Want a quick, easy, versatile, incredibly cheap, and delicious idea for dinner? Schnitzel!
Schnitzel is a traditional Austrian dish made with boneless meat thinned with a mallet, coated in breadcrumbs and fried. Traditionally made with veal, schnitzel is also made with pork and turkey.
L & D Meats in Guisachan Village on Gordon Drive offer all varieties made fresh in-house. I am fond of the pork variety and two pieces usually comes out to around $3!
I love that L & D always has great cooking ideas for the customers—Hugo is actually a trained chef, and owner Don and the rest of the crew are true foodies. Jean recommended that I try making Schnitzel Holstein with the pork and it was delicious. A specialty in Berlin, this schnitzel is topped with a sunny side up egg and a crowned with couple of anchovies. I also made a caper butter sauce to drizzle atop but, as Jean says, the egg makes its own sauce. There are a wide variety of toppings commonly served with schnitzel—from tomato sauce, mushroom cream sauce to simply a lemon wedge.
While at L & D check out their amazing variety of frozen ground meats available in the freezer. I always have one of each in my freezer for easy access. From ground bison or veal to lamb or venison, Don always stocks the very best quality. I bought some frozen ground elk to make hamburgers and it was delicious. Wild meats are extremely nutritious and very lean and I encourage you to substitute your usual ground beef with one of these other choices.
There is nothing like shopping at small, independently owned shops. I love the L & D family—it is fantastic to be able to directly chat with a butcher, ask questions, make requests for products or cuts. I cannot imagine picking up some random, plastic covered mystery meat at a chain supermarket anymore.
PS: the farm-raised chickens are perfect and they carry the best bacon in town! 250-717-1997.
Speaking of bacon: Fans, get out your pens! Chef Natasha Schooten at Osoyoos’s Watermark Resort was kind enough to share this delicious recipe with us. Bacon Jam. Oh ya, you heard me right. Imagine this on a sandwich or…well, anything.
Double Smoked Bacon Jam
Yields: 32 oz
1.5 lbs double smoked bacon cut into small dice
2 medium onions small dice
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
Sauté the bacon in a sauté pan until 75 per cent done. Take out of the bacon fat and add in the onions and start to sweat the onions off. Sweat the onions until they start to soften then add in the brown sugar and start to caramelize the onion. Next, season with salt and pepper then add in the balsamic vinegar and let it reduce to jam-like consistency. Store in a jam jar in the fridge.
Cold Night Remedy
Perfect escape for a cold winter’s night? Tuck into Bouchon’s Restaurant downtown Kelowna and fall into the arms of Paris.
I adore this restaurant—the room is perfect, the service is fabulous and it offers a wonderful place to enjoy a romantic date or a lively night with a group of friends.
My suggestion: Start with a Kir Royale (champagne with Crème de Cassis, which is blackcurrant liqueur), share some of the amazing frites (with mayo of course) and then indulge in the Duck Confit.
We just enjoyed this lineup with a group of friends last week. C’est manifique!
www.bouchonsbistro.com 250-763-6595
Jennifer Schell is editor of B.C. Wine Trails Magazine.
jennschell@shaw.ca
