Chateaubriand Sauce
(Two Versions, yields 4-6 servings)
Each sauce starts with a reduction of the following:
2 tbsp of chopped shallots
2 tbsp of chopped mushrooms
1 tsp of fresh chopped Thyme
1 tsp of dried Tarragon
10 turns of your pepper mill (I’m currently using brandied peppercorns)
4oz red wine
1 tbsp of butter or olive oil
2 tbsp of meat fond/drippings
Sauté shallots, mushrooms, herbs and pepper in butter or oil for about 4 minutes.
Add red wine and simmer until almost all of the wine has evaporated. Hold on the side.
As for the two versions of this sauce, I either fold this reduction into 8 ounces of Hollandaise sauce or 12 ounces of a Espagnole sauce.
Both the Hollandaise and Espagnole are standard mother sauces. (These are two of the five mother sauces - the other three are Tomato, Béchamel and Velouté)
If using the reduction in a Hollandaise sauce, add a teaspoom of fresh chopped tarragon as a garnish.
Hungarian Cucumber Salad
(Uborka Salata)
3 large cucumbers, peeled and sliced very thin
Place cucumber slices in a bowl and lightly sprinkle with salt.
Place in the the refrigerator for 30 minutes to soften cucumbers and mellow cucumber.
On the side, prepare the seasoned sweet and sour water flavoring.
3 cups of cold water
1 1/2 tsp of sea or Kosher salt
2 1/2 tbsp of sugar
3 1/2 tbsp of white vinegar
Blend well and hold in refrigerator until you are ready to add the cucumbers.
After the cucumbers have soaked for 30 minutes, you will see a lot of juice has escaped from the cucumbers.
With clean hands, remove the slices in small handfuls and press more juice from the cucumber slices.
After pressing, place in the bowl with the seasoned water.
When all the slices have been pressed, garnish the top of the bowl with a thinly sliced tomato, green pepper rings, (preferably Hungarian peppers) and red onion rings.
Sprinkle the top with a 1/2 tsp of Hungarian paprika.
Eastern European Noodles
(Nokedli or Spaetzel)
4-6 portions
These noodles are traditionally made with an all purpose flour.
I have experimented with the recipe by using three different flours - a blend of all purpose, semolina and chestnut flour.
In a bowl add the following ingredients:
1 1/4 cups of all purpose flour
1 1/4 cups of semolina flour
1/2 cup of chestnut flour
1/2 tsp of salt
1 egg
About 1 1/5 cups of cold water
Place flour and salt in a bowl, blend well.
With a wooden spoon make a hole in the center.
Add the egg into the hole and start stirring the egg into the flour. Gradually increase the size of the hole as you stir in the flour.
While stirring the egg flour mixture, gradually add the water.
Continue to stir, add water and increase the size of the hole until all is mixed well.
Cooking the noodles:
Place a noodle maker (we purchased our spaetzel maker at Williams Sonoma) over a pot of slow boiling water.
Add half the noodle mix and turn the handle continuously. You make have to scrape the dough off the sides.
When noodles float to the top (about 2-3 minutes) use a spider strainer to remove them from the water.
Place in a warm, oiled casserole dish.
Add the remaining noodle mix to the spaetzel maker and repeat above steps.
Noodles can be held in a 165 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally to keep from sticking.
Hungarian Bean Soup
(Bab Leves)
Serves 4-6
1 Lb. of Roman Beans
1 medium size onion
1 clove of garlic
2 tbs olive oil
5 whole carrots
2 stalks of celery
1 Hungarian pepper
3 large potatoes
1 tbs of Hungarian paprika
2 bay leafs
pinch of thyme
10 whole black peppercorns
1/4 tsp of ground caraway
2 smoked ham hocks
2 1/2 qts of water or salt free stock
Soak beans for one hour in 2 qts of water.
Heat a large pot, add olive oil, and finely dice onion and garlic. Saute over medium heat until translucent.
Remove from heat and stir in paprika and other spices/herbs.
Add the water or stock.
Drain beans and add to pot along with the smoked ham hocks and simmer for about one hour.
Wash, trim and peel carrots, celery, and pepper. Cut into postage stamp pieces and add to soup.
Simmer for 20 minutes, then add potatoes, which you have cut into cubes slightly larger than the vegetables.
Simmer another 20-25 minutes and serve in a large soup bowl with a 1/3 cup of pre-blanched noodles.
The Hungarians make a noodle called Nokedli, which is very similar to the German spaetzel. Noodles can be made fresh or packaged noodles will do.
After plating, we like to sprinkle a little fresh ground parsley over the soup. Also garnish each bowl with a tbs of sour cream. This gives the soup a nice creamy flavor.
Low fat sour cream can be used in place of regular sour cream.
For added flavor, half the water can be replaced with a light salt-free chicken, beef or vegetable stock.
Goulash Soup
(Gulyas Leves)
Serves 4-6
1 medium size onion, finely diced
6 whole carrots, large dice
2 stalks of celery, large dice
1 Hungarian pepper, medium dice
1 1/4 pounds of beef cubes
1 tbs ground Hungarian paprika
1/2 tsp of ground black pepper
1/2 tsp of ground caraway
1 Bay Leaf
1/4 tsp of fresh thyme
2 tbs of olive oil
1 whole, peeled parsnip
3 potatoes, peeled and cut into six pieces (Cover with cold water)
1 tbs of chopped parsley
2 qts of salt-free stock, either beef or chicken
In a large pot, saute onion in the olive oil until translucent.
Add beef cubes and saute another 3-4 minutes.
Remove pot from heat and stir in the paprika, caraway, black pepper, and other herbs.
Add stock and simmer for 40 minutes.
Add all vegetables except the potatoes and simmer another 15 minutes.
Drain the potatoes and add to the pot.
Simmer until the potatoes are tender. (About 15-20 minutes)
Finish with the parsley
Hungarians traditionally serve this type of stew with a noodle called Nokedli, a noodle very similar to the German spaetzel.
You can make fresh noodles or buy a package of dried spaetzel noodles from the supermarket. (Follow instructions on package)
I prefer to cook the noodles on the side, drain when tender, rinse and then hold until ready for service.
If you like your soup on the thick side, add the dry noodles into the simmering soup, five minutes after adding the potatoes. This will allow the potatoes and noodles to finish together.
Note: Fresh noodles cook much faster, I would add them at the very end of cooking the potatoes.
Serve soup with noodles in a large soup bowl with a good bread on the side for dipping. Pairs perfectly with white or red wine.
Trifles
A trifle is a traditional holiday dessert from the United Kingdom that is made up of layered pieces of fruit, alcohol or simple syrup soaked cake, and one or two flavored custards. Depending on the number of guests, these items are commonly layered in a medium to large glass punch bowl for a beautiful table presentation. In the food service industry, they are frequently produced from an assortment of leftover cake. This is a means of utilizing leftovers to create a special year-round dessert.
I prefer to moisten my cake with wine or a rum flavored simple syrup. I also enjoy making my trifles with both vanilla and chocolate custards, as opposed to using only one flavor.
Begin assembling your trifle by lining a bowl with a generous layer of fruit. Top this layer with your moistened cake that has been cut into large cubes, followed by a layer of custard. You can repeat another layer of fruit, cake and custard on top of the first layer and if using two custards, this would be the time to use your second flavor. Colorful fruits and berries are then added to the top, followed by a liquor-infused cream called syllabub.
Syllabub is a sweetened semi firm whipped cream, flavored with rum of cognac.
Trifles can be made a day in advance, chilled until needed and then topped with the syllabub cream before serving. Plate using a large spoon.
