CRANBERRY CRUNCH BARS (or SQUARES)

This recipe is sooooo very delicious and one of my favorite bars – the tangy cranberries, make this very elegant.  They are also great topped with sweetened ice cream or a vanilla custard, but can be served hot or cold.

OATMEAL CRUMBLE
1 cup flour
1 ½ cup rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
2 sticks sweet butter
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup sugar

CRANBERRY FILLING
1 ½ cups sugar
1/8 tsp salt
¾ cups water
3 cups cranberries (frozen)
¾ cups raisins
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ tbsp cornstarch


Preheat oven to 350oF. Prepare 9”x9”X2” Glass pan by lining with parchment paper.

Oatmeal Crumble: In a large mixing bowl, combine oatmeal, flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. First mix with a fork then with fingers for a more crumbly mixture. Spread 1/2 the mixture on bottom of the prepared baking dish and press down with fingers. 

Cranberry Filling: In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk in water. Add cranberries and raisins.  Set over high heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Turn down heat and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Cool to lukewarm. Spread with ¾ of cooled cranberry mixture, and then sprinkle with remaining crumbly oatmeal mix. Save ¼ of cranberry spread to spoon over top of ice cream.

Bake at 350o F for approximately 35 minutes or until nicely browned.

Serving Suggestions: Serve slightly warm and spoon out large portions onto a shallow soup dish and top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and or whipped cream and a bit more cranberry filling. Serves 6-9 as dessert. Serve completely cooled and cut in squares for cookies.  Makes 16 2” square cookies.

More of these amazing recipes at www.dreammachine.biz

Chapters - Kitchener, Ontario Taste & Sign

Chapters Taste & Sign 

"Helen's Hungarian Heritage Recipes" Cookbook

December 7, 2009

"Helen’s Hungarian Heritage Recipes" by Canada’s newest cookbook author, Clara M. Czegeny from Paris, Ontario, is a truly authentic collection of treasured Hungarian family recipes passed down through generations of the Szabo-Czegeny families. We SNAP'd Clara at a Taste & Sign event to promote the book at Chapters in Kitchener. 

Helen's Hungarian Heritage Recipes, is a collection of classic, cherished and treasured Hungarian family recipes handed down through the generations. You will never find a more unique, authentic cookbook.

Check out http://www.helenshungarianrecipes.com/

Helen's Hungarian Heritage Recipes TM

SNAP KITCHENER/WATERLOO Dec2009

Taste & Sign - Chapters - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

Taste & Sign - "Helen's Hungarian Heritage Recipes ™©2005"

Friday November 13th, 2009 

Author Clara M. Czegeny was at Chapters Burlington on Friday November 13th, 2009 to introduce her new cookbook Helen’s Hungarian Heritage Recipes and serve up some tasty samples. The book is a collection of treasured Hungarian family recipes that have been lovingly passed down through generations of the Szabo-Czegeny families.

The new book will take you on a culinary journey through Hungarian Cuisine that is boldly brushed with paprika and wet your appetite for this subtle and complex cuisine with a melding of Germanic, Slavic, Tartar, and Turkish influences.

  

Clara encourages everyone to "Put a Little Paprika in Your Life"

Liaison Culinary School Boot Camp, Hamilton, Ontario

Liaison Culinary School Boot Camp

In late October the students of the Liaison College Boot Camp were in for a special treat. Famous Chef Ilona Szabo (Helen Irene Czegeny) stopped in to teach the students how to make Chicken Paprikas. Helen is famous for her Hungarian recipes and is doing a book tour this month. Visit her website at www.helenshungarianrecipes.com for dates and schedules. The Liaison College Bootcamp is starting a new season on January 27th 2010 with a 13 week culinary educational experience that will have you coooking like a pro. Have a look at their website for more information at www.liaisonhamilton.com

Chef Helen and lovely daughter Clara, co-authored these treasured Hungarian family recipes just in time for Helen's 80-th Birthday celebrations in Jan 2006.

Helen & Clara Storm Through Ontario - Taste & Sign Events

Meet the Hot Hungarians!

 HELEN'S HUNGARIAN HERITAGE RECIPES!

Helen and Clara Margaret Czegeny have co-authored this treasured Hungarian family recipe collection.

 

Friday Oct 9, 2009 INSIDE BRANT- ROGERS TV - Brantford Channel 20 12:30 pm

Thurs October 15 12:30 pm CTV KITCHENER Channel 13 COOKING SEGMENT

Wed Oct 21 6:30 - 9:30 pm Liaison College Hamilton - Culinary Arts

Chicken Paprikas & Nokedli - Secrets from Chef Helen

Fri Oct 23, 2009 10-2 pm Books for Cooks – London Covent Garden

Sat Oct 24, 2009 1-4 pm Chapters - Waterloo

Wed Nov 4, 2009 - 6:30 - 9:30 pm  Liaison College Kitchener - Culinary Arts

Super Soups & Sides - Secrets from Chef Helen

Sat Nov 7, 2009 1-4 pm Coles – Brantford

Fri Nov 13, 2009 6-9 pm Chapters - Burlington

Sat Nov 14, 2009 1-4 pm Chapters – Kitchener

Sat Nov 21, 2009 1-4 pm Chapters Ancaster

Sat Nov 28, 2009 1-4 pm Chapters Woodbridge

Sun Nov 29, 2009 1-4 pm Chapters – Milton

Join us for these events. Tasting, Signing, Chatting!

Clara Czegeny

Hot Hungarian Chef

http://www.dreammachine.biz/

Rustic Plum Tarte - Hungarian Style

Hungarians, Croatians, Poles, just about every Eastern European country has its version of plum tarts. This easy rustic plum tart recipe starts with a flaky pie crust pastry dough, followed by a sugary cinnamon plum filling. It's really an open-face pie that exists in almost every culture. This was mom’s way of treating us to dessert in the late summer and early fall while she juggled a million other tasks, including washing and cooking for the hired hands on the farm.  What could be more lovely and delicious?

Crust

1 and ¼ cups flour

2 tbsp sugar

¼ tsp salt

1 1/2 sticks sweet butter

Filling

½ cup sugar

3 tbsp all purpose flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground nutmeg (optional)

1 lb of plums (about 20 Italian Prune Plums)

2 tbsp butter, chilled and cubed

Egg Wash

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup milk

Preparation: In a medium bowl stir together the flour, sugar and salt until combined. Using your fingers work quickly (to ensure the butter stays as cold as possible) and cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add in 2 tbsp of cold water, slowly, just enough for the dough to hold together without becoming too wet. Mold into a ball then flatten into a 6 inch disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour. Otherwise freeze for later baking, but not more than 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 425oF. Remove dough from fridge, let come to room temperature - about 10 minutes.  Roll out dough onto a floured surface, making it 11"around. Place dough gently on a pizza pan or a cookie sheet.

Plum Filling: Clean and cut plums in quarter slices each, discarding stone. In a small bowl whisk together sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Toss cut plums into mixture to coat.  Arrange plums in concentric circles on dough or for a more rustic look – just pour plums onto the dough leaving a 4” border.  Dot with cold butter.  Gently fold the dough border inwards towards the plum filling overlapping on each turn.  There should be a 4” hole exposing the plum filling in the middle, this is what makes it so great – it’s a pie, but it’s not a pie. Finally, brush with egg/milk wash and sprinkle with ¼ cup sugar.  This will give it a shiny sugary sheen. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350oF and bake until mixture begins to bubble around edge, about 30 minutes. If crust begins to brown to quickly cover with strips of foil. Cool on rack and enjoy!

For more of these rustic Hungarian dishes, log onto http://www.dreammachine.biz/ and thumb through

Helen's Hungarian Heritage Recipes Cookbook.Now available in e-book version and Large Print Edition!

Enjoy

Clara

(AKA Hot Hungarian Chef)

HUNGARIAN SAUSAGE- Magyar Kolbász by Clara Czegeny

HUNGARIAN SAUSAGE

Magyar Kolbász

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