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Wednesday, December 14, 2011


DEVILED EGGS, LITERALLY

And why do I really mean that?  Because I can attest with certainty that after this recipe you will never touch another one.  I am really being modest here. J I have learned my Mother’s way of making deviled eggs and they were always fantastic.  But like every curious George in the kitchen I tried to add my own signature to this delicious, devilish appetizer and I think I have achieved the ultimate taste teaser of all times.  Don’t believe me?  Ask my family and friends.  They don’t even want to come over unless I promise to make them.  I will give you the secret, but don’t tell anyone.  I am giving you the 8 eggs version here, which will make 16 halves but you can upgrade this at any time with adding more of my secret ingredients. In my house I usually make it from 14 eggs (28 halves) and it’s all gone in matter of minutes.
Try them and let me know if the little devils stole your soul forever! :)
Sincerely,

Eva, the diva, the Devil’s Eggvocate :):):)


INGREDIENTS:

1.     8 eggs – hard boiled (for 15 minutes), then cooled off under running cold water, peeled and cut in half length wise.  Scoop out the yolks in a mixing bowl and mash them with a potato masher.
2.     2 Tbs. of sour cream
3.     1 Tbs. of mayonnaise (make your own, pretty, please)
4.     1 Tbs. scallion greens – chopped
5.     2 Tbs. of freshly chopped parsley
6.     Salt or Vegeta (1 tsp.), freshly ground black pepper and a dash of sweet paprika

MAKING THE SAUCE IN WHICH THE LITTLE DEVILS STAND IN:

7.     4 Tbs. of mayonnaise
8.     2 Tbs. of sour cream
9.     1 Tbs. of lemon juice
10.  1 Tbs. of scallion greens or chives – chopped
11.  3 Tbs. of warm water
12.  1 tsp. of garlic salt or Vegeta, a dash of sweet paprika and a couple of rounds of freshly ground black pepper
13.  freshly chopped parsley scallion greens for sprinkles around the plate for decoration
14.  parsley leaves to decorate or use your own imagination
15.  Golden red paprika paste to decorate with ( in a small Ziploc bag pour the paprika paste in one of the corners, squeeze it down and cut a small opening on the bottom corner with a sharp scissor and let your imagination unfold)


Hard boil the eggs in salted water (the shell separates easily from the egg when peeled) for about 15-20 minutes.  Drain them and let them sit in the sink under pouring cold water to cool.  Peel them gently so you don’t damage the egg’s surface.  Cut the eggs in half, length wise.  Scoop out the yolks in a mixing bowl, mash them with a fork or potato masher and add the sour cream, mayonnaise, scallion greens and parsley with all the condiments from above.  Mix them well until creamy but it shouldn’t be runny.

Now it’s time to make your special sauce mix in which the little devils will play.

In a separate mixing bowl add the mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, scallion greens and the water with the condiments.  Mix it all well and pour it on your serving plate.  This is the best time to sprinkle the sides of your plate with freshly chopped parsley to give it a nice decorating touch.
Fill the egg halves with the yolk mixture, topping them nicely so no egg white is showing and place them in rows next to each other on your serving plate in the sauce mixture.
Now it’s time for the fun part in decorating your little devils.
I have given you a few examples for Xmas tree, smiley faces, and smoking devils but you can go wild here and have fun with it.
Smiley faces and Christmas tree ideas.

Smoking little dudes.


When all done, cover it with foil and refrigerate it until you’re ready to serve them.



EGESZSEGEDRE!                                                           BON APPETITE!



DIVA POTATO SALAD

Every performance on stage is not the same.  As a singer you experiment each night to bring out different effects or nuances trying out different approaches with the same music or character.  Believe it or not the same thing happens in the kitchen.
I have followed recepies, added or took away ingredients and experimented a lot until I came up with the perfect potato salad.  This is a real hit at every BBQ or summer party.




INGREDIENTS:

  1. 7-8 large potatoes – cooked in salt water, skin on then peeled and cut into cubes
If you want to get real fancy you can use 10-15 smaller potatoes of different color which will look positively radiant and enticing on your dinner table.
  1. ½ red onion – sliced and chopped into real tiny pieces
  2. 8-9 slices of smoked bacon (if you can, please get Hungarian, Romanian or Polish Deli cold cuts) – microwaved for 4-6 minutes until crispy then chopped into tiny pieces
  3. 1 large cup of home made mayonnaise or Hellman’s Real Mayo if all hell brakes loose and can’t make your home made version ….don’t break my heart L
  4. about 1 teaspoon of Sea salt or Vegeta, fresh black pepper, sweet Hungarian paprika – use your own judgment in condiments
  5. 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
  6. ½ cup of scallion greens – tiny cut ups to decorate


Boil your potatoes in salty water, skin on, drain them, let them cool, peel them and cut them up in cubes.
Microwave or fry your bacon pieces until crispy let them cool off and chop them up in tiny morsels.
Chop up your red onion also in very tiny pieces.
Mix the 3 ingredients together: potatoes, onions and bacon, add your 1 cup of mayo and condiments plus lemon juice.  Mix them all together, sprinkle some paprika on top and refrigerate it covered for 2-3 hours.  When you’re ready to serve it, sprinkle some scallion greens on top and prepare for the complements of your life.

It’s a fantastic, delicious and NOT a curve friendly side dish but hey, we just live once.  It would be a shame not to experience flavors like this before check-out time J


EGESZSEGEDRE!                                                                 BON APPETITE!


GIPSY CAKE – “TUROS PULISZKA”

Number one ingredient: buy yourself a CD with Hungarian gipsy music.  This will enhance the cooking process and put you in the proper mood to prepare this old time Transylvanian favorite recipe.  It’s easy, filling, rich in flavors and cheap…that’s what makes it an extraordinary dinner in bad economic times.  Seriously J




INGREDIENTS:

  1. 4 cups of water
  2. 2 cups of chicken stock
  3. 1and ½ cup of course polenta
  4. 1Tbs. of Vegeta or salt
  5. 3 Tbs. olive oil
  6. 1 red onion – chopped
  7. 6-8 slices of bacon –chopped
  8. 8 oz. (200g)  of smoked Hungarian sausage – chopped
  9. 3 cups of “Brinza de burduf” (found in Eastern Europian Delis.  It’s a cured cheese very tangy to taste and soft.
  10. sour cream to serve it with (you can omit this if you want)
  11. scallion greens chopped to sprinkle on top when done


Bring 4 cups of water and 2 cups of chicken stock to a boil in a 4 Qt. saucepan.  When boiling point has reached, add the Vegeta or salt to the water and the polenta, pouring it in very slowly so it doesn’t make lumps and stirring it continuously.  You will have to baby sit this process until the polenta is done, stirring it constantly or else you will have some yellow corn flour chunks exploding all over your kitchen.
After about 10 minutes you’re done and you can set the polenta aside.

In a non- stick pan add the olive oil, chopped onions, bacon and smoked sausage (All chopped) and stirring frequently cook them until the onions and meats are fully cooked. (About 10 minutes).  Set it aside.

Put your oven on for 350 F.

In a deep corning ware add a splash of olive oil to the bottom and pour half of the polenta in.  Add a cup of the BRINZA, sprinkled all over the polenta.  Now add all of your onion, sausage, bacon mixture on top of the Brinza sprinkles.  Layer another cup of Brinza sprinkles and pour the left over polenta on top of it.  Sprinkle the 3-rd cup of Brinza on top of the polenta.  You can now transfer the dish covered with foil in a 350 F preheated oven and cook the cake until the top becomes golden brown.
Take it out from the oven, let it sit for 10 minutes, sprinkle some scallion greens on top and cut it in slices as you would cut up a cake.  When serving, you can add some sour cream and roasted red peppers cut up in small slices if you desire.


By this time you should have learned all the songs on your gipsy CD and started a shot of moonshine to make your tiny feet dance that “Csardas”…slice up your Gipsy Cake and live life to the fullest!






EGESZSEGEDRE!                                                                 BON APPETITE!


GOULASH SOUP

My husband’s favorite soup.  And he’s not alone. Every time I serve this soup to company they all ask for seconds.  It is the ultimate comfort soup for cold and rainy days.  If we’re expecting a snow storm in New York, this is the fist thing I make. 
Well, I have to be honest; I have tasted many so called Goulash soups in diners, German restaurants and places that have no business naming their soup a Hungarian Goulash soup and never encountered one so far that is even close to the traditional dish.  I assure you, this is the real deal and you won’t regret it. 


INGREDIENTS:

  1. 2 Lbs of beef stew – cut in small cubes (spice it up in advance if you can with salt, pepper and paprika)
  2. olive oil – 4 tablespoons
  3. 1 onion – chopped
  4. ½ red Bell pepper – chopped
  5. ½ green Italian pepper – chopped
  6. 1 teaspoon of chilly pepper flakes or half of a Jalapeno (hot) pepper - chopped
  7. 3 tablespoons of caraway seed
  8. 6-7 potatoes – peeled and cut into small cubes
  9. 20 baby carrots (already peeled) – cut up in ¼ inch rounds
  10. home made spaetzli ( see my recipe) – use half of the ingredients so you won’t end up with a lot, unless you desire to use it for other dishes.
  11. water to cook with
  12. Goulash paste, Vegeta or salt, and sweet paprika ( about 3 tablespoons)
  13. fresh parsley – chopped
  14. 1 teaspoon of sour cream (optional)


In a 9 Qt. soup pot add the olive oil, onions, and peppers and cook them until soft, then add the spiced up beef stew cubes and the caraway seeds.  Stir it frequently and let the beef cook for about 15 minutes until it starts releasing it’s own juices.  Now add the Goulash paste and hot peppers, Vegeta or salt and 3 tablespoons of sweet red paprika. 

Fill the pot with water leaving 1 inch space for the potatoes and spaetzli for later.  You will cook the beef until tender (about 1 ½- 2 hours on medium heat) when you add the peeled and cube cut potatoes and carrots to the soup.  While the potatoes are getting soft make your spaetzli noodles and slowly add them to the soup.  You know the drill, when the noodles are cooked they come up to the surface.  Cook it for another 20 minutes and check for seasoning, now it’s still the time to make it more spicy and salty.  Add the freshly chopped parsley and let the soup rest for 30 minutes.

 You can serve it with sour cream in everyone’s plate or plain, it’s to die for either way. J Nice fresh bread, breadsticks and some scallions on the side will make your mouth water and crave for more.

This is one of those soups that actually tastes better the next day because all the ingredients can make each other’s acquaintances over night in the cold fridge, have a grand party and mingle to your taste bud‘s satisfaction J
Make it for your New Year’s Eve party a day before and watch the hungry folks devour it after midnight.  I guarantee there won’t be any leftovers. J


EGESZSEGEDRE!                                                                BON APPETITE!

FRUIT TART FROM MY AUNT UTA – “GYUMOLCS TORTA”

I still remember the first time my aunt Uta surprised us with this fabulous and delicious fruit cake.  I must have been 10 years old when the family got together for Grandma’s Birthday.  My aunt unveiled this beauty, whipped some whipped cream and decorated it the last minute before serving it.  Everyone was speechless.  Eyes were rolling in delight and we made sure to leave nothing but crumbs on our plates after the second, third, fourth servingJJJ.  When I put together my recipe book, I made sure to ask her for the recipe and here it is in my version, easy to make and a pleasant surprise for my hubby who doesn’t know me as a baker but had to acknowledge himself, this baby was a keeper!



INGREDIENTS:

  1. 4 eggs – egg whites separated from the yolks.
  2. 4 Tbs. of vanilla sugar – added 1 at a time
  3. 4 Tbs. of all purpose white flour – added 1 at a time
  4. 8 oz. of organic cottage cheese
  5. 1 Tbs. of lemon zest
  6. 1.5 oz. of raisin ( usually a  small Del Monte box)
  7. 2 Tbs. of sugar
  8. 1 box of gelatin (Royal- 1.4 oz.- makes 4-1/2 cup serving, follow instructions on the box ).  When you are using fruits like below, make sure you get the raspberry gelatin. If using citrus fruits get the orange gelatin.
  9. fruits: raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, grapes – thin sliced or left whole
  10. 2 cups of heavy cream – whipped with 2 Tbs. of vanilla sugar for decorating or added on individual plates on the side


Separate the egg yolks from the egg white.  Use a mixer on high setting beat the egg whites into thick foam, adding 1 Tbs. of vanilla sugar at a time.
Use a fork to mix the egg yolks with 1 Tbs. of flour at a time.
Mix the whites and yolks mixtures together with the mixer until smooth.
Use a 9.5 in. non stick tart pan and scrub it well with butter on the bottom and especially on the sides.  Pour the mixture in the tart pan evenly and bake it in a 350F preheated oven until golden brown.  To test the tart, insert a needle in the middle and see if any residue is stuck to it when taken out.  If it looks clean, your tart is done.  Let it cool.  You can take the tart out of the non stick pan easily when it’s cold.
In the mean time prepare your gelatin according to the instructions on the box.  Gelatin must be chilled before used.
Prepare your cottage cheese, by whipping it up with the sugar, lemon zest and add the raisins.  Mix everything well together.

When the tart is cold take it out of the baking tart pan and place it on your serving plate.  Now comes the fun part.  Smear the cottage cheese mixture evenly on top of the pie. 
Slice your fruits and create a circular design or be creative and make your own design at your heart’s desire.  Now you can add the gelatin that should be cold/chilled but still workable on top of the fruits.
I personally cover my tart at this point and put it in the fridge to set.  I will whip some heavy cream with the vanilla sugar to have it ready for decorating later or adding it to individual serving plates. 
My aunt makes a fantastic whipped cream design with heavy duty shapes and forms on top of the cake before cutting it. It’s up to you.
Enjoy!
EGESZSEGEDRE!                                                              BON APPETITE!