After the location was settled, the day had to be set. This matter also inspired endless discussion, since complicated factors like aspic entered into the calculations. The Ausflug could not possibly take place before the wood strawberries were ripe and the cyclamen was in bloom, it could nor be before there was spring in the air and just enough warm sunshine so that everyone could play Blinde Kub (blind cow, a romantic blindman's buff), but not so much sunshine that the carefully prepared aspics would run or the ice around the Bowle would melt.
With the choice finally made, Resi, Franz, and Ferdinand spent most of the eve of the Ausflug counting, checking, and worrying; the Ansflugsmabl had taken three full days to cook and would take half a night to pack. Visky and Zoda dug themselves into the hampers so that they wouldn't be forgotten, someone remembered the cameras, everyone forgot the films. The cars came around early and were packed and repacked with the voluble assistance of every Viennese who happened 10 be passing. The Herrscbaft—the master and mistress—rode in the first car, the children with part of the equipment in the second. Franz and Ferdinand followed in the third car, holding the fragile baked food and the delicate aspics and suffering over what might have been forgotten and the safety of the silver. As paper plates and cups were unheard of, and china was impractical, the toasters set out their precious food on silver and heavy crystal service, which they packed in velvet-lined cases (or the journey. The caravan stopped to rendezvous with other cars full of guests, all of whom had brought along a little something to eat.
The Ausflug left the city and wound its way through the beautiful vineyard-covered and wooded hills along the Danube. At Durnstein they climbed the hill to the ruins of the old castle and spread their feast on the finest linen, choosing a level spot against a sun-warmed wall of the old foundations. Far below them lay the road on which Blonde) traveled in search of his king. How Richard heard Blondel's song or how he managed to answer it is not known, since the road and the dungeon were far apart and the sinister Hadmar II kept careful watch over the royal crusader. After the children had gathered the woodruff, they made little baskets of leaves pinned together with twigs to hold the strawberries. They picked cyclamen to decorate the cloth and made wreaths of wild flowers for all the feminine heads. Franz and Ferdinand set out sauces and whipped cream, which they had brought in jars, and they found shady spots to store the ice-packed dishes and the Bowle. The climb and the fresh air made it possible for everyone to cat a little of everything—it would have been tragic to return to Vienna and realize that one had mined a taste of the duck or hadn't had a crumb of the Torte. It was understood that everyone ate a normal portion of the dish he had chosen and just a taste of everybody else's dishes. Games after luncheon helped everyone to avoid falling asleep, and a small fire was always elegantly laid with kindling, paper, and wood that had been neatly packed and brought from Vienna. Over this blaze Franz made coffee, for which he even had brought the water, since everyone believed firmly that only Viennese water could produce proper coffee. When the sun set over: the Danube and family and friends looked across at the meadows and hills on the other side and heard the faint ringing of the cowbells, they knew exactly where they would go when Herr Baron said “Also—” next year.
Kalte Forelle (Cold Stuffed Trout)
Ia a shallow pan, poach 6 cleaned trout for 15 to 20 minutes in suited water to cover, with 1 carrot and ½ onion, both sliced, 1 bay leaf, and 3 peppercorns, Remove the cooked trout from the water and let them cool. Remove the skins carefully, leaving the heads A intact. Skin and slice enough large tomatoes to cover the serving platter that will hold the fish. Fill the cavities of the trout with fresh caviar and lay the fish on the tomatoes. Lay a line of finely chopped tarragon along the center of each trout. Lay a line of finely riced hard-cooked egg yolk and a line of finely riced hard-cooked egg white on either side of the chopped tarragon. Decorate the platter with parsley and place a circle of lettuce leaves at each end. Fill 3 small hollowed-out tomatoes with a sauce made by mixing 1 ¼ cups thick mayonnaise with 4 shallots, finely minced, 3 tablespoons dill, chopped, and salt and pepper to taste. Place the tomatoes on the lettuce beds. Serve each guest a trout and a tomato and pass Melba toast made by sprinkling thin slices of 2-day-old bread with salt and browning them in a very slow oven (250° E).
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