Kaiserschmarren

P has made this so many times he can do it blindfolded but since it was my first time, I followed the recipe to the letter.  I used my new Die Gute Küche; Das Österreichische Jahrhundert Kochbuch.  Instead of raisins though I used dried cranberries since I had them on hand.  They went well with the apple sauce on the side.

Viennese Sandtorte

Like a pound cake.  The recipe called for 5 eggs but I only had 4 and it still turned out okay.  Even Ramona the cat stole a piece.  We had some last night and some for breakfast just now.  The chemistry of baking is so interesting--the European recipes use separated eggs and fold things together while the Americans usually beat them into the batter whole.  Texture is so important.  The book I used is Kaffeehaus by Rick Rodgers, with recipes and photographs of old time coffee houses in Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.  

On this pouring down rainy day...

... I made an Austrian garlic soup in honor of the woman who made my first one: my mother-in-law Lizi.  I followed the recipe in German and made it in metric, substituted a couple of ingredients (used vegetable stock instead of chicken and yogurt instead of sour cream), and it turned out nicely.  

I have a new cookbook, a wonderful resource for Austrian food: Die Gute Küche; Das Österreichische Jahrhundert Kochbuch.  The Austrians revere their soups--and frankly! so do I.