Savor the Flavor
It’s Halloween here in Chicago. And since Romania is (generally speaking) widely known in the U.S. for its orphanages, sometime the televised Revolution of 1989 when the dictator Ceausescu was overthrown, but most of all for Count Dracula of Transylvania, I thought of at least clear off the smoke of confusion for some.
Well Ladies and Gentlemen, What looked like a failed cooking afternoon turned around unexpectedly into a success story. The Sarmale (stuffed cabbage rolls) turned out as it should – the rolls didn’t fall apart, they remained stiff, retaining their initial shape, the taste was full …
No, I am not your typical Romanian. I never ever made sarmale in my life! In fact my wife who is American made sarmale and they actually tasted better than in Romania! Heck, what is wrong with me?? They are known in the West as cabbage rolls or stuffed cabbage.
As a result, I decided to start a quest by making my first sarmale ever! Meaning that today I will go to our favorite grocery store Valli Produce, with a shopping list in hope of finding the right ingredients! In the mean time I will need to make a couple international long distance calls to a couple Mamas in Romania there to try to compile a recipe that’s very close to the origins.
Continue reading Pondering Sarmale (stuffed cabbage)
It was time to switch over to some deserts. I remember as a young boy, going with my Grandma for a treat at the “Cofetarie” (means “pastry shop” in Romanian), and getting Choux à la Crème, a delicious desert, commonly found in the same choux …
While growing up in Romania for 33 years I got to assume certain beliefs as being undoubtedly right and incontestable. It took a wife from the American continent to pull these things out of me and bring things into the light sometimes with a good laugh. Hope these …
This weekend I took a shot at the as-close-as-I-can-get-to American version of the Bistecca Fiorentina, Florence’s signature steak introduced a century ago and made famous by Italy’s greatest food writer, Pellegrino Artusi.