The Golden Ox

Back in my early 20's was the first time I lived in Chicago. I had such a great time I set a written goal that I would one day, again, have a "place" in the Second City. Now I have it. Most weeks I write this column from my desk in Chicago's hippest neighborhood, Bucktown.

When I first lived here, my parents would come to visit at least once a year; maybe up to three times. Most holidays I would travel up to Appleton, Wisconsin to see them but other times they'd drive down for a visit.

I don't exactly remember why, but on one of their visits we went to dinner at a German restaurant called The Golden Ox. I don't think the Golden Ox was ever one of the most famous German restaurants in Chicago. It just happened to be on my "short cut route" to the inner city, where I worked. The Golden Ox was located in a pretty bad neighborhood. Cabrini Green, one of the most infamous housing projects, was across the street on one side, there was a seedy liquor store with bars on the windows on another side and across another street was a gas station that sat on an island in the middle of the intersection. That gas station was frequented by truckers and the down-and-out who'd hang out in front. Not a safe place.

You drove to The Golden Ox or took a cab. The Golden Ox had valet parking. When you gave your car keys to the valet, you prayed he'd actually come back later with your car. Once inside the restaurant you were transported to another time on another continent. You'd swear you just got off a flight and walked into the middle of Berlin. Thick wood walls, waiters with thick accents, white table cloths with those red, glowing candle holders. Just enough light for my 60-ish year old father to read the menu. Funny thing is he didn't read the menu. He just ordered the wiener schnitzel.

I, on the other hand, had to read the menu. I had no clue about German food so I had to read every description to figure out what I was going to order. My mother read the menu too. Our family is of Irish descent. We may have lived in Wisconsin, a land with many German descendents, but I had never eaten at a German restaurant up until that point. We had no idea why my father, who was also of Irish descent knew to order weiner schnitzel; or if he had ever even eaten it before. Maybe it was the only thing he knew confidently how to pronounce. Mystery is still out on that one.

We all enjoyed our dinners and my father pronounced the weiner schnitzel the best he had ever eaten.

Now get this. With all the restaurants available in Chicago you'd think my parents would be salivating to try different ones each time they came to Chicago. But not my father. Each time he came he'd specifically request a trip to The Golden Ox. And guess what he ordered every single time. You got it. Weiner schnitzel.

This week we come upon Thanksgiving. A time of thanks and remembrance. I'd just like to wish you all a happy holiday with friends and family. Don't forget those that have passed. I'd give anything to have Thanksgiving with my father and mother, but alas, they have passed on. So be kind. Be thoughtful and be grateful for the family you have. Enjoy every minute with them that you can.

Cheers!
Enjoy!
Zola

Chicken Schnitzel with Spinach-Orange Salad
Lean and Lively

As I recall, the Weiner Schnitzel at The Golden Ox came with warm German potato salad and applesauce. Maybe one of those red candied apples too.

My version today is going to be Chicken Schnitzel. Reason? My husband won't eat veal; not voluntarily anyway. So chicken schnitzel it is. And to lighten it up we'll be skipping the German potato salad and the applesauce and serving up a spinach and fruit salad with just a light drizzle of dressing. Now it pretty much qualifies as healthy.

Serves 2. Can be doubled

2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
one half cup of egg substitute (you can use 2 real eggs, beaten, if you want)
salt and pepper to taste
One half cup of all purpose flour
One cup of bread crumbs
2 Tbl of extra virgin olive oil (the traditional recipe would use lots of butter)
2 slices of Gruyere cheese (you can leave off the cheese if you want)
parsley to garnish, minced
2 lemon wedges

For the salad:
Baby spinach
Red onion
Orange segments (navel or mandarin)
Your favorite vinaigrette
Walnuts

For the Schnitzel:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Put each chicken breast (one at a time) in a large plastic storage bag. Pound the meat down to a one quarter to one third inch thickness. You'll end up with a piece of meat the size of a medium, misshapen pancake. Take it out of the bag and set aside. Now do the same thing with the second breast half. Sprinkle both with salt and pepper.

On two rimmed plates, pour the egg substitute on one and the bread crumbs on the other.

Grab your plastic bag again and put in the flour. Place each chicken breast piece in the bag and toss it around so it gets coated with flour. As you take the chicken breast out of the flour, dip it in the egg on both sides and then dip it in the bread crumbs, again, on both sides. Set aside and do the other chicken breast.

Heat your olive oil in a large sauté pan. Place your coated chicken breasts in the hot oil and sauté on medium until a nice golden brown. Flip over and brown the other side. Then take the chicken breasts and put them, side by side, in a heat proof pan and place in the oven to bake for 15 minutes. The reason for doing this is to keep your chicken moist. You could have continued to cook the chicken on the stove in the sauté pan but it has a chance of getting too browned and even dried out. This way it stays nice and moist while you concentrate on making your salad. When the 15 minutes is up check the thickest part of the chicken breast to make sure there are no pink juices. You can just cut a little slot and pull it aside a bit and peek. It won't spoil the look of your dish. Then put on the cheese slice and let it sit in the turned off oven while the cheese melts. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with parsley. Serve with lemon wedge in case you want to squirt lemon over your chicken.

For the salad, you'll want a handful of spinach per person. I'm letting you decide the exact amounts of each of these items to your taste and hunger level. Slice the red onion very thinly and use some of the onion rings on your salad. Peel your oranges and break them into segments. (or take the mandarin oranges from the can and drain). Put the orange segments on the salad. Sprinkle with a few walnuts and drizzle on your favorite vinaigrette. (For this salad I used a high quality roasted red pepper vinaigrette).

Send email to Zola at dinnerwithzola@hotmail.com.