The Glorious, absolutely delicious Strudel

I had the pleasure of watching 'The Illusionist' recently. I must say, it was one of the finest movies that I have ever seen. However, this post isn't about the Illusionist, rather about one of the things shown in the movie. In the early stages of the movie, one morning, the protagonist walks into a restaurant to meet his agent/manager after a particularly sellout show the previous night. When the Illusionist sits down at the table, he is asked by his manager, "STRUDEL ? they are very good".


I must admit, this is the first time I've heard of the strudel. For some reason, long after the movie had passed, the strudel became stuck in my mind. So I browsed the internet for some information about it, this is what the Wikipedia had:

"A strudel is a type of sweet layered pastry that became well known and gained popularity in the Habsburg Empire.

The word itself derives from the German word Strudel, which literally means "eddy" or "whirlpool".[1] It is most often associated with Austrian cuisine, but is also a traditional pastry in the whole area formerly belonging to the Austro-Hungarian empire (for example, in Hungary it is known as Rétes, in Slovenia as štrudelj, in Czech Republic as štrúdl, in Romania as ştrudel and Slovakia as štrúdľa or závin).

The best-known kinds are Apfelstrudel (German for strudel with apple) and Topfenstrudel (with sweet Topfen cheese, a soft quark cheese)."

Now, Rekha's mom and I have a pact between us. Whenever I come across a new dish, especially one which isn't familiar in our part of the world, especially with her, I research it and turn over all the information, photos, including the recipe to her. For my efforts, she'll make the said dish promptly and give me the first taste before anyone else has a go at it. A nice arrangement, don't you think? Well, Rekha doesn't think so. Hmph! Party pooper, I know why she isn't happy about me hobnobbing with her mother - Mostly, she doesn't get the first taste, that's why.

Rekha's Mom is very good at sweets, desserts and baking, especially cakes and pastries. I know, cos' I'm living proof of her skill in turning out fantastically delicious treats from her commercial-sized kitchen oven. Rekha is actually considering breaking off our friendship because I am getting too fat eating her mother's cooking. Goddamn beautiful skinny girls and their diets, let me have my pastry!

I gave the woman a recipe for the classic Apple Strudel, inspired by Ms.Paula Deen, from the Food Network website. The recipe is detailed, yet ridiculously easy to follow and churn out golden glazed Apple Strudels.

Continue reading the full recipe for Apple Strudel at the DeliciouslyD blog...