Bavarian Comfort Food: "Schnitzel" Wiener Art with Brown Butter Spätzle

My love story with German food started in high school.

I took German as foreign language and loved the class. (Mr. Cozy happened to also be in that class and went on to take it in college, so he's much better than me!) Our teacher is originally from Germany and is now a friend of mine.  She made that class so authentic and fun--especially whenever she cooked for us!  Her warm German potato salad and creamy cherry cheesecake were two of my favorite dishes she made.  I really need to try my hand at that cheesecake!  Anyways, she introduced me to authentic German food and I immediately loved it!

Fast forwarding a few years, Mr. Cozy and I went to Europe with her and some other friends and were able to experience the cuisine first hand. It was this magical European trip where my husband proposed to me on a mountain top in the Swiss Alps. 

Can you say, "The Hills are Alive!!!..."

With the sound of "Yes!"

Wiener Art or Schnitzel may sound strange, but German and Austrian comfort food is actually quite similar to some of ours. This particular dish is basically chicken breast pounded out thinly, breaded and pan fried. Simple and good!  I've eaten it with yummy lemon sauce before, but here I just drenched it with a lemon wedge and it's complete.  That's usually how you'll find it served.

Spätzle is delicious homemade pasta/dumplings/yumminess.  I did not make these homemade, but found some at (my fav!) Fresh Market specialty grocery.  They cook up so light and tender making them a perfect pairing with the crispy schnitzel wiener art.  

Served with summer roasted vegetables, this Bavarian meal brings back some of my favorite memories that I'll always treasure!

 

"Schnitzel" Wiener Art
 (Forgive me! This is not a precise recipe.)

Olive oil

Butter

Chicken Breasts

Flour

Eggs

Italian seasoned Breadcrumbs

Dried Thyme

Salt and Freshly Cracked Pepper

Start by laying out your chicken breasts on a cutting board.  Using a very sharp knife, I cut my chicken breast horizontally making two breasts out of one. 

(You don't have to do this, but if not you will have huge portion for each one and a lot of pounding to do!)

 

Place aluminum foil or wax paper over top, and using a rolling pin I just pound them out to about thin.  Not so thin that they begin to fall apart, but about 1/4 inch or so.

Squeeze some lemon juice over the top and season with some dried thyme, salt and freshly cracked pepper. 

(You can use regular pepper, but you really should consider buying a pepper mill.  It's worth it! Love mine!)

Get out 3 flat dishes with sides.  Pie pans work great, too.

In one, put enough flour to coat your chicken.  Season this salt and pepper

In another, put your egg(s) and add a smidgen of water.

In the last, and closest to the pan, put your seasoned breadcrumbs.
I added more salt and pepper and a bit of paprika to this for color.

Add about 1 Tbsp of butter and 1 Tbsp oil to the pan.  Heat to medium-high heat.

When pan is hot and after dredging through the three pans of flour, egg, and breadcrumbs, carefully place chicken in the hot skillet.

After a couple of minutes, flip over the chicken to cook the other side until golden and crispy. It doesn't take long, because they're so thin.

~ Don't nearly burn them like I did! ~

Once cooked, place them on a stack of paper towels to drain and sprinkle with salt.  Serve hot with a large lemon wedge and enjoy!

Brown Buttered Spätzle
Cook spätzle according to diretions.  (Usually boiling it for about 13 minutes.)  Easy!!!

In a saute pan on low heat, melt about 1-2 Tbsp of butter, depending on how much spätzle you are making.  Cook until butter slightly browns.  Take pan off the heat now.  It may look curdley (is that a word?) but it's so good!

Toss the cooked spätzle in the butter, and add salt and pepper to taste.  YUM!!

Serve on the side with the Schnitzel and congratulate yourself on cooking German/Austrian food!

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