Artsy Bites

Croissant Pudding with Berries | Budinca de Croissante cu Fructe de Padure

2022-05-18T07:29:00.001-07:00

I first sampled this recipe in India, while on a work trip to Gurgaon. The hotel I was staying at had this fabulous breakfast buffet with many Western and Indian delicacies. This pudding was one of the desserts offered, and it was so good that I always made sure to have space for it at the end of the meal. And it's not only that it's very tasty, it also has such a beautiful blend of so many inviting colors: there's brown from the croissant shells and yellow from their insides, plus red from the jelly (I'm sure the recipe can't be as good if the jelly is not red, but then I tend to be silly sometimes), and dark blue from the blueberries.

I wanted to share this recipe with my family and friends, so I've been experimenting ever since I got back. Here is the recipe, for you to try.

Ingredients:
- Three large croissants
- Four eggs
- Two cups of milk
- One cup of fresh or frozen berries
- About a fourth cup of raspberry or strawberry jelly
- Four tablespoons of sugar
- One tablespoon of vanilla essence
- One tablespoon of lemon zest or orange marmelade
- A dash of salt
- Butter to coat the pan (about a tablespoon)
- (optional) Powdered sugar and extra fresh berries for serving

Preparation:
- We want multiple beautiful colors in our dish: yellow from inside of the croissants, brown from their crusts, and red from the jelly. Split the croissant lengthwise, then gently tear each down into smaller pieces. Place a bit of jelly in the center of each piece without spreading it too much, then layer in a pan (I use a 4 qt dutch oven). Distribute the berries all thoughout.
- Mix the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, and a dash of salt. Gently pour over the croissants in the pan. Let everything soak for 5-10 minutes.
- Bake at 350 for about an hour.
- Serve warm, with optionally some powdered sugar sprinkled on top.
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Presentation:
- Place the extra fresh berries on top, if you have any.
- A few leaves of fresh might could contribute additional color to the presentation, if you want to go the extra length. I usually find variety of colors already in the pudding to be sufficient.

Perfect Soft-Boiled Eggs

2021-06-08T13:57:00.001-07:00

I recently discovered that I love eggs in three different ways. First, in cakes and desserts (who doesn't!). Second, I really enjoy Deviled Eggs. And finally, I am a big fan of soft-boiled eggs, which in my opinion are when the whites have an almost solid consistency, while the yolks are runny.

The eggs to be boiled can be either straight from the fridge , or they could have been kept at room temperature for a few minutes, for example while the water was heating up. Please note that adding too many cold eggs in a smaller pot lowers the water temperature, which can lead to undercooking; to be safe, do not boil more than two eggs at a time, or use a very large pot with a lot of water, such that adding the eggs does not make much of a difference.

Ingredients:
- Eggs
- Salt
- For decoration: colorful accompanying veggies (tomatoe, cucumber, bell pepper) and cheese

Preparation:
- Bring water to a boil in a medium pot. Reduce the heat to medium.
- Carefully add the eggs to the boiling water, and set a timer for precisely six minutes.
- Once the time is up, promptly remove the eggs from the boiling water and place them for one minute in a bowl with cold water. This stops the cooking, such that the egg yolks do not firm further.
- Serve immediately, as they're perfect in both temperature and texture.

Presentation:
- I prefer using egg cups to serve the soft-boiled eggs. The reason is that it makes it easy to start enjoying the egg from one end, with a spoon and a bit of salt, while still having your hands free to grab other foods that go with it.
- I chose to present the egg on a yellow plate with an interesting pattern all around it: the color matches that of the yolk, while the pattern adds visual complexity to the fairly basic dish.
- Finally, I placed some cheese and veggies all around the plate: they add freshness and complement the egg, while also contributing some color to the presentation. I recommend a variety of basic colors: green/white from cucumbers, red from tomatoes, green/yellow/orange/red from bell peppers, alongside the light color from the cheese.

Sauerkraut Salad | Salata de Varza Murata

2020-12-26T10:27:00.003-08:00

It's the holidays season. We are fortunate enough to be able to fill our table with lots of goodies, many of them specifically prepared for the celerations. The salad in this post is like the perfect wingman for the main meaty entree (we served it yesterday alongside roasted chicken): it is light and refreshing, and contributes its flavors to keep the lights and attention on your pièce de résistance.

As is the case with every salad, the quality of the ingredients is of utmost importance. If you want to try this recipe, I encourage you to look for the highest quality sauerkraut you can find (homemade would be great, like I was lucky to have) - yes, some sauerkraut can be much better than other!

Ingredients:
- Two cups of sauerkraut
- Two tablespoons of olive oil
- Spices: freshly ground black pepper and paprika (optional, for color)

Preparation:
- The recipe is as simple as it gets: we mix the sauerkrat (which contributes most of the taste and texture) with olive oil (which adds smoothness), black pepper (which adds a bit of a kick) and paprika (which adds a bit of color).

Presentation:
- The dish is delicious, but simple looking. You can compensate for that by presenting it in a nice colorful bowl or plate.

Pickles | Muraturi

2020-09-23T13:55:00.002-07:00

Pickling is one savory approach to preserve fruits and vegetables for a few months. The most popular pickles in Romania are made with cucumbers, unripe tomatoes (green ones are ok, but the orange almost-ripe-but-not-quite-there-yet ones are perfect), and bell peppers (often stuffed with shredded cabbage). The most out of the ordinary one that I've ever encountered used watermelon - they were quite tasty, but only the rind had some firmness left in it. Pickles are very common in Romania during the winter and spring months, when they are used as side dishes to complement stews and other entrees.

Note that all quantities presented below are approximate: what you end up needing depends on the size of the jar and how tightly you pack everything in. Consider preparing a bit more brine than you need: you'll find it preferable to preparing less and having to do a second batch. Also, consider preparing more jars, as they take a while to be ready and are finished quite quickly.

Ingredients:
- Two cups of vegetables: green tomatoes, mini bell peppers, slices of carrots and/or cucumbers, and whatever else you might be in the mood to pickle
- One and a half cups of water
- Half a cup of vinegar
- Two or three garlic cloves
- A dried chili pepper
- One tablespoon of pickling salt or sea salt
- One teaspoon of spices: mustard and dill seeds (whole). I use a pack of pickling spices, which also includes cumin, bay leaves, black pepper, and other goodies.
- A few long dill or cilantro stems.

Preparation:
- Carefully wash the vegetables, slice whatever is needed (for example, the carrots or cucumbers), and peel the garlic cloves. Place them all in a clean jar, together with the chili pepper. Place the dill or cilantro stems on top: they add flavor, but also secure the vegetables and keep them submerged in the brine.
- Place water, vinegar, salt and spices in a pot, and bring them to a boil. When ready, carefully pour everything over the vegetables all the way to the top of the jar - least air helps preserve this for longer, as bacteria don't particularly enjoy the salt and vinegar in the bring. Seal the jar tightly when ready.
- Let the pickle jars sit in a dark cool corner (e.g. in the pantry, if you have space) for about a month, before serving.

Presentation:
- Remove an assortment of pickled vegetables from the jar, and offer them as a side dish to an entree of your choice. My favorites pairings include pickles with the vegetable medley stew, the rice pilaf with chicken, or the bean stew with smoked meats.

Vegetable Medley Stew | Ghiveci de Legume

2019-10-16T11:05:00.002-07:00

If you are ever in the mood for a lot of different vegetables in a juicy stew, then you should consider this Romanian recipe. The ingredients listed below represent a sample of delicious fresh vegetables that are easily available in the fall in my home country, and they are the ones I grew up enjoying in this dish. However, feel free to use any others that you like, or change the quantities and proportions in any way that you prefer.

You should also note that there are quite a bunch of ingredients, which means that you will likely end up with a lot of food. Plan for having family and friends over to enjoy the food, or consider freezing some of it for a later time.

Ingredients:
- One yellow onion
- One leek
- One parsnip
- One celery root
- Two zucchini
- Eight small yellow potatoes (or four-five larger ones)
- Eight-ten fresh tomatoes, or one 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
- A small head of cabbage
- Three or four cups of green beans
- Two colorful bell peppers
- A small head of cauliflower
- Two cups of peas
- Two cups of chickpeas, or one 15 oz can of chickpeas
- Half a bunch of parsley
- (Optional) A pound of pork shoulder or other meat for stews
- A quarter cup of oil
- Spices: salt, pepper, thyme, bay leaves

Preparation:
- Use a large pot that can accommodate the entire dish.
- If you have meat, start by cutting it into small pieces, and quickly fry it on high heat in oil until it turns brown. Do not cook it thoroughly at this point - it'll cook later on with the vegetables anyway. Remove the meat from oil and set aside.
- Clean and cut the onion, leek, parsnip, and celery root. Cook them in oil on medium-high for about 5 minutes, and stir regularly to not burn. Add a cup of water and cook for another 10 minutes while stirring regularly.
- Meanwhile, clean, peel, and dice the zucchini into cubes. Add them to the pot, and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Clean, peel, and dice the potatoes. Add them to the pot, together with the can of tomatoes and two cups of water. Add spices: I used eight bay leaves, a bunch of fresh thyme. Also, add salt and pepper to taste (prefer to add less than needed, as more can be added later). Stir gently, and reduce the heat to medium-low.
- While the dish is cooking, we'll quickly proceed with the remaining vegetables. Start with the cabbage (cut it into smaller pieces and add it to the pot), then the green beans (cut into 1-1.5 inches long), bell peppers (diced), cauliflower (separate the florets), and finally the peas and chickpeas.
- Add the cooked meat back to the dish (if you're using that).
- Cover and simmer on medium-low heat for another 30 minutes (until the potatoes are cooked). The dish should be about three-quarters submerged in liquid.
- Remove from heat. Sprinkle the chopped parsley on top, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes (or until serving time).

Presentation:
- The dish has a bunch of cooked vegetables: they're certainly healthy, though maybe not the sexiest photo models. One trick to improve the presentation is to select vegetables of a varied assortment of colors: orange and red from carrots, bell peppers, and tomatoes, green from the peas and green beans, yellow from potatoes, and lighter colors from cabbage, cauliflower, parsnip and celery root.
- Some fresh chopped parsley added right on the plate adds a touch of color and freshness to the dish.
- For meat lovers, consider keeping the meat out of the stew, and instead serve the dish accompanied by a fried or grilled piece of meat (sausage or pork chop). The meat then adds a beautiful spot of brown deliciousness to the presentation.
- Finally, the vegetable medley stew goes really well with pickles, a slice of bread, and maybe a beer.

Sarmale de Post cu Nuca in Foi de Vita | Walnut and Veggies Stuffed Dolmades

2019-03-24T14:26:00.003-07:00

The spring has finally arrived, and Easter is just around the corner. The recipe presented here has its roots in the observance of Lent, during which time the chef of the house might prepare a vegan stuffed dolmades. My mom certainly did. I remember her preparing one of two basic variations: filled either with only rice, or with a mixture of rice and finely-chopped mushrooms. As you might imagine, both are simple and neither taste like much. This might serve as a reminder that you are sacrificing something (meat) during Lent. However, one should also have the option to give up meat without giving up the flavor.

We have two main types of 'sarmale' in Romania, where I am originally from: some are rolled in pickled cabbage leaves and others are rolled in young vine leaves. While the stuffing is usually similar for the two, that's pretty much the only thing they have in common: the former are usually sweet and sour (sweet from the meat and tomato sauce and sour from the pickled cabbage leaves and/or sauerkraut), while the latter have a very distinctive texture from the thin vine leaves. The latter is a special treat around Easter and during the spring in general, once the vine leaves are fresh and tender.

Ingredients:
- One red bell pepper
- Half a cup of olive oil
- One onion
- One large head of garlic
- One bunch of dill
- One bunch of parsley
- One 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
- One 14 oz can of tomato sauce
- Four eggs
- One red beet
- One cup of rice
- Two medium-sized squash
- One pound of shelled walnuts
- One pound of fresh vine leaves (or marinated, if it is the only option)
- Spices: salt, pepper, thyme, paprika, bay leaves

Preparation:
- Bring two cups of water to a boil. Rinse the rice separately, then add it to the boiling water, reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid, and keep on cooking for 20 minutes. Make sure the pot you use is large enough to allow the rice to expand without overflowing. When ready, gently stir in the rice with a fork to increase its fluffiness. Set aside and let it cool.
- Meanwhile, boil the red beet (about 30 minutes). Peel and set it aside to cool down (you can submerge it under cold water to speed up the process). Once you can handle it, shred it through a grater.
- While the rice and the beet are cooking, peel the carrots and squashes and shred them through the grater. Also, mince the red bell pepper and the walnuts (no meat in this recipe, but walnuts add some proteins).
- Peel and mince the onion and the garlic head.
- Add the bell pepper, onion, and carrots to a pan, add a bit of oil, and fry on medium heat for 5-10 minutes. This helps bring out the flavors.
- Break and beat the four eggs, separately.
- Chop the dill and parsley.
- Now to mixing everything: in a large pot, mix the rice, shredded beet, bell pepper, onion, carrots, garlic, olive oil, chopped dill and parsley, tomato sauce, eggs, walnuts, and squashes. Add salt, pepper, thyme and paprika, to taste. This forms the tasty filling for our dish.
- Coat a large pot with a bit of oil. This is where the cooking will happen, and we don't want to dish to stick to the bottom. Please a few bay leaves at the bottom of the pot, for flavoring.
- Take one grape leave at a time. Place a tablespoon or more of the filling in the center (or more, depending on the size of the grape leave). Carefully wrap the leave around such that the filling cannot escape. Place carefully in the pot, and pack them tightly. Proceed to the next grape leave (expect the process to take a while, the exact amount depending on your dexterity).
- Mix the can of diced tomatoes with water in a separate bowl. Pour the mixture over the sarmale into the cooking pot. If needed, add more water until the sarmale rest under about half an inch of liquid (some of this liquid will evaporate during cooking).
- Cover, and bake at 400F for one hour.
- Enjoy hot, usually with bread, sour cream, and maybe a hot red pepper (if you like your food spicy).

Presentation:
- The dish requires ample preparation time, so it's not very common (usually reserved for guests or special occasions). I find the best presentation to come from the number and the pattern formed by the tightly packed sarmale in the dish, so I usually pick a nice pot to cook the dish in, then serve them directly from the pot. Even if I transfer them to a plate, I think the best presentation involves a large plate that accommodates a good number of sarmale.
- If you feel something is missing in just numbers and pattern, it's probably color (cooked grape leave are not very colorful). Consider adding some fresh colors: red (a hot pepper or some paprika), white (sour cream), and maybe greens (e.g. a branch of fresh thyme). Alternatively, you can use dill instead of thyme, but I'd chop it and mix with the sour cream, such that it pops up more.

Peach Caprese Salad | Salata Caprese cu Piersici

2017-08-15T09:23:00.001-07:00

Have you found delicious tomatoes and peaches in your garden, and are looking for the perfect summer recipe? This salad is one of my family's favorites: juicy, soft, and flavorful. Give it a try and it might become your favorite too!

The dish is quite simple and it involves no cooking (provided you already have the balsamic glaze). And, as with most simple recipes, the secret is in using high quality ingredients: make sure the peaches and the tomatoes are ripe, juicy, and sweet.

Ingredients:
- Two or three ripe tomatoes
- One of two juicy peaches (nectarines work equally well)
- A few fresh basil leaves
- Preferably one or two pieces of burrata cheese, or mozzarella cheese in its absence
- Balsamic glaze
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper

Preparation:
- Wash the tomatoes and the peaches, and cut in slices or cubes of roughly the same size.
- Add the burrata or mozzarella cheese.
- Tear the basil leaves and scatter them on top.
- Sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Finally, drizzle olive oil and balsamic glaze over the salad.

Presentation:
- I prefer burrata over mozzarella cheese for this salad. The former is soft and mushy, and looks most presentable in one piece (which I like to slice in the center to reveal the creamy interior). If you're using the latter, you can easily cut it into pieces (about the same size as the tomatoes and peaches), and then evenly scatter them throughout.
- The balsamic glaze contributes a bold flavor and nice strong pattern on top of this colorful dish, and as such should be added as the last step. If you're missing glaze, you can prepare it from balsamic vinegar by following these easy steps: bring balsamic vinegar to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 15 minutes, and finally let cool before using.

Romanian Beef Tripe Soup | Ciorba de Burta

2017-01-18T08:36:00.004-08:00

This post presents a delicious and fairly unique authentic soup from my home country Romania. Informally, we call this "the queen of soups", and it is considered a rare delicacy. It is sweet, sour and garlicky, with many other subtle flavors that blend together under the surface. The soup is so simple that many of these aromas are magical: the guests are left wondering where they all come from when the dish seems to only have water, tripe, and a couple of vegetables. The obvious answer is that all these mysterious flavors come from the chef's artful technique, which is the explanation I usually go with. Serve hot with a pickled hot pepper, and it will provide an unforgettable experience for you and your guests.

Ingredients:
- Two pounds of beef bones (optionally with a bit of meat). I prefer beef shanks or short ribs
- Six pounds of beef trip (honeycomb)
- One celery root (peeled, whole)
- Two parsnips (peeled, whole)
- Two squash (peeled, whole)
- Three yellow onions (peeled, whole)
- Four carrots (peeled, whole)
- 20 ounces of sour cream
- Six egg yolks
- Three heads of garlic (peeled)
- Half a pound of pickled paprika or peppers (cut into stripes)
- Five bay leaves

Preparation:
- Cut the honeycomb tripe into strips. it's a fairly tedious process, so start early and see it to completion.
- Boil the beef bones in about 2 gallons of water for an hour hour (or until any meat easily falls off the bone). Remove the froth regularly to keep the broth clear. When done, add the celery root, parsnips, onions, and carrots, and boil for another 45 minutes (or until you can easily pierce them with a fork).
- Remove all bones from the broth, and discard them. - Remove all vegetables from the broth. Save one carrot separately. You can use all others (minus that one carrot) separately for a boeuf salad, for example.
- Add the tripe strips and boil for another hour (remove the froth regularly to keep the broth clear).
- Separately, mix 20 oz sour cream with 6 egg yolks. Scoop one cup of hot broth and mix with the sour cream. Repeat this a few times until the temperature of the sour cream rises. Poor over the broth and mix thoroughly.
- Mash the three heads of peeled garlic, and add to the soup
- Finely mash the saved carrot, and add to the soup. This adds a beautiful orange tint to the soup.
- Add the pickled pepper stripes and mix.
- Stop the oven and set aside.
- Serve hot, accompanied by slices of bread. You should also have some salt, pepper, vinegar, and garlic sauce ready for use.

Presentation:
- The best presentation involves both color and texture. The honeycomb tripe has such a brilliant pattern, and you should try to stack a few pieces in the middle of the plate such that some of them show over the surface.
- As for color, the pickled peppers tend to rise to the top, adding some beautiful red accents. This nicely complements the yellow and orange color of the soup.
- Feel free to sprinkle some flakes of fresh parsley for a hint of green.

Fusion Garlic Sauce | Mujdei Taiwanez

2016-09-13T09:09:00.004-07:00

Romanians love raw garlic with their food: you might know this by now if you've followed my recipes. One other thing I personally like is spiciness. I particularly felt in love with the spicy chili crisp used in the Chinese cuisine: it has crunchy texture, great flavor, and it always leaves me craving for more. One day, I thought about introducing this spice into a Romanian-Asian fusion dish. And what is more Romanian than our quintessential defense-against-vampires potion? So, there you have it: a traditional Romanian garlic sauce, with a generous drop of Asian spiciness, all brought together by an oriental sesame sauce.

Ingredients:
- Crushed garlic (two tablespoons)
- Chopped parsley(two tablespoons)
- Sesame sauce for shabu-shabu (four tablespoons)
- Spicy chili crisp (two tablespoons)

I thought sharing a pic of the ingredients would ease finding them in stores, so here it is. You may want to look up the sesame sauce and the chili crisp in an Asian grocery store or online. I always use the Lao Gan Ma brand (it translates to Old Godmother, and she really knows how to do it well!).

Preparation:
- Peel and crush a couple of garlic cloves.
- Finely chop a bit of fresh parsley.
- Now you have all the ingredients ready. The presentation looks better if they are not mixed yet, in my opinion.

Presentation:
- Carefully place the ingredients in a smaller bowl. The ingredients have a nice variety of color, so you don't need to do much else.
- I believe this recipe goes extremely well with a juicy meat, like a roasted chicken. For a fun presentation, you can sneak the garlic sauce bowl among chicken pieces on a larger plate (like in the photo above).

Creamy Soup of Vegetables and Chicken | Supa Crema de Legume cu Pui

2016-04-19T09:18:00.000-07:00

My brother and I gave our mom a really hard time as kids, particularly when it came to her cooking: for one reason or another, we always thought everyone else cooked better than she did, and we never shied from expressing our expert opinions on the matter (truth be told, our mom was a fabulous cook, but it took us many years to realize that). At one point, we let her know that her soups cannot match the awesome delicacies served at our kindergarten. The reason was very simple: our lives were already full of hardships (like fighting over toys or screaming our lungs out), so she could not really expect us to have much energy left in us to also chew the vegetables in the soup. The amazing chefs at our kindergarten were aware of the complexities of a kid's life, and they created this amazing soup that had no vegetables to chew on (looking back, it was just water boiled with soup seasonings, almost nothing natural or nutritious). Our mom did not believe us at first, but after a few meals where we did not touch the soup, she decided to prepare a special soup for us, according to our specifications. The recipe below was her best attempt at creating a soup that is nutritious and healthy, while not having any vegetables nor meat in it.

In her unlimited wisdom, our mom selected a lot of lighter colored vegetables for the soup - it's easier to conceal a peeled summer squash or parsnip in a soup, then it is to achieve the same effect with a red bell pepper. She was a great cook, but she was not Harry Potter. After boiling everything, she mashed them individually and made them lost in the soup, which became very creamy as a result. Her biggest mistake was that she mashed them by hand, which allowed us to spot a few minute pieces of carrots upon careful examination of her creation. But the soup was too delicious, so we forgave our mom for her cunningness and we kept slurping her savory concoction.

Aside from being a great food for kids and a welcome change from a regular soup, this recipe is also great for situations where a loved one has difficulties chewing. For example, when he or she gets the wisdom teeth removed. Give it a try, and I assure you that your efforts towards preparing the dish would be greatly appreciated.

Ingredients:
- Two yellow bell peppers
- Two summer squashes
- Two celery sticks
- One yellow onion
- One carrot
- One parsnips
- Five or six potatoes
- One small celery root
- One and a half pounds of chicken (preferably with skin and bones - legs, wings, backs)
- Spices: salt, a tablespoon of black peppercorns, four or five bay leaves

Preparation:
- Wash, clean and peel the vegetables. Place them alongside the chicken in a large pot.
- Add one gallon of water, the black peppercorns and the bay leaves.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium, cover, and continue cooking for an hour and a half.
- Remove from heat.
- Pick the vegetables and place them separately.
- Pick the chicken pieces. Separate the meat and discard the bones and the skin.
- Sift the soup through a cheesecloth, and discard the bay leaves and the peppercorns - they already added flavor to the soup.
- Run the vegetables (minus the carrot) and the chicken meat through the blender (use some of the soup to get it going). Mash the carrots separately: similarly to my mom's original recipe, I like to see very small pieces of the carrot in the soup, and not really a puree of it (which would change the color of the soup).
- Finally, mix the vegetables and chicken with the remaining soup. Add salt to taste.
- Serve warm.

Presentation:
- Place the soup in a nice colorful bowl for serving. I prefer a red or orange bowl, as it matches the occasional small pieces of carrots in the soup.
- Garnish with croutons and chopped parsley to add further color and texture.

Authentic Romanian Homemade Borsch | Borş De Casă

2016-03-11T06:44:00.001-08:00

Sour soups are so common in Romanian cuisine that they have their own name - 'ciorbe' (singular: 'ciorbă'). I've previously detailed two such delicious recipes: Sour Beef Soup and Meatball Soup, if you'd like to give them a try (if you fear the sourness, plan to complement the flavors with a bit of cream for extra smooth richness). There are a few alternatives to make the soups sour, including using lemons or sauerkraut juice. But by far the most authentic approach is to use a special ingredient named "borsch".

I have never seen borsch being homemade in Romania - my mom always bought it from someone else. Once I moved to the United States of America, I learned of three approaches to procuring this ingredient. The most common one was to give up on the idea of getting it, and use lemons instead (we'd do this sometimes in Romania as well, though it's not really authentic as lemons don't even grow in the country in the first place). The second approach was to bring concentrated packages of borsch from back home, which cooks would ration to last them until their next trip over. Finally, some courageous hearts would pack a few litters of borsch in their checked in luggages, then fly them over - uncommon but not unheard of. In the past, I usually opted for the first approach - it does satisfy the craving. I recently decided that there should be an easy recipe for authentic homemade borsch. The preparation is primarily hands off and takes a few days, at the end of which you will be the proud owner for several litters of an authentic ingredient for your soups. Oh, and did I mention that borsch has countless therapeutic benefits when ingested in and of itself?

Ingredients (makes about 3 liters of borsch):
- Half a pound of unprocessed wheat bran
- One slice of bread
- Two tablespoons of coarse corn grits
- One fresh celery stick
- Five to ten twigs of fresh Italian parsley

Preparation:
- You will need a large lidded jar (one or two gallons) for this recipe.
- Tear the slice of bread into very small pieces, and drop them in the jar. Add two cups of wheat bran and two cups of water, then mix. Cover with the lid, and let sit for two days at room temperature (I find it handy to keep it in the kitchen, where the temperature is around 70-75F).
- After two days, you will sense a sour smell when you lift the lid off the jar. You obtained the fermented bran base (it is called 'huște' in Romanian) for preparing the borsch.
- Add the remaining wheat bran over this fermented bran, two tablespoons of corn grits, and three liters of warm water. Give it a though mix.
- Cut the celery stick into two or three smaller pieces, and add them and the parsley twigs to the jar. Together, they will add extra flavor to the borsch.
- Cover, and let sit for two to four days at room temperature. Stir regularly with a wooden spatula: this speeds up the fermentation process. I keep the jar in the kitchen, and every time I pass by and realize it's been more than an hour since I stirred last time, I give it another twirl. Also, sample occasionally with a spoon to learn when it is sour enough for your taste.
- When ready, discard the celery and parsley. Sift the borsch through a cheesecloth. If you're not ready to use the filtered borsch immediately, you can safely keep it in the fridge for a couple of weeks.
- Be sure to save the fermented bran in the fridge for up to a few weeks, and use it next time you want to prepare more borsch - the subsequent batches are usually more sour and flavorful than the first. For the same quantity of borsch, you'll only need half the quantity of base, so you can give half to a fellow cook. To prepare it from the fermented wheat bran, you skip the first two steps and save two days from the process: add about two cups of wheat bran, two tablespoons of corn meal, 3 litters of warm water, stir and be patient for a few days.

Presentation:
- You will rarely need to present borsch in and of itself - most often, it'll go in a soup. There you go: problem solved.
- I can think of two reasons you'd want to present this to someone: to drink it directly for its therapeutic effects, or to share it with a fellow enthusiastic cook. For such situations, I find it interesting to showcase it next to a jar where a fresh batch is being prepared. The reason is that, by itself, borsch looks just like a lemonade, while the bran and the yeast in the jar add an interesting texture to the presentation.
- Another trick you can use to enhance the presentation is to sneak a slice of red beet into the jar, and keep it there until the borsch turns a pretty pink color. Remove the beet, be mysterious to your guests about where the color comes from, and enjoy the conversation.

Stuffed Peppers, Tomatoes, and Summer Squash | Ardei, Rosii, si Dovlecei Umpluti

2016-01-18T09:43:00.000-08:00

I've seen stuffed bell peppers quite often here in the United States. That recipe has been always missing something, in my opinion. Back in Romania, we use a more varied selection of vegetables to be stuffed, and also a delicious wine-based sauce to make your taste buds dance with joy. A stuffed bell pepper is quite good, but you might be in the mood for a stuffed summer squash at the moment; or a stuffed tomato; or all of them combined. Why not? With this recipe, everything is possible.

There are a couple more changes in the recipe I present here. First, we Romanians love fattier meats - they are much smoother when cooked. To keep the recipe healthy, I use a lean ground meat (for example, ground turkey breast) which I combine with shredded squash pulp. It has the same effect. Second, we traditionally serve this recipe with sour cream. However, the recipe here features a savory creamy sauce instead, which perfectly complements the stuffed vegetables and can be used instead.

I hope you have a chance to try this authentic Romanian recipe, and I promise it will take you and your guests on a nice culinary adventure in the south-eastern parts of Europe.

Ingredients:
Vegetables to be stuffed (they should all have about the same height)
- Five small bell peppers
- Five beef tomatoes
- Five squash pieces (you'll need to cut them out from two or three larger summer squashes)
Stuffing
- A pound and a half of lean ground meat
- Half a cup of rice
- One small summer squash
- One large onion
- One carrot
- Spices: one tablespoon each of salt, pepper, thyme, and paprika
Sauce
- One cup of tomato sauce
- One cup of sour cream
- Two cups of white wine
- Ten tablespoons of vegetable oil
- Half a cup of fresh chopped parsley

Preparation:
- Cut the tops of the bell peppers, and discard the seeds.
- Cut the tops of the tomatoes, and carve out their centers.
- Cut the large summer squashes into pieces (about the same height as the tomatoes and bell peppers). Remove their pulp and set it aside.
- Now to preparing the stuffing. Finely dice the small summer squash, as well as whatever pulp is left from the larger summer squashes. Mix it with the meat.
- Finely dice the carrot and the onion. Fry them in three tablespoons of oil for five minutes. Add half a cup of rice, stir, and cook for another couple of minutes. Let cool, then mix with the meat.
- Add the spices (salt, pepper, thyme, and paprika) to the meat. Mix everything until uniform.
- Next, stuff the vegetables with the meat mixture. Do leave a bit of space for the rice to expand (maybe enough space for another one tablespoon of mixture to fit in.
- Now to cooking. We need to use a deep pot where the vegetables can be covered with water, but which can also be used both on top of the oven for boiling, and also inside of the oven for baking. If you don't have a single such pot, two smaller ones will do the job.
- Coat the pot with the remaining vegetable oil.
- Gently transfer the stuffed vegetables to the pot. They should be pretty close together, with not much space remaining in between.
- Pour two cups of wine over the vegetable.
- Add water to almost cover the stuffed vegetables (leave about half an inch).
- Start cooking until the water is boiling. Cover with a lid while leaving a bit of space for the steam to escape. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 45 minutes. During this time, about half of the water should evaporate.
- Finely dice the interiors of the tomatoes, and mix it with the tomato sauce and the sour cream. Add to the liquid in the pot and mix gently.
- Place the pot in the oven (without the lid), and bake at 375F for 20 minutes.
- Remove the dish from the oven, and sprinkle the chopped parsley on top. It is now ready to be served.

Presentation:
- The dish as it comes out of the oven features a nice variety of colorful vegetables accompanied by the fresh green of the parsley. It also offers the guests a variety of options to choose from: do they prefer tomatoes, peppers, squash, or a piece of each and every one?
- When serving, encourage the guests to cut each stuffed vegetable on their plate in two, open it up, and add sauce from the pot over the stuffing. This makes it extra moist, smooth, and delicious.

Baked Chicken with Bell Peppers and Garlic | Pui la Cuptor cu Ardei si Usturoi

2016-01-12T08:36:00.003-08:00

My mom cooked this delicious dish a while back, and I loved the subtle garlic hints in the sauce and the juiciness of the meat. The recipe is simple, and the effect is grand. I've just prepared it for guests this past weekend, and got the ultimate compliment: folks using pieces of bread to not waste any single drop of the sauce in their plates.

Ingredients:
- Five or six chicken legs (drumsticks or thighs)
- One bell pepper (or one cup of colorful bell pepper slices)
- Eight ounces of tomato sauce
- Four tablespoons of vegetable oil
- Half a head of garlic, sliced
- Spices: salt (half a teaspoon), pepper (half a teaspoon), thyme (half a teaspoon), paprika (half a teaspoon, optional)
- Quarter cup of finely chopped parsley

Preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Coat a pan with oil. Add half of the tomato sauce, the chicken pieces, then the other half of the tomato sauce on top. Make sure the chicken pieces are nicely covered. Add the sliced bell pepper in between.
- Sprinkle the pepper, thyme, and paprika. Save the salt for later.
- Cover with aluminum foil, thoroughly; this helps preserve the juices. Bake for 45 minutes.
- Remove the foil. Add the sliced garlic. Baste everything with the liquid in the pan. Add salt. Bake for another 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, and sprinkle the chopped parsley on top.

Presentation:
- Serve the dish as it comes out from the oven (it already features a great variety of colors: the red from the tomato sauce, the green from the parsley, and the color from the bell pepper slices).
- Serve hot alongside mashed potatoes or pasta, and possibly accompanied by pickles (Romanian style).

Rice Pilaf with Chicken | Pilaf cu Pui

2015-08-31T10:48:00.000-07:00

This is one of the first recipes I learned to cook. I was freshly out of my parents' home, out of my country, far away from even the whole European continent: I was a newly enrolled graduate student in the United States. A week or two after landing on the American continent, I started craving for Romanian food. And boy, was it hard to find those delicacies in the area my school was in. I started asking my mom for easy recipes over the phone and over email, and this is one of the first she shared with me.

I did not know anything about cooking rice at that time. At the same time, my mom forgot to warn me that it grows in size tremendously: I guess that's something everyone should know, though I didn't. I was really excited to finally have some food from back home. So, I eyed the quantities for each ingredient in her recipe (slightly different from the one I detailed here), and I filled the pot with the ingredients (including the uncooked rice). And the rice started growing, to my great surprise. One pot of pilaf soon became two, then three. The dish tasted great in the end, just like it did back home. But I had so much of it in such a short time: I ate it for both lunch and dinner, most days, for the next week or so. As such, I really had enough of that taste, and I did not want to see it in front of me for a long time. It's been 15 years, and I finally craved for this dish again. And, as I prepared it, I thought I'd share the recipe with you as well. Hope you give it a try, and if you do, I hope you remember that rice triples in size when cooked.

Before I delve into the recipe, let me also mention that I consider this to be a difficult dish to prepare. The reason is that I like recipes that are more hands-off, where you can leave stuff in the oven or on the stove and not pay much attention to them (for example, I once started preparing the Fall-Off-The-Bone Baby Back Ribs, then I headed to the beach for a few hours of volleyball, only to come home and find the dish almost ready for eating). The rice pilaf takes significantly less time, but it requires one to watch it carefully, and to promptly remove it from heat when ready. The reason for this is that if you keep the rice cooking further, it absorbs more and more moist, it looses texture, and it ends up as a mush.

Ingredients:
- One onion
- One red bell pepper
- One carrot
- One medium squash
- Two tomatoes
- One and a half cups of rice
- Four or five chicken drumsticks
- One and a half cups of white wine
- Three cups of chicken broth
- A quarter cup of freshly chopped parsley
- A quarter cup of olive oil (or half a stick of butter)
- Spices: salt, pepper

Preparation:
- Preheat the oven to broil or highest heat available; we will need this for the final step.
- Finely chop the onion, bell pepper, carrot, squash, and tomato. Also finely chop the parsley, but save separately for later.
- Place the oil (or melt the butter) in a pan, add the chicken drumsticks, and cook on low heat until the chicken changes color (about five minutes). Add the chopped onion, bell pepper, carrot, squash, and spices (salt and pepper) to taste. Cook for another 5 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes, and set aside.
- Place the wine in a pot, add the rice, and cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Only stir gently and occasionally to make sure the rice does not stick to the bottom.
- Add the chicken broth over the rice, together with the chicken and the vegetables (also, transfer the oil they were cooked in, as well as any juices there might be: they all help make the recipe flavorful and smooth). Add also most of the chopped parsley (keep a bit for the end). Mix gently. Continue cooking on low heat for another 10 minutes. Try a bit of rice, and cook for a few extra minutes if it still feels undercooked.
- Make sure the pieces of chicken are at the top. Transfer the dish to the preheated oven, and cook until the chicken gets a nice crust and a beautiful color to the top of the dish. When ready, remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 15 minutes. This final step allows the rice to become more moist and flavorful.
- Use a fork to gently fluff up the rice. Then sprinkle the final bit of chopped parsley on top, for extra color.

Presentation:
- The dish looks great in and of itself: an ocean of white rice, with occasional colorful accents from the red bell pepper, carrot, tomatoes, and parsley.
- If you managed to brown the chicken a bit as well, the presentation should be perfect.

A Renaissance Feast | Iahnie de Fasole cu Ciolan Afumat

2015-07-06T09:12:00.000-07:00

I've dreamed of preparing a Renaissance dish ever since I visited a Renaissance Festival in the United States. I noticed that one of the most popular (and more unusual) foods there was the turkey drum, and that was a good starting point. One challenge was to make it tender and moist: this is achieved through slow simmering followed by a quick broil. And what can go better next it, other than some smooth flavorful beans?

Ingredients:
- One big smoked turkey drum or two smaller ones
- One each of a small yellow squash, carrot, onion, and parsnip, or half of bigger ones
- One pound of beans
- Four or five garlic cloves
- Four tomatoes
- Cooking oil
- A bunch of parsley
- Spices: a tablespoon of thyme, six to eight bay leaves (depending on size), salt, pepper (whole and ground), chili pepper

Preparation:
- Put the smoked turkey in about a gallon of water (they should be completely covered). Add three or four bay leaves and a teaspoon of whole black pepper seeds (if you have any). Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer for two hours and a half - this helps the drums get moist and tender. When you see the meat start to fall off the bone, place in a tray with a bit of oil and broil in the oven for a few minutes - this should add a nice red tint to the presentation. Note: we're not planning to cook in the oven, just to give it the color, so use the highest temperature possible and keep an eye on the meat. Also, do not discard the water where the turkey simmered - it is a great base for a soup or a stew.
- We will prepare the beans while the turkey is cooking. We need one pot and one extra large pan. Place the beans in the pot, cover them in water, bring to a boil, then discard the water. Repeat this five times - it helps eliminate whatever makes beans gassy.
- Meanwhile, finely dice the carrot, parsnip, onion, yellow squash, tomatoes, and garlic cloves. Place them in a pan with half a cup of cooking oil, and simmer on low heat while the beans are cooking. We want them to almost become a puree - it adds a delicious base for the recipe and keeps everyone guessing how you achieved the flavor with no apparent help.
- Once the beans have boiled in five waters, drain them, and add them to the simmering vegetables. Add about four bay leaves, a tablespoon of thyme, salt, pepper, and a a touch of chili pepper (to taste). Transfer a cup of water from the smoked turkey pot (for extra flavor), mix, and continue simmering for half an hour.
- When the beans with vegetables are cooked, add some chopped parsley, mix, and remove from heat. Or save the parsley to decorate at serving time (either works equally well).
- Serve the beans alongside the turkey legs, while they're still hot.

Presentation:
- Sprinkle finely chopped dill on top of the dish to add an extra splash of freshness to the presentation.
- We love beans with fresh onions (or scallions) in Romania; they really go well together.
- Serve alongside a cold beer. I wish I had my stein handy when I took the picture.
- If you really want to go all in, consider handholding the drums while serving, and make barbaric sounds of enjoyment to show the cook how much you appreciate devouring the dish. I'm sure the kids would love this part.

Orange Cream Cake | Tort de Portocale

2015-02-10T08:40:00.001-08:00

This is one of my favorite desserts: it is light, creamy, fresh, and not as overly sweet as many dessert you can buy here in the US. I also love its presentation: a contrast between fresh orange slices and a simple solid cream. In the past, I just waited for someone to prepare and serve it along, and then I would have my taste buds jump up and down with joy. But now I decided it is time to learn how to prepare this dessert myself. Here is the recipe, if you want to give it a try.

Ingredients:
- Four egg yellows
- One cup of sugar
- Two cups of heavy whipping cream
- Five or six oranges
- One lemon
- One cup of milk
- Two teaspoons of vanilla essence
- Two packages of gelatin (7 grams each)
- 150 grams of ladyfingers

Preparation:
- To start, place a deep (preferably metal) bowl in the freezer: we need it cold to prepare the whipping cream.
- If you're starting with whole eggs, then separate the yellows from the whites. We won't be using the whites for this recipe - feel free to use them to prepare a healthy omelette or another dessert (how about a Raspberry Foam?).
- Whisk the yellows with the sugar, then mix with the milk and juices from a lemon and an orange until uniform. Place in a pot on medium heat, and bring to a boil while stirring frequently. The milk loves to bubble up and make a mess on the oven, so keep an eye on it.
- Meanwhile, mix the gelatin in three tablespoons of water, and let stand for two or three minutes. Add a quarter of a cup of hot water, and mix thoroughly until all the gelatin has dissolved. Pour over the hot milk in the pot, and stir until uniform. Remove from heat, and let cool until it thickens. I usually place the pot in an ice water bath until it reaches room temperature, then transfer the pot to the fridge. We're looking for pudding-like consistency.
- While the hot mixture is cooling off, you have time to whip the heavy cream. Remove the previously chilled bowl from the freezer. I use a mixer on high speed, and it takes less than 5 minutes to start seeing peaks forming. Add the vanilla essence, and mix until you can easily remove the whisk out of the cream and there is no dripping. Place the whipped cream in the fridge until it is needed. As a note, proper whipped cream could have also used three or four tablespoons of powdered sugar (added in at the same time as the vanilla). But we will combine the whipped cream with the milk mixture, which already has plenty of sugar, so we can skip on adding extra sugar to the whipped cream.
- Once the milk mixture has reached a pudding-like consistency and the whipped cream is ready, we can go to the final steps of the preparation. We will use a large pot, and we will flip the cake upside down when firm; so whatever goes to the bottom of the pot will become to top of the cake. Coat the pot with a bit of oil, then stretch a layer of plastic foil all around: this will help us flip over the cake without any pieces sticking to the pot. Also, make sure the plastic foil extends past the top of the pot - this will help remove it once we flip the cake over.
- Extract the juice from one orange and set separately. Feel free to add a splash or rum or amaretto to the orange juice, if you feel adventurous.
- Peel and slice the remaining oranges, then place them on the bottom and along the side of the pot. This will bring beautiful fresh orange accents to the presentation (see photo above).
- Once the previous step is ready, quickly combine the chilled milk mixture with the whipped cream. Place about half of it over the orange slices. Dip half of the lady fingers in orange juice, the place the over the cream close to one another. Gently press them in. Continue with another layer of cream, and one more of lady fingers (also dipped in orange juice). Make sure this final layer is pressed into the cream such that it is as flat as possible: remember that we will flip the cake over, and the cake might break if its bottom has ridges.
- Cover the cake pot with a layer of plastic foil, and refrigerate overnight.

Presentation:
- For presentation, we will first flip the cake over. Start by removing the top layer of plastic foil. Pick a nice flat plate, place it centered and faced down over the cake pot, then quickly flip the pot over. The final step is to carefully remove the remaining plastic foil.
- I love the presentation in and of itself: a clean white cake with beautiful orange accents.
- A few flowers can further add a nice touch of color to the presentation.

Cozonac | Sweet Romanian Bread

2014-12-31T09:27:00.000-08:00

Cozonac is one of the festive dishes we enjoy on special occasions in Romania, be it Christmas, New Years Eve, Easter, or a wedding. I remember one of the signs that the holidays are here is when the unique fragrance of cozonac has reached every corner of the home, starting in the kitchen and ending in the living room. The preparation is fairly intensive, but the results are certainly worth the effort, especially if they remind you of festivities or traditions.

An overview of the recipe, and the keys to getting it right.
I was used to the baking another fluffy cake named pandispan: the key to keeping it fluffy is to whisk the eggs until they become airy, then gently introduce the flour into the mix (see that recipe for details). Cozonac is different in that it uses yeast to create the fluffiness, and the process is very different. Baking with yeast requires three key steps: (a) activating the yeast, (b) keeping it at proper temperatures (not too cold nor too hot), and (c) creating a proper environment for it to grow. Let’s talk about each of these in more details.
(a) First of all, you need to activate the yeast. Think of the yeast as being asleep (this helps preserve its properties on the shelf for a longer period of time), and you need to wake it up such that it helps your recipe grow. The process is simple: yeast is easily activated in the presence of sugar and warm water or milk. I mix yeast and sugar in equal proportions, then I add water warm enough such that I can comfortably hold a finger in it. If everything goes well, expect to see a froth forming on top of the liquid. If you don’t get this step right, then your yeast won’t be active and your dough will most likely not rise - you're better of stopping here and just retrying this step.
(b) Think of handling yeast as of playing with a delicate kid. If the temperature is low, the kid might catch a cold. If too hot, that won't work either. It is the same with yeast: you want to keep a nice warm temperature, both in the air and also on the surfaces that it touches (for example, the working surface where you handle the dough). I remember that back in my childhood, my mom would raise the temperature in the entire kitchen when cooking this recipe - this helped keep the yeast ready for action.
(c) Once we put together the dough, we expect the yeast to grow. If the yeast is active, if we kept it at an appropriate temperature so far, and if we plan to keep it at an appropriate temperature from now on, then this should not be a far-off expectation. And still, I’ve followed these steps several times in the past and ended up with a dough that did not grow much. What happened? The answer lies in another important step: kneading. As I had the pandispan recipe fresh in my mind, I took it gently on the cozonac dough, and I kept my kneading short and delicate. This was a mistake: kneading is paramount to getting cozonac right. The reason is that when flour and water are kneaded together, long strands of gluten form from the expansion of certain proteins. These strands allow the growing yeast to easily stretch the dough and form bubbles of air, which is the key to achieving a fluffy cozonac. An effective kneading is simple: press the dough, stretch it, fold it back, and repeat. What is not so simple is doing it for over half an hour (stories of moms kneading for one to two hours are not uncommon). At this point, you may consider buying a mixer with dough hooks to help with the process, particularly if you plan to do this often.

That’s it. A detailed list of ingredients and the preparation instructions are described next. With these in hand, you should feel empowered to prepare cozonac whenever you’re craving for it. No more thinking that you need ‘Romanian’ flour to get it right, and postponing until you actually find it (which is pretty much never). No more paying ridiculous sums to satisfy a craving: I ended up paying $42 a year ago for a cozonac half the size of what I can now do for $5. No more holidays without the house filled with the delicious cozonac smell. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
- One cup of whole milk
- Two and a half teaspoons of active dry yeast
- Three cups of sugar
- Eight eggs
- Three cups of ground walnuts
- Two sticks of unsalted butter (about 225 grams, or a cup when melted)
- Two tablespoons of rum essence
- Two tablespoons of orange peel
- Four tablespoons of oil
- One tablespoon of coffee powder
- A quarter of a cup of cocoa powder
- Five and a half cups of unbleached bread flour (I prefer the King Arthur Flour brand)
- Pinch of salt
- Optional: one cup of raisins or cubed turkish delight pieces

Preparation:
- Mix two and a half teaspoons of active dry yeast with two and a half teaspoons of sugar. Add a cup of heated whole milk (the temperature should be such a way that you can place a finger inside and comfortably hold it in there). Let sit for 30 minutes: this helps activate the yeast. When ready, you should see froth formed at the surface the milk.
- Meanwhile, coat two loaf pan with butter. Melt the remaining butter on low temperature and allow it to cool to room temperature.
- Carefully break the eggs and separate the whites from yellows as follows: one cup with two yellows, one cup with six yellows, and two cups with four whites each.
- Whisk four egg whites, then incorporate a tablespoon of rum essence, and whisk until uniform.
- Whisk six egg yellows until their color lightens up, then gradually incorporate a cup and a quarter of sugar and a tablespoon of orange peel. Whisk until uniform.
- Sift the flour in a large bowl and add a pinch of salt.
- Once the half an hour has passed and the yeast is activated in the milk, quickly mix it with the melted butter and with the whisked egg whites and yellows. Pour this over the sifted flour. Mix with a wooden spoon until uniform.
- Now to kneading: here's where you'll have to use your hands instead of the wooden spoon. Coat your hands in oil, and start turning and ponding the dough. Periodically coat your arms with oil again and again until you use all the four tablespoons of oil - this prevents the dough from sticking to your hands, while also making the cozonac more moist. Continue kneading for at least 30 minutes.
- Once kneading is done, place the dough in a warm environment (near the oven should work), cover with a towel, and let stand for 45 minutes. This is a good time to put together the filling (next step).
- Whisk the other four egg whites, then gradually incorporate a cup and a quarter of sugar. Gently sift a quarter cup of cocoa powder and mix it in. Add a tablespoon of rum essence, one of orange peel, and one of coffee powder. Finally, add three cups of ground walnuts. Mix everything and set aside.
- Once the kneaded dough has stayed for 45 minutes (it also hopefully grew in size to some degree), cut it in two: we will be making two cozonacs. Take each half and flatten it with a rolling pin. Add a thin layer of the filling, and optionally the raisins or turkish delight pieces. Roll tightly from two opposite sides such that clean dough meets in the middle: it helps to keep the filling in during cooking. Seal the two ends and gently twist it around - this gives it a more interesting shape when cooking. Place each twisted roll inside a loaf pan (previously coated with butter). Cover with a cloth towel and let sit for one hour in a warm place.
- Finally, use the two remaining egg yellows to coat the cozonacs, sprinkle the leftover sugar on top, and optionally decorate the top with walnut halves. Place them on the lowest shelf in an unheated oven. Set the temperature to 325F and start the cooking process. Note that the cozonacs will continue to grow in size as the dough raises. Do not open the door while they are cooking, particularly during the first half an hour - hopefully your oven has an internal light and a glass front door that allows you to peek in without opening. Start keeping an eye on the cozonacs after about 25 minutes of cooking. You want their tops to have a pleasant reddish brown color: once this happens, cover them with aluminum foil, and keep cooking. The total cooking time is about an hour after the oven reaches 325F. To check when they are ready: stick a toothpick all the way in, remove it, and check that it is clear and dry. If not ready, cook for another five minutes, then check again.
- Once the toothpick comes out dry and clear, turn off the heat and let the cozonacs stay in the oven for another 15 minutes. After all this, remove the cozonacs from the oven, cover them with a towel, and allow them to cook slowly. Do not cut them for the first 15-20 minutes after they were removed from the oven.

Presentation:
- The top of the cozonacs looks beautiful, so they often don't need much help in the presentation. Alternatively, slices have intricate shapes of alternating bread and filling, with occasional spots of color from the turkish delight. A beautiful presentation in and of themselves.
- A few fruits can further add color and freshness to the presentation.
- Serve it alongside a glass of milk, or accompanied by a glass of wine.

Romanian Garlic Chicken Aspic | Piftie | Racitura

2014-12-27T10:21:00.001-08:00

Back in the days, Romanian families would sacrifice a pig at the beginning of December, then use it to prepare all sorts of delicacies for the holidays. Nothing was left aside: we have a great variety of tasty recipes that use most parts (not only the meat). As such, the holidays season brings a lot of specific dishes that are not easily encountered throughout the rest of the year.

'Piftie' or 'racitura' is one prime example of such a recipe. It uses some of the meat, but most importantly the pig's feet. When boiled, the feet create a lot of gelatin, which causes the dish to thicken like a jello when cold. As it's not so easy to find pig feet abroad, and also as chicken or turkey are lighter and easier on the stomach, I present a variation of the recipe that can be easily prepared with fairly common ingredients. Note that I recommend using packaged gelatin: I used pigs feet in the past, but I found them to add some flavor that was out of place in combination with the chicken meat - gelatin does the job without adding any extra taste.

Ingredients:
- Three to four pounds of chicken legs or wings (you need a lot of bones and skin to add taste, and some meat)
- One head of garlic, peeled and mashed
- One carrot
- One parsnip
- One onion
- Two celery stalks
- Three bay leaves
- One tablespoon of black pepper seeds
- Gelatin (a few packages, depending on soup quantity left after boiling)
- Salt
- For decoration and serving: bread, mustard, parsley, radishes, scallions, bell peppers

Preparation:
- Boil the chicken in water on medium heat for about two and a half hours. Discard the foam periodically to keep the soup clear.
- Add the carrot, parsnip, onion, celery stalks, bay leaves, and black pepper seeds. Boil for another hour.
- Add the mashed head of garlic, and fix for salt. If the soup is too greasy, then a layer of fat will form at the top - feel free to remove and discard it.
- Now to thickening the soup. The chicken bones and skin are most likely insufficient to make the soup coagulate. If you want to check this: take a bit of soup in a jar, place in the fridge until it cools, and check its consistency. Most likely, you will need to add gelatin to thicken it. Check the instructions on your gelatin package, and use about two thirds the recommended gelatin proportion for making jello. For example, if the instructions tell to combine a package with a cup of water, then you want to use about two packages for three cups of soup. Check how much soup you have: I ended up with six-seven cups, so I used four packages of gelatin. Check the instructions on the package: I initially added the gelatin to a cup of soup, let it sit for about a minute, then I thoroughly mixed this with the rest of the soup.
- Separately, pick the chicken meat, shred it, and set it aside. Also, save the carrot (for color). Discard the chicken bones, skin, and all other solid ingredients in the soup.
- Select a few deep bowls. Place parsley and carrot pieces on their bottom, then add chicken meat on top. Carefully add the soup over, but filter it through a tea strainer to make it as clear as possible.
- Let it refrigerate overnight.

Presentation:
- When ready to serve, remove one of more bowls with the dish from the fridge. Carefully flip them over onto flat plates: this upside-down soup with smooth edges is a most dramatic presentation.
- Feel free to use extra parsley to garnish the dish.
- Serve with bread, mustard, and fresh vegetables (radishes, scallions, or bell peppers). Feel free to use some of them to further improve the presentation.

Lentils

2014-11-13T09:31:00.000-08:00

I was introduced to lentils in an Ethiopian restaurant many year ago, and I felt enamoured with their unique flavor and consistency. I did not know how to cook them for a long time, until I finally experimented and found a recipe I love: a savory combination of lime and cumin, masterfully complemented by aromas of fried garlic and ginger.

Ingredients (about 10 servings):
- Two cups of lentils (mixed, yellow, or red preferred)
- One red bell pepper
- One onion
- Ten baby carrots
- A head of garlic
- Ginger (about a third the quantity of garlic)
- Juice from one lime
- Half a cup of olive oil
- Spices: salt, pepper, cumin, chili pepper flakes

Preparation:
- Wash the lentils, then soak them in water overnight. Note that the lentils will grow in size, so allow for extra water: I use six cups of water to soak two cups of lentils.
- Clean and chop the bell pepper, baby carrots, onion, garlic, and ginger. Keep the garlic and ginger separately.
- Heat the olive oil in a cooking pot on medium heat. Add the chopped bell pepper, baby carrots, and onion, and fry for two-three minutes while stirring occasionally.
- Add the garlic and the ginger, and fry for another couple of minutes.
- Drain the soaked lentils, and eventually run them through some clean water if you want to. Add them to the frying pot, and add five cups of clean water. Stir and make sure nothing sticks to the bottom. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 25 minutes.
- Add salt, pepper, cumin, and a touch of chili pepper flakes. Cover, and continue simmering until it reaches the desired consistency (about 10 minutes).
- Remove from heat when ready, then add the lime juice.
- Serve warm or hot.

Presentation:
- I like the lentils when they're creamy, but the mush does not have the most interesting color. Fortunately, the red bell pepper and carrot chunks sprinkle color pops throughout the dish. I presented the recipe in a bowl that matches them in color.
- A couple of slices of lime can be further used to garnish the dish: lime is one of the ingredients, and it adds a fresh green tint to the presentation.

Cajun Roasted Chicken | Pui la Cuptor cu Legume

2014-10-31T08:25:00.006-07:00

The cajun roasted chicken is becoming my favorite dish for when I have guests coming over. One reason is that it's great looking - a big colorful piece of tender meat. It additionally allows for a smooth introduction to an exotic cuisine: I always serve this alongside an authentic Romanian garlic sauce. It also offers a lot of variety: some people like dark meat, some like white meat, there are vegetables, an adjustable degree of spiciness via the garlic sauce, and I usually add a few mushrooms next to the chick for vegetarians. Finally, it's very simple to prepare and does not require much attention: you basically spend 30 minutes to put together la pièce de résistance for the whole dinner (the rest of the preparation time is hands free while the bird is roasting in the over).

One more note on this recipe. The chicken as a whole is a big piece of meat, and many people find it challenging to choose the appropriate time and temperature such that the chicken is juicy yet properly cooked. This recipe presents a simple solution to the conundrum: cook the chicken covered to keep it moist while killing bacteria, then remove the cover to finish the preparation and to give the dish a nice color. This is the kind of easy trick that can help anyone prepare impressive meals.

Ingredients:
- One chicken (about 3 pounds)
- Six or seven medium-sized red potatoes
- Two carrots
- One onion
- One squash (optional)
- One red bell pepper (optional)
- A bunch of parsley
- One beer
- Cooking oil
- Spices: salt, ground pepper, cajun spices

Preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 450F.
- Meanwhile, peel and dice the potatoes and carrots. Boil them for about 10-15 minutes.
- Coat a 2 inches deep baking tray with a bit of cooking oil. Add the boiled potatoes and the carrots. Peel and dice an onion, and add it in (I've been told more than once that the onion in this recipe was the best tasting onion the guests have ever tasted). Optionally, dice a squash and a red bell pepper, and add them as well. Gently mix the vegetables until they're equally distributed: you don't want a corner with bell peppers and another one with the carrots - it just does not look as good in the presentation. Add salt and pepper over the vegetables.
- Generously coat the chicken with cajun spices (both inside and outside). Place in the baking tray, over the vegetables.
- Pour a can of beer inside the chicken and over the vegetables. It would be great if the vegetables are covered in beer (particularly the onion), but make sure the liquid is not all the way to the top of the tray: there will be some extra juices from the chicken, and we don't want them to overflow the tray and mess up the oven. It is perfectly fine if you open a second bottle of beer, add those critical couple of teaspoonfuls over the recipe, then drink the rest. :)
- Carefully seal with aluminum foil (helps keep the chicken moist), and cook for two hours in the oven at 450F. Drop the temperature to 400F, remove the aluminum foil, and cook for another half an hour (or as long as needed, depending on the size of the chicken -- use a thermostat to check) on the lowest rack to finish cooking and give the skin some color. Check periodically - if the chicken skin starts turning too dark but the chicken is still not fully cooked, then brush it with the juices covering the vegetables, and place a sheet of aluminum foil over the chicken to preserve the color.
- Remove from the oven. Serve hot or warm.

Presentation:
- The chicken on the cooking tray looks impressive in and of itself. I'd just place it in the middle of the table, on a heat-resistant serving mat.
- Use the bunch of parsley for both color and freshness. Either place it on the side, as in the photo above, or alternatively, chop it finely and sprinkle it all over.
- With your permission, I suggest you serve this recipe accompanied by some authentic Romanian garlic sauce. It is a killer combination that always makes an impression.

Meatless Balls | Chiftelute Vegetariene

2014-10-09T08:06:00.000-07:00

I've recently decided to reduce my consumption of meats, which means I have more chances to enjoy the delicious flavors and textures of fruits, vegetables, and nuts. That also gives me more opportunities to play around with healthy organic produce and to come up with new concoctions. Here, I present a yummy recipe for meatballs that lacks, well, meat.

I started the thought process by imagining what combination of ingredients might come close enough to meat. I chose red beets for both color and texture. I added squash to keep the dish flavorful and juicy, as in the my earlier Romanian meatballs recipe. I thought couscous would also go well into the composition (it adds consistency). Finally, I added ground walnuts for their rich flavor and for a bit of unexpected crunchiness. Throw in the onion, garlic, and spices, and the mixture smells so good and fresh that you want to eat it with a spoon before it's even cooked.

I further find interesting the progression of color in the original meatball recipe and in this variation. The meatball recipe starts with a pink colored mixture, a healthy tint brought about by the meat. However, the meatballs turn brown during the frying process. The color pigments in the red beets are much more persistent, which allows the meatless balls to maintain a beautiful pink tint all throughout.

Ingredients:
- Two red beets
- A medium-sized squash
- Half a cup of garlic cloves
- Half an onion
- Two cups of walnuts
- One cup of parsley
- Four eggs
- One cup of couscous
- Spices: salt, ground pepper, thyme, a bit of chili pepper
- For frying: flour (about a cup), and a lot of cooking oil

Preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 450F. Cover the red beets in aluminum foil, and bake for 90 minutes. Remove the beets from the oven and let cool. Then carefully peel, chop (I use a food processor), and set aside.
- While the beets are cooking, place one cup of water in a pot, add two tablespoons of oil and a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, then quickly stir in a cup of couscous, cover, and let stand for five minutes. Use a fork to stir the cooked couscous until fluffy.
- Clean, peel, and chop the squash, half of an onion, garlic cloves, walnuts, and parsley. Mix with the beets and couscous when ready.
- Add the eggs and spices to taste. Mix everything until the composition is uniform.
- Now to the cooking part. First, heat up the oil on medium heat. I use a deep pan, and I make sure the oil is about two inches deep (we want to have the balls completely covered in oil when cooking, such that their outer part cooks quickly and uniformly.
- Use about two spoons of mixture to form each ball shape. Roll them through flour, then fry them for about two minutes each.

Presentation:
- Even when cooked, the vegetarian meatballs will have a nice pink/red color due to the beets. Choose some fresh ingredients of colors that complement this: for example, fresh parsley or scallions.
- I chose to present a few balls in a black long dish with a red outline: the black helps emphasize the nice colors in the meatballs, while the red delimits the presentation (while also matching the main color theme in the dish). An alternative presentation of this appetizer could have involved a bunch of meatballs in the center of a wider plate, surrounded by greens (scallions, cucumber slices, celery, or parsley), and accompanied by some cherry tomatoes and feta cheese cubes for extra color. Play with your imagination and your sense of style, and I am sure you can come up with even better presentations.

Sour Beef Soup | Ciorba de Vacuta

2014-08-04T18:39:00.001-07:00

This is a tasty soup with many vegetables and occasional gifts of tender meat. As an extra bonus, the lemon flavor and the sour cream smoothness come to satisfy your craving for an ethnic touch. You really can't go wrong with this recipe, if you're looking for a simple recipe that you'd enjoy in a Romanian home.

Ingredients:
- Two pounds of beef (preferably with bones, for example back ribs or short ribs)
- Three medium-sized carrots
- Three medium-sized parsnips
- One celery root
- One red bell pepper
- One green bell pepper
- One yellow onion
- Three small potatoes
- Two zucchini
- Two lemons
- Four large tomatoes (or one 14.5oz can of diced tomatoes)
- Three tablespoons of tomato paste
- One bunch of parsley
- One pound of sour cream
- Spices: salt and pepper

Preparation:
- Add the beef and one gallon of water to a big pot. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer (not a lot of bubbles): this helps keep the soup clearer. Cook the beef for an hour and a half, while periodically removing the foam.
- While the beef is boiling, you have plenty of time to clean and dice the vegetables. You may want to keep them in cold water such that they stay fresh and don't change color (particularly the potatoes).
- After an hour and a half of boiling the beef, remove it from the water, separate the meat and cut it in cubes, and discard the bones. Add the meat back to the soup, together with the diced carrots, parsnips, and celery root. Continue simmering for another 15 minutes.
- Add the diced bell peppers, onion, and zucchini, and let them simmer for 10 minutes.
- And the diced potatoes, and the tomatoes. Carefully mix the tomato paste in the hot soup until it becomes liquid (you can also remove a cup of hot soup, mix it with the tomato paste, then add it back to the soup). Continue simmering for 15 more minutes.
- Remove from heat. Add the squeezed lemons, the chopped parsley, and sour cream, salt and pepper to taste. Mix, cover, and let the the flavors blend for 5 minutes.
- Serve hot.

Presentation:
- If possible, choose a soup bowl that is wider and shallower - this helps some of the diced vegetables break through the soup surface to reveal nice colors and texture.
- Have extra sour cream handy, if your guests want to add more.
- Sprinkle chopped fresh parsley on top to an extra touch of freshness.
- Serve alongside sliced bread and chili peppers (fresh or preferably pickled).

Romanian Dumplings with Plums | Galuste cu Prune

2014-07-14T08:10:00.000-07:00

This Romanian dessert has three layers: a sweet crispy coating, a soft inner dough, and a fruity core. A first bite from the dumpling usually samples the first two, only to slightly reveal the latter and to invite another mouthful. It is a great treat during the plum season, and a delightful way to savor this fruit.

Ingredients (makes between eight to ten dumplings, depending on size):
- A pound of plums
- Two large russet potatoes (about a pound and a half)
- Two eggs
- Half cup of cream of wheat
- Flour (three quarters cup of flour for the middle layer, and a bit more to help mold the dumplings)
- Four tablespoons of butter (a quarter of a cup)
- Two cups of coarse breadcrumbs (i use panko breadcrumbs, as they're bigger; alternatively, put a few slices of bread in the oven at 375F, and when they get hard, grind them to crumbs)
- Brown sugar (one cup for the outer layer, and a bit extra for the plums)
- Spices: cinnamon, vanilla essence (two tablespoons), and a pinch of salt

Preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 425F. Bake the russet potatoes for about an hour (use a toothpick to test when ready). Let them cool a bit, then peel and grind them (I use a potato ricer).
- Melt the butter in a pan on medium heat. Add the breadcrumbs, stir in one tablespoon of vanilla essence and cinnamon to your taste, and cook for a few minutes until they turn a nice golden color. Remove from heat, stir in the brown sugar, and mix till uniform.
- Cut the plums lengthwise in half and remove the pits. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on the plum meat, and let sit for a while. I prefer the smaller Italian plums, as you can use both halves together in each dumpling (if the plums are bigger, use only half per dumpling).
- Gently mix the baked potatoes with the flour, cream of wheat, and a pinch of salt. Add the whisked eggs and one tablespoon of vanilla essence, and mix till uniform. It is ok if the composition is a bit sticky.
- Now to forming the dumplings. Coat your palms with a bit of flour. Grab three-four tablespoons of mixture and gently press it flat to about a third of an inch. Roll the dough uniformly around a plum (or only half of it if the plums are big) - there should be no piece of the plum visible to the outside. Gently sprinkle a bit of flour on the outside, such that they don't stick to one another. Repeat until all dumplings are done.
- Bing enough water to a boil in a large pot. Add the dumplings one by one. Boil them until they raise to the top (about 5-10 minutes), plus another 5 minutes.
- Remove the dumplings from water, one at a time. You need to handle them very gently, as the exterior is fairly soft and can break easily. Roll the dumplings through the golden breadcrumbs mixture, then set aside.
- I prefer to serve them at room temperature, but they're also good warm or cold.

Presentation:
- Choose a nice serving plate or bowl whose color matches the beautiful golden texture of the dumplings.
- I present the dumplings alongside a few extra plums - they are at the core of the recipe. Any guest who also tries a plum will get to appreciate the extra vanilla and cinnamon flavors we added to the dish. Or you can cut the fresh plums lengthwise, remove the pits, and sprinkle them with cinnamon and sugar (such that they more closely resemble the ones in the prepared dish).
- A few leaves of mint always bring a glimpse of freshness to the visual presentation.

Romanian Meatball Soup | Ciorba de Perisoare

2014-06-09T07:22:00.000-07:00

I give you here the recipe for one of the more popular soups in Romania. In fact, we don't even call it a soup: it is a 'ciorba' (pronounced /tch-ior-bah/), which is a group of soups that taste sour. We have a special ingredient for the sour flavor - we use borsch, but not the beet-based one that seems common in nearby Eastern-European countries. I give a simple alternative here to easily obtain the same great taste by using lemon juice instead. In addition to the sourness, I love this recipe for the texture and flavor of the meatballs.

Ingredients:
- One yellow onion
- One pound of lemons
- Half a celery root
- One yellow squash
- One leek
- One red bell pepper
- One parsnip root
- One large carrot
- One pound ground meat
- Four tablespoons fulls of uncooked rice
- Four tablespoons of tomato paste
- Two cups of chopped parsley (or dill, or both)
- Spices: salt, pepper, paprika, chili pepper, bay leaves
- For serving: a few leaves of fresh parsley, bread, sour cream (optional), hot peppers (pickled hot pepper would be more traditional)

Preparation:
- Start by cooking the rice. Bring 3/4 cups of water to a boil, add the rice (rinsed separately), cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 20 minutes. When done, remove from heat, fluff with a fork, and let cool on a flat plate for some 5-10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, chop all vegetables and greens. Set aside half a cup of finely-chopped onions and the parsley. Fry the rest of the chopped veggies in a bit of olive oil on medium heat for 5-10 minutes. Transfer the veggies to a large pot, add three liters of water, four bay leaves, and spices to taste. Cover, bring to a boil, then keep on cooking for another half an hour. Use this time to prepare the meatballs (next step).
- Mix the ground meat with half a cup of finely chopped onion, the cooked rice, half of the chopped parsley (about a cup), and a tablespoon each of salt, pepper, and paprika. When the mixture is uniform, grab about a tablespoon-full of the mix with wet hands, and roll into a ball. Repeat till uniform.
- Once the broth has been boiling for half an hour, add the meatballs and the tomato paste, and cook for another half an hour. Use this time to squeeze the lemons and remove the seeds.
- Mix in the lemon juice to the soup, a cup of chopped parsley, and salt, pepper, and chili pepper as desired. Serve hot.

Presentation:
- Sprinkle some chopped parsley on top for extra color and aroma.
- A lot of Romanians like to serve this with bread and sour cream: it adds richness and yumminess to the soup, and it helps cool it if it's too hot. Offer your guests this option by presenting sour cream in a bowl next to the soup.
- Traditionally, we also serve pickled hot peppers next to the soup, to please the ones who like a to spicy it up a notch.

Romanian Dumplings Soup | Supa cu Galusti

2014-05-05T07:50:00.000-07:00

This is a very light and clear Romanian soup, one of the top five most common soups we have in our cuisine. Aside from the vegetables and the meat (which are fairly expected), the dumplings introduce an exceptional texture that is bound to impress your guests. Making the dumplings requires a bit of practice, but that is easily achievable because they are prepared separately. You might even want to start simple: make the dumplings and add them to your favorite chicken soup; if you like the end result, then try following the whole recipe next time.

Ingredients:
- Two parsnips
- Four carrots
- Two potatoes
- Two eggs
- Half celery root
- Half a cauliflower head
- Three or four chicken drumsticks
- Half an onion
- One teaspoon of cooking oil
- Two zucchinis
- One red bell pepper
- 5/8 cups of creamy wheat
- One cup of chopped parsley
- Spices: salt, pepper, one bay leaf

Preparation:
- Chop the parsnips, carrots, celery root, and cauliflower, and boil in two liters of water for about 30 minutes. Use a larger pot, as this is where we'll end up with the final soup.
- Add the cubed potatoes and the diced bell pepper and zucchinis to the soup. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Continue cooking everything for another 20 minutes.
- Chop the chicken drumsticks (we want to break the bones), and brown the pieces with a teaspoon of cooking oil on medium heat. When browned (not burned), discard the liquid, if any. Add the chopped half onion, and cook together for a few minutes (until the onion turns yellowish). Add one liter of water, one bay leaf, and salt; cover, reduce the heat to medium/low, and simmer for 20 minutes. Sift through a cheesecloth: add the broth to the boiling vegetables from the step above, as well as the meat (separated from the bones), if desired.
- Meanwhile, we need to prepare the dumplings. Whisk the two eggs with a mixer for about five minutes, on high speed. Reduce the mixer's speed to low, and gently add the creamy wheat and enough salt as if you'd be preparing an omelet. Mix till uniform. Boil two litters of water separately. When boiling, add a cup of cold water to reduce the heat. Quick add about 3/4 of a tablespoon of batter, and allow it to quickly detach from the spoon: this will grow in size to form a dumpling. Continue until you run out of the mix. Cook for twenty minutes, gently flipping the dumplings from one side to another every 5 minutes or so. Pay careful attention to the water: as soon as it is boiling, add a cup of cold water to cool it off. After the twenty minutes, remove from heat.
- At the very end, remove the soup from the heat. Carefully move the dumplings to the soup, one by one; make sure you don't also take the debris, which should be discarded with the water. Add the chopped parsley, and cover.
- Serve hot.

Presentation:
- Serve in a nice colorful bowl. I chose a blue one, as it nicely complements the colors in the dumping soup.
- If possible, try to have one of more dumplings break the surface of the soup: it looks more interesting than a flat surface. Then sprinkle some cracked peppers to add some extra depth to the presentation.
- Use a nice bunch of curly parsley to further garnish the presentation.

Drob

2014-04-19T07:38:00.001-07:00

Easter is the only occasion when lamb is served in Romania: we believe it is a pity to sacrifice the life of such a young animal, and only do it for this special celebration. And when we do, we have a variety of delicacies that use each of the lamb's young body parts, and try not to waste anything. Drob is a traditional Romanian recipe that use the internal organs (kidneys, lungs, liver, and heart) in combination with many greens and spices - it is used primarily as an appetizer, and it is served with bread and usually mustard. As common as it might be back home, it is quite rare to find this delicacy abroad (most likely because finding the necessary ingredients is quite a quest).

I give you below a variation of the recipe: same great flavor, but tailored for ingredients that are easier to find. The preparation is a bit time consuming (aside from chopping and dicing a lot of things, two of the items need to be cooked separately, then the whole things is baked for over an hour). I can only say that, if you grew up with this recipe, it certainly reminds you of special Easter celebrations in the middle of your loving family. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
- Two pounds of chicken livers
- Two pounds of ground lamb meat
- Two bunches of scallions
- Two bunches of green garlic (or alternatively, the green leaves of a big leek)
- One bunch of dill
- One bunch of parsley
- One red bell pepper (red is preferable, as it adds a nice color touch to the dish)
- Two yellow onions
- Spices: salt, pepper, thyme, paprika
- Nine eggs
- Half a cup of breadcrumbs
- Cooking oil
- A bit of flour

Preparation:
- Boil three eggs hard (about 10 minutes), peel, and set aside.
- Dice the two yellow onions, then fry them in oil until they turn a darker shade of yellow.
- Fry the livers on medium heat, until they are dark brown. Do not overcook them, as they would turn hard. Set aside and let cool, then chop into smaller pieces.
- Chop the scallions, green garlic, the dill, and the parsley.
- Dice the red bell pepper.
- Place the chopped livers in a large bowl, together with the ground lamb meat, fried onions, chopped greens, bell pepper, breadcrumbs, and the remaining six fresh eggs. Add salt, pepper, thyme, and paprika (to taste). Mix until uniform.
- Coat a bread loaf pan with oil and a thin layer of flour: this helps the dish from sticking to the sides while cooking.
- Place about a third of the mixture in the pan. Add the three boiled eggs, equally spaced (make sure they're not too close to either side). Add the remaining composition on top, and shape everything like a bread. Sprinkle some paprika on top for extra color and aroma.
- Cover the loaf pan with aluminum foil, and place on the lowest rack in a preheated oven (400F). Cook for 40 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil, then continue cooking for another 30-40 minutes.
- Let cool. Do not cut until it is cold, or the slices might crumble.

Presentation:
- Cut into slices, and place on a tray. For extra effect, place it on salad or kale leaves.
- Decorate with colorful fresh vegetables: for example, use an selection of cherry tomatoes, radishes, yellow bell peppers, green or red onions, and parsley leaves.
- Enjoy with mustard and bread. And, why not, with a glass of red wine.

Fall-Off-The-Bone Baby Back Ribs

2014-04-08T07:24:00.000-07:00

I discovered this recipe a long time ago, and it's been an all time favorite for my friends and family. The preparation is simple, and the long cooking time softens the meat until it literally melts in your mouth. And while the preparation takes a while, you don't really need to stay next to the oven the whole time (in the past, I even headed to the beach for some volleyball while the dish was cooking in the oven).

Ingredients:
- Baby back ribs
- Barbecue sauce (I prefer the Hickory Smoke flavor)
- One beer
- Cooking oil
- For presentation: your favorite colorful side dishes (for example, coleslaw and fries)

Preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 425F.
- Start by picking a cooking tray that's at least three inches deep. We want the ribs to cook in liquid, such that they are juicy and fall off the bone when done. Use about half a cup of cooking oil, and add beer until we have about half an inch of liquid (I use either an amber ale or a pale lager, though I don't think this will influence the flavor too much). A beer will likely be enough, depending on the shape of the tray you're using.
- Clean the ribs and place them in the tray such that the presentation side faces down. We'll be cooking the meat for a while, and only flip it over towards the end such as to finalize the color and the texture for the presentation.
- Put the tray in a preheated oven, and do not cover. Cook at 425F for an hour. Lower the heat to 225F, and cook for another four hours. Next, we first coat the top side with barbecue sauce, and continue cooking for another 30 minutes. Gently flip the ribs such that the presentation side is now facing up; coat with a generous layer of barbecue sauce, and cook for another 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, and serve before it gets cold.

Presentation:
- The ribs should have a beautiful red color when done. We'll add more colors in the side dishes that accompany it.
- Coleslaw is my favorite side dish for this recipe; it looks great when you mix both red and green cabbage to prepare it.
- Fries can be another great side dish, particularly when made out of colorful heirloom potatoes.
- If you want to try a Romanian twist to the recipe, a good serving of colorful mujdei can go a long way in both taste and color.
- Last, and certainly not least, you may want to enjoy the recipe with a cold beer. I usually do.

Mucenici

2014-03-18T18:08:00.000-07:00

Mucenici is a traditional Romanian dessert that is always served on the 9th of March (it celebrates the memory of the 40 Martyrs of Sebaste). My family always prepared the boiled version presented here (the other variation involves baking and is typical for the northeastern region called Moldova). It is a refreshing recipe that combines dough, walnuts, vanilla, and sugar - serve chilled, and it's a great way to cool off on a warm spring day.

Ingredients:
For the mucenici:
- Four to five cups of flour
- One cup of water
- Two or three pinches of salt
For the soup:
- Two liters of water
- Two tablespoons of lemon peel (I always use orange marmalade: it's cheaper and easier to find)
- Spices: 1 teapoon each of ground cinnamon, vanilla essence, and rum essence
- Half a cup of sugar
For serving:
- Ground walnut kernels
- Honey or brown sugar

Preparation:
- Put one cup of flour in a mixing bowl, and mix in the salt. Slowly add the cup of water (a couple of spoonfuls at a time), and mix until uniform. The composition will turn out a bit watery. Start adding the remaining flour (a bit at a time), and keep mixing. Repeat this until you end up with a dough that does not stick to your hands (you don't need to use all the flour, or you may want to add some more as needed).
- Now to the preparation of the mucenici. Pick up a bit of dough and roll it into a long thin string (a few times thicker than pasta, but as thin as you can manage). Roll the string around your fingers to form "8" shapes (tear the string as appropriate once each figure is completed). Smaller leftover pieces can be rolled into "0" shapes as well (the "8"s are just more common, but they both taste the same :) ). Place the finished pieces on sheets of wax paper. Repeat until you run out of dough. Leave everything outside to dry overnight, turn over in the morning, and let dry a few more hours on the other side as well.
- Add about a cup and a half of mucenici to two liters of water, and boil for about 20-25 minutes. Add the lemon peel (or orange marmelade), one tablespoon each of ground cinnamon, vanilla essence, and rum essence, and half a cup of sugar. Stir, cover, and let cool for a few hours.
- Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled (particularly if it's warm outside and your guests would love to cool a bit).

Presentation:
- Choose colorful bowls to present the recipe (the dish does not have much color in and of itself).
- It is traditional to top the mucenici with ground walnuts - either place them on a plate nearby, or generously sprinkle them over each bowl.
- Given that some people might like the dish sweeter, have some honey or brown sugar handy for who needs it.

Spaghetti a la Maria

2014-01-22T07:45:00.000-08:00

My mom created this recipe right around the time I moved to the United States. I was all alone and did not know much about cooking at that time - I could basically fry eggs and maybe potatoes. As this was the new favorite recipe for the whole family, my mom kept cooking it again and again. She'd then email me to describe how everyone savored the dish, how they were licking fingers, how they were asking for more. I think she wanted me to move back next to her, and the fresh memories of her amazing cooking made it really difficult to stay far away. In loving memory of my mom, here's her recipe for everyone to enjoy.

Ingredients:
- One pound of smoked bacon chunk (about two cups when chopped)
- One onion
- One red bell pepper
- Two yellow squashes
- 1.5 cups of heavy whipping cream or sour cream
- Spices: salt, pepper, chili pepper
- Cooking oil

Preparation:
- Chop the bacon. Dice the bell pepper. Finely dice the onion and yellow squashes (we want them to melt and provide good flavor without being easily identifiable in the sauce).
- Cook the bacon and onions in two tablespoons of cooking oil on medium/low heat for about 10 minutes. Stir frequently to make sure that it does not stick to the bottom or burn.
- Add the bell pepper and yellow squashes, cover, and continue cooking for another 10 minutes. Stir occasionally, particularly in the first few minutes.
- Add a cup and a half of water, spices (salt, pepper, and chili pepper, to taste), remove the cover, and continue cooking for another half an hour.
- Add the heavy whipping cream or sour cream, mix until the sauce is uniform, and continue cooking until it simmers.
- Serve hot over pasta.

Presentation:
- An interesting type pasta can add a lot to the look of the dish.
- You can further use some fresh leaves to add a splash of green to the presentation.

Cranberry Relish

2013-12-27T08:10:00.001-08:00

This is one of my favorite recipes to serve alongside the Thanksgiving turkey. I used to search for it every year in the grocery stores, until I realized that it's fairly easy to prepare (and it usually tastes better when cooked at home anyway). The best thing about preparing it yourself is that you can customize it to your own taste (for example, my family prefers it less sweet, so I reduce the quantity of sugar I use).

Ingredients:
- One 12-ounce bag of fresh cranberries, cleaned
- Three quarters of a cup of sugar (or use only half a cup of sugar for a sour, more natural taste)
- One cup of water
- One apple (I prefer the Granny Smith variety)
- Juices from one orange and one lemon
- Half a cup of raisins
- One cup of chopped walnuts

Preparation:
- Cook the cranberries, sugar, and water together on low heat, until the skins start to crack (about 5-10 minutes).
- Meanwhile, peel the apple and cut into cubes. Once the cranberries' skins start to pop, add the apple and the orange and lemon juices. Cook until the apples become softer (about 15-20 minutes).
- Remove from heat. Add the raisins and walnuts. Let cool, then refrigerate overnight (it thickens the dish).

Presentation:
- The best presentation for this side dish is to serve it along the main dishes: the turkey or the glazed ham, the mashed potatoes, and the string beans.

Sweet Potato Souffle

2013-12-25T09:07:00.002-08:00

I learned this recipe from a friend a while ago, and I really liked the contrast between the soft and flavorful interior, and the crunchy sweet crust on top. Enjoying this recipe with family and friends is a new tradition for my holidays.

Ingredients:
- Four sweet potatoes
- One cup of sugar
- Half a teaspoon of salt
- Quarter cup of flour
- Half a cup of brown sugar
- Four eggs
- One can of evaporated milk (12 fl oz)
- One tablespoon of vanilla extract
- A third of a teaspoon of nutmeg
- One and a half teaspoons of cinnamon
- Two and a half sticks of unsalted butter (about 1 cup and a quarter, or about 250 grams)
- Three fourths of a cup of walnuts

Preparation:
- Cover the sweet potatoes in aluminum foil, and bake in the oven until they are soft (it takes about an hour). When done, remove the skins, and mash with a fork or with a hand mixer. Let the oven stay heated at 400F.
- Separately, whisk the eggs, then add the vanilla extract, the cup of sugar, salt, and the evaporated milk. Add over the mashed sweet potatoes.
- Melt two of the butter sticks in a pan, then combine with the sweet potatoes. Add the nutmeg and the cinnamon, and mix till uniform.
- Take the baking pan where you will cook the dish. You still have half a stick of butter - use a bit of it to coat the pan. Following, add two-three spoons of flour to the pan, and distribute them uniformly (they'll stick to the butter). This will prevent the dessert from sticking to the pan.
- Melt the remaining butter (after the coating is finished), and mix with the chopped walnuts, the flour, and the brown sugar.
- Carefully place the sweet potato mixture in the pan, then top it with the walnuts crumbles as prepared at the previous step. Bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, let cool overnight, then store in the fridge. Serve cold.

Presentation:
- The dessert is easiest to cut when cold. Still, you'll need a lot of patience to carve out some nice slices.
- I love the leaf-shaped plates I recently bought, and I think they're perfect to present this recipe. In general, I think fall colors are perfect to complement this dish, particularly red, gold, or a reddish brown.
- You can alternatively place some fresh cranberries next to the dish, some caramelized nuts, or a stick of cinnamon and a white vanilla flower if you find it easily.

Papanasi

2013-09-27T10:39:00.000-07:00

This exquisite Romanian dessert masterfully combines warm flavorful fried cookies with the smoothness of cream and the sweetness of fruit preserves (think of hot brownie and vanilla ice cream taken to the next level). The recipe is quite simple and quick. A small difficulty is in finding the right cheese (I promise to research a few even easier alternatives and report back soon), and a small inconvenience is in discarding all the extra cooking oil - it feels like such a waste! So you'd better invite your friends and have a papanasi party!

Ingredients:
- Half a pound of queso fresco, cottage cheese, white cheese, ricotta or farmers cheese (if using cottage cheese, place it in a strainer, cover it, and keep it in the fridge overnight to discard extra water)
- Two cups of flour
- A pinch of salt
- Half a cup of sugar
- One teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- One tablespoon of vanilla
- One teaspoon of baking soda
- One tablespoon of lemon juice
- One egg
- One tablespoon of lemon peel (optional)
- One cup of crème fraîche or sour cream
- One jar of fruit preserve (my favorites include sour cherries or berries)
- Plenty of cooking oil
- A couple of tablespoons of powdered sugar (for decoration)

Preparation:
- Stir the baking soda with the lemon juice. Add the cheese, salt, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, egg, and lemon peel. Mix until uniform (it's ok if you have small chunks of cheese every here and there).
- Slowly add the flour, and mix. You want to end up with a dough that does not stick to the fingers - you might not need all the flour, depending on how wet the cheese you use is.
- Now to forming the papanasi. There are two parts: the base, and the top. You create the base by using a bit of dough, rolling it in a line that has the same diameter as a pinkie and the length of about three pinkies, and firmly joining the two ends (same shape as a doughnut). Note that the dough will increase in volume when cooking.
- For the top, use about a tablespoon worth of dough, and roll it into a sphere.
- The next step is frying. It is best if you have enough oil to cover the papanasi when cooking: so use a taller frying pan, and be generous with the oil. Pre-heat the oil on medium heat - it is ready when you add a bit of dough in the pan and it starts quickly cooking and forming circles around it. Now carefully add bases and tops, rotate and necessary, and remove when they turn golden-brown and look delicious. Don't overcrowd the pan. Place the cooked papanasi on a paper towel (such that it absorbs the extra oil from cooking). You may want to prepare one or two papanasi, cut them, and check the interior - if it's not properly cooked, then reduce the heat to prevent burning the outside while the interior is still cooking. If they're too thin or think, adjust the size/shape of the dough before starting to cook.
- You want to serve this quickly, while they're still hot/warm.

Presentation:
- Place a base and a round top above it. Generously add crème fraîche and fruit preserve.
- Gently sprinkle some powder sugar over the plate for an artistic finish.

Curried Couscous with Fried Garlic

2013-09-09T07:41:00.002-07:00

This flavorful recipe brings together four main ingredients: curry, couscous, pistachios, and fried garlic. Close your eyes, savor the aroma, and let the imagination take you on a exotic culinary trip to North Africa or the Middle East.

Ingredients:
- One cup of dry couscous
- Two baby carrots
- One red onion
- One zucchini or squash
- 1/4 cup of roasted pistachios
- One cup of water
- Butter or olive oil
- Rosemary
- Spices: salt, pepper, chile pepper, curry
- Fresh parsley (optional, for decoration)

Preparation:
- Finely dice the baby carrots, red onion, and zucchini/squash. We only need about three tablespoons of each, so use the rest for another dish or save it for some other time.
- Peel and slice the garlic. Fry in butter (or olive oil) on medium-high heat, with a few small branches of rosemary, salt, and curry. Promptly remove from heat when it starts to turn brown.
- You can use the same pan to fry the diced vegetables for about 5 minutes.
- Place a cup of water in a pot, add half a teaspoon of salt, one tablespoon of curry and another one of butter (or olive oil). Bring to a boil. Add the dry couscous, the fried vegetables, the pistachios, and most of the fried garlic (save a bit for decoration later on). Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Remove the cover and stir with a fork to make the dish fluffy.

Presentation:
- Serve in a colorful bowl. Use the extra fried garlic and some chopped fresh parsley to further garnish the recipe.

Blueberry Liquor | Afinata

2013-08-19T08:24:00.000-07:00

The blueberry liquor is a common treat for visitors in Romania (we call it "Afinata"). We occasionally add drops of blueberry liquor in fruit salads, or we use the berries in the recipe to make desserts (for example, the Chocolate Blasts). And if you need another excuse to enjoy it, then you should know that it supposedly has curative virtues in treating different conditions. I don't remember a guest who tried this recipe at my place and did not ask for a recipe - so here it is.

Ingredients:
- Five pounds of fresh organic blueberries
- Five cups of sugar
- (Optional) 2-3 tablespoons of vanilla essence or 1 vanilla bean
- One 750ml bottle of 150 proof distilled alcohol. Potter's Superior West Indies Rum (151 proof) is an excellent choice.

Preparation:
- Wash the blueberries thoroughly, then dry with a paper towel. Place them in a large jar, accompanied by the sugar (make sure the sugar is spread all around the berries, not just in a uniform layer on top or on the bottom). Also, add the vanilla bean now, if you're using it. Cover the jar, mix occasionally (about once per day), and let sit for around one week (until the berries are covered in syrup and there is no more visible sugar).
- Add the alcohol. If you want to add vanilla essence (and did not add a vanilla bean earlier), now is a good time to do so. Cover the jar, and let sit at room temperature for 1-2 months.

Presentation:
- Serve at room temperature or with a few cubes of ice.
- I opted to present it surrounded by fresh berries (the source of the flavor in the drink).
- I further threw in an colorful cocktail umbrella to make the whole presentation more lively.

French Flan

2013-08-16T07:46:00.000-07:00

One thing I love about cooking is that I can prepare the recipes I love. Another is that I can prepare for my friends the recipes that they love. I researched this recipe long and hard, trying to reproduce memories of France for a good friend. The recipe is quick and simple, and it uses ingredients easily found in most grocery stores. Hope you have a chance to give it a try. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
- Ten eggs
- Two cans of evaporated milk (12 oz each)
- Two cans of sweetened condensed milk (14 oz each)
- One tablespoon of lemon peel (for simplicity, I use orange marmalade, same same)
- Four tablespoons of sugar
- Four tablespoons of vanilla extract or rum essence
- A pinch of salt
- One pie crust

Preparation:
- Break the eggs in a bowl, and add the sugar, the rum or vanilla, the lemon peel, and the pinch of salt. Mix everything until uniform. Add the condensed and the evaporated milk. Use a mixer to ensure the composition is homogeneous.
- Note that the French flan needs to be between three and four fingers tall when cooked. Choose a baking pan where the composition would fill about that much space. Also, make sure that there is a bit of extra space on top - the flan tends to bloat while cooking, and then it reverts pretty much to its original volume.
- Preheat the oven to 425F.
- Carefully lay the pie crust such that it uniformly covers the baking pan (both bottom and sides). Add the flan batter. Leave about half an inch of crust above the batter level, and discard the rest.
- Bake for 50 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Serve cold.

Presentation:
- Carefully slice the flan, making sure you don't crumble the crust.
- For presentation, I topped the flan with a few fresh berries. I also placed the dish on an orange plate - I believe this color nicely matches the colors of the flan.
- It's a French recipe, so you might as well serve it alongside a glass of champagne.

Chicken Schnitzel

2013-07-30T07:55:00.001-07:00

If you, your family, or your friends love chicken nuggets, there's no excuse to not know this recipe and do a healthier and tastier version at home. I love it because the tender chicken breast (which does not have much flavor on its own), is deliciously complemented both in taste and in texture by the fried coating.

Ingredients (for the chicken schnitzel alone):
- Two chicken breast
- Three eggs
- Half a cup of flour
- (optional) sesame seeds
- Spices: salt, pepper, chili pepper
- Cooking oil

Preparation:
- Slice the chicken breasts into thin slices. The trick to simplify the preparation is to make sure that the slices are very thin (gently use a meat tenderizer to get them there, if needed). Once these thin slices are covered in batter and are frying, you'll know when they're done simply by checking that the coating is cooked (it turns brownish).
- Break the eggs in a bowl, and mix thoroughly. Add the spices and the optionally the sesame seeds. Stir and make sure the batter is uniform.
- Spread the flour onto a plate. We will use it to help the batter stick to the chicken slices.
- Heat up the cooking oil in a pan. You want the cooking oil to be about a quarter of an inch deep.
- Pick one slice of chicken, and cover it with a thin uniform coating of flour. Dip it in the batter, then fry on one side until it turns brownish and looks ready. Flip over, and cook the other side as well. Remove and place on a paper napkin (to absorb the extra grease).
- Repeat for each slice of chicken breast. You can also cook a few at a time, depending on how large the pan you use is.
- If you prefer a crispier coating, add some bread crumbs to the batter.

Presentation:
- For best taste, you really want to serve them hot.
- Note that the recipe in itself does not have much color, so you really want to strategically place some colorful items nearby. For example, if you place a plate of schnitzels in front of your guests, make sure you add a variety of color via fresh tomatoes, radishes, bell pepper strips, cucumbers, or scallions. During the cold Romanian winter, we'd choose an assortment of colorful pickled vegetables to go with it instead.
- An alternative serving is as a sandwich (as pictured above). Here, I lightly toasted the bread slices, and used arugula, tomato slices, and mustard to complete the sandwich.

Boeuf Salad | Salate de Boeuf

2013-07-26T09:01:00.000-07:00

This is one of the essential Romanian recipes, a dish that rarely misses from a bigger feast with family or friends. I actually don't remember a time when I visited someone in Romania during the winter holidays, and did not have this served at the table as an appetizer.

The recipe combines three of the common ingredients in our cuisine. First, there's the meat (I find it very intriguing that the recipe name comes from the French word "beouf" that means beef, and still I've only seen this dish cooked with either chicken or without meat at all). Second, there are the potatoes, a common trend in Romanian dishes (they last a long time without requiring refrigeration, so they're particularly popular throughout the cold season). Third, there are the pickles: they are our approach to preserve vegetables through the winter without requiring a refrigerator. No, there is no garlic in this Romanian recipe. :)

I do hope that you'll find a chance to prepare this recipe, and to enjoy it with friends or loved ones.

Ingredients:
- Five red potatoes
- One large parsnip
- One large carrot
- One chicken breast
- One cup of sweet peas
- Eight baby dill pickles
- Two pickled bell peppers (if you can't find those, use fire-roasted peppers kept in lemon juice or vinegar for one hour)
- One-two cups of mayonnaise
- Three boiled eggs
- Spices: salt, pepper
- For presentation: two boiled eggs, mayonnaise, olives, extra pickles, fresh parsley

Preparation:
- Boil the eggs, including the ones to be used for presentation (make sure the yolks are firm).
- Boil the chicken breast for about an hour in a large pot, together with the peeled potatoes, parsnip, sweet peas, and carrot. Periodically remove the foam that forms on top of the boiling soup. You may want to start checking with a knife about 45 minutes in, and remove the pot from heat once a knife starts to easily slide through the largest potato.
- Remove from heat and drain. You may want to save the water and use it for a soup.
- Carefully dice the boiled vegetables, the chicken, and the pickles. You want all pieces to have about the same size - aim for something slightly slightly bigger than a pea. Place everything in a large bowl.
- Take three of the boiled eggs, cut them in two, and separately the yellows. Dice the egg whites, and add to the other diced ingredients.
- Add the spices, to taste. Be careful with the salt - the pickles are already fairly salty.
- Finally, you want to add as little mayonnaise as possible, but make sure that the whole dish stays together. You may want to add a few spoons of mayonnaise, mix everything together, check the overall consistency, and repeat if not yet ready.

Presentation:
- The Boeuf Salad has a fairly thick consistency, so you can play a bit with the shape. I've often seen it in a hemispherical form (think of half of a football ball).
- Next, I've always seen the salad covered with a thin layer of yellow mayonnaise (it's yellow because that's the color of fresh natural homemade mayonnaise). If you don't want to go through the trouble of preparing the mayonnaise in-house, then choose the best commercially-available mayonnaise, and mix it with the yolks of the three eggs used in the salad - that usually does the trick (visually, at least).
- Finally, use slices of boiled eggs, olives, pickles, or fresh parsley, to finish the presentation.

Fluffy Cherry Cake | Pandispan cu Cirese

2013-07-23T00:08:00.001-07:00

This dessert is delicious, light, and easy to make. My favorite part is the fluffiness - you can really feel how each bite simply melts in your mouth. Additionally, the cake does not need much sugar - it provides a plethora of sweet fruity delights instead. And while cherries (or even better: sour cherries) are the fruit of choice for this recipe in Romania, you will find that any other seasonal fruits work equally well.

Ingredients:
- Four eggs
- 1 cup of flour
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- 1/2 cup of sparkling water
- A pinch of salt
- One cup of fresh fruits
- One spoon of vanilla
- One spoon of lemon peel
- A bit of butter or oil
- For presentation: powder sugar, a few extra fresh fruits

Preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 325F.
- If you're using cherries (or other seeded fruits), carefully remove their seeds.
- Carefully separate the egg yolks from the whites. We'll thoroughly whip the them in two separate bowls. I recommend you use a mixer, unless you're in the mood for a serious workout.
- Start by whipping the whites for about 5-10 minutes (they turn into a foam). Continue whipping to incorporate half of the sugar.
- Next, we'll whip the yolks for about 5-10 minutes. Add the rest of the sugar slowly and gradually, then the lemon peel, vanilla, the sparkling water, and a pinch of salt. Continue whipping for another 15-20 minutes. The end result has a lot of volume due to small air bubbles mixed in the composition - these will make the whole dessert fluffy.
- We need to gently combine the whipped whites, yolks, and two-thirds of the flour (we'll need a third for the next steps). The key word here is gently - we need to preserve the airiness of the composition. Start by putting the whites and yolks in the same bowl, and mix slowly from the bottom to the top with a wooden spatula. Use a sifter to gradually add the flour, and keep slowly mixing the composition from the bottom to the top. We're actually not even mixing the flour in - we're gently incorporating it by allowing the flour powder to stick to the surface and then turning the mixture over.
- For baking, choose a pan wide enough to accommodate the composition while not spreading it too thin (I use a 9x9x2 inches pan). Coat it with a thin layer of butter or oil, then a thin layer of flour (use the sifter again). Remove any extra flour. This allow the cake to nicely separate from the pan.
- Use the sifter to cover the cherries (or whatever fruits you use) with a thin layer of flour. Mix to uniformly cover all sides of the fruits. This will help some of the fruits to not sink to the bottom of the cake.
- Place the mixture in the coated pan. Gently add the flour-covered fruits on top. Bake for 45 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let cool.

Presentation:
- Make sure the dessert is cold before you cut it. To be sure, let it sit overnight.
- Before serving, sift some extra powder sugar on top.
- A few fresh fruits can be used to accompany the dessert and add some color and contrast - a "before and after" presentation.

Spaghetti Squash Pasta with Creamy Olive Sauce

2013-07-11T22:43:00.001-07:00

I love this pasta recipe for several reasons. First, the spaghetti squash is a great replacement for pasta: it is a natural product that is higher in nutrients and lower in calories and carbohydrates. Second, the sauce has an olive flavor and a creamy consistency unlike any other pasta sauce you've tried before. Give this recipe a chance, and you won't be disappointed.

Ingredients:
- One medium-sized spaghetti squash
- Olive oil
- One cup of pitted kalamata olives for each serving
- A couple of cherry tomatoes per each serving
- Heavy whipped cream (about one cup)
- Spices: salt, pepper, and optionally chili pepper
- For presentation: basil leaves, parmesan cheese

Preparation:
- Cut the spaghetti squash in half, and boil it until the fork goes in easily (about 45 minutes to 1 hour). Remove it from heat, and gently scrap the meat with a fork to get some nice pasta strings.
- Mix the spaghetti squash meat with a bit of olive oil and salt - it gives the pasta some flavor and shininess, and it helps separate the strings better.
- While the spaghetti squash is boiling, you can go ahead and cook the sauce. I use one cup of kalamata olives per each serving. Add the pitted olives to a blender, and pour enough heavy whipped cream to get the blender rolling. Blend them together, though make sure you still have some chunks of olives (for consistency, you really don't want just a paste).
- Transfer the olive mix into a pan, and add the cherry tomatoes cut in half. Sprinkle the spices on top, and cook on low heat for about half an hour.

Presentation:
- For the best presentation, you might want to place the dish on each individual plate: the pasta on the bottom and a layer of creamy olive sauce on top.
- If you can rescue some of the cherry tomato halves, you may want to place them on top for a splash of red color.
- I further used some parmesan cheese and a leaf of basil to finish the presentation.
- Most importantly: enjoy while still hot!

Mititei

2013-05-24T08:01:00.002-07:00

I grew up in a tall apartment building, like most Romanians during the communist era. My memories are filled with my mom's delicious homemade recipes cooked on the stove or in the oven. Grilling was a luxury, something you did when you went on a picnic during a weekend or on a longer vacation. Mititei were always the highlight of the menu on such special days - they remind me of leaving the city behind and spending some time near a lake or in the mountains. This is probably one of the dishes that you'd greatly miss, once you enjoyed it in Romania (another one is sarmale).

What makes this recipe memorable? First, it's the flavor - multiple hidden spices that make the meat taste great. Second, it's the tenderness - we usually prepare the mititei from fatty ground meats, which then keeps them tender during cooking. As such fatty meat is not that easily found abroad (and as it's not necessarily that healthy for you anyway), the recipe below introduces a twist (which might be classified as sacrilege back home, but it does the trick). Third, it's the great flavor added by grilling. Hope you have a chance to prepare and enjoy this great Romanian recipe.

Ingredients:
- Two pounds of ground meat; ideally: a combination of ground beef, pork, and lamb; common: a combination of beef and pork; simplest: either ground beef or ground pork
- One teaspoon each of ground cumin, anise seeds, allspice, and coriander
- Two teaspoons each of ground pepper, thyme, and salt
- One cup of beef broth
- One and a half teaspoons of baking soda
- One tablespoon of lemon juice
- A small head of fresh garlic, or half a large one
- Two tablespoons of olive oil
- Two medium-sized yellow squashes

Preparation:
- Peel the yellow squash, discard the skin, and shred the interior.
- Mix the baking soda with the lemon juice.
- Thoroughly grind the garlic.
- In a large bowl, mix all the solid ingredients. Add the baking soda with the lemon juice and also the olive oil, then mix. Now to incorporating the soup: this is a slow process where you add a bit more soup to the solid ingredients, and mix it in, then repeat. The whole process will take a while, and it's important for everything to be mixed uniformly: I use a mixer and it takes me about 10-15 minutes to form the mititei paste. If you're not using a mixer, you may want to use the olive oil to cover your palms early on: this prevents the meat from sticking to your hands.
- Form the mititei: for each one, wet your palms with a bit of water, then take about three or four tablespoons worth of the mix, press in the palm of your hand, and roll in the form of a cylinder (the water will help it stick together and away from your hands). Do not worry if they don't yet keep the desired shape: their consistency will solidify after spending some time in the fridge (next step). Continue this process until you've used all the mititei paste.
- Refrigerate overnight - this allows the flavors to blend, it makes the composition firmer, and allows them to keep their shape while cooking.
- Remove from fridge, and roll again in your hands to reinforce a nice cylinder shape. The composition is much firmer now, and the mititei will keep the desired shape much better.
- At this point, you're ready to grill the mititei. Make sure you prepare them medium-rare, such that they stay juicy and soft.

Presentation:
- The color of mititei can hardly be compared to how tasty they are. But the presentation can greatly benefit from colorful accompanying side dishes. For example, garlic roasted potatoes and a summer salad.
- There's nothing like a cold beer to complement this dish.

Sarmale | Smoked Romanian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

2013-05-20T18:46:00.002-07:00

Sarmale is one of my favorite Romanian recipes for the winter season. The flavor is a delicious combination of smoky, meaty, sweet, and sour. The preparation is a bit tedious, but once done you'll enjoy fabulous feasts for the next few days.

Ingredients:
- To soften the cabbage leaves (if needed): 12 cups water, half a cup of vinegar, and two tablespoons of salt
- One cup of raw rice
- Two pounds of ground pork
- One squash (peeled, then shredded)
- Half of a big red pepper (or an entire smaller one)
- One cup of baby carrots
- One onion
- One clove of garlic
- Three tablespoons of spice mix: salt, pepper, chili pepper, thyme, paprika, in equal quantities
- Four tablespoons of cooking oil
- One can of tomato sauce
- About two pounds of sauerkraut
- One cup fresh dill (chopped)
- A bulky piece of smoked bacon (about one pound)

Preparation:
- Here's an overview of the process. First, we need to soften the cabbage leaves (you'd want to skip this if you're lucky enough to get whole pickled cabbage leaves). We'll then prepare a meaty mixture and roll it in the leaves. Traditionally, this stuffing uses fatty pork meat - the fattiness makes the sarmale tender and soft. Here, I describe a healthier alternative that's easier to procure: use regular ground pork meat, but mix it with shredded squash. Finally, baking will allow all the flavors to blend in nicely.
- Let's start with softening the cabbage leaves. Take a cabbage head, and cut the core out with a sharp knife. Mix 12 cups of water, half a cup of vinegar, and 2 tablespoons of salt, and bring to a boil. Pour the boiling mixture over the cored cabbage - you'll notice it open up like a blossoming flower. Gently remove the leaves one by one, and avoid tears and ruptures. Leave them in the hot brine a bit longer, until they become soft and pliable.
- We'll need three cups of boiled rice. I like to prepare that myself, with a twist: mix one cup of water with one cup of sauerkraut brine, and bring to a boil. Rinse one cup of rice separately, then add it to the boiling mixture, cover, reduce the heat to low, and keep on cooking for 20 minutes (don't remove the lid). Note that the rice expands while cooking (it grows about three times its original size), so use a pan big enough to accommodate this quantity. When ready, stir in the rice with a fork to increase its fluffiness. Let it cool.
- Meanwhile, dice the red pepper, carrots, onion, and garlic. Place them in a pan with oil, and cook for 15 minutes on medium heat. Let cool as well.
- We're now ready to prepare the stuffing. In a large bowl, mix together the ground pork, the shredded squash, the rice, and the veggie mixture cooked earlier in the pan. Add the spices, olive oil, one cup of pureed tomatoes, and the chopped dill. Mix thoroughly.
- With the stuffing ready, let's talk about putting together the sarmale (each one needs to be rolled individually, which will take some time). Take a leave of cabbage (cut it in half if it's too big), place two tablespoons of mixture in the center, and roll: fold one of the longer sides over the meat, then roll across the longer side, then stuff the remaining side in.
- Take a big pot and add a bit of cooking oil. Then place a thin layer of sauerkraut to make sure that none of the sarmale sticks to the bottom. Carefully place a layer of sarmale, with a few chunks of smoked bacon interleaved and a couple of bay leaves. Make sure they're tightly packed - we don't want much space in between. Top with a thin layer of pureed tomatoes. And repeat until the pot is full (or until you run out of sarmale) - another layer of sauerkraut, followed by one more layer of sarmale and a few chunks of smoked bacon (plus one or two bay leaves) , then one thin layer of pureed tomatoes. When finished, top everything with layer of sauerkraut.
- Add two or three cups of water (depending on how tightly you placed everything in the pot). We want the sarmale to cook in water and become tender and moist. Bake in the over at 400F for two hours.

Presentation:
- Serve the sarmale hot or warm.
- The dish goes well with sour cream, chili peppers (fresh or pickled), and polenta. They all add a bit of color to the presentation.
- Enjoy sarmale with a cold beer, and with great company.

Yellow Wax Bean Salad | Salata de Fasole Galbena

2013-05-20T08:10:00.000-07:00

When in season, yellow wax beans are tender and bright. Add in some garlic and a splash of vinegar, and you'll have a refreshing salad. Try it with a mushroom pizza, with Romanian meatballs, or with another of your favorite entrees.

Ingredients:
- 1 pound of yellow wax string beans
- 3-4 garlic cloves
- 2-3 fresh cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup of chopped fresh parsley
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar
- Spices: salt and pepper

Preparation:
- Bring water to boil in a pot. Add the yellow wax string beans, and boil for 20-25 minutes. When ready, discard the water.
- Mash the garlic cloves. If you don't like raw garlic too much, mix with the beans while they're still hot - this will slightly cook the garlic. If you're a big fan of raw garlic (like I am), wait for the beans to cool, then add the mashed garlic.
- Partially mash the beans - we don't want them to be a paste, but we don't want the whole strings either.
- Dice the cherry tomatoes and the fresh parsley, and add them to the mix. Also, add the olive oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Mix everything.
- Serve cold or at room temperature.

Presentation:
- The recipe is already very colorful - the strong yellow of the beans, mixed in with the red of the tomatoes and the green of the parsley. It can be used in an of itself to add color and taste to other recipes - for example, it greatly compliments a delicious steak.

Pork Chop in Tomato Sauce | Friptura cu sos

2013-05-02T08:01:00.000-07:00

This is a fairly common Romanian recipe, usually served during the cold winter months. I love this recipe because it infuses tomato and garlic flavors to regular meat. Mix the tomato sauce with mashed potatoes and add pickles - and you've got yourself a winning combination!

Ingredients:
- 6 pork chops
- One 18oz can of tomato sauce
- One cup of wine
- Spices: salt, pepper, chili pepper, thyme
- One head of garlic
- Finely chopped fresh parsley (for presentation)

Preparation:
- Quickly fry the pork chops on high heat (one minute each side, or until they start to catch a bit of brownish color).
- Preheat the oven to 325 F. - Mix the tomato sauce, wine, and spices. Place a thin layer on a flat baking dish, then place the steaks, and cover with the remaining tomato mixture. Cover with aluminum foil.
- Cook in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove aluminum foil and cook for another 25 minutes. Add the chopped garlic, mix, and cook for another 5-10 minutes.

Presentation:
- Place the dish over a bed of mashed potatoes (or pasta).
- Add a generous amount of sauce over each steak.
- Sprinkle chopped fresh parsley for an adding bit of green.
- The dish is greatly complemented by a side serving of pickles and a glass of cold beer.

Baked Sauerkraut with Smoky Delights | Varza Calita cu Afumatura

2013-01-14T19:35:00.000-08:00

Romanian cuisine varies a lot from one season to another. Sauerkraut and smoked meats are two very common ingredients for dishes served in the winter (though you can find them throughout the year nowadays). This dish combines them both - it is one of my favorite traditional recipes to enjoy during the cold weather.

One trick to cook this recipe well is to balance the initial sourness of the sauerkraut with sweet and smoky flavors. This is achieved by combining it with flavorful ingredients (tomatoes and cooked onions taste sweet, meats are smoked), then baking the dish in the oven. Do not forget the bay leaves, thyme, and a slight spicy kick!

Ingredients:
- 6 pounds of sauerkraut
- 1 large onion
- 1.5 pounds of diced tomatoes (canned or fresh)
- 1.5 pounds of smoked sausages or meats
- 1 cup of cooking oil
- Spices: 7-8 large bay leaves, 2-3 of teaspoons thyme, salt, pepper, chili pepper (to taste)

Preparation:
- Slice the onion, and cook it in oil on low heat for 15-20 minutes (until it becomes soft).
- Mix the cooked onion and oil with the sauerkraut, tomatoes, smoked meat, spices, and add 3-4 cups of water.
- Cover, and cook on medium heat for 1.5 hours. Stir occasionally to prevent burns.
- Transfer the dish to the oven (move to another pot if necessary), and bake at 475 for another hour.
- Serve hot with bread or polenta, raw onion, and a cold beer.

Presentation:
- If available, fresh scallions would add a nice touch of green color while greatly complimenting the dish. Alternatively, slice some red onions and serve alongside instead.
- A grilled sausage looks great alongside this dish, and so does a cold beer.

Garlic Roasted Potatoes | Cartofi la Cuptor

2012-07-22T18:46:00.000-07:00

Potatoes and chopped dill are such a common side dish in Romania, that I've never thought of posting this recipe by itself. But after having been singled-out as the best recipe at several dinners with friends, I thought it deserves its own spot. Here, the basic dish is further complemented with green garlic and bacon pieces, for a result that boasts both great taste and enhanced colorful presentation.

Ingredients:
- 1.5 pounds of potatoes
- Fresh dill
- Bacon (3-4 strips)
- 1-2 green garlic plants
- Cooking oil
- Spices: salt, pepper, chili pepper

Preparation:
- First, use a pan to fry the bacon strips (no oil is needed, just heat up the pan and cook the bacon on both sides until they turn a nice red color). When ready, remove from the pan, and tear the strips into smaller bite-size pieces.
- Wash and peal the potatoes, then cut them in cubes. We'll first boil them to get them soft on the inside, then broil them at high heat to add a nice crust all around.
- Bring water to a boil. Add the potato cubes, and keep boiling for about 15-20 minutes. The potatoes are done when a toothpick easily goes through them, but they are not yet mushy (if you boil them for too long, they'll start falling apart). Use a colander to discard the water.
- Heat the oven to 500F. Take a baking pan, and lightly coat it with oil (to prevent the potatoes from sticking to the bottom). Add the potatoes, and place the pan in the oven for about 15-20 minutes (or until you see the potatoes starting to take a nice caramel color). Use a spatula to turn the potatoes, and sprinkle the spices (salt, pepper, and chili pepper) all over. Place back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes.
- While the potatoes are cooking, chop about a cup of fresh dill, and 1-2 green garlic plants.
- In the end, mix together the potatoes, bacon, dill, and garlic.
- Serve immediately.

Presentation:
- The dish has plenty of colors and can provide for a great presentation all by itself. However, a delicious steak and a glass of cold beer can greatly enhance the presentation. :)

Garlic Carrot Fries | Morcovi Prajiti cu Usturoi

2012-07-22T16:30:00.002-07:00

Fries, fries, fries. Everyone knows them. But what if you wanted to surprise your family or guests with something different? Introducing "Garlic Carrot Fries" - the sweetness of the carrots, the flavor of the fried garlic, and the same texture as the fries, all blended in a novel combination. Serve alongside a good steak, and you've got yourself a winning combination!

Ingredients:
- 1 pound of baby carrots (cut and peeled)
- 1 head of garlic (mashed)
- 1 cup of fresh dill or parsley (chopped)
- Cooking oil
- Spices: salt and pepper
- [optional] 3 tablespoons of flour or baking powder

Preparation:
- Bring water to a boil in a pot. Add the baby carrots, and boil them for 7 minutes.
- Remove the carrots, and place in a colander to discard extra water. Leave there for 5-10 minutes. Further rub them with a paper towel to remove extra water (it tends to be unruly and jumpy when in contact with the heated oil following soon).
- Optional: if you want a nice crunchier crust, coat the baby carrots with flour or baking powder.
- In a frying pan, heat some cooking oil (use high heat).
- Carefully add the baby carrots, and fry for about 7 minutes.
- Add the mashed garlic, the chopped dill or parsley, and the spices. Fry for another 15-20 seconds.
- Remove the baby carrots from the pan, and place them on a paper towel to help remove extra cooking oil.
- Serve as soon as possible (or the crust might soften up).

Presentation:
- The recipe has some beautiful orange and green colors from the ingredients. I opted to serve it in a blue martini grass to further add another colorful dimension to the presentation.
- An extra dash of fresh chopped dill or parsley can further help both the flavor and the presentation. And, if you like garlic, so would a dash of fresh mashed garlic.

Steak au Poivre | Friptura de Vita cu Sos de Piper

2012-07-22T16:27:00.000-07:00

I've had this unforgettable recipe for the very first time in a small German city called Koblenz. At first, it seemed like an innocent steak with a creamy sauce. And then, an explosion of spice hit me - it tingled my mouth and invited a refreshing sip of German beer. I've been a fan of this steak recipe ever since, and hope you become one too.

Ingredients (per each person):
- 1 steak
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- Spices: salt and pepper
- 3 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon of green peppercorns
- Half a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce

Pre-preparation (one day in advance):
- I like to marinade the meat for about 24 hours. I add about a tablespoon of olive oil on one side of the steak, generously sprinkle some salt and pepper, and rub them in gently with your fingers (or with a spoon). Turn the steak over, and repeat the process. Then cover with a plastic foil, and place in the fridge for a day.

Preparation:
- There are two easy approaches to prepare the steak: grill or panfry.

- For grilling, heat up your grill and cook the steaks as you know best.

- For panfrying, Heat up a pan to medium-high heat. When ready, place the marinated steak in it. Cook for about 2 minutes on one side, turn, and cook for another 2 minutes. If you like the steak medium or well done, you may want to cover the pan while cooking. If you like it rare, you may want to replace the pan with a lightbulb. :)

- When all the steaks are ready (I assume you want to share this recipe with family or friends), you need to proceed to preparing the accompanying sauce. Use the same pan where you cooked the steaks: the leftovers from cooking the steak will add extra flavor to the sauce (optionally, add the Worcestershire sauce if you want extra flavor). If you grilled the steaks, you need a pan for the sauce, and you'll also need to use the Worcestershire sauce to add some color.

- Heat up the pan. Add the heavy whipping cream, the green peppercorns, and the Worcestershire sauce to the pan. Cook for about 30 seconds to a minute, while gently mixing with a wooden spatula. The cream will suck in the Worcestershire sauce and some of the juices left over from the cooked steaks, and will start turning brownish. When ready, add the sauce over the steak. Serve immediately, while all the ingredients are hot and tasty.

Presentation:
- Present next to a couple of colorful side dishes. Here, the steak is presented accompanied by Garlic Carrot Fries and Yellow Wax Bean Salad.

Chocolate Blasts | Bombite de Ciocolata

2012-07-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

Remember the times when you were a kid, and visiting some relative or family friend turned out to be the most boring thing you've ever done? The recipe below is just one temptation hosts might have in Romania to keep children enthusiastic about the visit, and mostly quiet throughout the time the grownups chat (unless the dessert runs out too quickly, which causes some emergencies).

And who says this has to be a kid-only dessert? Add a bit of alcohol to the filling (as in the notes below), and you've got the perfect dessert for parties of all ages.

Ingredients:
- 1 lb of petit beurre biscuits
- 8 ounces of unsalted butter
- 1 cup of milk
- 1 cup of walnuts
- 8 spoons of cocoa powder
- 1 cup of sugar
- 2 tablespoons of rum or vanilla essence
- Maraschino cherries (or alcohol-infused blueberries, as described below)
- Shredded coconut

Preparation:
- Finely grind the biscuits, and mix with the sugar.
- Melt the butter on low heat, and add to the biscuits. Mix.
- Carefully dissolve the cocoa powder into the milk, and add the rum or vanilla essence. When ready, add to the biscuits, and mix.
- Finely chop the walnuts, and add to the biscuits. Mix everything together. If all went well, it sticks together when pressed. If the mixture is too watery, incorporate a few more finely ground biscuits into the mixture.
- Next, let's proceed to form the blasts. Pick about 1-2 tablespoons of the mixture, and press it flat in you palm. Add a maraschino cherry in the center, then roll the mixture to uniformly cover it all around. Finally, covering it with coconut shreds. Repeat.
- Serve cold or at room temperature. Given that you've used melted butter for this recipe, it probably means that you need to let it sit and cool for a while after the preparation. I usually just refrigerate them overnight, which also helps make each blast firmer.
- Note: while maraschino cherries have some nice flavor and consistency, I do love a different twist to this recipe. It takes some preparation in advance, but it is definitely worth the effort. Here's what you do. Takes about five cups of berries, and poke each of them with a toothpick (to help the juice flow out). Place in a jar, cover with two cups of sugar, and shake gently to mix. Cover, and let sit. After about a week, the berries would have bled some juice which also caused the sugar to melt. Add about 250 ml of vodka, and let sit for one to two months. Aside from the delicious blueberry liquor which you can now enjoy, you also have some alcohol-infused blueberries for your desserts. Use 2-3 such blueberries as a filling for the chocolate blasts, instead of the maraschino cherries.

Presentation:
- The recipe can be presented in many ways. For a romantic dinner, place the chocolate blasts on top of red rose petals (or next to red rose blooms). For a special occasion, cut open some coconuts in halves, use a paper towel to dry them out, then place the chocolate blasts inside (as in the photo above).

Cherry Compote | Compot de Cirese

2012-07-18T23:15:00.000-07:00

I like to think of a compote as a natural fruit flavored juice that is perfect for a hot summer afternoon. But in Romania, a compote is also an easy approach to preserving fruits for a longer period of time (over the winter and spring, for example, when fresh fruits could be hard to find). If you've never tried it, give it a shot - the recipe below is very quick and easy to prepare.

Some of the common compotes in Romania are made out of grapes, apples, cherries, peaches, apricots, and mirabelles. I give you here the recipe for Cherry Compote - the others are very similar to it. I also simplified the recipe for quick consumption - the approach to prepare a compote that lasts for months is a tiny bit different (the end result tastes the same, but the cooking is slightly different to help with the preservation).

Ingredients (for two servings):
- 16 ounces of water
- 10 tablespoons of sugar
- One tablespoon of vanilla extract
- Half a pound of cherries
- A pinch of cinnamon

Preparation:
- Mix the water, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil.
- Add the cherries and continue boiling for 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for a few hours or overnight - this will allow the cherry flavor to infuse the liquid. The compote can easy stay at room temperature for the first 12 to 24 hours, though it needs to be refrigerated afterwards.
- Serve at room temperature or cold.

Presentation:
- Place in a nice colorful bowl, and decorate with some fresh mint leaves.

Chiftelute de Dovlecei

2012-07-11T21:51:00.002-07:00

Ingredients:
- 4-5 medium-sized baby squash and zucchini (about 5 cups when shredded)
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons of flour
- 3 tablespoons of vanilla essence
- A pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons of lemon peel
- Bread crumbs
- Cooking oil
- Half a cup of sugar

Preparation:
- Shred the squash and zucchini, and place in a colander to discard any extra water. Let sit for about 30 minutes, and periodically grab handfulls of shreds and squeeze the water out (and discard it).
- Beat the two eggs separately, and mix with the flour until homogeneous (no lumps).
- Add the shredded squash/zucchini, the vanilla essence, the lemon peel, and the pinch of salt. Mix everything.
- Use about 3-4 tablespoons of the mixture to form a ball, then flatten it. This is called a "chifteluta" in Romanian (though it can have different shapes and ingredients, including meat - see here). Coat both sides with bread crumbs. Repeat until you run out of mixture.
- Heat some cooking oil in a frying pan. Fry each chifteluta until ready (about 2-3 minutes on each side). Cook only three or four of them at a time to not overcrowd the pan.
- When each chifteluta is cooked, remove it from the pan, and place it on a paper napkin (it helps remove some of the extra cooking oil).
- Serve warm or cold.

Presentation:
- When serving, top with sugar (or powder sugar).
- Note that the squash and zucchini lend the recipe a vivid combination of yellow, white, and green. Frying further adds some brown to the breadcrumbs cover that surrounds each chifteluta. As such, the palette of colors for this dish can be nicely enriched with some fresh fruits such as strawberries or raspberries.
- A splash of curly parsley leaves adds a reminder for the unusual main ingredient for this dessert.

Romanian Chicken and Mushrooms Stroganoff | Ciulama de Pui cu Ciuperci

2012-07-11T21:34:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:
- 8 ounces of mushrooms
- Half a chicken breast, boneless
- 2 tablespoons of shredded parsnip
- 4 baby carrots, diced small
- Half an onion
- 3-4 small cherry tomatoes, diced
- 2 tablespoons of shredded zucchini or squash
- 3-4 tablespoons of oil
- 3-4 tablespoons of flour
- 2 cups of sour cream
- 1 cup finely chopped dill
- Spices: salt, pepper

Preparation:
- Boil the chicken breast, mushrooms, parsnip, carrots, onion, tomatoes, and zucchini/squash in 6 cups of water. This will last about 30 minutes, and it will look similar to a soup. Wait for this to be ready before you proceed to the next step.
- In a deep cooking pot, place 3-4 tablespoons of oil. Heat it up.
- Carefully sprinkle the flour over the hot oil, one tablespoon at a time, and mix till uniform.
- Use a ladle to transfer the cooked meat and veggies soup (together with the liquid) to the pot with the flour and the oil. Transfer one full ladle, then mix till uniform. Only then you may proceed to transfer the next full ladle.
- Cook everything for another 5 minutes.
- Add the sour cream and the spices, and mix till uniform. Cook for another 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat.
- Add the chopped dill, and mix.

Presentation:
- Serve with polenta. I like to let the polenta cool, then slice it carefully, and use some of these slices to decorate the dish.

Romanian Moussaka | Musaca

2012-06-28T22:13:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
- 2 pounds of potatoes
- 1 onion
- 1 pound of ground beef
- 1 can of diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
- Spices: salt, pepper, chili pepper, thyme
- Cooking oil

Preparation:
- Peel the potatoes, cut them into cubes, and boil them. Remove, discard water, and let the potatoes drain in a colander.
- Dice the onion, and broil it in a bit of cooking oil. When it starts to turn yellow, add the ground beef and then spices (salt, pepper, chili pepper, and thyme), mix, and cook for about 4-10 minutes (until the beef is not red anymore).
- Mash the potatoes, and add salt to taste.
- Pick your favorite baking dish. Preferably, it should be non-stick. Ideally, if should also fit all the ingredients. Gently coat the baking dish with a bit of oil of butter to further help remove the moussaka later on.
- Split the mashed potatoes in three equal quantities. Use the first third to form a uniform layer on the bottom of the baking dish.
- Split the cooked ground beef composition in two halves, and use one to form a uniform layer on top of the potatoes in the backing dish.
- Add half of the diced tomatoes in another uniform layer on top.
- Add few more spices if necessary (remember that we did not add any salt nor spices to the potatoes or to the tomatoes).
- Add another layer of mashed potatoes on top (though save the last third of them for the end).
- Add another layer with the remaining ground beef.
- Add another layer with the remaining diced tomatoes.
- Add more spices, as needed.
- Finally, add the last layer of potatoes.
- For a nice color on top, top everything with thin slices of butter or shaved cheese.
- Preheat the oven at 425F, and bake for 40 minutes.

Presentation:
- Cut the serving slices vertically, and carefully remove each slice to preserve the layers.
- Serve next to pickles, which also add some extra color to the presentation.
- A cold beer goes perfectly wish this dish.

Kale Salad

2012-06-26T21:22:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:
- 5 cups of kale
- Half a cup of dried cranberries
- 1 mango, cut into bite-size chunks
- Mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- 4-5 cloves of garlic
- Sesame seeds

Preparation:
- Slice the garlic. Place the butter in a pan, and fry the sliced garlic and the mushrooms in it. Use medium-high heat, and cook until the mushrooms start turning brown (takes about 5-10 minutes). If the garlic gets cooked before the mushrooms, gently remove it from the pan, then add it back when the mushrooms are ready.
- Meanwhile, clean the kale, remove the stems, and cut or tear it into bit-size chunks. Once the mushrooms and garlic are cooked, add the kale. Stir and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Add the dried cranberries and the mango chunks. Stir, and remove from heat.
- Sprinkle sesame seeds all over the recipe. Serve warm.

Presentation:
- There's already a beautiful mix of colors in this recipe. Place the dish on an interesting dish (either blue or some other color that nicely complements the colors in the dish, or with an interesting pattern, or both). Feel free to sprinkle some extra sesame seeds on top before placing the dish in front of the guests.

Garlic Chicken | Pui cu Usturoi

2012-06-26T20:37:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
- 2 boneless chicken breasts
- 1 head of garlic
- 1 cup of parsley
- Spices: salt, pepper, chili pepper
- Cooking oil

Preparation:
- Cut the chicken breasts into cubes or slices.
- Peel the garlic, and chop it finely.
- Put a bit of cooking oil in a pan. Add the chicken. Place the garlic on top of the chicken (we don't want it to cook yet).
- Cook on medium heat until the chicken turns white.
- Turn the heat to high, and stir (we want to start cooking the garlic as well). Add spices: salt, pepper, and chili pepper.
- Cook on high heat until we get some spots of nice brownish color on the chicken pieces.
- Remove the garlic chicken from the cooking pan.
- Mix with the chopped parsley, and serve.

Presentation:
- The recipe has a limited range of colors: the green of the parsley, and the white/brown of the chicken. Enlarge this range with different add-ons. For example, we placed the recipe on a bed of mango pieces, and we used strips of heirloom carrots to add accents of red and purple.

Tocanita

2012-06-21T18:15:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:
- 3 pounds of onions
- 2 cups of chicken meat
- Half of a green bell pepper
- 1 large tomato
- Spices: salt, pepper, chili pepper, thyme, and bay leaves.
- Fresh dill or parsley
- Cooking oil

Preparation:
- Dice the onions, and fry in oil on medium heat until they start falling apart (about 1 hour). We need them cooked thoroughly - they'll form a yummy sauce for the dish.
- Cut the chicken into cubes, and add to the recipe. Turn the heat to high, and cook for about 10 minutes.
- Add salt, pepper, chili pepper, thyme, and 2-3 bay leaves. I like to exaggerate a bit with the chili, and make the dish spicy (which compliments well the sweetness of the cooked tomatoes).
- Chop the bell pepper half and the tomato, and add to the dish.
- Also, add a couple of cups of water. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook for another 20-30 minutes.
- Remove from heat, and add one cup of chopped dill or parsley.
- Serve warm.

Presentation:
- The set of colors in the dish can be further extended with strong greens and yellows. First, top the dish with a bit of fresh chopped dill or parsley just before presenting the dish to the guests. Then, serve the "tocanita" next to polenta: it adds a nice yellow to the presentation, while also the taste.
- It you aimed for a spicy dish, a glass of cold beer goes really well alongside.

Mushroom Pizza | Pizza pe Ciuperca

2012-06-21T17:58:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
- 2 large portobello mushrooms (I buy mine from Trader Joe's)
- 3-4 cherry tomatoes
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 1 sausage (I prefer smoked or spicy)
- Shredded cheese
- Spices: salt, pepper, chili pepper

Preparation:
- Clean the portobello mushrooms, and remove the stipes (this will create more space for the ingredients).
- Heat the oven to 400F.
- Cover a large flat baking pan with aluminum foil, then place the mushrooms on top.
- Cook the mushrooms in the oven for 35 minutes.
- Remove the mushrooms from the oven. You may discard the liquid in the mushroom caps.
- Finely chop the tomatoes and the garlic cloves, and add on top of the mushrooms.
- Add salt, pepper, and chili pepper.
- Slices the sausage, and place it on top of the mushroom pizza.
- Cook for another 15 minutes if the sausage was pre-cooked, or 25 if it was not.
- Remove from the oven, and top with shredded cheese. Serve before it gets cold.

Presentation:
- The beautiful colors of this dish are greatly complimented by greens. Serve it next to spinach or kale.
- When spicy, this recipe goes really well with a glass of cold beer.

Three Layer Spread | Aperitiv Tricolor

2012-06-21T17:52:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:
- One cup goat cheese

- 3-4 tablespoons of dried cranberries
- 3-4 tablespoons of pistachio pieces
- Half a cup of sun dried tomatoes
- A quarter of a cup of pesto
- Crackers

Preparation:
- Mix the goat cheese with the dried cranberries and the pistachio pieces.
- Add a thin sheet of plastic foil over a small round bowl. This will help flip the spread over more easily.
- Place the pesto on the bottom of the bowl (over the plastic foil). This will be the top layer of the spread.
- Add the sun dried tomatoes on top. This is the second layer.
- Roll the goat cheese mixture into a cylinder shape, and place it over the sun dried tomatoes. Press the cheese mixture gently for a uniform spread. Make sure the tomatoes are thoroughly covered by the cheese.
- Place the bowl in the freezer for 30 minutes. This will help flip the spread over more easily.

Presentation:
- Remove the bowl from the freezer, and flip the spread over in a clean plate. Gently remove the plastic foil. Remove any stubborn pieces that stuck to the plastic foil, and carefully place them back on top of the three layer spread.
- Let the recipe reach room temperature again (about 20 minutes).
- Serve with crackers.

Tempura Blossoms | Şniţel de Flori

2012-06-21T17:41:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:

- A dozen zucchini flowers

- 3-4 tablespoons of dried cranberries

- 3-4 tablespoons of pistachios

- One cup of goat cheese

- A quarter teaspoon of cinnamon

- A pinch of salt

- 1 cup of tempura batter

- Cooking oil

Preparation:

- Mix the goat cheese with the chopped pistachios, cranberries, cinnamon, and salt.

- Place about a tablespoon and a half of the mixture in each zucchini flower (more or less, depending on their size).

- Mix one cup of tempura batter with 1 cup of ice cold water (or whatever ratio is indicated on your tempura batter mix package). If you can't find the tempura batter, mix instead a large egg with one cup of mineral water, half a cup of flour, and half a teaspoon of baking powder.

- Heat some oil in a cooking pan - use high heat.

- Roll each stuffed flower in the tempura batter to coat, the gently slide it into the oil. Cook only a few at a time, and make sure they don't stick to one another.

- When ready (the tempura butter is crisp), place each fried flower on a paper towel to drain the extra oil. Serve immediately.

Presentation:

- One idea is to stick to a fruits and flowers presentation for this delicious appetizer. For example, I served the tempura blossoms next to a bed of pansies and kumquats.

Chocolate Lava Kisses | Pupice de Ciocolata

2012-06-17T00:55:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
- Phyllo dough pastry sheets (cut into 6 inches x 6 inches rectangles)
- 1 cup of nutella
- Half a cup of milk
- 2 tablespoons of chopped walnuts

Preparation:
- Melt the nutella in a pan on low heat, or in the microwave. Mix with the milk and chopped walnuts.
- Place about 5-6 phyllo dough pastry sheets on a plate. Add about 2 spoons of the nutella mixture in the middle of the pastry rectangle. Lift the corners of the pastry rectangle, and have them all meet on top of the chocolate. Then roll them around. Make sure there is no space for the chocolate to drop out of the pastry. Repeat for each kiss you want to prepare.
- Place a cooking sheet on a large baking pan. Place the chocolate lava kisses on the pan.
- Cook at 425F for 25-30 minutes. Serve soon after.

Presentation:
- Make sure you don't break the pastry when removing from the oven - it is much better when the guest cracks the pastry with a fork, and the chocolate starts flowing out.
- Serve next to ice cream and/or fruits. Further decorate with powder sugar and/or mint leaves, as desired.

Spring Oriental Salad | Salata Orientala de Primavara

2012-06-15T08:05:00.002-07:00

Ingredients:
- 4-5 potatoes
- 1.5 cups kalamata olives
- 1 small red onion, or half a large one
- 1 cup pickled bell peppers (or red sweet cherry peppers pickled in vinegar)
- 2 eggs
- 4 tablespoons of olive oil
- 4 tablespoons of vinegar
- Spices: salt and pepper
- 1 frech lettuce (though you probably will only use half of it)
- 1-2 fresh tomatoes

Preparation:
- Peel the potatoes, then cut them in cubes, and boil them. Discard the water.
- Slice the red onion, then mix with the potatoes while they're still warm.
- Hard-boil the two eggs. Remove the shell, then slice them, and mix them with the potatoes and onion slices.
- Cut the kalamata olives in halves, and add to the mix.
- Slice the pickled peppers, and add to the mix.
- Add salt and pepper (to taste), olive oil and vinegar. Mix thoroughly. I like to mix until the soft outer layer from the potatoes mixes with the oil and vinegar, and transforms into a bit of paste that rubs off on other ingredients in the recipe.
- This is the prepared part of the recipe. You can store this in the fridge. Always serve it at room temperature. In Romania, this is called an Oriental Salad.
- What makes it a Spring Oriental Salad is the two fresh ingredients - the lettuce and the tomatoes. When serving the salad, wash the lettuce and the tomatoes, slice them, add them to the salad, and mix everything.

Presentation:
- This recipe has such a beautiful mix of color, which makes it easy to present it to the guests.
- Choose a nicely colored large plate or bowl (a color to compliment the mix of colors in the recipe), and use it to serve the salad.
- Identify some slices of hard-boiled egg, and strategically place them on top of the salad. They just look good and tasty.

Polenta with Cream and Cheese | Mamaliga cu Branza si Smantana

2012-06-12T22:29:00.000-07:00

Ingredients (per person):
- 1 cup of corn meal
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- Half a cup of sour cream
- Half a cup of feta cheese
- 2 strips of bacon
- 1 egg
- Spices: salt and pepper

Preparation:
- Prepare the polenta. This really depends on the type of corn meal you have. I prefer the instant type - it is quick and easy to prepare, and it reduces the changes of burning the recipe. For each person, you'll need about two cups of water. Boil the water with a pinch of salt. When it is boiling, reduce the heat to medium, stir, and slowly add the corn meal. Keep on stirring - you need a uniform mix. I end up using about a cup of corn meal (but again, it depends on what type you use) - I stop adding the corn meal around the time when the mix has the consistency of sour cream. Don't worry if it's too thin - it'll get thicker as it cooks and cools down. Continue following the directions on your corn meal package (the instant version is ready in 5 minutes, but other corn meals might required half an hour or more of cooking).
- While the polenta is cooking, fry a couple of strips of (smoked) bacon in a pan. Remove the bacon, then fry the egg.
- Place a tablespoon of butter on a clean plate, for each guest.
- Add about two cups of hot polenta on top - this will melt the butter.
- Add sour cream and feta cheese, to taste. I use about three quarters of a cup of it, mixed half-half.
- Add the bacon strips and the fried egg on top.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. Note: don't add too much salt, as the feta cheese is already salty.

Presentation:
- The recipe naturally has three colors: yellow, white, and red. Serving on a plate of complimentary color makes it look even better.
- Present the ingredients stacked, with the egg on top. It looks best this way.
- When eating the dish, I like to mix everything thoroughly. Delicious, but does not provide the best presentation for the recipe.

ABCDE:A Bacon+Cheese+Dates Euphoria

2012-06-03T22:59:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
- Half a pound of medjol dates
- A large package with thin strips of bacon (2 or 3 pounds)
- 1 package with brie cheese (about 6 ounces, and you may have leftovers after)

Preparation:
- Cut the dates on one side, and remove the kernels. Don't cut too much - we'll stuff the dates with cheese, which will melt during cooking, and we don't want this melted cheese to freely escape the dates and spread all around the pan (and burn).
- Cut each bacon slice such that it can is sufficient to go around a date, and a bit extra (to stick together). It ended up being about 2/3 of the bacon strips' length for the dates I used.
- Pan fry the smaller pieces of bacon. When ready, let them rest on a paper towel for a few minutes - it will absorb some of the fat. Then break them into smaller pieces.
- Cut out pieces of brie, mix them with the bacon pieces, and use the mix to stuff the dates.
- Wrap the stuffed dates in the longer strips of bacon (one string per date). Start and end the bacon over the whole in the date where we stuffed the cheese.
- Place the bacon-wrapped dates in a baking pan, with the cheese mix facing up. We'll try to avoid the cheese melting and falling out.
- Preheat the over to 450. When ready, place the baking pan in. Let the stuffed dates cook for about 20-25 minutes (remove from the oven when the bacon is ready).
- Serve warm.

Presentation:
- Some fresh greens can add beautiful color to this dish. I served the recipe over a bed of fresh mint leaves.

Peas Stew | Mancare de Mazare

2012-05-24T08:26:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:

- 1 bell pepper

- 2 carrots

- 1 parsnip

- 1 onion

- 1 pound of pork meat

- 3 cans of peas (14.5 ounces each)

- 1 can of diced tomatoes (14.5 ounces)

- 1 cup chopped dill or parsley

- Spices: salt, pepper, chili pepper, thyme, bay leaves

- Cooking oil

Preparation:

- Dice the onion and the bell pepper. Shred the carrots and the parsnip. Put all of them in a pan that's large enough to fit the whole recipe. Add a tiny bit of cooking oil, and fry them for about 5-10 minutes (until the onion and bell pepper become softer and start to change color).

- Dice the pork meat, and add to the flying pan. Cook until the meat becomes white.

- Add the peas (discard the water first) and the diced tomatoes. Sprinkle salt, pepper, chili pepper, and thyme, to taste. Also, add 2-3 bay leaves, and 3 cups of water.

- Cover, and cook on medium heat for 1 hour. Stir occasionally.

- Remove from heat, and add the chopped dill or parsley.

Presentation:

- We chose a black plate to help draw all the attention to the main dish. The colors of the ingredients look so much more vivid when nothing else distracts the eye.

- We sprinkled extra chopped dill on top.

- A slightly opened pea pod further garnished the dish - a visually strong green reminder of the origin of the main ingredient in the recipe.

White Bean Spread | Fasole Batuta

2012-05-18T00:36:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
- 1 lb white beans
- Half a head of garlic
- 1 onion
- 2 gourmet sausages
- Spices: salt and pepper
- 1 cup vegetable oil

Preparation:
- Place the beans in a pot with water. Bring the water to a boil. Discard the boiling water, and replace with cold water. Repeat more than three times (this helps eliminate the gases; I usually do this five times, just to make sure). Separately keep two cups of water from the last boil - we'll need it to adjust the consistency of the final spread. Ground the boiled beans, and mix with about half a cup (or even a cup of the water they boiled in).
- Separately, slice half the onion.
- Fry the onion slices on high heat in the vegetable oil until they turn yellowish-brown. Remove and store them separately - we'll use them later for decoration.
- Finely dice the other half of the onion, and fry it in the vegetable oil.
- When the diced onion starts changing color, add the mashed beans. Add salt and pepper to taste (don't overdo it: you can always add more later, if needed). Mix the mashed beans with the oil and the diced onions, until a uniform spread forms. When that is done, remove it from heat.
- Grind the garlic, and mix in with the spread. If you don't like the taste of garlic that much, either use less, or add it earlier, while cooking (together with the onions, for example) - this will make it lose its strong flavor.
- My recommendation: serve the bean spread at room temperature, either on top of toasted bread, or as a side dish to grilled meat or sausages. Aside from the bean taste, I particularly like this recipe for its garlic flavor, as well as for the texture of the crunchy bits of diced onion within.

Presentation:
- Place the bean spread in a bowl.
- Use the fried onion slices to decorate the spread - they taste really well in combination with the bean spread.
- Chop or slice the sausages, fry or grill them, and use them to decorate the spread. They can also be used by the guests in combination with the spread - the spicy or smoked ones compliment this recipe particularly well.
- Use a few fresh dill leaves to further add some color to the dish.
- Make sure you have some (toasted) slices of bread handy for the guests.

Garlic Stinging Nettles | Mancare de Urzici

2012-05-15T00:11:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
- Fresh stinging nettles (2-3 pounds)
- 1 small onion (or half a big one)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Spices: salt and pepper
- 1 head of garlic
- Half a cup of dill or parsley
- Corn meal and eggs (for presentation)

Preparation:
- Use a pair of gloves to separate the leaves of the stinging nettles from the stems. Clean the leaves under cold water, and discard the stems.
- Boil the stinging nettle leaves in water with a tablespoon of salt for 30 minutes.
- Separate the leaves from the water.
- Chop the leaves very small (or better use a mixer to puree them). Feel free to add back a bit of the water to allow the mixer to run.
- Finely dice the onion, then fry it in a large pan on medium heat until it turns yellow.
- Add the pureed stinging nettle leaves mix, salt and pepper (to taste) and continue cooking for another 7 minutes.
- Meanwhile, ground a head of garlic with salt and water (mujdei). Also, finely chop the parsley or dill. After the 7 minutes are gone, add them both to the mix in the pan, and remove from heat.
- Note: if you don't like raw garlic that much, you can cook the dish for another 3-4 minutes.

Presentation:
- Separately, prepare a polenta: fill a pan with a quantity of water equal to that of the polenta you need; add salt, and bring to a boil. Slowly add the corn meal and mix. Cook for as long as the corn meal package says (I love the quick 5-minute ready packages). If you let it cool, you can easily slice it as desired.
- Serve the with a fried egg on top.

Romanian Cheesecake | Placinta cu Branza Dulce

2012-05-11T16:48:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
- 1 pound of farmer's cheese (or ricotta cheese)
- 1 pound cottage cheese
- 3 eggs
- 1.5 cups of raisins or cranberries (or a mixture)
- 3-4 spoons of vanilla or rum essence
- 8 full tablespoons of sugar
- 2 tablespoons of lemon or orange peel
- 10 phyllo dough sheets
- 2-3 tablespoons of butter
- Half a cup of cream of wheat
- Powder sugar (to decorate)

Preparation:
- Carefully break an egg, and separate the white from the yolk. Keep the yolk separately for now. Mix in the two other eggs with the extra white.
- In a large bowl, mix the two cheeses until you have a uniform paste.
- Add the eggs and the sugar, and mix until uniform again.
- The final mix should have a consistency similar to that of sour cream - not too liquid. If yours is more watery, slowly add the cream of wheat and mix till uniform. This will help the cake pieces stay together and not falling over. If this sounds like cheating, add an extra egg instead - this will help keep the mix together better.
- Add the raisins and/or cranberries, the rum or vanilla essence, and the orange peel. Mix till uniform.
- Use a large or a deep non-stick baking pan. Make sure that all the cheese mix fits in, and there is some extra space left (the mix will expand during baking).
- Coat the pan with a very thin layer of butter: it makes it easy to remove the cake at the end, and it'll also help provide a nicer color and texture to the bottom and the sides of the cake.
- Layer 4-5 phyllo dough layers on the bottom of the pan. They don't have to line up, but make sure you covered the bottom and the sides of the baking pan uniformly. I found the phyllo dough in a nearby supermarket, in the frozen section. Make sure you defrost them first - I tied handling them while frozen, and it was... interesting...
- Add the cheese mix over the dough.
- Add another layer of phyllo dough on top (again, use 4-5 more sheets). Fold the sides over, and make sure the cheese mix is uniformly covered in phyllo dough sheets.
- On top, I add a few very thin slices of butter, particularly around the edges of the phyllo dough sheets. This helps them from raising and getting all sorts of chaotic shapes - which provides for an interesting presentation, but it interferes with serving.
- Finally, spread the egg yolk from the very first step over the top of the cheesecake. This will help it get a very nice color during baking. I use a fork, but a brush will work better, if you have one.
- Bake this in the over, at 425F, for about 30-40 minutes. To know when it's ready, use a toothpick: stick a toothpick vertically all the way to the bottom of the cheesecake, and remove it. It should come out clear and fairly dry (a bit of oiliness or wetness is ok at this point). Use the color of the cheesecake top to guide you as well on when it's ready.
- Let the cheesecake cool before cutting or serving.

Presentation:
- Cut into cubes or triangles.
- Top with powder sugar.
- Throw in some flower petals all around the plate. Given the color for the dish, yellow or orange flowers or petals should work quite well.

Bean and Smoked Pork Hocks Soup | Ciorba de Fasole cu Ciolan Afumat

2012-05-09T22:49:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
- 2 pork hocks (smoked)
- 1 lb beans
- 1 carrot
- 1 parsnip
- 1 squash
- One 15 oz can of tomato sauce or 3 tomatoes
- 1 bell pepper
- 1 red onion
- 1 cup parsley
- Salt
- Pepper
- Chili pepper
- Thyme
- Bay Leaves

Preparation:
- In a large pot, put the smoked pork in plenty of water. Cover with a lid, and boil for about 3.5 hours We want to cook the meat until it starts to fall off the bone. And we keep it covered to prevent a lot of the water from evaporating.
- Separately, we need to boil the beans (I usually use a 1 lb bag of navy beans). In Romania, the water in which they boil needs to be changed several times to help eliminate the gases. And it seems to work, so I do it. So, put the beans in water and bring to a boil. Completely discard the water, replace it with fresh cold water, and repeat the process several times. The magic number in Romania seems to be 3, but I usually do it 5 times.
- Separately, shred the carrots, parsnip, and squash. Also, dice the tomatoes (if not using the tomato sauce), bell pepper, and half of the red onion. They will contribute a delicious natural flavor to the soup.
- Once the meat starts falling off the bone (you can easily remove it with a fork and a blunt knife), figure out how much water you want to keep - and you want to keep some of the water that the smoked hocks boiled in, as it has a great flavor. If you keep more, you'll end up with a Smoked Pork Hocks with Beans Soup. If you keep less (about 7 cups), you'll end up with a Smoked Pork Hocks with Beans Stew. You'll also end up with a stew if you continue the steps following for longer, and allow more water to evaporate. That's my favorite process, as it also turns the beans a bit mushy and the sauce slightly thicker.
- Add the beans (after having discarded the final water they boiled in) and the vegetables to the hocks and the water. Also, add the spices: salt, pepper, and chili pepper to taste, about 3-4 bay leaves, and some 4 tablespoons of thyme.
- Cook together for 20-30 minutes, or until the most of the water evaporates and you have a thick sauce for the stew.
- Once it is ready, remove from heat, add the chopped parsley leaves, mix, and cover.

Presentation:
- Serve next to toasted bread and red onions. Feel free to further top it with chopped dill or parsley and finely-diced red onions for an improved presentation. Serve warm. And enjoy.

Sweet Smokey Bacon!

2012-05-08T00:28:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:
- Half a pound of brussels sprouts
- Smoked bacon (about 10 ounces)
- Half an onion
- Half a cup of cranberries or raisins
- Spices: salt and pepper
- Three spoons of balsamic vinegar

Preparation:
- Add a bit salt to a pot of water (to flavor the Brussels sprouts), and bring it to a boil.
- Carefully cut the Brussels sprouts in halves, such as to not detach too many leaves.
- Drop the sprouts halves in the boiling water for 2-3 minutes. They cook very quickly.
- Next, we'll give the sprouts some color. Heat up a flat cooking pan, then place the sprouts face-down. They'll start turning brown in about a minute. Remove them from the pan once you're happy with the color.
- Separately, cut some smoked bacon into pieces (about the size of a thumb).
- Chop half an onion into medium-sized pieces.
- Place the smoked bacon in a frying pan, and turn the heat to medium. Add the chopped onion as soon as some of the fat starts melting. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and pepper (enough to bring some flavor out), then turn the heat to medium-high. Cook until the onion changes color to dark yellow or brown (about 5-10 minutes).
- Drain the fat away. Mix the cooked bacon and onions with the brussels sprouts halves.
- Add the cranberries
- Sprinkle the balsamic vinegar on top, and mix.
- Serve while the bacon is still warm.

Presentation:
- Accompany the dish with something yellow (it nicely compliments the red of the bacon and cranberries, and the green of the brussels sprouts). For example, use a yellow bowl to serve the dish (as in the photo above).
- Slice the extra Brussels sprouts leaves that fall off during halving or boiling. Use those shreds to top the dish.

Crepes | Clatite

2012-05-05T16:54:00.000-07:00

Crepes is what a great brunch tasted like for me, as a kid. The secret is in both the number and diversity: number because you'll end up doing a bunch of crepes anyway, and diversity because there is no limit to the variety of homemade jellies you can find in a Romanian pantry. So, tell your family to prepare for a real feast this weekend, and give this simple recipe a try.

Ingredients:
- 2 cups flour
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups milk
- Pinch of salt
- Cooking oil
- Fruit jams

Preparation:
- Place the flour in a large deep bowl, and sprinkle the salt over it.
- Break the eggs separately and mix the whites and yolks. Once ready, add the milk and mix everything together.
- Add the wet mixture (eggs and milk) over the dry ingredients (flour and salt). Use a whisk to mix until it's uniform with no lumps.
- Coat a frying pan with oil (I place the oil in a small cup, then dip a folded paper towel into it, and then use it to coat the pan.
- Heat up the pan (I use slightly higher than medium heat - you want to fry, not to burn).
- Use a soup ladle to place the mix in the non-stick frying pan. The mix should form a very thin uniform layer - tilt the pan as needed to achieve this. For the 9.5 inches pan I use, filling the ladle with the mix to about three quarters is just about right.
- After about a minute of frying, shake the pan horizontally until the mixture is free to move from the pan. Keep frying until the bottom side is cooked (gently lift a side with a fork, and check the bottom). Once the bottom does not look moist anymore, flip the crepe and fry until the other side is done as well. Note: "not moist" is different from burned. :)
- Remove the crepe from the frying pan, and repeat the process: coat the pan with oil again, heat up, and prepare the next crepe.
- Stack the crepes on a plate, and periodically flip the whole stack over - this helps to keep them warm and soft.

Presentation:
- Top each crepe with a layer of fruit jam, and roll it. Serve them while still warm.
- Optionally, top them with some power sugar, and present them next to small colorful fruits.

Poached Egg

2012-04-25T23:38:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
- Bread (one slice per each egg)
- Goat cheese
- Kale leaves
- Eggs
- Garlic
- Butter
- Olive oil
- Spices: salt and pepper
- Shredded prosciutto & parmesan
- Balsamic vinegar

Preparation:
Part 1: The bed of kale

- Tear the kale leaves into chunks.

- Slice the garlic.

- In a pan, gently fry the garlic in a bit of olive oil (till it starts to turn a darker yellow color). We don't need it garlicky, we need it to be sweet.
- Add the kale, a pinch of salt and pepper, and a couple of tablespoons of balsamic vinegar.
- Mix everything and fry for another couple of minutes.
- Remove from heat when the kale starts to loose some of its firmness, and place on a paper towel to discard some of the oil.

Part 2: The poached egg
Note: the problem with poaching eggs is that the egg whites keep spreading everywhere. To deal with this, use some aluminum foil as follows: fold it a couple of times, then wrap it into a cylinder (like a bottomless glass, and about the same size). We'll poach the eggs inside.
- In a medium-sized pot, bring some water to a boil.
- Place the cylinder into the water. Make sure the cylinder is not completely covered (if so, discard some of the water).
- Break an egg in a small dish, then place it inside of the cylinder.
- Let the egg boil for about 4 minutes.
- Remove the egg and place on a paper tower to discard extra water.
- Repeat for each egg you want to poach.

Part 3: Putting everything together
- Toast the slices of bread

- Spread a bit of butter over the toast (while it's still warm).

- Spread a thin layer of goat cheese over each slice of bread

- Add a layer of the garlic and kale mixture over the goat cheese

- Add the poached egg

- Add salt and pepper

- Top with shredded prosciutto and parmesan.

Presentation:

- I love to break the eggs and let the yolk flow freely.
- As I like the yolk with feta cheese, I add a few small cubes of feta as islands in the ocean of yolk. :)

Eggburger

2012-04-25T22:00:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:
- One egg
- One large tomato
- Lettuce
- Sliced dill pickles
- Hamburger buns
- Salt and pepper
- Ketchup & mustard.
- Prosciutto & parmesan (optional)
- Chips (for presentation)

Preparation:
- Grill the hamburger buns on the inside.
- Place the lower hamburger bun on a clean plate.
- Place a slice of tomato on the lower bun.
- Add a few sliced dill pickles on top.
- Cook the egg on both sides, and place it over the tomato.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Optionally, add prosciutto and parmesan. This Italian twist gives the recipe a fresh flavor.
- Add a leaf of lettuce.
- Add some ketchup and/or mustard if you please.
- Finally, top everything with the upper hamburger bun.
- Serve before it gets cold.

Presentation:
- Surround the eggburger with colorful potato chips.

Summer Salad | Salata de Vara

2012-04-25T21:59:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
- Cherry tomatoes
- Green bell pepper
- Ceta cheese
- Cucumber
- Garlic
- Fresh dill
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- One large beef tomato (for presentation)
[Note: proportions for this recipe can be easily adjusted to each and everyone's taste.]

Preparation:
- Dice the cherry tomatoes, green bell pepper, and cucumber. Mix and place them in a bowl.
- Cube some feta cheese and add into the mix.
- Slice a few garlic cloves, and add into the mix. You can use onion instead, if you prefer it to garlic.
- Finely chop the fresh dill, and add to the mix.
- Add olive oil, salt (carefully - the feta is already salty) and pepper.
- Mix slightly. We want the flavors to combine, and a bit of mixed juice from the ingredients to form.

Presentation:
- Cut the top off of a large beef tomato. Carve out the interior (can be used in the salad too, instead of the cherry tomatoes).
- Place the salad inside, and serve.

Scrambled Colors | Omleta Colorata

2012-04-25T21:57:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
- Eggs (two or three)
- Kale
- Red bell pepper
- Garlic and onion (to taste)
- Olive oil
- Spices: salt and pepper
- Shredded parmesan
- Prosciutto

Preparation:
- Slice a few garlic cloves and the quarter of an onion (green garlic or scallions can be used instead as well).
- Tear the kale leaves into small chunks.
- Cut the red bell pepper into cubes.
- Lightly broil the onion and the garlic in a bit of olive oil. I like to cook them till they turn slightly yellowish, but not too much (such that they retain some flavor).
- Add the kale and the bell pepper, and cook for a minute or two. Keep stirring.
- Move everything to one half of the pan, then add the eggs in the other side (don't break them yet).
- Quickly sprinkle some salt and pepper over the dish.
- Once the whites start to solidify and get a nice bright color, break the yellows, let them thicken a bit, the mix. This will add a mixture of both white and yellow colors to your final presentation.

Presentation:
- While the dish is still hot, top with shredded parmesan (which will melt slightly) and sliced prosciutto.
- I love to serve this recipe next to a red beet salad and an orange and apple smoothie. Together they make a very healthy and delicious breakfast.

Eggplant Salad | Salata de Vinete

2012-04-25T21:55:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:
- Two-three medium sized eggplants
- One onion
- A couple of cherry tomatoes
- Few drops of lemon juice
- Olive oil
- Spices: salt, pepper

Preparation:
- With a sharp knife, poke some holes in the eggplants (prevents them from blowing up while cooking).
- Either grill the eggplants, or bake them in the oven (flip them occasionally). Note that the eggplants leak a lot of juice while cooking, so consider baking them in a metal tray that's not very shallow. The eggplans are cooked when a knife easily goes all the way through the eggplants (after about 30-40 minutes).
- Peel the eggplants: you can either cut each in two and scoop out the interior with a spoon, or slowly peel the exterior away (periodically dip your fingers in cold water to avoid burns). Try to remove as many of the seeds as you can. Let drain for four hours, or overnight.
- Mash the eggplants with a fork, or puree them in a blender.
- Add a few drops of lemon juice. About three should usually be enough, but that certainly depends on the size of your eggplants. If you don't have lemon juice, a few tablespoons of mayonnaise will also do the trick.
- Chop the onion, and mix as much as you want with the eggplants. As a Romanian, I'd probably use all of it - I love the taste and the crunchiness. If you further want to avoid the after-smell, you may want to lightly broil the chopped onion in a bit of oil separately, then mix with the eggplants.
- Finely dice the cherry tomatoes, and add to the mixture. Also, add a few tablespoons of olive oil. Mix thoroughly.
- Chill in the fridge before serving.

Presentation:
- Lightly toast some slices of bread (for texture and color), and spread the eggplant salad on top. Add a few thin slices of tomatoes on top.
- Alternatively, stuff some larger tomatoes with the eggplant salad, and present next to a few toasted slices of bread. The guests can then spread the salad over the bread slices themselves.

Sweet Biscuits Salami | Salam de Biscuiti

2012-04-25T21:52:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:
- One pound of petit beurre biscuits
- Half pound of Turkish delight
- Four ounces of unsalted butter
- Half pound of walnuts
- Eight spoons of cocoa powder
- Half pound of sugar
- Rum or vanilla essence (to taste). Last time I made this recipe, I added a shot of rum as well.

Preparation:
- Crush the biscuits by hand - don't ground them completely, but leave some larger chunks as well, if possible.
- Cut the Turkish delight and the walnuts in small pieces.
- Warm up about 5 ounces of water, and mix with the sugar until it is completely melted.
- Mix with the cocoa powder and with the butter (which could be melted in a pan to speed things up). Make sure there are no lumps of cocoa in the mix.
- Add the biscuits, Turkish delight, and walnuts, and stir.
- Place a sheet of plastic wrap on a table, pour some mix over, and roll it like a salami. Seal both ends with plastic wrap.
- Store in the fridge for about 24 hours. This will harden the mix, and allow you to cut it in slices. Serve cold.

Presentation:
- Remove the biscuit salami from the fridge, and quickly cut a few slices and place them on a plate.
- I think chocolate looks great next to rose petals or orchids, so you can use some petals or whole flowers for your arrangement.

Caribbean Love

2012-04-25T21:50:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:
- Chicken breast
- A whole pineapple
- Macadamia nuts
- Whole chili peppers, dried
- Roasted sesame seeds
- Island Teriyaki sauce

Preparation:
- Cut the chicken breast into cubes, and marinate it with Island Teriyaki sauce in the fridge for about 30 minutes to one hour.
- During this time, cut the pineapple horizontally just above the leaves.
- Use a knife to carefully cut out the interior of the pineapple (what you'll use for cooking), while not ruining the outer shell (which we'll use for the presentation).
- Cut the interior of the pineapple into cubes. Note: you may want to compost the very center of the pineapple, as it is extra tough to chew.
Place the macadamia nuts in a wok on high heat, and cook for a few minutes (until you see them get a few spots of black on them).
Add the chicken with the marinade to the wok and cook together for a couple of minutes.
Add the pineapple cubes, and cook till the chicken is ready.
At the very end, add the roasted sesame seeds and the chili peppers. Stir everything for a few seconds (we only want the chilis in for color and optional heat for the brave guests, and cooking them longer with the other ingredients will result in the whole recipe becoming very spicy).

Presentation:
- Place the recipe in the empty pineapple shell (as in the photo).
- Optionally, sprinkle some more sesame seeds over the dish.
- You can cover the dish with the pineapple top (which you cut out and removed earlier) in order to keep the recipe warm. This adds a bit of mystery to the whole presentation, and it works best when the guests haven't already seen what you've prepared.

Carne a Hawaiiana

2012-04-25T21:49:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
- Prosciutto
- Pineapple
- Brie cheese

Preparation:
- Cut the pineapple into slices.
- Cut brie into pieces that are a bit shorter than the pineapple slices.
- Center a brie piece on a pineapple slice, and wrap it a layer of prosciutto.
- Repeat the above three steps, and try to save some for the guests (don't eat everything while preparing it!).

Presentation:
- Place several pieces of the appetizer next to one another.
- Serving them on a nice blue plate can add a bit of color to the overall presentation.

Baked Apples | Mere Coapte

2012-04-25T21:47:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
- Apples
- Walnuts
- Cinnamon
- Sugar (optional)

Preparation:
- Cut the apples in half and remove the centers.
- Optionally, sprinkle the apple halves with sugar.
- Place a few walnuts pieces in the holes created by removing the seeds.
- Generously sprinkle cinnamon all around the apple halves.
- Place face-up in a pan and bake in the oven until a fork easily goes into the apples (about 30 minutes).

Presentation:
- Serve in a clean plate, accompanied by your favorite ice cream (which can be further decorated with whipped cream and chocolate).

Chili

2012-04-25T21:45:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

- 1 lb ground beef

- 1 lb canned diced tomatoes (undrained)

- 1 lb canned kidney beans (undrained)

- One package McCormick hot chili seasoning mix

Preparation:

- Brown the meat in a pan, and drain the extra fat.

- Add the tomatoes, the kidney beans, and the spices package.

- Cook on medium heat for about 20 minutes.

Presentation:

- Garnish as desired with slices of fresh jalapeno peppers, chopped onion, or shredded cheese.

Minty Yogurt Dip

2012-04-25T21:43:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:
- Greek yogurt or lebni
- Mint flakes
- Olive oil
- Pita bread

Preparation:
- Spread the yogurt on a plate.
- Add the olive oil.
- Generously sprinkle mint flakes all over.
- Serve with warm pita bread.

Presentation:
- Serve on a red or yellow plate for extra background color.
- Top with a few mint leaves to make the dip look fresh and natural.

Beet Salad | Salata de Sfecla Rosie

2012-04-25T21:41:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
- Beets
- Olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar
- Spices: salt and pepper

Preparation:
- Boil the beets, then peel them
- Slice the beets, the add a bit of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Presentation:
- In a salad bowl, or next to your favorite recipe. Let me know if you have some clever ideas here. :)

Cheesed Tomatoes | Rosii Umplute cu Pasta de Branza

2012-04-23T21:08:00.003-07:00

Ingredients:
- Goat cheese
- Feta cheese
- Farmers cheese
- Fresh dill (finely chopped)
- Cherry tomatoes

Preparation:
- Mix the feta, goat, and farmers cheeses (I use 2:1:1 ratios, so as much feta as the other two combined).
- Mix in the chopped dill.
- Carve the interior of some cherry tomatoes with a knife, and fill with the cheese mixture.

Presentation:
- Cluster the tomatoes together on a larger bowl, such that the cheese mixture faces up.
- For extra color, sprinkle some orange peel on top.
- We also used thin slices of cucumber skin to add some extra twists to the presentation.

Miso-Glazed Eggplant

2012-04-23T21:00:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:
- Eggplants
- Miso paste
- Vinegar
- Sugar
- Oil
- Sesame seeds

Preparation:
- Mix five tablespoons of miso paste with two tablespoons of vinegar, two tablespoons of water, and four teaspoons of sugar.
- Peel the eggplants and cut into cubes.
- Coat a large shallow baking pan with oil, and arrange the eggplants in it. Broil till they start to soften (about 10-15 minutes; check their consistency with a knife or toothpick - it should easily go in).
- Brush the mix from the first step over the eggplants, and broil for another four minutes.
- Turn the eggplant cubes around, brush again with the mix, and broil for another four minutes (or until it turns golden-brown and is ready to be served).

Presentation:
- Sprinkle sesame seeds and serve on a nice plate (a blue or green plate adds some color to the yellow/red of the dish).

Cauliflower Spread

2012-04-23T20:57:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
- Cauliflower
- Fresh dill
- Olive oil
- Spices: salt and pepper

Preparation:
- Boil the cauliflower, then let it cool in a strainer for 20-30 minutes (this allows the extra water to drip).
- Gently mash the cauliflower, then mix it with the finely chopped dill.
- Add a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper (to taste).

Presentation:
- Lightly coat a few slices of bread with olive oil, then grill for a nice brownish color.
- Spread the cauliflower mix over the slices of bread. Top with something red (a slice of tomato or boiled/baked red beet, as in the photo above).

Baba-berries

2012-04-23T20:55:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:
- Fresh berries
- Baba cakes
- Whipped cream
- Chocolate syrup
- Rolled wafers

Preparation:
- Mix the fresh berries with a few baba cakes (about three-four cups of fruits to one cup of baba cakes).
- Add a bit of amaretto (from the baba cake jar) - it goes well with the fruits.

Presentation:
- Serve chilled in a nice bowl, with some rolled wafers in the background.
- Just before serving, top with whipped cream and draw a few chocolate lines over.

Cheeseburger a la Paysanne

2012-04-23T20:50:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:
- Small bite-size multi-colored heirloom potatoes
- Rosemary
- Olive oil
- Butter
- Sliced turkey breast (or your favorite deli meat)
- Shaved parmesan cheese
- Spices: salt and pepper

Preparation:
- Cook the potatoes (whole) in the over, 400F, with a bit of olive oil and rosemary (for flavor). It takes about 30-40 minutes.
- Remove the potatoes from the oven, and discard the oil and rosemary with a towel.
- While still hot, cut the potatoes in two. Consider cutting such a way that whatever flat surface each potato might have can be used to place the cheeseburger on it.
- Quickly place a thin slice of butter on the inside of each potato half, and keep it face up.
- While the butter is melting, sprinkle some salt and pepper on the potatoes.
- As soon as the butter melted, add the turkey breast and the parmesan cheese, and form cheeseburgers as in the image.

Presentation:
- Use your imagination for extra brownie points on the presentation.

Chiftelute (Romanian Meatballs)

2012-04-23T20:47:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
- Ground pork meat (about half a pound)
- Garlic (3-4 cloves, ground)
- Half an onion, finely chopped
- 2-3 slices of bread
- Dill or parsley, also finely chopped
- An egg
- Spices: salt and pepper
- For cooking: flour and oil

Preparation:
- Soak the bread in water, then squeeze dry.
- Thoroughly mix the meat with the ground garlic, onion, bread, dill/parsley, egg, and spices.
- Pick enough composition to fill an empty egg shell. Form a sphere, then flatten it lightly.
- Roll each of them in flour, then fry till ready.
- Serve warm.

Presentation:
- Present the chiftelute on a bread of chopped onions or with hummus.
- Tomato slices and parsley can always add a splash of color to the presentation.

Hummus

2012-04-23T20:39:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

- Chickpeas

- Garlic (one clove)

- Lemon juice (from 1/2 a lemon)

- Tahini (1 spoon)

- Olive oil (2-3 spoons)

- Spices: cumin, ground medley pepper, salt

Preparation:

- Place chickpeas in the blender, together with half the juice in the can.

- Add the garlic, lemon juice, tahini, and olive oil.

- Add salt, pepper, and cumin.

- Blend thoroughly. If the blender does not start, add a bit more of the chickpeas juice from the can, or some more olive oil.

- Chill in the fridge for 24 hours before serving.

Presentation:

- Spread on a plate. Sprinkle some more olive oil and spices on top.

- Tomato slices and parsley can add a bit more color to the dish.

Gazpacho

2012-04-20T09:29:00.002-07:00

Ingredients:
- Tomatoes (about two pounds)
- Bread (3-4 slices, soaked in water, then squeezed dry)
- Onion (about half of a small onion)
- Garlic (3-4 cloves of garlic)
- Green pepper (one, small, preferably red or yellow)
- Cucumber (one, small, peeled)
- Olive oil (about 7 spoons)
- Vinegar (about 2 spoons)
- Spices: salt and black pepper

Preparation:
- Blend everything till smooth.
- Taste. Feel free to add more of any ingredient you like.

Presentation:
- Top with chopped onion, cucumber, pepper, cilantro.

Apple and Orange Smoothie

2012-04-19T19:54:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:
- Orange juice
- Granny Smith Apples
- (optional) Ice

Preparation:
- In blender, mix orange juice, apple chunks (optionally: skinless), and ice.

Presentation:
- Present in a nice glass, garnished with a green leaf (mint, for example) and a slice of orange.

Cajun Salmon with Arugula and Strawberries Salad

2012-04-19T19:53:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
- Salmon fillet and cajun spices (or Cajun Salmon from Trader Joe's)
- One orange (or orange juice)
- Arugula
- Strawberries
- Parmesan cheese
- Balsamic vinegar

Preparation:
- (if needed) Generously cover the salmon in cajun spices, and keep in the fridge for 24 hours
- In a cooking dish, place a sheet of aluminum foil, put the salmon inside, and lift the edges of the foil. Squeeze the juice of an orange inside, and wrap the foil tightly around the salmon to keep the steam in.
- Place the cooking dish in the over at 375F for 30 minutes.

Presentation:
- Cover half of the serving plate with a bed of arugula.
- Add sliced strawberries.
- Sprinkle some good balsamic vinegar over the strawberries and the arugula.
- Top with parmesan cheese.
- Remove the salmon from the over (when ready), and place on the other side of the plate.

Fried Mushrooms in Butter with Rosemary

2012-04-19T19:51:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
- Mushrooms
- Butter
- Rosemary
- Ground medley pepper
- Salt

Preparation:
- Melt the butter, then add the mushrooms and rosemary.
- Fry the mushrooms till they get a bit of color. Sprinkle sale and pepper.

Presentation:
- Can be served to replace meat in various combinations. For example, it goes really well with hummus.
- Keep some fresh rosemary on the side for extra color.

Raspberry Foam

2012-04-19T19:49:00.002-07:00

Ingredients:
- Raspberries
- Eggs
- Sugar

Preparation:
- Separate the whites from the yolks. We'll only be using the whites for this recipe.
- Whip the egg whites until stiff.
- Continue whipping while slowly adding the sugar (about three spoons per egg white).
- Add the raspberries, and continue whipping. The foam should turn slightly pink as a result.
- Chill and serve. Best if prepared a couple of hours before serving.

Presentation:
- Present in a nice bowl..
- For an extra effect, brown some sugar in a pot, then spread in straight lines on aluminum foil. When cold, place the caramelized sticks in the foam.

Mushrooms with Mujdei and Polenta

2012-04-19T19:48:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
- Mushrooms
- Ground pepper and salt
- Colorful Mujdei
- Coarse ground corn meal (preferably instant)

Preparation:
- Cook polenta separately. The corn meal does not add much to the volume, so start with a quantity of water equal to how much polenta you'd like to cook. Add some salt, and bring to a boil. When it boils, add the corn mean, and keep stirring occasionally for as much as 25 minutes (you may want to check the instructions on the corn meal package - the instant corn meal I am using takes 5 minutes to fully cook).
- Fry the mushrooms in a pan with a bit of oil. If you like the garlic taste, remove the mushrooms when ready, add the mudjei, and mix together. If you don't like the garlic flavor too much, add the mudjei to the mushrooms in the pan, and cook for a few extra minutes.

Presentation:
- Select a deep bowl that's resistant to heat. Place a cup or some other round dish inside, face down. Add the polenta all around, and press it down. Make sure the top surface is flat and uniform. Let it cool (10-15 minutes) - you could prepare the mushrooms during this time. Flip the polenta around, and place the mushroom+mujdei mix in the empty space previously occupied by the cup.

Deviled Eggs

2012-04-19T19:43:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:
- Eggs
- Mustard
- Fresh dill or parsley
- Olive oil
- Ground pepper
- [optional] Turkey breast

Preparation:
- Boil the egs. Then cut each in two (on the long edge), and separate whites from yolk.
- In a separate bowl, mix yolk with mustard (about a teaspoon per yolk, or more/less as desired), chopped dill or parsley, a bit of olive oil, ground pepper, and optionally the turkey breast.
- With a spoon, use the mixture to fill the eggs.

Presentation:
- To add some more color, decorate the plate with some parsley. Optionally, you can add some sliced tomato, raspberry, or a small piece of boiled red beed topped with a drop of balsamic vinegar for a splash of red on each egg.

Mujdei (aka The Anti-Vampire Elixir)

2012-04-19T19:41:00.004-07:00

Introduction:
Mujdei is a very popular Romanian topping: I've seen it used in soups, appetizers, and in many entrees (it goes great with potatoes and most meats and vegetables). Mujdei is garlic-heavy and is usually served uncooked, so it's not necessarily suited for the faint of heart. You can also cook it to reduce the garlic flavor as much as you want.

Mujdei:
This is the "I'm Assaulted by Vampires and I Need the Potion NOW!" recipe. You basically mash garlic, and mix it with a bit of salt and water. Shy Romanian girls tend to use the garlic-infused water more - it has some flavor and it does not burn the mouth as much.

Colorful Mujdei:
This is the beautified version of mujdei, where chopped tomatoes and parsley or dill add extra flavor and color while diffusing the strength of the garlic. If the preparation is not obvious by now, you mash the garlic, mix it with chopped tomatoes, chopped parsley or dill, water, and a bit of salt. Don't exaggerate with the tomatoes or parsley/dill, particularly if you have a Romanian guy coming by.

Mujdei a la Greek:
This is another variation of mujdei - the main intention is to use yogurt instead of water to further reduce the strength of the garlic. I use this in shaormas (recipe coming soon).

Lemony Mujdei:
Fish goes really well with lemon juice. For Romanians, everything goes really well with garlic. So, someone really smart came up with the idea to use lemon juice instead of water when making mujdei. And it is the perfect complement to fish (or, if I may, fish is the perfect complement for this excellent concoction).

Insalata con Delizie Colorate

2012-04-19T19:40:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
- Arugula
- Prosciutto
- Strawberries
- Parmesan cheese
- Burrata cheese
- Balsamic vinegar
- Olive oil
- Ground pepper

Preparation:
- Start with some arugula on the bottom.
- Add topped strawberries, and sprinkle some balsamic vinegar over. The secret to a great salad is in the quality and freshness of the ingredients. When it comes to the balsamic vinegar, I like to use the WeOlive Blueberry Balsamic Vinegar.
- Add prosciutto and parmesan, then a bit of olive oil and ground pepper.
- Add the burrata off-center. Finish by cutting it open, and topping it with a bit of balsamic vinegar, parmesan cheese, olive oil, and pepper.

Presentation:
- Not much to do here, as you'll have a large variety of colors. If anything, present it on a nice (square or colorful) plate, or next to a glass of good wine.

Burgerino con Fragole

2012-04-19T19:37:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:
- Strawberries (aside from delicious, plan them to be fridge-cold and about the size of a bite)
- Goat cheese
- Prosciutto
- Pesto

Preparation:
- Rotate each strawberry to choose the side-up (the nicest part of it). On the opposite side, cut a thin slice out of the strawberry (this will help it to stand still and not flip over).
- Then cut the strawberry in two. You now have the two “buns”.
- Add a thin slice of goat cheese, and prosciutto to your desire (I stick to a thin slice folded three ways).
- Add a bit of pesto on top. Alternatively, you may want to use some fresh basil leaf.

Presentation:
- Serve on a slice of cucumber. Cut the cucumber diagonally for maximum effect. Use the bottom slice from each strawberry (the one you removed first) for another spot of red.

Il Gusto Della Felicita

2012-04-19T19:35:00.002-07:00

Ingredients:
- Dates
- Prosciutto
- Brie cheese
- Ground pepper

Preparation:
- Cut open the dates (remove pits if necessary).
- Add the parmesan (I try to keep it double-folded, but you can use more or less depending on how much your friends like it).
- Add the brie on top, then fold.

Presentation:
- Top with a bit of ground medley peppers.
- For color, serve on a blue or green plate, or present them on slices of cucumber, or surrounded by a bit of arugula leaves.

Ice Cream with Strawberries

2012-04-19T19:34:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
- Your (guests') favorite ice cream (I love the Häagen-Dazs Rum and Raisin, if you invite me over)
- Delicious strawberries
- Whipped cream
- Chocolate syrup

Preparation:
- Scoop the ice cream into the bowl, and add the sliced strawberries. As easy a preparation as you might ask for.

Presentation:
- Top with whipped cream, and draw some diagonal lines with the chocolate syrup.

Smoked Kabanos with Mujdei and Carrot/Potato Medley

2012-04-19T19:32:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
- Smoked kabanosy (other sausages work pretty well too)
- Potatoes (preferably medley heirloom potatoes, can find them at Trader Joe's or maybe at your local farmers' market)
- Baby carrots
- Colorful Mujdei

Preparation:
- Cut the baby carrots into pieces, and boil half-way (maybe 15-20 minutes).
- Cut the potatoes into cubes (about the same size as the carrot pieces).
- Sprinkle some olive oil into a pan, and add the carrots and potatoes. Put in the oven at 350 for some 30 minutes. Check regularly, and try with a fork for when ready (the fork will easily go in the potatoes when ready to serve).
- Add salt and pepper over the potato/carrot mix. For a yummy reddish tint, either finish them in the over at high temperature (450-500F) for 5 minutes, or add a bit of ground cayenne or chili pepper.
- Separately, fry the kabanosy (or prepare them to your liking - maybe grill?)

Presentation:
- Serve the potato/carrot mix on a plate, next to the kabanosy, and top everything with mujdei.
- A bit of rosemary could add another splash of green to the dish.

Watermelon Smoothie

2012-04-19T19:24:00.002-07:00

Ingredients:
- Watermelon
- Honey
- Ice

Preparation:
- Slice watermelon and throw into blender. Further chop it there into small chunks, or add a bit of cold water (to start the blending).
- Add honey to taste (half spoon per glass is sufficient; don't exaggerate: you can always add it later, but it's difficult to take it back).
- Add ice cubes to chill the drink.
- Blend till thoroughly mixed.

Presentation:
- Present in a nice glass, garnished with a green leaf (mint, for example) for a splash of color.