I thought long and hard about it, and since I thought the above wouldn't taste good without goulash, which I didn't feel like making, I decided only after arriving at NTUC that I'd make schnitzel and spaetzle!
They sound like such a pair, don't they? Spaetzle is basically German egg noodles, short fat and Twisties-looking. They smell really like Roti Jala (which I adore), and taste a little like spaghetti except more flavourful. Below is an example I didn't make:
And since most of the recipes say spaetzle goes with schnitzel, I decided I'd try making chicken schnitzel too. I made mushroom gravy to eat with the spaetzle just in case it tasted too bland or something.
They don't look at all appetizing from the low-res cam phone picture, but they mostly tasted quite good! The surprise was how long it took to make the spaetzle (which has a pretty easy recipe) compared to the other two. The mushroom gravy took 30 minutes to simmer after all the ingredients had been added, and I was perplexed by why the recipe said to add flour to a dry-ish pan of dehydrated mushrooms. But boiling the spaetzle... it took me quite long, because of the difficulty in using a modified roti-jala colander to make them into noodles. I had to hang my arm over the pot of boiling water (they're boiled, so they're healthy = yay!) for almost a half hour waiting for the flour egg mixture to drip into the pot. I washed my colander-wielding arm every 5 minutes so it wouldn't get too hot. And the noodles didn't turn out pretty either. But they did smell and taste good. Leftovers can be sauteed in butter the next day, and they'll still taste as good.
Chicken schnitzel was simpler to make in terms of method. Salt and pepper, flour, dip in egg, smother in parmesan-breadcrumbs-seasoning mix, and then just fry over low heat in butter. No need for mixing, no flour, no weird put-together utensils. Crispy, tender, and tasty. Yumm.
Now, I never claim to be a good cook, because I'm so accident prone and I cook without thinking about the actual flavours. I guess I'm just good with following recipe instructions. At least I get to eat excitingly! Recipes can sometimes lead you down the wrong path - something my family learned today when the mushroom gravy turned out to salty. The recipe just said "salt and pepper to taste". I'd used chicken stock to make the broth before seasoning, but how was I to know that chicken stock was already so salty?! I'd never used it before :S And so I added a quarter teaspoon of salt to already salty gravy. Presto! Over salty mushroom gravy, which remained that way even after adding so much water. Hopefully it'll taste better tomorrow when I re-heat with more water and potatoes to absorb the saltiness. Also, I used Swiss brown mushrooms instead of white button or portobello just because it was browner than the button ones and cheaper than the protobellos. It tasted fine in the gravy, but I'm guessing picking the cheaper or prettier variety may not work out for all other recipes. So research and experience (which I sorely lack) is important! Must take note, must take note...
Okay, so ends my cooking adventure for today. Stayed in the kitchen for over 3 hours making these things, but the meal was good and filling. I was alone the entire cooking process, hence the little mishaps, but thank goodness my mum helped a little by boiling broccoli and carrots to complement the schnitzel and spaetzle. Added a little bit of "healthy" to today's dinner.
Friday: Bavarian bread dumplings next! Maybe with beef goulash...
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