Liver Stuffing / Dressing (Májas Töltelék)

Probably every family has a beloved turkey stuffing - and from what I have read, some of those recipes go to the grave with their creators. I am rescuing our family's dressing recipe from that fate. 

This family classic / tradition was always much enjoyed, but for a time it disappeared from the menu, and was very much missed. It used to be my favourite post-xmas snack - I liked nibbling on it more than leftover turkey. It was made first by my grandmother, then my mother, and now I hope the tradition will continue!

Click here for details, and link back here if you wish to leave a Comment or ask a Question or add a LIKE!

Italian Amaretti Cookies

Here's what you get - a crisp sugary exterior and a soft chewy interior that will remind you of marzipan.

Some have described Amaretti as the Italian version of the French Macaron - both featuring almond flour and egg whites as the main ingredients. I have taken a course to learn how to make Macaron (and have had success making them).

No course needed for Amaretti - it's crazy easy and pretty much foolproof to make.

Click here for details, and link back here if you wish to leave a Comment or ask a Question or add a LIKE!

Creamed Mushrooms on Toast

As the Holiday Season approaches, you may already be thinking about the need for appetizers. Here's one of my favourites.

Use ordinary cremini mushrooms or a fancier combo. This tastes best on toasted egg bread. Let guests serve themselves or prep a fancy platter for an impressive show.

Click here for details, and link back here if you wish to leave a Comment or ask a Question or add a LIKE!

Bulgur with Cumin-Scented Sweet Potatoes

Have you embraced whole grains? Are you using bulgur, millet, quinoa, wild rice - maybe even farro or amaranth more often? 

I almost always have both bulgur and super nutrisious sweet potatoes on hand so this is an easy go-to recipe.

You can have this on the table in half an hour as a side, or a main with an over-easy egg on top. I have served it warm, or room temperature as a picnic salad.

Click here for details, and link back here if you wish to leave a Comment or ask a Question or add a LIKE!

Chocolate Heaven

It's family birthday time, and since 1985, "Chocolate Heaven" from the (now defunct) Chocolatier Magazine has brought good cheer to my birthday boys.

It is light with a heavenly, creamy experience of chocolate. I think of this as easy to make - a treat that avoids the hassle of baking.

This will sound silly, but I had not always realized that this recipe is essentially a chocolate mousse with bits of angel food cake added. I offer all the tips you need to make this a success!

Click here for details, and link back here if you wish to leave a Comment or ask a Question or add a LIKE!

Whipped Ricotta with Plum Coulis

Here's a Kitchen Bliss recipe that is K.I.S.S. You know... Keep It Simple Stupid - and this recipe also gives you a chance to "go nuts" with creative combos. The Whipped Ricotta takes minutes to prepare, so use it for unexpected company or a quick week-night treat - that can be more or less healthy depending on how you enhance it.

Click here for details, and link back here if you wish to leave a Comment or ask a Question or add a LIKE!

Mulligatawny Soup

Mulligatawny Soup - sounds a bit exotic, but is also hearty and that's what we often like now that soup season is upon us. (Make it without chicken, and using vegetable broth, for a vegetarian treat.)

I'm sharing the recipe I use from the Podleski Sisters (aka Looneyspoons) Crazy Plates (1999). I have just recently acquired Greta's newest "baby" - Yum and Yummer - and will look forward to trying some dishes from there. Not only does the new book have photos of each recipe, but a link to a "how to" video - for each and every recipe!

Click here for details, and link back here if you wish to leave a Comment or ask a Question or add a LIKE!

Rouladen

Enjoy the bliss when dinner guests rave about this meal, but never save the best only for guests.

These are easier to make than you'd think, and after an hour and a half oven time you have a gorgeous dinner!

You may wish to serve it with Hungarian tiny dumplings, called Nokedli - and I'm happy to share that recipe as well!

Click here for rouladen details, and link back here if you wish to leave a Comment or ask a Question or add a LIKE!

Chocolate Hazelnut Diamonds

Who can resist a "shortbread" layer topped with chocolate, toffee and hazelnuts? Bliss, right?

This recipe is ridiculously easy to make - there's no rolling out pastry or fancy tricks. You get a lot out of it - depending on how you cut it - about 4 dozen.

Because it stores well in a tin, in a cool place, it is often one of the first Xmas cookie recipes I make in December.

Click here for details, and link back here if you wish to leave a Comment or ask a Question or add a LIKE!

Pizzelle

Here's a recipe that has been appearing at the family Xmas table for about 30 years!

While some pizzelle can be thicker and softer - we like these because they are thin and crisp - and flavoured with orange, lemon, vanilla and anise.

You will need a pizzelle maker / iron. It can be a one person project or invite a friend or family to help make memories while making yummy treats!

Click here for details, and link back here if you wish to leave a Comment or ask a Question or add a LIKE!

Sweet Potato Salad with Bacon

Sweet potato, bacon, maple syrup, sea salt, pecans - need to hear more?

It's my pleasure to link you to this great recipe from Cathy at From Our Hideaway. Enjoy!

Click here for details, and link back here if you wish to leave a Comment or ask a Question or add a LIKE!

Rustic Apple Cake

When is an Apple Cake not really a cake? When it's mostly apples! That's what I love about this recipe which I have made countless times. Unless you have pie crusts ready in your freezer - this is the fastest way to get a stunning apple treat on the table.

The cake is mainly thinly sliced apples that emerge from the oven almost as a set custard. It's described as "French-style". 

Use (almost) any apples you have on hand - and the recent trend is to combine different apples.

Click here for the recipe page, which links back here if you wish to leave a Comment or ask a Question or add a LIKE!

Quick Pickle Chips

I have no idea if anyone tracks(ed) the preserving trend, but it seemed to be on the uptick in the last ten years. Some credit the trend to hipsters in Brooklyn and journalists pondered if pickles were the new cupcakes? 

Since many young'uns today live in tiny apartments, small batch preserving has also become popular. Though I have the fruit cellar and the jars - small batch is what pushed me to pickling. (And this is really small batch - a 1 pint jar of pickles.) Also appealing in this case is that there is no processing. These are fridge pickles That take 10-15 minutes to make) and that last up to six weeks - though so far they've been eaten before then.

Click here for the recipe page, which links back here if you wish to leave a Comment or ask a Question or add a LIKE!

Hungarian Sour Cherry Cake (Megyes Pite)

Hungarians use sour cherries (called meggye) in several dishes - including in a cold cherry soup - and there are several ways in which sour cherries appear in desserts. Here they adorn a low rise sheet cake which is perfect with coffee - and some people even love it for breakfast!

You'll notice that this recipe uses Kirsch aka Kirschwasser. Though made from morello cherries "kirschwassers have a refined taste with subtle flavors of cherry and a slight bitter-almond taste that derives from the stones." [Source] 

Click here for the recipe page, which links back here if you wish to leave a Comment or ask a Question or add a LIKE!

Mixed Bean Salad

Google 'bean salad' and you get over 7.5 million results, but this is from a recipe notebook I began in 1983.

Despite the preponderance of combinations, this bean combo has persisted, and something like it can still be seen at many salad bars.

You can get creative with variations, but I often prefer the "taste memory" of this salad - even though I suspect the taste memory has something to do with sugar... (just a bit of sugar...)

Click here for the recipe page, which links back here if you wish to leave a Comment or ask a Question or add a LIKE!

Lemon Garlic Drumettes

Once upon a time (in my life), chicken wings were the cheapest part of the chicken.

Few people seemed to be interested in using them for purposes other than chicken stock, until the "chicken wing" craze hit in the 1960s. Their popularity skyrocketed in the subsequent decades, and now a Google search on chicken wing recipes garners almost 9 million results!

Look at these lovelies! What could be more tasty than garlic and lemon?

Click here for the recipe page, which links back here if you wish to leave a Comment or ask a Question or add a LIKE!

Hungarian Peppers and Tomatoes (Lecsó)

The arrival of Hungarian Peppers at markets results in a rush to the kitchen to make this classic dish.

Lecsó can be a main or a side at any meal - or can be used as a garnish on a schnitzel sandwich, or even as a "sauce" over pork chops.

Once hard to find, these peppers are now easy to find and are a treat to eat raw with salami and rye bread. But first you need to make lecsó!

Click here for the recipe page, which links back here if you wish to leave a Comment or ask a Question or add a LIKE!

Moroccan Chicken on Quinoa

A delicious meal using quinoa - ever popular partly because it is considered to be a protein and gluten-free.

The butter, honey, cinnamon quinoa pairs well with the Moroccan spices (cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, coriander) that flavour the chicken. You'll make this time and time again!

Click here for the recipe page, which links back here if you wish to leave a Comment or ask a Question or add a LIKE!

Hungarian Creamed Squash (Tökfőzelék)

The summer squash called "vegetable marrow" is appearing at markets (mid-August) and there's still time to make this iconic Hungarian dish. 

"Creamed vegetables" - called főzelék - is classic Hungarian home-cooking. They can be used as sides, or as the main course served with eggs or Hungarian meatballs (fashirt). 

There's a fairly long list of vegetables that are creamed - the most common in my own experience being yellow waxed beans (babfőzelék) and this vegetable marrow (tökfőzelék). So good!

Click here for the recipe page, which links back here if you wish to leave a Comment or ask a Question or add a LIKE!

Tuna Melt Canapés

This recipe has been in the KB repertoire since 2010 when I stumbled across it in Saveur. That they are called canapés is so "lah-di-dah".

Really, you can make these for company or have them for lunch. The tuna filling is a great excuse to use mango chutney and curry, and can even be used in a hearty sandwich with lettuce or your other favourite sandwich garnishes.

Click here for the recipe page, which links back here if you wish to leave a Comment or ask a Question or add a LIKE!