the edge nearest you, in a 3-inch strip, to within 2 inches of the
ends, then lift the tablecloth on that side and use it to roll the dough
around the filling, jelly-roll fashion. Brush the top of the roll with
melted butter and sprinkle it with bread crumbs. With a sharp knife,
cut it into sections that will fit comfortably on your baking sheets.

Lightly butter 1 or 2 large baking sheets, place the sections on it,
seam sides down, with the aid of a metal spatula. Bake in the middle of
the oven for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 400°. Bake for 20
minutes longer, or until the Strudel is crisp and brown.

NOTE: Prepared Strudel dough (phyllo) is available in many areas. The
usual package of prepared dough contains 4 sheets, designed to be made
into 2 Strudel rolls, both of them together holding as much filling as
the one big roll made with the recipe above.

To prepare packaged Strudel dough, preheat the oven to 400°, then unroll
one sheet on a large damp kitchen towel and, using a pastry brush, coat
it with butter, then sprinkle it with bread crumbs. Unroll a second
sheet over the first and similarly coat it with butter and sprinkle it
with bread crumbs. Spread the filling along a 3-inch strip of the dough
nearest you and use the towel to roll it up, jelly-roll fashion. Bake
in the middle of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Howdy all,
I have only seen a couple of posts about this issue, and only became
aware of the upcoming cook along because of a Facebook post by Christine
- I don't read rfc exhaustively, as I once did! Were I only a Lady of
Leisure....

I'm thinking I want to make a Kay Hartman recipe. Maybe truffles (my
work crew would LOVE that), maybe Jack's favorite spice cake (my
sister's office would LOVE that). Or. Given the kerfuffle that
occurred yesterday on my own FB page with regard to apple strudel, I'm
thinking that's a possibility too. Although if I do make strudel, I
think I'll make poppy seed strudel for my mom's Hungarian neighbors -
they've known me since I was a child and it might just be a nice treat
for them. Plus, it will give me another opportunity to stretch my
strudel making skills <giggle>. I made strudel with a good friend last
weekend and was amazed how little difficulty we had stretching the dough
to paper thinness (as in you could read through it - or as one person
said, see the flower pattern on the sheet underneath it). And while it
was very tasty, I know from my travels in Germany and Austria that it
can only get better with practice - it definitely wasn't up to the
standards of those I savored from the Konditoreien (sp, SpitzFictor?).
But the "practice toward elusive perfection" is the joy of the journey -
for me anyway. I'll wager that's the case for lots of folks here in
rfc-land.

What are you going to make?

TammyM

Christine Dabney wrote:
> On Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:43:41 -0700, TammyM > wrote:
>
>> Howdy all,
>> I have only seen a couple of posts about this issue, and only became
>> aware of the upcoming cook along because of a Facebook post by Christine
>> - I don't read rfc exhaustively, as I once did! Were I only a Lady of
>> Leisure....
>>
>> I'm thinking I want to make a Kay Hartman recipe. Maybe truffles (my
>> work crew would LOVE that), maybe Jack's favorite spice cake (my
>> sister's office would LOVE that). Or. Given the kerfuffle that
>> occurred yesterday on my own FB page with regard to apple strudel, I'm
>> thinking that's a possibility too.
>
> Needs to be an RFC recipe, Tammy. From the archives, or from the
> cookbook, or from the signature dishes page. Something you have never
> made before.


Yep, I saw that after I posted this. Well. maybe I'll post a strudel
recipe and then make it? :-) I'm becoming quite the strudel scholar,
pulled out every one of my pertinent cookbooks. Ten of them so far,
including George Lange, a Romanian one, a Serbian one, a Croatian one,
Austrian, general Eastern European ... but I've discovered I don't have
a Czech-Slovak one so .... amazon here I come :-) <knew you'd
appreciate that!>

Nah, I want it to be in the spirit of the cook-in. I've made Kay's
truffles before but I could make a variation of them. Or just do the
spice cake. Or have a peek at my rfc cookbook :-) OR ALL OF THE ABOVE
IF I REALLY GET AMBITIOUS!!!!!

(highly unlikely, my energy these days is really low)

TammyM

Victor Sack wrote:
> TammyM > wrote:
>
>> Yep, I saw that after I posted this. Well. maybe I'll post a strudel
>> recipe and then make it? :-) I'm becoming quite the strudel scholar,
>> pulled out every one of my pertinent cookbooks. Ten of them so far,
>> including George Lange, a Romanian one, a Serbian one, a Croatian one,
>> Austrian, general Eastern European ... but I've discovered I don't have
>> a Czech-Slovak one so .... amazon here I come :-) <knew you'd
>> appreciate that!>
>
> Those are all the wrong strudels. Here is the right one, from _Cooking
> of the Vienna's Empire_ by the great Joseph Wechsberg.
>
> Spitzbubba
>
> Gebackener Fleischstrudel
>
> Meat Filling for the Strudel
>
> To serve 5
>
Well I'd love to give you a ration, Fictor, but I must say, this sounds
wonderful. I will add "the right one" to my rapidly expanding
compilation. I also found one for cabbage and beef which sounds quite
intriguing.

<so typical of you, it's a savory one and not SWEET at ALL!>

Yours,
Principessa Tam Tam

TammyM > wrote:

> Victor Sack wrote:
> >
> > Gebackener Fleischstrudel
>
> Well I'd love to give you a ration, Fictor, but I must say, this sounds
> wonderful. I will add "the right one" to my rapidly expanding
> compilation. I also found one for cabbage and beef which sounds quite
> intriguing.

George Lang has potato, cabbage, and mushroom versions.

See also this:
<http://leitesculinaria.com/2229/recipes-mushroom-strudel.html>

> <so typical of you, it's a savory one and not SWEET at ALL!>

Never sweet, never! But occasionally bittersweet perhaps?

> Principessa Tam Tam

I have the honour to remain, Madam, Your Highness's most humble and
obedient servant,

Spitzbubba