That Damn Pfnudel!

 What do you expect from a dish called Dampfnudel?  I immediately pictured a bowl of pale, limpid, damp noodles - oh yummy. It was a welcome surprise to read the ingredients and find that Dampfnudel is a Tyrolean sweet roll, made with almond butter and a little lemon rind, and topped with vanilla sauce.  Which raises the question, what is Tyrolean?  I pictured it having something to do with Heidi and the Swiss Alps. Close, but no cigar.  According to Wikipedia, it is in west Austria, and it turns out that most of us are vaguely familiar with the area - it's capitol is Innsbruck, site of the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics. I also learned that a Tyrolean hat is what Pinnocchio wears, but that he has it all wrong - to wear it correctly, you are supposed to get your hat a size smaller than your head and sit it on your head, rather than over it.  There is no mention of how the hat is supposed to stay on your head; maybe the tradition is a subtle way to promote excellent posture. Pinnocchio isn't the only character who doesn't know how to sport a Tyrolean hat with style.  Yes, Reeeeeeeecola guy, I'm talking about you. Shape up.

Another recipe from The Ford Treasury of Favorite Recipes from Favorite Eating Places, Simon and Schuster, Dearborn Michigan, 1950

The Blue Spruce Inn, the former Skillman house, was destroyed by fire in 1975. The Harbour View Shopping Center occupies its former site.