If you are a meat lover you definitely heard of the famous Wiener Schnitzel which is one of the most popular Austrian dishes. But have you heard of the Cotoletta alla Milanese? Me neither until I visited Milano, Italy. It seems that there is an old “war” between this 2 for the origin of the dish.
In case you don’t know, the Wiener Schnitzel is a thin crumbed slice of veal fried in oil and served with lemon, Erdapfel potato salad (German potato salad) or boiled potato with parsley and butter. In Austria the term “Wiener Schnitzel” is protected by the law and only if the dish is made of veal you can call it so
The Cotoletta alla Milanese on the other hand, is also a breaded cutlet traditionally made of veal but fried in butter. From the name we can depict one of the only 2 differences I, and many others, found between these dishes. It is supposed that the name comes from “costoletta”, which in Italian means little bone, and it refers to the fact that the cutlet is cooked “bone-in”.
Austrians claim that they had the dish first. Even though according to a tale the recipe has been brought in Vienna from Italy in 1857 by field marshal Joseph Radetzky von Radetz, linguist Heinz Dieter Pohl insist this story is invented. He called the story “scientifically meaningless” as it cites no sources. And this study was made in 2007, so they are still trying to prove their Wienerschnitzel, as it is sometimes spelled, was the first of its kind.
In Italy though there are some evidence of the dish being present since 1134 at a banquet given for the canon of Milan’s St. Ambrogio Cathedral. If we want to go even further in history, there is evidence around the 1st century BC of the Romans enjoying dishes of thin sliced meat, breaded and fried. Also, in Latin America some dishes were inspired from the cotoletta alla milanese and are now known as milanesa.
There is also the book Horizon Cookbook and Illustrated History of Eating and Drinking Through the Ages by William Harlan Hale where he says the following “Wiener Schnitzel and its Italian counterpart, Cotoletta Milanese, involved two Hapsburg domains in a culinary quarrel. Both branches of the family, Austrian and Italian, claimed credit for the invention of the dish”.
With all the above and many other information I kind of made an opinion regarding the origin of the delicious piece of meat, but I couldn’t get a definite answer. Instead I decided is not even important, at least not for me. I will let fellow Italians and their Austrian friends to argue over it and I will just enjoy it whenever I am traveling to any of this beautiful and filled with culture places.
Category: Food
Looking for an easy to make, delicious dinner for your family? I might have something for you!
I think we all struggle during weekdays with putting some quick cooked food on the table and still have everybody licking their finger. I have some recopies which I know the whole family likes and are easy to make but I don’t want to abusively use them to not get us all saturated on them. And so, when I have some time I am searching for quick recipes to try out.
That’s how I found this, in my opinion upgraded, Chicken Parmesan recipe that is both easy and super tasty. You might be thinking of all the pots you need to clean after cooking this and how not that easy to make it would be. Well, that’s why I said this is an upgraded recipe. You will make it in just one pot!
Even though the original Chicken Parm is made with breaded chicken, in here you’ll find it just fried. You’re disappointed? Don’t be! If you didn’t know until now, let me tell you that the Parmigiana, translated as “in the style of Parma”, was being initially made with aubergine or eggplant. Only when Italian immigrants took the dish with them in other countries they started adding different meat cuts to the dish. And well they did because that’s how we ended up with Pollo alla Parmigiana. So now that we are convinced that making little changes in the original recipes can bring up delicious make overs, let me tell you what you will need so you can quickly start cooking.
4 boneless skinless chicken breast fillets
128 oz diced tomatoes
4 cups of grated mozzarella cheese
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1lb penne pasta
2 ½ chicken broth
1 garlic glove minced
1 onion diced
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper
All you need to do is place a big skillet on over medium stove and heat the olive oil. Cook the chicken on each side for 3-4 minutes until golden brown then set the chicken aside.
In the same pan add first the onion and cook for 3 minutes then add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Putt in the chicken broth, pasta, tomatoes and seasoning. After it comes to a broil on medium-low heat, let it simmer for 15 minutes.
Add spinach to the skillet and place the chicken on it then top it with the Parmesan cheese and mozzarella. Place it into the preheated oven and let it cook for 10-15 minutes until the cheese melts.
Not a meat lover? You’ll definitely be one if you’ll follow the steps into cooking a delightful steak!
Chicken is so commune, you can find it at in every menu of any restaurant. Indeed you are never disappointed with it but that\s because you don’t have high expectations – chicken can be just regular and pretty much anyone can cook it. Pork is the most consumed meat worldwide but me personally I’ve never felt like tasting heaven when eating it. I must though admit that I enjoy some good bacon from time to time..and I could go on with the other types of meat but I’m guessing you got the point, meat is not my favorite food.
Or wait! There is one kind that, when cooked well, it gives me the chocolate feeling – I love chocolate, I would never stop eating it if I could! Well that the exact feeling that I get when I taste the flavor, juiciness and tenderness of a good steak.
I think we can all agree that when it comes to meat there is just one king: steak! For those that don’t, I’ll ask them to let us know which other meat has it’s owe class of structure? I haven’t heard of something like pork house or goat house but almost every little town has its steakhouse.
If you’d be asked to close your eyes and think of meat what do you think you will see? I am pretty sure that, after putting aside the weirdness of somebody asking you to do that, the image that will be formed in your head will be nothing but a steak, exactly as the bulldogs in old cartoons was dreaming of it.
Is your mouth watery already? Mine sure is! And the problem is that in order to satisfy this steak craving you have to spend quite some bucks in a good restaurant. Of course you could also try and make it at home to reduce the costs but you might just waste the money on the meat and not get the satisfaction because it’s quite difficult to cook a perfect tender steak.
That’s what I was thinking before learning from a top chef how to make a perfect steak! After watching Gordon Ramsey’s video from down below I have been taking any occasion to make some delicious steak and I never failed at it again!
All it takes is a hot pan, some oil, butter, garlic and thyme for a divine taste and the meat of course! Follow the chef’s guide and if you’re not already, you’ll definitely fall in love with steak from now on!
Keep avocados green for months! Easy way to enjoy cheap fresh avocados even off-season
Are you also an avocado lover? Then you will be thrilled to find out that you can actually enjoy this tasteful fruits all year round without having to spend extra money on them when they are off-season.
I don’t know about you but me personally whenever I step into a market to do my groceries and pick some avocados I wish it was late summer/early autumn. It sounds crazy, I know, but we must admit that, besides having to search for those that are ready to eat, avocados can be a bit pricy especially if you want the organic ones.
Avocados come in various sizes, shapes and colors mainly determined by the origin of this super fruit which is now being cultivated in all subtropical areas in the world. Depending on the type of avocado its nutritional value might differ a little but there is now doubt that with the deliciousness you are also helping your body stay strong, especially your heart.
Now, soon avocado season will be here and you will enjoy their freshness at a cheaper price. But how can we take advantage of the low price and store them for later on if they ripen up in less than 2 weeks?
After watching the video down below I realized the answer was always right under my nose. You just freeze them! Jodi Brown shares this simple trick that you’ll definitely want to check out and try.