Bulgarian Meatballs in an Eggplant Sauce
One of the standout recipes from Inge Kramarz’s The Balkan Cookbook, these straightforward meatballs are taken to the next level when placed within a rich, stick to your ribs eggplant sauce.
Trader Vic’s Sweet and Sour Pork
Although ostensibly this recipe was allegedly gleaned from Victor Bergeron’s travels in Hong Kong, let’s not fool ourselves this recipe is Americanized Chinese food through and through. However, that’s not to say it isn’t successful.
Romanian Cheese Souffle
A simple, satisfying luncheon dish from Inge Kramarz’s The Balkan Cookbook. Somewhere between a quiche and a flan, this “cheese souffle” eats more like a savoury pie. Served with a side salad, some jam or maybe even some sour cream, I found this to be a pretty enjoyable dish. Ingredients 1 lb cottage cheese4 eggs4 …
Liptoi Cheese Spread
Today I present to you the “Liptói Cheese Spread” from Inge Kramarz’s The Balkan Cookbook (1972). Commonly referred to as “liptauer,” this seasoned cream cheese spread is named after the northern Slovakian county from which it originated, Liptó. Simple to execute and filled with characteristic Balkan flavouring like caraway, chives, and paprika, this hors d’oeuvre …
Almond Chicken (Hun-Yuen Guy Ding)
A typical dish of Chinese-American cuisine that is especially popular on the East Coast of America, most notably in Michigan, I present for you today Almond Chicken, or ABC as it is commonly referred to in Detroit. I came across this recipe while perusing the “Hong Kong” chapter of Trader Vic’s Pacific Island Cookbook but …
Pasticcio Di Maccheroni Roman Style (Macaroni Tart)
This has got to be one of the strangest recipes I have come across to date in my exploration of midcentury cuisine. On paper, I was skeptical. But, I am also curious about the unknown above all else, so I dived right in with glee. To the best of my knowledge this pasticcio recipe is …
The Talisman Italian Cook Book | 1950
Originally published in Italy in 1928 as Talismano della Felicita, Ada Boni’s Talisman Italian Cook Book was, as far as I can tell, the cook book that launched Italian cuisine into the forefront of the American mainstream. There really doesn’t seem to be a cook book published in America before this one that had as …
Ricotta Omelette
Another deceptively simple brunch dish from Ada Boni’s The Talisman Italian Cook Book (USA trans. 1950). I actually learned a new technique preparing this dish by incorporation flour into the egg batter for the omelette. Something I had never seen up to this point in my life. The result was almost imperceptible but I feel …
Cassata Alla Siciliana
This Sicilian Easter dessert is a combination of sponge cake and sweetened ricotta. Definitely for the ones with a serious sweet tooth as this hit my upper echelon of sugar tolerance. I won’t go into great detail about the history of this cake because there is already an incredible account here. Ingredients Sponge Cake:5 egg …
Spaghetti with Sausage and Tomatoes
I mean the name says it all. But this dish still makes it onto the list. Easy to execute and full of flavour, perfect for a week night dinner. Ingredients 1 lb spaghetti3 onions, chopped1 lb mushrooms, chopped3 cups canned tomatoes1 tsp salt1/8 tsp pepper1 lb Italian sausage (Hot or Sweet to preference), chopped4 black …
