Another recipe from the collection of recipes included in
Ruth Reichl's memoirs,
Tender at the Bone. I have to say, I'm not a huge fan of
veal, for
all the moral reasons and
whatnot. However,
iffff Iiii wassss, I have no doubt this would be a very tasty dish indeed.
This recipe was imparted to Ruth by one of her mothers housekeepers, Mrs. Peavey, who also gave her the invaluable advice after dropping a Beef Wellington on the floor at a dinner party and reappearing only a minute later with a brand new one, that when making anything requiring dough to "Always make extra pastry. You never know what surprises life is going to serve up."
Wiener Schnitzel was Mr. Reichl's favorite meal and Mrs. Peavey believed that when she left her position with the family at least one person should know how to make it properly for him. Ruth claims that every time she made it she could hear Mrs Peavey in her head, in her thick German accent, telling her to "Pound der vehl very tin!"
Wiener Schnitzel
serves 4
Pound each cutlet "very tin!" between two pieces of waxed paper. You can do this with a mallet or equally as well by bring a heavy skillet down very hard on the veal a few times. This has the added benefit of providing a bit of anger therapy as well.
Place flour in a flat dish or plate large enough to hold cutlet. Place beaten egg in another dish, bread crumbs in a third. Season each with salt and pepper.
Dredge cutlets in flour. Dip into beaten egg. Dip into bread crumbs until thinly but thoroughly coated. Place on waxed paper covered platter and place in refridgerator for about an hour.
Melt four tablespoons of butter in a large skillet. When sizzling, brown cutlets quickly on each side till golden brown. Remove to platter.
Melt remaining two tablespoons butter in same pan. Squeeze lemon juice into butter, stir, and pour over cutlets.