White Sauce Veal Stew - Ciulama de vitel

The other day I was talking to a friend of mine about what we would like to eat and have not cooked in a while and she reminded me of this dish. It requires a little bit of attention, but it's not complicated at all.

Vorbeam zilele trecute cu o prietena despre ce-am fi mancat si n-am mai gatit demult, iar ea mi-a amintit de ciulama. Necesita putina atentie, dar nu este deloc dificil de facut.

So I took 1 lb of veal meat, cut into bite-size pieces, 1 carrot and 1 medium onion, 1/2 stick butter, 2 egg yolks, 1.5 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons sour cream and some chopped fresh parsley. In an ideal world I would have also added 1 lb of mushrooms, but, as I previously said, my daughter doesn't like them, so I didn't use them. You can use chicken meat or just the mushrooms if you wish, it's pretty versatile.

Asa ca am adunat 1/2 kg carne de vitel, taiata in bucati cat o imbucatura, 1 morcov si o ceapa medie, 50 gr unt, 2 galbenusuri de ou, 1,5 linguri de faina, 2 linguri de smantana si niste patrunjel proaspat, tocat. Ideal ar fi fost sa pun si 1/2 kg de ciuperci dar, dupa cum am mai spus, fiica-mii nu-i plac, deci n-am folosit. Puteti face ciulamaua si cu carne de pui sau doar cu ciuperci, se preteaza cu usurinta acestor variante.

Ratatouille

The ingredients:

It's better to use fresh tomatoes, but I did not have any available and I didn't like the ones at the store, so I decided for the canned version.

Veal Milanese - Snitel milanez

I found some nice veal cutlets (maybe a bit thin) and my daughter said she wanted schnitzels, therefore schnitzels they became. I used panko, Japanese bread crumbs, which cook up extra-crisp. I made the schnitzels in two batches, because the crust is noticeably crisper if the pan is not overcrowded.

What I used:

- 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

- 1 jumbo egg (or 2 large)

- 2/3 cup vegetable oil

- 4 veal cutlets

- panko bread crumbs

- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

- salt and ground black pepper

Spread the flour in a wide shallow dish or a pie plate. Beat the egg in a second dish and spread the bread crumbs in a third dish, then mix with the grated Parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper cutlets on both sides.

Chicken Soup with Grits Dumplings - Supa de pui cu galuste de gris

It's so cold these days that I thought of a remake of my daughter's favourite soup, perfect for the winter time, real comfort food: chicken soup with grits dumplings. You are, of course, more than welcome to replace chicken with vegetable soup, but I have absolutely no idea how that might work, because to me these dumplings are always associated with chicken soup. However, chicken stock can be successfully substituted for beef stock, but the first remains my preferred version.

E atat de frig zilele astea incat m-am gandit sa fac din nou supa preferata a fetitei mele, perfecta pe timp de iarna: supa de pui cu galuste de gris. Evident ca supa de pui se poate inlocui cu supa de legume, insa n-am nici cea mai mica idee ce gust va avea, pentru ca, pentru mine, galustele sunt intotdeauna asociate cu supa de pui. Puteti inlocui supa de pui cu supa de vita, insa cea de pui ramane varianta mea preferata.

I would normally use chicken backs and necks to make the chicken stock. Well, there was no sign of those at my local grocery store, so being this cold outside, I decided to stop fussing around and use bone-in, skin-on thighs instead, then add the cooked meat in the soup at the end.

In mod normal folosesc spate si gat de pui pentru a face supa de pui. De data asta, n-am gasit partile astea la magazinul care imi e aproape, si fiind atat de frig afara am hotarat sa folosesc pulpe cu os si piele, urmand sa adaug carnea fiarta in supa, la sfarsitul prepararii. 

Beef Stew with Red Wine - Tocanita de vita cu vin rosu

A slow-cooked casserole of tender beef in a red wine and tomato sauce, with black olives and bell pepper.

For 6 persons:

- 5 tablespoons olive oil

- 2.5 lbs boned beef chuck, cut in i.5-inch pieces

- 1 large onion, very finely sliced

- 2 carrots, chopped

- 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

- 1 garlic clove, chopped

- 1 bay leaf

- a few fresh thyme sprigs (I replaced with dried thyme)

- pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

- 1 cup red wine

- 14-ounce can plum tomatoes, chopped, with their juice

- 1/2 cup beef or chicken stock

- about 15 black olives, halved and pitted

- salt and ground black pepper

- 1 large bell pepper, preferably red, cut into strips (mine was orange, sorry! :D)

Note: The quantities shown in my photos are halved (for 3 persons).

Three Colours Chocolate Mousse Cake

This recipe is quite easy to make, although quite time-consuming, but it has a great visual impact once it's finished. I made this cake for my daughter's birthday and let me tell you, the children (and their mothers) were impressed, some of them even did not believe it was homemade and not store-bought.

I started out with the base of the cake, which is in fact a brownie recipe. We need:

- 5 eggs

- 200 gr sugar

- 200 ml vegetable oil

- 1/2 cup water

- 250 gr all-purpose flour

- 10 gr baking powder

- 2 tablespoons cocoa

Fried Marinated Chicken Breast Strips

This recipe was the kids' absolute favorite at my daughter's birthday party. It is, again, very simple to make and does not require any advanced techniques or tools: a pan, a bowl and a couple of shallow dishes should be more than enough :D

Now this is how I've done it: I took 4 large chicken breasts and cut them into thin strips. I put the meat in a bowl and covered it in kefir with condiments: grated garlic, salt, white pepper, rosemary, oregano, a dash of sweet paprika, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, dried parsley.

Of course you can use any spices and condiments you like, but I thought the marinade shouldn't be too spicy for the kids. I then covered the bowl with cling film and put in the the fridge overnight. I assume a couple of hours would also do the job, if you're in a hurry, which I wasn't :D.

Next morning I took the bowl out, poured panko crumbs into a shallow dish, then I rolled the strips in panko. Don't forget to start heating the oil (I used vegetable oil) in a pan; you'll need oil about 1/2 inch deep. As soon as the oil is hot, start laying the strips into the pan. Alternatively, I believe you can use a deep fryer, which I don't have.

The strips should be cooked on medium heat, about 2-3 minutes on each side, depending on how thin they are. Don't go away, they will burn quickly! When done, remove them on a plate covered in paper towels, to further drain the oil.

The strips are crunchy on the outside because of the panko crumbs, but moist and tender inside thanks to the marinade. Make sure you have plenty of these available on hand for even the most picky eaters!