Warm Arugula Salad with Bacon and Egg

Serves Four

4 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, peeled and halved length wise

1 cup seasoned croutons (freshly made or store bought)

8 slices of a higher-quality bacon

4 finely chopped fillets of anchovies

2 tsp red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar

2 tsp Dijon mustard

4 jumbo eggs

5 oz washed baby Arugula

8 fresh mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup chopped red onion

Fresh ground black pepper to taste

On a baking sheet, spread out the slices of bacon and add the garlic halves.

Place in a 350 degree oven and cook until golden brown. Turn the garlic to keep them coated with the bacon fat and prevent from burning. If the garlic becomes golden brown before the bacon, remove and hold on the side.

When the bacon has finished cooking, place on a paper towel and keep in a warm place.

Hold some of the bacon fat for frying the eggs.

Wash the Arugula, spin dry and hold on the side.

Finely dice the anchovy fillets and the garlic, then smash with the tip of a paring knife to create a paste, or you may squeeze through a garlic press. If the press becomes clogged, free the pieces and continue until all is pressed.

In a salad bowl, place the garlic, anchovy mix, mustard, oil and vinegar. Whisk well until creamy.

Take three tablespoons of bacon fat and heat in a skillet. Crack the eggs and cook over medium heat until over easy. About 1.5 minutes on the first side, then a half minute on the other side.

Add the onions, sliced mushrooms, arugula and croutons into the salad bowl with the anchovy dressing,

Mix well and portion onto large plates.

Place the fried egg on top with two slices of bacon on the side.

Serve with your favorite wine and a nice crusty bread.

For a little extra flavor, spoon a little of the hot bacon fat over the portioned salad.

If you have concern over the bacon fat, do not use. Instead drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil.

An alternate option for the fried eggs is to use hard boiled eggs, just slice the hard boiled egg over the plated salad.

Carbobbade of Beef

(Flemish Beef Stew, Serves eight)

2 tbsp margarine

2 tbsp olive oil

3 lb beef cubes

3 cups diced onion

1/2 cup all purpose flour

32 oz amber colored beer

4 oz red wine

1/2 tsp dried thyme

2 bay leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp chopped parsley for garnish

8 peeled potatoes, left whole

16 peeled medium size carrots, left whole

In a large cast iron enamel pot, melt the butter.

Add half the beef cubes and cook until brown on all sides. Then remove and hold on the side.

Add one tablespoon of oil and the remaining beef. Again, cook until evenly browned. After browning, remove and hold on the side.

Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and onions. Cover and cook until brown. Stir frequently to prevent burning, for about 8 minutes.

After browning, stir in the flour. Mix well to fully blend with the onions and to help develop the flour.

Add the beef and mix well.

Add the beer, red wine, thyme, bay leaves, and salt and pepper to taste.

(I used Vegeta instead of salt. Vegeta has salt and other vegetable extracts that complement stews very well. Vegeta can be purchased in some supermarkets, especially stores that have a Polish or Central European section.)

Simmer for about two hours, stirring often to prevent the beef or onions from sticking to the bottom of the cast iron pot.

After 75 minutes you can blanch the potatoes and carrots in simmering salted water.

Add the potatoes to the water first, after 15 minutes add the carrots.

After another 15 minutes have passed, reduce heat to the lowest setting and hold for service.

For serving, place a ladle of beef cubes and enough sauce in a soup bowl.

With a slotted spoon, place one potato and two carrots on the side of the bowl.

Garnish with parsley and serve.

Note: I added a half cup of red wine to this recipe to help aid in the final color of the stew. The traditional recipe is all beer.

This recipe is for eight, if only needed for four guests, leftovers are even more flavorful. Reheat leftovers in a covered casserole dish in a 325 oven for 20-30 minutes.

Hungarian Culinary Experiance

I just returned from a wonderful trip to Hungary, where I spent most of my time sampling Hungarian cuisine and swimming in several thermal baths. As always, the classical creations were excellent. My only disappointment was in the service. During this visit the service was not what I previously enjoyed.

Best overall service was at Robinson restaurant near Vajda Hunyad Var. Some of their menu specialties were:

• Goose liver terrine with fig jam on a buttery loaf pillow with chilled drippings
• Deer pate with onion jam on bruschetta
• Grilled goose liver with caramelized peach

Best overall Hungarian menu was at Nancsi neni, located in Buda. This restaurant has been in operation since 1905. Their menu has many selections and starts with a very nice quote, “only mothers and grandmothers know everything about life.”

Some of the old-time menu offerings were:

• Soup of cockerel with liver dumplings
• Pancake Hortobagyi, chicken and paprika in a sour cream sauce
• Fresh grilled saibling, an arctic trout from northern Norway
• Duck and goose plate for one
• Hungarian goose liver with lecso and mashed potato
• Hungarian plum dumplings with angel noodles
• Black truffle cream soup, (only in the winter)
• Filet of pike-perch from Lake Balaton
• The one and only fried Balaton Sullo, a type of pike-perch only found in Lake Balaton
• Loin of venison with bilberries
• Boiled oxen with a traditional Hungarian hunter’s sauce

A good Hungarian menu from a local restaurant near our home was at Mister Sorhaz, or Mister Beer House, a local establishment making their own beer.

My menu favorites were:

• Fried camembert in breadcrumbs and cranberry
• Goose broth with matzo dumplings
• Goulash soup with tiny egg dumplings
• Medallions of venison with wild fruits
• Wild boar stew
• Crispy Gypsy pork
• Menyecskelab, “Stuffed Knuckle of Pork”
• Transylvania mixed grill (Rump steak, breast of turkey and a pork chop)
• Pork cutlet, Orseg style (potato, bacon, sour cream and cheese)
• Game stew lowland style (carrot, peas, and mushrooms)

My only disappointment at Mister Sorhaz was not having one of my favorite desserts, Chestnut puree with sour cream and rum. When I placed my order after dinner, the waiter apologized, “the chef went home.” Talk about a temper-mental chef or a miscommunication between wait staff and chef.

Overall, the trip was fantastic. The menu listings above were produced from an array of local, seasonal ingredients, easily found in the Hungarian piac/markets.