Schweineschnitzel + Silvaner for Von Steuben Day #MoviesandMunchies

This month the Movies & Munchies crew is throwing it back to the 80s for a double feature. I invited the group to watch either, or both: Ferris Bueller's Day Off and The Goonies.

I actually watched them both and decided to post, first, a recipe inspired by Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

On the Screen

image from Amazon.com

I am pretty sure that I saw this in the theatres when it was released in 1986! And it is an immoirtal classic; Jake and I definitely introduced our boys to it when they were in high school.

Matthew Broderick stars as Ferris Bueller, an intelligent albeit antsy senior in high school who fakes an illness so he can skip school. He is, as you probably guessed, not actually sick and uses the day to go into downtown Chicago with his girlfriend played by Mia Sara and his best buddy played by Alan Ruck. The trio borrow Cameron's dad's precious Ferrari that he loves more than his own son, according to the son! They go to the top of Sears Tower, visit the Art Institute and Board of Trade; they have lunch in a posh restaurant where Bueller pretends to be Abe Froman, the sausage king of Chicago. to steal his reservation.

This is a lighthearted comedy that is all about enjoying life. In the ending monologue, Ferris shares his life's philosophy.

“Life goes by so fast,” he says, “that if you don’t stop and look around, you might miss it.”

On the Plate

I decided to make a German dinner in honor of the Von Steuben Day parade in the middle of which the teens find themselves. Ferris jumps on a float and grabs a microphone. Then he sings and dances along to "Twist and Shout" as a marching band backs him up. He is surround by people clad in Lederhosen and Dirndls. These photos are from a Schweineschnitzel dinner we had a couple of years ago!

Schweineschnitzel

Ingredients

• boneless pork chops, pounded with a mallet to about 1/4" thick

• salt

• flour

• eggs, beaten

• breadcrumbs

• butter (lots and lots of butter!), clarified and melted to be about 2 to 3 inches deep in your pan

• lemon wedges for serving

• 

• 

• 

Procedure

Melt butter in your pan and arrange everything else in a line: pork, salt, flour, eggs, breadcrumbs.

Salt the pork on both sides and dredge it in flour. Dip the flour-coated meat in an egg wash. And press into the breadcrumbs.

Gently lower the meat into the melted butter and cook until golden brown.

Remove from the butter and place on a wire rack over paper towels to drain.

Place the drained schnitzel in the oven to keep warm before serving.

Silvaner

Weingut Hans Wirsching is one of the largest privately owned family estates in Germany, located in the medieval town of Iphofen about an hour and a half to the East of Frankfurt. It is managed by the 14th generation of the Wirsching family with 225 acres of vineyards. Silvaner is their primary grape, making up about 40% of their vines. The re st are Riesling and a small amount of Scheurebe which is similar to Sauvignon Blanc.

Silvaner, also spelled as Sylvaner, is a variety of white wine grape grown primarily in Alsace and Germany. It's official and full name is Grüner Silvaner. The wine poured a bright gold hue with a silver rim. On the nose are aromas of apples, pears, and lime blossoms. On the palate were layers that matched the aromas as well as hints quince. The texture is both silky and bright. It was the perfect wine to cut through the fried meat.

That's a wrap for my Ferris Bueller offering. Stay tuned for a recipe inspired by The Goonies.