Food Nerd Friday: Apple Strudel

What makes a girl like me even more excited to visit a palace? Finding out that every hour on the hour, there is a Strudelshow.

Schloss Schonbrunn

   While visiting Schloss Schonbrunn in Vienna, one can not miss the many signs for the Strudelshow. I knew immediately that it was something that I had to attend and could almost not finish the palace tour soon enough. Actually, the palace tour is quite wonderful and very worthwhile. It's too bad really that no one ever thought to film The Real Life Housewife of Schonbrunn back in the day. The drama would actually have depth and reason. And nothing cures drama as good as the buttery layers of apple strudel.

Strudelshow

   The show cost a couple extra Euro to attend and with great showmanship a Viennese confectioner walks through the steps of how to make the Original Vienna Apfelstrudel (the show is spoken in both German and English). The thickening agent in the classic filling is bread crumbs that are toasted in butter than tossed with the sliced apples. An important note, you are served a piece of strudel to enjoy while watching the show. And even more perfect, if you arrive on time (we were just late enough to still get in), you can order a cappuccino to enjoy with your pastry...

   After the class, all Troy could talk about was when would I make a strudel. I am home all day... As luck would have it, he picked up a bag of apples to have with his lunches. But they were parishing quickly on the counter top. I looked at them one morning and decided I knew their fate.

   I have zero pantry staples and don't know if I really care to get any as I don't know where I would store them. That may change when the snow flies and I decide that Lottie needs some baking lessons. Anyways, I decided to cheat. I picked up a puff pastry sheet from the freezer section of my grocery store. And it was a lovely pastry. I'm going to miss it when we return home. From there, not having any measuring devices or a scale, I just had to wing it (aka Andy Style).

   I made soft bread crumbs with a cheese grater and used a Dutch oven instead of a mixing bowl. I felt like I was in college again. But in the end, there was apple strudel. And it was fabulous.

My Apple Strudel