Wednesday, March 20, 2013

The Neue Galerie

File:Egon Schiele 079.jpg
Egon Shiele self-portrait
In New York City there is this spectacular museum which houses Austrian and German Expressionist art and design. Klimt is there, alongside his protege, Egon Shiele, whom I had never heard of, but blew me away with his audacity.

To recover from the aesthetic overload, you can step into Cafe Sabarsky, a gorgeous recreation of  Viennese cafe life  with a view of Central Park through its windows.   Everything is visually elevated here, from the German nationals dining on the main courses accompanied by their children and bottles of Riesling to the cups of hot coffee served alongside chunks of sugar and bowls of freshly whipped cream.    Every detail is striking or gorgeous.

Sigh.

This recipe, although not as pretty when I make it as the photograph in the cookbook, reminds me that I once visited.

Rosti potatoes from Cafe Sabarsky
adapted from Kurt Gutenbrunner

Per person:
Boil a russet potato unpeeled until just cooked through.
Place in a bowl filled with ice water.  When cool enough to handle,  peel, and grate into a bowl.
Salt and pepper generously, a touch of nutmeg, mix thoroughly.

In a small saucepan heat oil until hot, turn potatoes into it, flatten.  Cook on one side 3-4 minutes then turn for another 3-4 minutes.

Ideally it should be wildly crisp on both sides, and tender within.  Mine come out with mixed results, but they remain delicious.  Consider them Austrian hash browns.  Serve with sour cream or yogurt, garnished with chives, maybe even smoked salmon.  Or serve alongside pot roast, any roasts, Calvados chicken, or, when the cravings hit, all on their own.











12 comments:

  1. Goodness, your in my backyard now. Egon Sheila is my favorite figurative artist. I was able to see some of his work while in Europe, but never a one man show. He died pretty young. Lucky you.

    But I do recall seeing the Klimt show at the LA County. Crowded as we tried to muscle our way up to the painting of Adele Bauer. There was this middle age couple who decided to park themselves in front of it and not move. Blind in the way that new lovers are. And I wanted to shoot them. Still do. I'd of loved to have been able to get close and see the workmanship involved in it. Buy it or move on

    About potatoes - Mr V said if he ever opened a restaurant, he'd call it "The Potato Eaters" (Van Gogh)

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adele_Bloch-Bauer_I

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  2. Loverly. Yes, I think this elegant spud can stand on its own.

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  3. AH: try 'em!
    PA: Time to have a smarty party--
    Really, this guy blew me away. Always wonderful to come across something marvelous that you never knew existed.
    non sequitor: Have you tried the restaurant Ba in Highland Park?

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    Replies
    1. I have been to Ba. And you? that area cracks me up - but it is Oxy close

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  4. Are you in New York? Did you sneak off? are you having fun?

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  5. Nutmeg? Clearly, I do not understand cooking.

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  6. Un ejemplo de una estafa de dieta es la "pastillas de bloqueo de grasa y carbohidratos." Esta oferta
    de dieta se supone como adelgazar Rapido Quieres perder cuatro o cinco kilos en tres das?
    Esa es la jactancia orgullosa de la dieta del puedes disfrutar de esta deliciosa comida.
    Busque pastas integrales o bajas en carbohidratos.


    Dieta para perder barriga. Uma boa dieta, muito eficaz, optar por comer
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    como adelgazar rapido Siempre debes fijarte metas realistas a
    la hora de hacer dieta, no por la que personas como usted
    estn constantemente en la bsqueda de mejores dietas para bajar
    de peso.

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  7. Yanno, I kinda like spam in a Portuguese. Most of my readers aren't going to be offended, so neither am I.

    ReplyDelete