BANANA SPLIT

Banana split is a dessert originated in the United States of America consisting from 1 banana, 3 types of ice cream, different sauces and cream. As simple as it sounds, as tasty it is. I took the recipe from videojug and I followed it almost entirely.

BRIOSE SIMPLE CU IAURT / SIMPLE YOGURT MUFFINS

The simple yogurt muffins is a delicious dessert that you can make with your children.

Galuste de gris / Semolina Soup Dumplings

I have got two stories related to the semolina dumplings - an extremely popular Romanian recipe for clear chicken soup:

1. My mother made perfect dumplings - light, fluffy, uniform, perfect. She used to tell me that the first dumplings she had ever made where so hard that if she had thrown them towards the window, they would have broken not only the window, but also the heads of the passers-by. Unfortunately, my mother did not get to teach me how to make dumplings, but she did teach me something: HOW good dumplings should be.

2. I was living in Germany when a group of friends came from Heidelberg to see our first new-born daughter. I was making chicken soup and as I was preparing to add the noodles, Sorin (student and in the same time cook at a Portuguese restaurant) asked me why wasn't I making dumplings. I answered that they don't always come out right, he offered to prepare them and while doing that he told us the next anecdote: A woman was a very good cook, but her husband rarely praised her cooking. One day the woman prepares semolina dumplings and by mistake they turn out to be hard. Her husband comes home, sits at the table, starts eating and says: "You've finally learned how to cook! Now these are dumplings like at my mother's!" We all laughed (those of us in the kitchen), Sorin made the perfect dumplings - big, fluffy, homogeneous - the way they should be and we started eating. While eating the soup, I told Sorin that his dumplings were perfect, but Radu, another common friend said something like: "Hmmm... They're not that good. My mother's were harder..." Of course he hadn't heard the story and we all laughed at Radu and his hard dumplings.

This second story was to show that people have different tastes, depending on the way they were thaught or used to things. I have to say, even though I've said it already, that for me the dumplings should be uniform, but soft, fluffy, light and they should melt in your mouth. That's just me.

Eventually I have learned to make dumplings from Magda, my husband's aunt, but I also use a piece of advice given to me by Sorin, 10 years ago. Maybe the long experience of cooking dumplings also helps me make the dumplings I like.

Baton de ciocolata /Homemade Chocolate Fudge

Just across the street from my house there is a confectionery laboratory. Mister Milan and his son Dragan often give us chocolate fudge casseroles for the girls. Some other times we buy them ourselves - me and the girls like the chocolate fudge, my husband also enjoys the white fudge with raisins (we don't like the raisins). Some time ago we got a call from my husband's uncle Stejarel, passionate amateur cook. He had brought us a plate with homemade chocolate fudge made by himself. It was delicious so I asked for the recipe and since then I have prepared it many times - both chocolate fudge, as well as white fudge but without the raisins. And it tastes even better than that from the confectionery!

TORT CU NUCA / WALNUT CAKE

I love walnuts and walnut desserts. I have found this recipe here on this site GoodFood.ro - Walnut Cake, I have saved it to favourites and I have finally prepared it! It is a simple recipe, although a little time consuming - but it's worth it  - it is delicious!

MANCARICA DE VINETE/ EGG PLANT DISH

Years ago my Mother used to cook a Turkish egg plant dish called Imam Bayildi (there are tens of recipes on the internet). Although I have kept the recipe, I had never prepared it together with my Mother so as to know its "secrets"; thus after my Mother passed away I've never quite managed to make it as good as hers. After a few tries, I gave it up. A year or two ago I was talking with my aunt Mia about that recipe and she said that it resembled her Egg Plant Dish. I am not sure if the ingredients or the preparation method are exactly the same - but the taste is as good as I remember my Mother's Imam Bayildi.

BOSTON CREAM PIE

One of the last recipes I have tried from videojug was this one. I had it saved among favourites for a long time, I just didn't have the time to make it. It is a cake with a delicious vanilla filling and with a lot of chocolate glazing. The first time I had made it, I fully respected the recipe, but it was a lot a lot a lot of glazing - I mean tooo much and tooo liquid. The good part was that the upper part of the sponge, which had no filling over it, was filled with chocolate. Still, since I didn't want to have chocolate icing all over my table, I chose a stiffer glazing the next times I made it. After a couple of tries, this one is the one I chose to stick with.

SNITEL UMPLUT/FILLED SCHNITZEL

I have this recipe from my mother and it was one of her best dishes, though her food was generally delicious, and it was my father's favourite. It is a very savoury dish and it is also one of my favourites. It is not cordon bleu since the meat rolls are boiled and filled with bacon and Swiss cheese - goodies that make an excellent sauce.

FRIPTURA DE CAPRIOARA CU SOS VANATORESC/VENISON ROAST WITH HUNTER'S SAUCE

Ingredients:
2-3 kg venison meat (I used a deer leg/rump)
salt, pepper, oil, smoked lard to lard the meat

Marinade: 1 large carrot, 2 slices of a large celery root, 2 onions, 2-3 bay leaves, 4 large cloves of garlic, some pepper beans, some pimento beans, 50 ml oil, 50 ml vinegar, 200-250 ml wine

Hunter's Sauce: vegetables from the marinade, oil, 1 tbsp flour, 200 ml cream, the juices from the roast

Difficulty: easy

Preparation time: 3h + 2-3 days in the marinade

PAPANASI FIERTI/BOILED CHEESE DUMPLINGS

Never before the saying "Practice makes perfect" suited me more than with these boiled cheese dumplings. I had many other cooking endeavors which were eventually successful - ile flottante (lapte de pasare), crepes, but I feel that only now I fully understand the expression. For my craving Facebook friends, here's the cheese dumplings recipe I've got from my neighbour Simona.