Photo: Jennifer Iserloh.

I'm not sure how this myth got started -- I used to believe it too, before I met my husband, who grew up in Germany. Every time I tell someone I'm making schnitzel for dinner, they talk about hot dog buns and sauerkraut. Then they try to convince me that I really meant sausage and they will go as far as to ambush random passersby to help corroborate their story.

In truth, the word schnitzel comes from the German term "schneiden" which means to cut, so schnitzel means cutlet. Thus, Wiener Schnitzel is not a cut-up hot dog, but rather a "cutlet from Vienna or Wien." See how I make it after the jump.

I think that a lot of people have at least had a passing thought of how to get back at our enemies. However, most of us just shrug it off and find healthier ways to deal with our problems. An Austrian man, however, took things to the extreme and poisoned, of all things, some chocolate truffles in an attempt to get his way.

Helmutt O decided that the best way to resolve his dispute with the mayor of his town was to bump him off. Helmutt put the deadly confections on the mayor's windshield with a note saying "you are someone very special to me." Of course the mayor ate the chocolates, suffered a stroke and, while he lived, now has to be cared for for the rest of his life. At the heart of the dispute was a rezoning issue. The mayor even agreed with Helmutt, but asked for a business plan that Helmutt never delivered. Blaming something on someone else when it's your own fault is sure definitely not the rational thing to do.

Two questions: Would you eat something someone left on your windshield? How could someone ruin something as wonderful as chocolate for their own selfish ends?

Did you know that Arnold Schwarzenegger, current governor of California and former action adventure hero, has an apple named after him? These apples are grown in his home country Austria, in the Styria region and are purported to be delightful and have fantastic flavor. Apparently, they are also "lovingly tended by skilled and dedicated apple farmers in small to medium sized orchards, far away from the methods of mass-production."

The website devoted to the Arnold apple even has a blog written from the point of view of an Arnold apple. Arnold says, "Why waiting, why bringing me home in a flabby bag? Enjoy me in a moment, do it in public! Get the experience to have an apple as a strong and healthy alternative to refreshments like burger or chocolate bars!"

I do believe that says it all.

[via Metafilter]

Scientists and researchers have no definitive answer about what causes anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder characterized by a strong, sometimes life-threatening, desire to avoid food. Many theories attribute its development to body image issues, while other studies have linked it to depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and other preexisting psychological conditions. A boy in Britain with an unusual eating disorder may provide some insight both into the cause of the disorder and the treatment.

The boy, who is only two years old, has refused all solid foods and almost all liquids since his birth, though he was physically capable of ingesting food without problems. As a result, his growth and development were stunted and a feeding tube had to be implanted to provide him with sufficient nutrition. Convinced that the problem was psychological, doctors at an Austrian hospital, working with the parents, tried a controversial technique of starving the child into eating. The tube was removed and the boy was surrounded with food, as well as by people who helped encourage him to eat. The theory is that the psychological problem cannot be resolved unless the affected person actively wants to eat.

At first, the boy ate nothing, but during the course of the three-week treatment he made progress. He began with water and progressed to milk, yogurt and finally to solid foods. His delighted parents say that he is now eating progressively more every day.

Is this a treatment that will work for everyone afflicted by anorexia? Probably not, but this case does provide support for the notion that, for at least some people, the problem has a psychological root and that it is not something untreatable.

Mozart Black Chocolate Liqueur is one of three chocolate liqueurs they make, the others being Milk Chocolate liqueur and White Chocolate liqueur. It is 17%abv/34 proof, is made in Austria, and comes in a charming round bottle. The color of the liqueur is a dark brownish red. The aroma is that of fine dark chocolate syrup with a hint of vanilla and spices. The body is on the thin side with not too much sweetness. The flavor backs up the aroma and takes it a few more steps down that dark chocolaty road with depth to it that surprised me. The hint of vanilla and spices, toasted almonds, and possibly coffee comes out during the finish.

This reminds me of the smell of the Jacques Torres chocolate factory in Greenwich Village NY. A combination of chocolate tastes and aromas, combined with everyone rushing about, milling and churning. It's a very busy tasting liqueur. I'm not a chocolate lover but I really like this liqueur. I don't think I could drink too much of it, but would definitely enjoy some poured over premium vanilla ice cream or in hot chocolate to boost the flavors. If you like rich and dark chocolate then you will enjoy Mozart Black Chocolate Liqueur, chilled and straight up, on the rocks, shaken with milk, or in any of numerous cocktail recipes.

I love Italian hot and spicy pickled peppers stuffed with provolone and prosciutto to serve at parties, but some folks can't take the heat. Now from Austria are Die Kasemacher stuffed peppers. These are a sweet pickled pepper from South Africa with only the tiniest trace of heat , similar to the South African Peppadews. The peppers are then stuffed with a blend of sheep and goat's milk cheese giving the sweet, tart, and crispy peppers a luscious creamy middle. Each one is small enough to pop in your mouth for a tangy treat that goes great with drinks. Die Kasemacher also makes several other Austrian cheese stuffed pickled veggies like olives, onions, tomatoes, artichokes, and mushrooms. I'm glad I found out about these so I can have something new to put out at all the holiday parties that are coming up in a few weeks, especially since they have such a great red and white festive look to them as well.

Plenty happening across the blogosphere in regards to wine news and comments -

1. FrenchDuck details the role Negrette plays in the little appreciated French region of Fronton.
2. BasicJuice is in Austria, blogging his travels (while modeling some nifty shirts), with the latest post detailing Rust.
3. Lenndevours is splashing around with Long Island dessert wines
4. Down in Australia Cam reports on a superb Sydney Wine Dinner at Borelli's
5. And in Tennessee Benito runs us through his impressions of A Toast to Tennessee Wine Festival.
6. With this being a Bank Holiday weekend in the UK and holiday in the US Good Grapes look at bbq wines is timely.
7. The Caveman is throwing wine around lobster
8. While WineCast links up with BasicJuice for more Austrian Wine Adventurers.

A little spat has broken out in Switzerland over a trademark dispute over a red ribboned Easter bunny.

Chocolate makers Lindt says it holds the right, copyrighted since 2000, to manufacture golden Easter bunnies tied around the neck with red ribbon. In neighbouring Austria Hauswirth also makes a similar product and has done for 50 years.

Hauswirth is a small company in comparison to Lindt and refused suggestions from Lindt's lawyers to replace the wrapper with a bronze one or the red ribbon with a green one. A court order prevented Hauswirth with selling their bunnies this year; a move that prompted them to give away thousands of chocolates to children across Austria.

A further court date has been set for June.

To celebrate the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth, January 27th, 1756, bakers from around the world are baking and thousands are celebrating. The Virginia Opera ran a contest to select a cake and in Vienna, Austria there was a Mozart themed chocolate showpiece competition. The Austrian embassy in China has put a slightly less edible cake on display in honor of the musical prodigy. This cake is covered in 3,000 gold coins, and its base is the world's largest gold coin, which weighs 1,000 ounces. It is worth $2.2 million and will be on display in downtown Tokyo until March 14th.

 [Thanks to Esther for the tip]

 

The Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria recently hosted the fourth annual Austrian Chocolate Master competition and this year's theme was Mozart. Teams of chocolate artists were given 88 pounds of Belgian chocolate, a Grand Marnier cake, and the stipulation that non-chocolate props and artificial ingredients were not allowed. One 18-year-old entrant duplicated, in chocolate of course, all of the notes of the first page of Mozart's "Così Fan Tutte" before using them to decorate a torte. The piece pictured here took second place and is entitled "Rock Me Amadeus." The winning entry, which apparently took three weeks to complete, featured a milk chocolate figurine dressed in orange flower petals above a chocolate violin.

[Photo Hans Punz - AP]