Quick peek at latest recipes posted - questions, comments invited! Looking forward to hearing from you!
In recent years, the Royal York was renovated adding a cafe/lounge called Clockwork in the main lobby. There, we had a lovely Red Pepper Hummus Dip with seasonal vegetables and grilled pita. I was so impressed I had to replicate that hummus right away.
An internet search brings up 15 million recipes - I hope you like this one!
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It’s October 1, but the markets and grocery stores still have an abundance of plums and that sends many Hungarian cooks into their kitchen to make “Szilvas Gomboc” - Plum Dumplings.
When Italians combine potatoes and flour the result is usually gnocchi - a savoury. Hungarians use a potato/flour dough to create a dessert.
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Mix meat and rice, season, stuff into a Hungarian pepper and cook in a tomato sauce. Simple right? Sort of but there are as many variations as there are families and things to consider re ingredients and techniques.
This is seasonal since it’s made with Hungarian yellow wax peppers which appear at markets in July but are gone by mid-October. Delish!
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In a perfect world, I’d be a full-fledged member of the “Eat 30 Club” - eating 30 plant-based foods per week.
Have to admit it’s a struggle to achieve that weekly goal so I love a dip like this that offers two terrific main ingredients. It’s great with veggie sticks or healthy crackers.
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I’ve made this often and was recently surprised to discover I’ve never added it here. This is adapted from America’s Test Kitchen (Cook’s Country). This is not a soup or ramen-type dish.
You will use ramen noodles but they will absorb the broth they cook in. It’s not clear in my photo, but the recipe includes mushrooms.
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I first encountered French Financiers in NYC in 2008. They were unattractive and unappetizing. I did not buy any. I did not taste them. But now (2024) I have and I regret all the years I missed out on eating/baking these. (The easiest treats I have ever made!)
The crispy toasty brown exterior combines with a soft interior and the almond and Beurre Noisette (brown butter) nutty flavour is fabulous!
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When we dusted off the family sausage-making equipment in 2015 and resumed the tradition we added Italian sausage to the activity.
These have been a taste hit with everyone and yet the ingredients are minimal. Mix high-quality pork meat with a few seasonings, stuff the casings and done!
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This is not an authentic recipe, but it tastes the way I want it to taste and if you make it, I hope you will enjoy!
It was the summer of 2019 when I first enjoyed Massaman Curry at (now closed) Sabai Sabai - a Thai resto in Toronto. Part owner and chef was Nuit Regular, a celebrated chef and cookbook author. I managed to enjoy this a few more times, but at a recent birthday celebration at another TO Thai resto, the Massaman Curry was too spicy for me. I contented myself with another dish but left determined to finally make this at home. Success!
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I recently enjoyed this dip while visiting long-time friend, DM. Truth be told it was hard to stop eating it. Resistance seemed futile. I asked for the recipe and made it right away.
DM did not know the origin story of the dip. The result? An example of how I can get carried away researching a recipe. The story ends with a modern twist on this decades-old treat.
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Many cultures/cuisines have sweet breads which may appear regularly or only at feast times such as Easter. My paternal grandmother made them any time she wanted to make us happy. In Hungary, sweet bread is called kalacs (kull lotch).
My paternal grandmother was so skilled in making these that I called her the “Kalacs Queen”. Here’s my attempt to replicate her baking.
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Growing up, sausage-making was an annual mid-winter event in my family. At first, “the team” comprised my parents and maternal grandparents. Once my grandparents were gone, we helped my parents a few times.
In time, there was no one left to make sausage, but we were left with all the equipment - some of it fashioned by my millwright father. It was time to dust it all off and we resurrected the tradition in 2015.
Working with several versions of my mother’s handwritten notes combined with some sausage research we came up with this kolbasz recipe that triggers all the right food memories.
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Kocsonya is usually pork covered in gelatin. On the internet, it is sometimes translated simply as “aspic”, alluding to the technique of encasing various ingredients in a broth that (because it is made with meat and animal bits that contain collagen) turns to jelly when cooled.
Aspic appeared in many countries/cultures dating back many centuries. In my and Mr. KB’s experience, the making of kocsonya was an annual tradition that happened between Xmas and early new year.
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This is a recipe I have been making for several decades - though not often enough!
I’m writing this at the start of 2023 - motivated to catch up on blog posts that were neglected during the years I was doing resto reviews.
I mix my own curry from a recipe kindly shared with us by a friend with Indian heritage. I mix it in batches and always have some on hand. You can make it as spicy as you wish - and if you know me - that’s not spicy at all - haha!
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Every cuisine has at least one dish that is considered iconic and yet recipes vary depending upon the region and family customs.
So it is with Chicken Paprikash (Paprikás Csirke). I do share variations, but my method is simple using the “holy trinity of lard, onion and pure ground paprika.”
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I was drawn to this recipe when I realized it would be a great way to use my “petit pot” jars. I had many of these from Maison Riviera Yogurt and, more recently, from the desserts ordered from PORTA - which in fact makes a panna cotta with raspberry! PORTA delivers these frozen. I experimented with these and found that (with lids on) they freeze well and are ready to eat after about 90 minutes out of the freezer.
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It’s still chilly. Still time to enjoy a hearty soup that warms the tummy and the soul. Mind you, this soup would be great anytime!
I have few soup recipes that use corn, yet I love corn and corn in soups. And there’s bacon! What’s not to like?
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Hungarians will often serve vegetables creamed. In my family, a dish served mainly at Xmas was creamed peas - everyone just called it Borsó (Hungarian for peas). It was quite popular and had to be made in large quantities to satisfy everyone.
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Some people seem to have childhood memories of Crinkle Cookies. I did not encounter them until a reception where I was Mother of the Groom.
Leftovers were packed up quickly and I did not end up with the box that had the crinkle cookies. I spent ages trying to replicate them.
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Ricotta, spinach gnudi
What are gnudi? Some say they are basically “gnocchi” made with ricotta instead of potatoes.
There are some differences: sometimes gnudi are a bit larger than gnocchi; spinach is often mixed with the ricotta and an egg binds the mixture.
If you visit here often you know I have a great recipe for gnocchi - wee Italian potato dumplings.
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In the last century, I’d been making rum balls using a recipe from Chatelaine 1975 - vanilla wafers and rum or rum extract. A few years ago, son #1 suggested I make some for Xmas. The original recipe rolled in chocolate sprinkles disappointed, so I began to search for a new one. After various experiments, this one gets top marks.
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