Hungry for Hungary - Mother-daughter team create new cookbook

Brantford Expositor- Hungry for Hungary

Clara Czegeny & Chef Helen Czegeny (Ilona Szabó)

Local News - November 22, 2008 - Brantford Expositor

Brantford, Ontario, Canada

Hungry for Hungary

Mother-daughter team create new cookbook

Posted By HEATHER IBBOTSON, EXPOSITOR STAFF

Do you crave cabbage rolls, drool over dumplings or get all atwitter about torte?

Recipes for these favourites and more than 300 others are included in the latest 312-page edition of Helen's Hungarian Heritage Recipes.

The cookbook, based on the culinary magic of Helen Czegeny, of Brantford, is self-published by her daughter Clara Czegeny, of Paris.

The bulked-up fourth edition of the Hungarian cookbook debuted this summer, bursting with 325 recipes from the sublimely elegant Dobos Torte to the sublimely simple cabbage noodles.

The Czegenys will be at Coles at Lynden Park Mall on Saturday for a Taste and Sign from 1 p. m. to 3 p. m. where samples of goulash will be available as well as signed copies of the cookbook.

Nearly 3,000 copies of the cookbook have been sold since its first printing two years ago.

"I never dreamed something would come of it," said Helen, who remains amazed at the constant demand for the recipes she simply kept in her head.

Along with hundreds of mouth-watering recipes, the updated and expanded edition includes trivia, anecdotes, memories and traditions penned by Clara.

Recipes in the final chapter, Passport to International Fare, are a tribute to Helen's culinary talents in preparing classics and favourites from other lands.

Cooking is as natural to Helen as breathing.

STARTED COOKING AT 12

Now 82, she has been cooking since she was 12 when she began working for her great-aunt in the village of Hajduhadhaz, Hungary.

Helen and her husband, Alex, slipped out of Hungary in 1947 and went to Sweden, where they lived and worked on farms, until 1953 when they immigrated to Canada.

Her husband worked mostly at Massey Ferguson, but the family spent some years as tobacco sharecroppers in the Oakland, Scotland and Mount Pleasant area. Helen's hearty cooking was a natural hit with hard-working tobacco labourers at harvest time. The Czegenys returned to Brantford in 1963.

The cookbook was Clara's brainchild and originally was printed as a keepsake for family members in celebration of Helen's 80th birthday in 2006.

Everyone in the family was astounded and delighted when the book began to take off and requests for copies began pouring in, Clara said.

The self-publishing route has worked out well, Clara said, adding that maintaining control over the venture is important to her.

"This is fun and I want it to stay fun," she said. Still, putting together a cookbook is no cakewalk.

Helen prepared her recipes from memory. The ingredients, amounts and instructions were recorded and the results taste-tested. Recipes were fine-tuned if needed and then prepared again.

Somewhat challenging was the conversion of Helen's pinch-of-this and handful-of-that ingredients into proper cookbook measurements, Clara said.

Many a midnight was passed in the kitchen conducting taste tests, she said.

For ordering information, visit www.helenshungarianrecipes.com

Website: www.helenshungarianrecipes.com

HUNGARIAN SAUSAGE - Magyar Kolbász

HUNGARIAN SAUSAGE-Magyar Kolbász

Article repost from 2009

Hungarian Kolbász - consists of pork and beef seasoned with traditional flavours of Hungary's cuisine - paprika, garlic, salt and pepper. The fresh sausage freezes well. Years ago then did not have large freezer, so sausage was smoked to keep. This sausage is heavy on garlic and paprika. The recipe that follows is for fresh sausage. Fresh Kolbász is roasted in the oven and served with fresh white bread, dill pickles or beets and a glass of red wine.

My father carried on the traditions from his family especially when he arrived in Canada. He used to make smoked sausage in the true old-fashioned Hungarian way. Some of the sausage would be prepared immediately and cooked fresh, while the rest would be smoked and dried like pepperoni to be used in all kinds of dishes with potatoes and sauerkraut: such as Rakott Krumpli, Kolbászos Paprikás Krumpli or Lecso.

(Although this recipe sounds like a LOT of meat, it only makes about 11 pairs of 2 lb links.  That's not a lot considering the number of recipes you can use it in.)

22 lbs coarse ground pork (butt or shoulder)
¼ cup black pepper
¼ cup salt
5 - 6 garlic cloves
2 cups water
1/3 cup sweet paprika
2 tbsp hot paprika (erös)

Crush garlic cloves with a flat knife and course salt on a wooden cutting board. Then, place all spices in a large bowl with meat. Mix everything together well. Keep the meat mix cool. Stuff into casings using meat grinder attachment. Let the sausages hang for a day in at least 20°F centigrade. Smoking is not necessary if you plan to eat Kolbász fresh or freeze it.

You can prepare Kolbász in a variety of ways. Here are just two.

Method 1: Take several fresh links and place in a heavy frying saucepan with a cover. Pour approximately 2” of water over the sausages, cover, and bring to boil. Then, turn down heat and simmer sausages until they take on color. Turn sausages over and add more water if evaporated. Be careful not to burn. When both sides are reddish-brown, leave the cover off and continue cooking slowly to reduce liquid. You will know that it is ready, as the colour is dark reddish brown and the aromas are heavenly.

Method 2: Place links into large shallow roasting pan. Pour 1 cup water in bottom. Bake at 400°F for 45 minutes until casings become toasty brown and split. Serve with rye or crusty white bread.

Note: Sausage casing are readily available at your grocer. They are usually sold in 1 lb plastic containers preserved in vinegar.
 
Enjoy
For more great recipes and stories - log onto http://www.dreammachine.biz/
and purchase Helen's Hungarian Heritage Recipes (cookbook)
 
Signing off -
The Hot Hungarian Chef

Hungarian Sweet Noodle Dishes

By Clara Margaret Czegeny COPYRIGHT PUBLISHED ON EZINE ARTICLES SEPT 2010

 

 

One thing for certain;  Hungarian cooking is rich, exciting, sometimes surprising and often irresistible. Hungarians love to eat quality food, often in very large quantities and they have always been resourceful cooks. Their favourite fare makes use of basic, fresh ingredients prepared in simple yet delightful ways. Nevertheless, these dishes can more than hold their own against the most subtle delicacies.

Hungarians love their endless varieties of noodles, pastries and cakes, some of which are considered a main course in their own right. Even average cooks can serve up a different dish for every day of a year, and they don't have much to worry about the following year, either. Some are sweet, others are savoury, but all Hungarian noodles and pastries are very tasty. Kneaded boiled noodles, usually softer than its Italian counterparts, and countless variations on the dumpling may be offered as a main course, and smaller portions make an ideal dessert or side dish.

Of all the desserts served in Hungary, this category of sweetened dumplings and noodles is the most foreign to the Westerner's palate. Yet, whenever I speak to friends who have any Austro-Hungarian background, they always ask about dumpling recipes. They share their individual stories about how their grandmother's served fruit-stuffed dumplings; usually served with ground walnuts, toasted bread crumbs, poppy seed or jams. Once tasted, never forgotten. You have been given fair warning; once you sample any one of these luscious treats, you will NOT be able to resist these classics.

Noodles With Poppy Seeds - Makos Metelt is broad egg noodles sprinkled with ground poppy seeds and sugar.

Noodles With Walnuts - Dios Metelt is broad egg noodles sprinkled with ground walnuts and sugar.

Noodles with Apricot Jam and Walnuts- Laska Teszta Dioval es Lekvaral is same as previous, except the added delight of sweet and tangy homemade Hungarian apricot jam mingles with the delightful flavours and carries it to another level.

Noodles with Apricot or Plum Jam - Lekvaros Metelt is broad egg noodles tossed with apricot or plum jams. When the jam melts a bit on the buttered noodles, the flavour is hard to describe.

Hungarian Noodle Pudding - Magyaros Sult Laska Teszta is a creation of egg noodles, sour cream, raisins, and nuts. Apricot jam joins the party and is baked in a silky smooth egg custard.

Noodle Squares Filled with Jam and Cottage Cheese - Lekvaros es Turos Derelye or Barat Ful. These play a close second to Italian Ravioli, but again, with the sweet cottage cheese component

Cottage Cheese Noodle Pudding - Stiriai Metelt is prepared with tender homemade egg noodles and cottage cheese in a soufflé batter, flavoured with vanilla and lemon zest. Other variations can include adding apples or peaches and or apricot jam.

Cottage Cheese Noodle Pudding - Varga Beles is a close relative of Stiriai Metelt; the brainchild of a brilliant restaurateur. It consists of long, narrow egg noodles mixed with butter, vanilla, raisins and cottage cheese baked between multiple layers of Phyllo pastry, cut into cubes, dusted with copious amounts of powdered sugar and served piping hot.

Treat yourself to a new style of eating. Simple, flavourful, fresh ingredients and absolutely delightful.

Clara M. Czegeny is self-proclaimed Hot Hungarian Chef and Author of Helen's Hungarian Heritage Recipes Cookbook. For free Sweet Noodle Recipes and more on Hungarian Recipes, 
Visit Helen's Hungarian Heritage Recipes

Important Note:

No where in Hungarian Heritage do Hungarians refer to their noodles as pasta!
It's just NOT done! 

Just an added glimpse into our culture.

Fore more great recipes, stories, pictures and of course - the best Hungarian cookbook on the planet
visit
Helens Hungarian Cooking Secrets

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com