EspressoStyle Recommends: Casa Cositorarilor, Sighisoara

In june this year we went for a one day trip to the medieval town of Sighisoara, Romania. Among the many things to see and visit, I'd like to recommend the most beautiful terrace I ever sat at, in Romania. No joke, that's how it seemed to me at the time. Of course there is no such thing as the absolute best, because, as we say in Romanian "you cannot compare apples and pears", but lately, there are very few places that are unafectet by that dreadful virus of bad taste. And, in this context, for me, simply the lack of bad taste in a place is a strong point in favor. And Casa Cositorarilor was just that.
 Add to that the old and weathered aspect of the little garden terrace, the proximity of the medieval buildings, the cobble street, the out of the box immaculate uniforms of the girls serving at tables, the old stone walls, the amazing blossoming plants and last but not least, the excellent quality of the food and drink... that sums up to just about the best I've seen lately, if not ever.

So, we had an excellent espresso Kimbo (the only place in Romania where I've been served this Napoli origin brand of coffee), Borsec mineral water (premium brand) and two kinds of cake.

I had a rhubarb cake topped with a light white egg foam and she had an even more tasty wild strawberries slice of fresh cheeseake. We strongly recommend Casa Cositorarilor terrace cafe and sweet shop in Sighisoara, for the summer 2011.

EspressoStyle Recommends: La Turn, Sibiu

La Turn is a restaurant terrace situated in Sibiu, Romania, in the historical center of the city. We are talking about the European Capital of Culture of 2007. It has excellent placement towards both main piazzas of the medieval city of Sibiu. We sat on the terrace in the Little Piazza. The food is good, not the absolute best, but definitely above average. It's Italian based cuisine, which in itself is a plus, especially if cooked well, but for the restaurant market in Romania that is over saturated with Italian oriented menus, it turns into a minus. Well, that being said, it's a good joint. Let's go to the food.

We started with a chicken salad for her and some salmon crostini for me. They were bot good, especially the crostini (although it could have been jut my raging hunger at the time). Anyway, they were baked just enough to melt and brown the cheese a bit. Lovely. Bread was not great, but not bad either.

Next came a dish of penne pasta al forno (baked in the oven) with chicken meat and mushrooms, a pink sauce and mozzarella on top. That was good, not too fat and totally eatable. The reason I save up on the praises is because the ingredients used were average, at best. The lean chicken breast strips, the sliced (maybe even canned) champignon mushrooms, cheap mozzarella. The pink sauce saved the dish by being light enough and smooth. Other than that, great.

The girl who served us was quick and communicative, with good knowledge of the menu. Smiles and everything.

For desert: a fried batter thing called "papanashi" (romanian classic) with cream and fruit jam for her and just espresso for me. Sadly, both of these were below average.  The papanashi was too fat and over fried and the espresso a bit bitter. Considering though that by this time we were full bellied and more indulgent, I got past very well and made it a nice lunch out. 

Scenery in the Little Piazza of Sibiu is just satisfying enough, anyway.

I give it 3 stars out of 5 for food quality, and also 3 for atmosphere. That means it was very nice. 4 stars means I was very impressed and 5 is reserved for the very best in the business.

That also means I warmly recommend La Turn, in Sibiu, Romania.

St. Constantin and Elena BBQ

Last weekend we went to my fathers to celebrate St. Constantin and Elena (orthodox celebration of the people with the saints names). Of course, the usual BBQ was in order along with some other stuff. All and all, some quality time with friends and family.

Light Show

3D Mapping by a team of people working for Orange Telecommunications Company projected on the building of the architecture faculty of the University of Bucharest, Romania.



Via petreanu.ro

Granpa's Baked Potatoes and Salad

On Sunday we were invited to Grandma and Grandpa's at Negru Voda, Constanta. They enjoyed their granddaughter and we ... enjoyed a bbq with a tray of awesome potatoes, onions and carrots as well as a plate of tomato, cucumber and green onion salad with vinegar and dill.

Pork Steak (and other holiday treats)

For the winter holidays in Romanian homes it is a given to have at least one or two pork products or dishes. Along side other starters, baked things and all kinds of desert, almost everyone has the simple pork steak on the Christmas and New Ears Eve table.

So, as a good family that we are, the nice pork raw steaks came from my father in law, already salted, peppered and seasoned with lots of dry time. I just took the pork cuts and roasted them slowly in a thick skillet with some sunflower oil and some water (just to cover). It took the water just about half an hour to steam away and leave the steaks browned and tender soft. We served it with some wonderful mashed potatoes made by mom with her special tool inharited from her own mom.

Next you have a little photo hint of some of the other things that were on our Christmas table in 2010.

Cheese, olives and mini meatballs platter.

A la Rouse Salad.

Turkey jelly with garlic.

Emy Prize Confirmation

As I was signaling a long time ago, this is an amazing artist and an amazing documentary. Now confirmed by the Emy Award for Arts Programming in 2010.

Soup a la Radauti

Radauti (pronounced rah:dah:utzi) is a small town in Romania, Eastern Europe. This soup is actually the lighter and "tidy"er version of another soup: tripe soup, which is very popular all throughout Romania. The main difference is that in stead of cow tripe, you use plain lean chicken breast meat.

INGREDIENTS (for a medium pot):

1 onion;
1-2 carrots;
1/4 celery root;
1 parsnip root;
1 potato;
1 chicken breast, no skin;
1 cup sour cream;
2 egg yokes;
3-4 tablespoons vinegar;
salt, pepper, soup condiment.


HOW TO MAKE:

Peel clean all the vegetables and put them to boil in a medium pot filled 3/4 with water. When I say all the veggies, I do mean all, onion left whole, do not chop. You can chop up one carrot into round little slices, but not the other veggies. Put the chicken breast meat in too, at the same time, and let it all boil for 20 mins to half an hour, skimming the foam off the top. Don't forget to salt it a little. You will adjust it later. After half an hour boil, take out everything but the little slices of carrot (if you decided to make them). The broth that resulted should be rather clear.

Cut the meat into bite size chunks and throw it back into the boiling pot. Throw the rest of the vegetables away. Let boil for another 10 to 20 minutes. In the mean time, blend together in a cup the sour cream, and the egg yokes with a little water. Add it to the soup in the pot while mixing continuously with a spoon. At the end adjust for condiments and add 3 or 4 tablespoons vinegar. Enjoy with or without more cream, a little crushed garlic or a hot pepper on the side!   

Chicken Potato Stew with Laurel & Dill

Man, it is hot, hot hot! Al throughout July and now in august there has been almost no cooking in our household beyond a simple omelet or salad.
But I craved some cooked meat. Guilty!

So I did buy some chicken wings and ribs and got into the kitchen.It was going to be something else then simple grilled meat. You probably guessed it by the specific cuts that I said I bought. So, I made a stew. The simplest kind: potato stew. As it is so hot in the kitchen, I did it all as quickly as I could, without compromising on taste. Therefor I made a more runny and soupy stew, the kind that you eat with bred in one hand and the spoon or fork in the other. I used a good pinch of dill (fresh) and dried laurel leaves, both being essential for the proper outcome. It came out delicious.

I used sunflower oil, as the extra virgin olive oil is too bitter and changes the taste of the dish. You can use a more mild tasting olive oil. It is important to put in the garlic and dill wright at the end, after the heat is turned off, otherwise the added flavor will cook away.

I like to eat it with a hot chilly pepper on the side, especially in the summer. In the winter goes very good with pickles. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 chicken wings, 1 ribs, 1 neck etc.
4-5 medium potatoes;
2 medium yellow onions;
2 tablespoons tomato paste or 1/2 can crushed tomatoes;
salt, pepper, 1-2 dry laurel leaves, 2 garlic cloves (chopped), dill to taste, parsley.

How to make:

Chop up the onions (not too fine) and sote in the pot with a spoonful of sunflower oil  and salt. When the onion is glossy and transparent, throw in the chicken parts and cover with water completely. Let simmer for 15 mins and skim off the foam that formates on top because of the meat. Chop up the potatoes into large slices and throw them in the pot. Season well with salt, pepper, 2 dry laurel leaves, herbs to taste.

After another 25 minutes on medium heat, check for the chicken to be tender. If it is, dissolve into the stew 1 or two tablespoons of tomato paste or half a tin of crushed tomatoes. After 10 mins turn off the heat and season with the chopped dill and garlic. Give it a final stir and smell the nice flavor.   

Pickles for the holidays

Check out the pickles! It's baby red water melon, green tomatoes and cucumbers pickled in salt (not vinegar), with celeriac root, garlic, dry dill on the stem etc.

Christmas eve cooking "sarmale"

My fatherinlaw came to our house and cooked us a big pot of stuffed cabbage rolls, "sarmale".

The sarmale are so tender and good. The cabbage rolls are stuffed with minced meat (pork and veal). We use pickled cabbage, sour and tender.
The thing sticking out of the pot is bean tressel, savory, dry.
You can put in the pot some smoked bacon for a particular flavour.
It is searved hot with corn polenta and sour cream. Some people bite out of a hot pepper too.

Filicori Zecchini

The new Filicori Zecchini espresso bar in town is really good. Nice atmosphere and the brew was just wright. I'll be hanging out there a lot more, I think.

Easter "pasca" (romanian speciality bread with cheese and rasin filling)

My wife baked a sweet bread with cheese and raisin filling! It's traditional in the Easter menu in Romania, but less and less people make it, as we happily join the "civilized" (read "fast food eating") wold! Happy Easter, everyone!