Ala bala portocala...

Mama sotului meu( mi-e prea greu s-o numesc soacra-eu ii spun "mama" si mamei mele "mamica", asa fac diferenta :) ) face aceasta reteta pentru petreceri. De prima data cand am gustat-o m-am indragostit de ea. Sper sa va placa si voua.

I have this recipe from my mother-in-law. As far as she can remember, she got it out of a magazine, but can't remember which one(it was a long time ago).It is a favorite for parties, and I love that you can make it the evening before and have it ready for when your guests come. Just stir well before serving and your done.


500 gr. macaroane fierte si stoarse/ 1/2 lb penne pasta cooked and drained
125 ml ulei de masline/ 1/2 cup olive oil
80 ml otet de vin/ 1/3 cup wine winegar
1 lg mustar Dijon/ 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 lgta zahar/ 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 lgta praf de usturoi 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 lgta sare/ 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 lgta piper/ 1/4 tsp black pepper
250 gr. broccoli/ 1/2 lb fresh broccoli
1/2 cana ceapa rosie/ 1/2 cup red onion
1/2 cana ardei(rosii sau galbeni)/ 1/2 cup bell peppers(red or yellow)
1/2 cana rosii uscate in ulei,tocate/ 1/2 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
1 conserva masline negre taiate felli/ 1 can black olives, sliced
1/4 cana branza parmezan macinata/ 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 lg busuioc italian uscat 2 tbsp dry basil

Puneti macaroanele racite intr-un lighean mare. Amestecati uleiul, otetul, mustarul, otetul, praful de usturoi si piperul si turnati peste macaroane. Adaugati celelalte ingrediente si amestecati bine. Se da la frigider peste noapte(sau cel putin vreo 4 ore) ca sa se aromeze bine. Se serveste rece.


Place cooked and cooled pasta in a large bow. Combine oil, vinegar, mustard, sugar, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl; mix well and pour over pasta. Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Chill to let flavors blend. Serve chilled.

De prajitura asta imi aduc aminte cu drag. Era nelipsita la noi in casa de Craciun. Tin minte ca o admiram in nestire pe mamica mea...nu am crezut ca voi fi in stare vreodata sa o reproduc. De aceea sunt foarte mandra de cum mi-a iesit, in special de vreme ce e prima incercare.

Foile:
150 gr zahar
1 ou
2 lg miere
50 gr. untura
1 lgta rasa bicarbonat dizolvat in 2 lg de lapte
500 gr faina

Zaharul, mierea si untura se pun la bain marine (la aburi) si se amesteca pana se topesc zaharul si mierea. Se adauga oul si laptele cu bicarbonat si se amesteca pana se ingroasa compozitia si se schimba culoarea (se face mai aurie). La inceput o sa se dubleze in cantitate (sa aveti un vas destul de mare, ca la mine era sa se reverse) si apoi scade din nou la cantitatea originala. Atunci este gata.
Luam de pe aburi compozitia si se toarna fierbinte peste faina si se framanta bine. Aluatul obtinut se imparte in 3 si se pastreaza cu vasul peste vasul cu apa fierbinte ca sa ramana cald/fierbinte.(cu aragazul stins)

Cabbage rolls is one of the signature dishes for all Romanian holidays. The origin is disputable, however, as it seems a lot of Eastern Europe nations have this as a traditional dish. However, I like to think of it as a Romanian dish, especially the way we make it.

You will need:

1 medium/large size cabbage
1 lb ground beef
some bacon or any smoked bones (for flavor)
1/2 cup rice
1 medium onion
salt and pepper (to taste-I actually taste the mixture :-)
8 oz tomato sauce
1 tbsp dry thyme

To make the cabbage soft enough to roll, you will need to either boil it (which will stink up your home :0), or you can freeze it and defrost it again. Once defrost, you will separate the leaves, and gently squeeze some of the water out. Here's a great tutorial on how to roll your cabbage rolls: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-tk4bTxn64

To prepare the meat mixture, you fry the onion in some oil(about 2 tablespoons), then add the bacon (you can skip) and fry it. Add rice and stir for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add to the ground beef, add salt and pepper and mix evenly (be careful, it might be hot; don't over-mix either). Make the rolls and place them in circles in the pot. Add the tomato sauce mixed with 8 oz water. Add as much water as needed to cover the cabbage rolls by 1 1/2 inch. Make sure the water/tomato sauce mixture has enough salt, otherwise it will pull out all the salt from the cabbage rolls and they won't taste that good. It should have the same concentration of salt as the cabbage rolls. Add the thyme (and the smoked bones if you chose not to add the bacon) and set to boil. Once it starts boiling, reduce the heat and let it boil slowly, covered. It will take about 45 min to an hour.
Eat them with sour cream or by themselves.

Luna Decembrie este dedicata de cei de la My Kitchen, My World lumii culinare romanesti. Nici ca se poate mai bine: este si luna Zilei noastre Nationale, si aniversarea Revolutiei, si luna cu cele mai bune mancaruri romanesti, si cele mai frumoase traditii de Craciun...Cine are mai buna mancare ca noi, romanii, de Craciun? Ufff, ca dor mai imi e de tara...Vorba ceea: "Fie painea cat de rea, tot mai buna-n tara mea." Ce sa faci daca al meu s-a nascut cu un picior in Romania si unul in State? I-am promis cand l-am luat ca unde se duce el ma duc si eu, nu viceversa. Asa ca...
Dar sa revenim la oalele noastre. Deci, e concurs cu mancaruri romanesti la My Kitchen, My World, asa ca hai sa dam mana cu mana si sa aratam lumii cum se manaca romaneste de Craciun...

It's one of the tastiest and easiest to make cakes.
Melt about a cup and a half of sugar and pour it in a cake pan. If you can, leave the cake pan in the oven to warm up prior to pouring the melted sugar; it will help with coating the bottom of the pan. After it coats the pan, you can let it cool down. It doesn't matter if it's not evenly coated. In the mean time, peel some apples (about 3) and slice them. Add sugar and cinnamon on the apples (to taste) and coat them, then put them on top of the melted sugar and put them in the oven for about 20 minutes, until they get soft.
Creme brulee: While the apples bake, take 6 whole eggs, 6 tablespoons of sugar and mix them together, then gradually add 3 cups of milk. Mix them well and pour over the apples. Let bake for another 15-20 minutes, until it makes a thick film on the surface. Now its time to pour the cake batter.
For the batter we need again 6 eggs. Separate the eggs and mix them until they form soft peaks, then gradually add 7 tablespoons of sugar and a tablespoon of lemon juice and continue mixing until stiff peaks form. Add the egg yolks and mix slowly (this time use a wire whisker), the add 6 tablespoons of all purpose flour and mix with the whisker gently, until incorporated (your basic cake recipe). Pour on top of the creme brulee and level gently and bake for another 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Let cool in the cake pan for about an hour and then turn it upside down on a platter, or a cookie sheet that has an edge to keep in all the juice, which will make the cake juicy.
Decorate with whipped cream.



Este unul din cele mai gustoase si mai usoare torturi.
Se caramelizeaza zahar (cam 250 gr) si se toarna intr-o forma de tort, fie dreptunghiulara, fie rotunda, dupa placere. Sugerez ca forma sa fie fierbinte, poate pusa in cuptorul incalzit de dinainte la foc mijlociu, ca atunci cand turnati caramelul sa nu se intareasca prea repede si sa puteti unge tot fundul formei. nu e musai sa fie perfect, doar acoperit in mare...
Se curata vreo patru mere si se taie in felii, se amesteca cu zahar si scortisoara dupa gust.
Se pun merele astfel curatate uniform in tava si se dau la cuptor vreo 15-20 min pana se inmoaie putin.
Intre timp se prepara crema de zahar ars. Se bat 8 oua intregi cu vreo 8-9 linguri de zahar, niste esenta de rom, si se adauga incet 1 litru de lapte. Se amesteca bine si se toarna in tava dupa ce s-au inmuiat merele. Se pune din nou la cuptor vreo 10-15 minute, pana se icheaga putin deasupra, nu prea mult, doar atat cat sa nu curga daca aplecati tava, cam asa sa arate la mijloc ca spuma inchegata de la lapte.
Intre timp se pregateste blatul. Se bat 8 albusuri spuma, cu 8 linguri de zahar, facultativ esenta de rom si zeama de lamaie(eu le folosesc pentru ca grabeste procesul-zaharul pare sa se topeasca mai rapid si spuma se bate mai tare-dar se poate si fara). Dupa ce spuma e tare se adauga cele 8 galbenusuri si se amesteca. La sfarsit adaugam 8 linguri de faina (nu prea pline dar nici rase, asa, mai potrivite) si le incorporam in blat.
Scoatem tava din aragaz dupa ce s-a inchegat crema si turnam blatul, il nivelam si il dam din nou la cuptor, pana se desparte de tava, sau pana ne iese testul cu scobitoarea (bagam o scobitoare in mijlocul blatului si daca iese curata/uscata, tortul e copt).
Scoatem tortul afara si il lasam sa se raceasca o ora in tava, apoi il intoarcem intr-o alta tava mai joasa si mai mare, ca sa cuprinda siropul ce se va scurge. Prin intoarcerea tortului, se va si insiropa indeajuns, al meu a fost tot insiropat.
Il lasam la rece vreo 2 ore cel putin si apoi il decoram dupa gust.
Eu acum am invatat cum sa fac trandafiri din frisca si mi-am cumparat si ustensilele necesare asa ca a fost musai sa imi incerc talentul :). Sper sa va placa.

Reteta e a Giadei de Laurentiis, o puteti gasi aici in limba engleza. Este excelenta si a avut mult succes printre colegii mei de scoala cat si la cei din familia mea. Mie imi place foarte mult...nu ma mai pot opri din mancat.