Chef Ariana

                                               ~ROMANIAN DEVILED EGGS~ ( OUA UMPLUTE)

1-  12 eggs
2-  2 teaspoons mustard
3-  3 tablespoons mayonnaise
4-  chopped parsley


1.Place the eggs in a pot of cold water, bring to a boil and then let it simmer for about 25 minutes.
2.Drain the water and out the eggs under cold running water  for 3 minute.
3.Peel the eggs and cut them along the longest diameter.
4.Take the yolks out , put them in a bowl and mash them with a fork.
5.Mix the mashed yolks with the mayo,mustard and parsley till it becomes creamy.
6.Fill each half of the white shell with the creamy mixture.
7.Cover each egg with mayo (optional) and parsley for decoration.

~Happiness is Homemade~
   
                                               Pofta Buna! 

SMOOCH SMOOCH, 
Chef Ariana - Always naughty, yet always nice ;)

ARDEI UMPLUTI - STUFFED CABBAGE

Hello my lovelies!! I hope you had wonderful Holidays and a great start to 2015!!! 


Today I have for you a WONDERFUL mouthwatering dish that I learned from my amazing mother- Romanian Stuffed Cabbage!!  

Here you go!
5 large bell peppers (any color)

Meat Mixture:

1/2 cup rice

2 cups water

pinch of salt

1.25 lbs ground chicken (or any meat you prefer)
1/2 large onion, grated
1 egg
3 TBS chopped parsley, or to taste
1 TBS tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
pepper, to taste

Tomato Sauce:

5 TBS olive oil (you could use butter)
1/2 onion, chopped fine
2 TBS flour*
7 TBS tomato paste
3 cups water + 1 cup water
salt to taste


Extra:

sour cream
parsley, chopped

Directions: 

1. Cook rice... in a sauce pan, place rice and add water with a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, lower heat to med-low and cook the rice until al-dente (about 7 minutes). Drain and set aside to cool.
2. Grind chicken and run onion through grinder. Alternately, use store-bought ground meat and grate onion(or finely dice) onion. Set aside.
3. Place ground meat and onion in a large bowl. Add egg, tomato paste, cooled rice, parsley, salt and pepper.
4. Mix the meat mixture thoroughly.
5. Cut bell pepper tops and remove core and seeds.
6. Stuff peppers with meat mixture and place in a large pot. 


Make Sauce:

1. Heat saucepan on medium heat, and add oil. Add the diced onion and cook on med-low until onion becomes translucent and soft (6-8 minutes).... stirring every so often.
2. Mix tomato paste and 3 cups water and add to sauteed onions.
3. Cook sauce for an additional 5 minutes... and season with a few pinches of kosher salt.

Assemble and Cook Peppers: 

1. Pour the cooked tomato sauce over the stuffed peppers... making sure to get some sauce over the top of the meat mixture.
2. Place pepper "lids" on top of each pepper and add an additional 1 cup of water to the pot.
3. Bring the  pot up to a boil,  cover with a lid and lower heat to a simmer.
4. Cook for 50-60 minutes... or until peppers have softened and meat is completely cooked through. (you can remove pot lid and place in hot oven for an additional 5- 10 minutes if you prefer)
5.  Serve peppers with sour cream and chopped parsley... and plenty of sauce.

BON APETTIT MIS AMORES!! 

***"Cooking is love made visible "***

SMOOCH SMOOCH,

ARIANA 

ARIANA'S KITCHEN

Hello my tres beautiful friends!! Did you miss your Romanian chef? ; ) Well I'm here and I want to share with you guys my delectable recipe of .... SARMALE   aka - ROMANIAN STUFFED CABBAGE!!! MMMMMMMMM lipsmacking!!!

Here goes!!

SARMALE

- 1 Whole head of cabbage 

- 1 finely chopped medium onion

- 6 tablespoons olive oil

- 2 minced garlic cloves

- 250 g rice

-  700 g minced meat

-  2 teaspoons salt 

- 1 teaspoon black pepper 

-  2 cubes of beef stock 

-  10 black peppercorns 

-   4 bay leaves

-  4 tablespoons of tomato paste

PROCESS: 

Remove core from cabbage. Place whole head in a large pot filled with boiling, salted water. Cover and cook for ten minutes until softened enough to pull off individual leaves. You will need about 20 leaves.

When the leaves are cool enough to handle, use a knife to cut away the thick center stem from each leaf, without cutting all the way through. Chop any remaining cabbage and set aside.

In a large skillet, sauté chopped onion, garlic and rice in 1 tablespoon olive oil, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent. Add hot water, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let stand 5 minutes or until rice has absorbed all the water. Let cool.

Place the minced meat in a large bowl and add the with onion-garlic-rice mixture, combining thoroughly. Add  salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons water. Mix completely but lightly.

Place about 50 g of meat mixture on each cabbage leaf. Roll away from you to encase the meat. Flip the right side of the leaf to the middle, and then flip the left side. You will have something that looks like an envelope. Once again, roll away from you to create a neat little roll.

Using the remaining olive oil, coat a large, casserole.  Cover with a layers of stuffed cabbage rolls. Add water mixed with the stock,  just enough to cover. If you have any leftovers from the cabbage, chop it and add as a layer on the top to keep the moisture in.

Place casserole over high heat and bring to a boil, lower heat to medium-low, cover and simmer about 20 minutes. Here you can either transfer to oven (heat oven to 180 degrees C.) and cook 2 hours or let it simmer for 1 1/2 hour. Then add the tomato paste dissolved in a little bit of water, cover and cook another 30 minutes.

BON APETTIT MIS AMORES!! 

*** A recipe has no SOUL, as the cook you must bring soul to the recipe ***

SMOOCH SMOOCH,

ARIANA 

ARIANA'S KITCHEN

Hello my friends!! YOUR Romanian chef is back! I am here with a tres delectable Romanian cuisine! It is called Salate de Vinete which means Grilled Eggplant Salad. oh, but my dears, it is not just Grilled Eggplant Salad it is MY AUTHENTIC SALATA DE VINETE! , it is a friendly recipe and now it is YOURS TOO!! 

Bon Apetit!

Grilled Eggplant salad (Salata de vinete)

·         2 medium eggplants, about 1-1.5 lbs (try and buy eggplants that are long and slim not round-it is easier to cook)

·         1tbsp. salt

·         1/2 cup sunflower oil or Canola

·         1/2 onion – chopped finely

You start by piercing the eggplant skin in several places with a fork. As tradition we cook them over charcoal but you can cook them over a broiler pan as well. For that you place on a rack over a broiler pan. Place the rack so that the surface of the eggplant is about 2 to 3 inches from the source of heat. Set oven to broil. Broil for 45 min to one hour turning the eggplant each 15 min until they are soft and the skin is partly blackened and charred. It is normal for the skin to break open during cooking.
When cooked remove the eggplant from the broiler and place on a wooden cutting board. Let them stand for around 2 minutes. While still hot pull off the skin. As a tip you can dip your fingers in cold water so that you can keep them from burning.
After you peeled the eggplants cut off the stem end. Press eggplant meat to squeeze out water. With the edge of a wooden spoon or wooden spatula chop the eggplant meat until fine.

Then put the chopped eggplant in a deep wooden, glass or china dish, cover and place in refrigerator to cool.
When cold add salt. Then while beating with the fork, add sunflower oil very slowly, in a steady thin stream. Add a few drops of lemon juice (to keep th eggplant color alive because it can darken) ,also very slowly, continuing to beat another minute or two.

Serve  as a revitalizing appetizer or salad on small plates, decorated with a few olives or tomatoes. Place chopped onions on a dish, and let each person, according to taste, add some and mix into the salad.

EATING IS A NECESSITY BUT COOKING IS A ART!

SMOOCH SMOOCH,

ARIANA

Hello to you my new friends. My name is Ariana and I am a chef/actress and model from Romania! I would love to share with you some of my authentic, mouthwatering Romanian recipes. I would love for you to enjoy everything I grew up with and raised my daughters on.

Bon Appetit !!

YOU must try my traditional Romanian potato salad! Delicious!! Manifique!

SALATE DE BOEUF

·         2 large russet potatoes

·         2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced small (or use beef, turkey, ham, hot dogs, etc.)

·         1 cup peeled carrots, boiled and diced small

·         1 cup peeled parsnips, boiled and diced small

·         5 large hard-cooked eggs, diced

·         1 small onion, diced small

·         2 celery stalks, diced small

·         1 1/2 cups diced pickles

·         1 1/2 cups frozen peas

1.    Boil potatoes in their skins in salted water until fork tender. Remove from water and peel off the skin when they are cool enough to handle. Dice small and reserve.
 

2.    In a large bowl, add potatoes, chicken or other meat, carrots, parsnips, eggs, onion and celery. Squeeze the diced pickles lightly in a paper towel to remove some of their juice (otherwise the salad will be too watery) and add to the rest of the diced ingredients.
 

3.    Place frozen peas in a colander and run cold water over them to defrost. Drain completely, patting dry if necessary, and add to the other diced ingredients in the large bowl.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minute  Total Time: 60 

Yield: 4 servings Salata de Boeuf

·          * Salad De Boueff  is all about the secret  homemade mayonnaise. The secret authentic Romanain recipe for the mayonnaise will be in Ariana's book coming out in 2015. In the meantime for the regular dressing you can use-

 Dressing:

 1 to 2 cups mayonnaise, or to taste

 1 tablespoon mustard

 Salt and pepper to taste

ENJOY, MY FRIENDS!

SMOOCH SMOOCH,

ARIANA