Creamy Tomato Sauce with Prawns

October 18, 2015 by Aurel Pop in Main Dish

I tried to stay way from writing on my blog during our trip to Europe, but as it turns out, I just can’t do it. I miss it too much. Developing, testing, tweaking and writing recipes are now part of my everyday life ever since gourmetcubicle launched back in April. It does, however, feel refreshing not to do the cooking for a while, but instead just enjoying that of others. It’s great being on a food journey where I don’t have to care about shopping for ingredients, cooking, taking photos, and documenting recipes, but instead just relaxing, finding inspiration, discovering new flavors and thinking about how to integrate them into my dishes.

Roni and I are on a vacation around Eastern Europe and even though we’ve been here for less than a week, it has been very eventful. The trip started not so great when we found out that our flight from Austin to Chicago was delayed to the point that there was no way we would catch our connection to Berlin, where we had planned a full day layover to explore the city. I was already dreaming of the delicious Turkish doner kebabs that you can buy from street vendors and the crispy pork knuckles they serve with sauerkraut and potatoes in the traditional beer gardens. Both of us were pretty disappointed to say the least, but we did a great job at not letting that ruin the start of the trip

The good news about this whole re-routing was that we arrived to Budapest a half day earlier than planned. That meant more time to introduce Roni to the great city of Budapest. Budapest is amazing- beautiful architecture, great food, lots of friendly people and of course old friends. We stayed at the home of Erika and Pista along with their three daughters. They are Roni’s childhood friends, or rather her Hungarian family, as she likes to call them. They did everything in their power to give us the famous Hungarian hospitality and abundance. Erika cooked traditional Hungarian dishes every day and baked amazing cakes, which made Roni very happy. Every morning she prepared platters of cheeses, cured meats and homemade jams. We had bowls of fresh grapes, pears, apples and plums for snacks. We all dined together every night sharing our travel stories and childhood memories. Hearing the girls talk about how they used to break the child lock on the cable box to watch Tales from the Crypt, shave their arms to their parents’ horror, and play games involving eating disgusting concoctions of toothpaste, salsa, mustard and any other condiment they could find was very entertaining. The image that Roni had always painted of her young self was that of a shy and innocent little girl so these stories added a new insight into her childhood. Great times filled with laughter and joy!

Budapest is a must-see in Europe. The city, the people and the food are all top notch. A few years ago the Hungarian food scene had a revival and the fine dining culture has since blossomed. Good food always existed in Hungary, but it was mainly based on hearty Hungarian staples like pörkölt, paprikás, roasts, goulash and creamy soups. Beer, wine and the national spirit, pálinka, were the preferred drinks, with whiskey coke being considered a cocktail. The pride that Hungarians have in their food significantly slowed down the development of quality and affordable ethnic restaurants. But things have started to change, and I think this has to do with all the foreigners who have moved to Budapest and brought new interesting ingredients and flavors with them. Budapest has become a bit of a melting pot where Mexican, Asian, Indian, and Russian dishes have made their way into the otherwise very conservative cuisine here.

As far as Italian cuisine is concerned, I think it’s the most widespread of all cuisines around the globe. I haven’t been to a country that didn’t have at least one Italian restaurant. It doesn’t matter if you’re in Hungary, Singapore, Peru or Japan, you’ll most likely find a pasta Bolognese or Carbonara to eat. i think that the main reason for that is that Italian dishes are filling and easy to make, not to mention how delicious they are. You don’t have to be a kitchen-guru to be able to prepare a simple Cacio e pepe or Spaghetti Pomorodo.

As for today’s recipe, this Creamy Tomato Sauce with Prawns is one of those easy to make Italian dishes that will leave your dinner guests impressed. In half an hour you can fix an easy, healthy and flavorful sauce that is infinitely better than that canned salty artificially flavored junk that you find in stores. Some of them may taste good, but once you take a look at the list of ingredients you’ll be shocked by the amount of sugar (or rather, corn syrup) and salt they contain. By making your own pasta you are in control of the ingredients. You know exactly how much of each ingredient goes into it and you can adjust them to your own taste. Enjoy!

Creamy Tomato Sauce with Prawns

Serves 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 35-40 minutes

Ingredients

1 lb prawns, peeled and deveined
1 tsp black pepper freshly ground
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 TBS oil (sunflower, canola or peanut oil)
1 TBS unsalted butter
1 tsp hot sauce (Cholula or Tobasco)
1 leek, finely chopped
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 can (15 oz) diced tomato (preferably San Marzano)
2 cups stock (chicken or vegetarian)
2 anchovy fillets, optional
2 TBS tomato paste
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
8-10 fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
1 TBS sugar
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1/2 cup heavy cream
1-2 tsp fresh lemon juice, optional (or lime)

Instructions

Place clean shrimp in a bowl and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Toss to make sure the shrimp are evenly coated.
In a large skillet heat the butter and 1 tablespoon oil over medium high heat. When the butter starts foaming add shrimp and hot sauce. Cook for 3 minutes stirring occasionally to make sure the shrimp cook evenly on each side.
Transfer shrimp to a plate and set aside.
Add the rest of the oil to the pan and heat until the it easily slides across the pan. Add leeks and shallots and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and cook for another minute or so.
Pour in white wine and cook for 3-5 minutes until the wine starts to evaporate.
Add diced tomato and stock and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add anchovies, tomato paste, chili flakes, basil and the rest of the salt and pepper to the skillet and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover with a lid and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Add sugar and parmesan cheese and stir well.
Pour in heavy cream and stir. Crank up the heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil (about 1-2 minutes) then immediately remove from the heat. Taste to adjust seasoning.
Mix in the shrimp, sprinkle with lemon juice and give it a final stir. Serve with capellini, spaghetti or linguini.

Notes

Use only the white part of the leek. For instruction on how to clean leek check out my Creamy Leeks with Pan Roasted Chicken recipe.

Spicy Coleslaw

October 07, 2015 by Aurel Pop in Side Dish, Salad

Let me preface this post by saying that this recipe is part of a bigger project that I've been working on with one of my colleagues. Coleslaw is the quintessential side dish of southern cuisine. It comes in different varieties from creamy and made with mayonnaise, to simple and made with vinegar, and with a variety of ingredients like shredded cabbage, carrots, vinegar, salt and pepper and sometimes onions, jalapeños, apples, mustard or even ketchup.

Even though I never tried coleslaw until I was in my twenties, I consider myself a big fan. I often times find myself judging barbecue joints based on the coleslaw they serve. I know that the main focus of a barbecue place should obviously be the meat they smoke, yet still I can't help but take the coleslaw into consideration when rating them. For me coleslaw was love at first sight. I remember eating it on the first day I moved to Austin four years ago. My hotel was really close by Rudy's BBQ so I decided to eat my first lunch there in the sizzling heat of the legendary summer of 2011.

In my book a good coleslaw has to be crispy but not raw, tangy but not sour, spicy but not too hot, and with just the right about of mayo to give it a subtle hint of creaminess. A coleslaw also should never be a soggy soup-like concoction with the mayonnaise overwhelming all the freshness of the cabbage and carrots. So how do you do all of that? First, use a mandolin to shred the cabbage really thin. Then purge it. Purging essentially is the process of brining the cabbage in salt, to get some of the water and that raw bitter flavor out of the cabbage.

I used kewpie mayo because I find it less heavy with a nice piquant aftertaste. I also choose to add leeks for a subtle hint of onion-like flavor. If finding leeks is challenging where you live, just use scallions or chives. Experiment with the flavors and ratios until you reach the combination that makes you happy. Enjoy!

Spicy Coleslaw

Yields about 1-2 quarts
Prep time: 20 minutes
Inactive time: 90 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 lb red cabbage, shredded
1 lb white cabbage, shredded
1 cup leek, thinly sliced (about 1/2 large leek)
1 TBS table salt
2 large carrots, peeled and grated
1 large jalapeño, halved, deseeded and finely sliced (about 1/4 cup)
2 tsp dried chili flakes
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 cup kewpie mayonnaise
2 TBS white wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, combine red cabbage, white cabbage and leeks. Sprinkle with salt and toss well. Set bowl aside and let the mixture rest for 10-15 minutes. This process is called purging the cabbage and it's essential for the texture of the coleslaw.
After the cabbage has been rested, you'll see a lot of juice in the bowl. Dispose it and transfer the cabbage to a colander. Run it under cold tap water to get rid of the excess salt.
Rinse the big mixing bowl and transfer the cabbage from the colander back into the bowl. Squeeze, handful by handful, the salty juice out of the mixture.
Add carrots, jalapeño, white pepper and chili flakes. Mix to combine and add the mayonnaise and vinegar. Stir until the coleslaw is evenly coated. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Cover with a plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for an hour before serving.

Notes

Use the white part of the leek. For instruction on how to clean leek check out my Creamy Leeks with Pan Roasted Chicken recipe
The green part of the leeks can be used for making stock.

Blistered Green Beans and Shishito Peppers with Crispy Bacon

October 02, 2015 by Aurel Pop in Appetizer

This past week has been the most rewarding one to date in the short history of gourmetcubicle. If you've been following me on Instagram or Facebook, or you subscribe to the Austin American-Statesman, you saw that my Savarin Cake recipe was featured in this week's Austin360Cooks section. It is the first time my work has ever been published. When I launched this blog back in April I would have never guessed that I would be featured in a newspaper. The Statesman's food editor, Addie Broyles, found my picture on Instagram via the hashtag #austin360eats and reached out to me asking for permission to feature my recipe, pictures and story in the newspaper.

The timing of the event couldn't have been more perfect either. I was losing steam and got a bit overwhelmed by the constant juggling between my demanding day job as an engineer and my passion for cooking and sharing recipes with you. It felt reassuring to have my work validated in that way—it was definitely a milestone moment for me and my blog. When I saw Addie’s comment on Instagram I admittedly got a bit giddy. Initially I didn’t know how legit it was, but soon after she also reached out to me via email. "Holy paprikash, this is real! It's happening. I'm going to be the most famous Romanian in Austin for a day!", I said to myself.

I instantly texted Roni, telling her about what was happening. First she told me how happy and proud she was, followed by "Send me your reply email first so I can review it". It took a few attempts to get a draft done, but I made sure to first send it to my favorite editor per her demand. She told me it was the cutest email she had ever read, but we needed to take the excitement down a notch and sound a bit more professional. Eventually I replied, exchanged a few emails with Addie, and then counted the days until Wednesday. On Tuesday I went to sleep filled with the same excitement of Christmas Eve.

I woke up early and went to the nearest grocery store where I bought all the copies of the Statesman that they had on the newspaper stand. The timing was perfect since next week I'm going home to Romania and I will bring my parents, my grandma, and a few of my best friends a copy of my first published recipe. If only my grandpa Bunu could see this, I would be the happiest person on Earth. He'd probably make up a story about me becoming a famous chef in America.

The idea for this recipe came a few weeks ago at a happy hour organized by the Austin Food Bloggers Alliance at The Highball. It was only my second time meeting with this fun and likeminded group of people, but I instantly felt welcomed (I also rented a karaoke room for myself where Roni later discovered me singing Oasis on my own for an hour, but that’s a whole other story…). Anyway, The Highball treated us like kings serving us at least 8 appetizers. All of them were delicious, but what got my attention was their Fried Brussels Sprouts and Shishito Peppers with White BBQ dipping sauce and candied bacon. It was everything a man can dream of while sipping on a cold beer. As soon as I saw green beans in my CSA box delivery that week, I knew I would have to make something similar. I tossed in some smoked pork bits from the pulled pork I made with my friend Guy (his personal recipe will soon be on the blog soon). It adds a nice smokey flavor, but if you don't have any that's fine, just make sure you used smoked bacon. Enjoy!

Blistered Green Beans and Shishito Peppers with Crispy Bacon

Serves 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

1/4 lb shishito peppers (about 10-12 peppers)
1 TBS oil (peanut or sunflower seed)
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
8-10 slices smoked bacon
1/2 cup smoked pork bits, optional (I had some leftovers from my smoked pork shoulder)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 lb green beans
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp chili flakes, optional
1/2 TBS butter
1 lemon, juiced (about 2-3 TBS)
1/4 tsp smoked paprika

Instructions

In a small bowl combine shishito peppers, oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Toss until the peppers are evenly coated.
Heat a stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, after about 2 minutes, add the shishito peppers and cook them until the skin gets blistered and charred, about 3-4 minutes. Toss every now and then to avoid burning them. Transfer to a plate and set them aside.
To fry the bacon, start with a different cold skillet, preferably cast iron. Lay bacon strips in the skillet without overlapping them. Make sure the skillet is at room temperature when you start. You can crowd the skillet a bit as the bacon will shrink when cooked.*
Turn the burner to medium-low and slowly cook the bacon. When it starts curling flip it over to the other side. Cook bacon for about 3-4 minutes on each side. When it is done, transfer bacon to a wire rack or a paper towel lined plate and let the excess grease drain. Do not dispose the bacon fat from the skillet.**
Up the heat to medium-high under the skillet you used for frying the bacon. Dispose some of the bacon fat, but make sure you leave at least two tablespoons worth of grease.
If using smoked pork bits, toss them in the skillet and cook them for 2-3 minutes. If you're not using any proceed to the next step.
Add crushed garlic and green beans. Stir and toss until the green beans are well coated in oil. Cook for 4-5 minutes tossing occasionally.
Season with more black pepper and chili flakes if you want to add a nice kick. Add the shishito peppers. Cook for 2 more minutes tossing every now and then.
In the meantime, cut the bacon into bite size pieces and add it to the skillet.
Add butter, let it melt then toss one more time. Remove from the heat.
Transfer to a bowl, sprinkle with fresh lemon juice and smoked paprika. Serve warm.

Notes

* To achieve a crispy and evenly cooked bacon on the stovetop, lay the strips in a cold skillet and slowly raise the temperature. The secret is to cook it over medium-low heat. This method will also help the bacon not to curl up.
** If you like your bacon extra crispy cook a bit longer flipping them over every now and then. The time it takes to cook bacon depends on the level of crispiness you want to achieve.

Homemade Green Pea and Ricotta Ravioli with Creamy Sage Sauce

September 26, 2015 by Aurel Pop in Main Dish

The best part about being part of Roni’s family is that we often get together for dinners. Food is what brings people together. Great stories and ideas are born at the table. It always makes me happy when Rachel and Rick invite us over for a big ol' family get-together. It reminds me of my family back home. Before my sister and I grew up and moved away from Romania to pursue our dream jobs, every Sunday we had lunch together with my parents. It was either just the four of us or the whole family with grandparents, uncles and cousins once a month or so. Before my grandparents on my father’s side passed away, Sunday family lunches or dinners happened even more often. Sometimes we’d go to Buna for lunch and to Jolika for dinner. It was great because somehow it always turned into a cooking competition between my two amazing grandmothers, Jolika and Buna.

They both cooked good food but each one of them had their own style. Jolika, my Hungarian grandma, loved to cook hearty comfort food. She preferred pork over chicken and used sour cream in basically everything. Her food was the definition of traditional Hungarian cuisine. Buna on the other hand, has a more refined style and doesn’t shy away from fresh vegetables, although sometimes even she can go crazy with the pork and sour cream. I can’t wait for Roni to try Buna’s specialty - Cornmeal Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

A few couple of weeks ago Roni’s family celebrated Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Although I don’t really know much about Jewish holidays, I love that I get to learn about Jewish culture and traditions. I think I mentioned it before, but the fact that I was raised in a Catholic/Protestant/Orthodox family makes me a…well, I don’t even know what, but definitely a Christian. Roni being Jewish adds to the already many religious holidays that my family traditionally observes, making the entire month of December a Winter Holiday marathon in our house.

Back to Rosh Hashanah. I decided to make ravioli. Initially I wanted to make a chorizo sauce, but was politely reminded that pork isn’t exactly kosher to eat during Jewish holidays. Which is funny because Roni eats bacon at the same pace at which a fat kid eats candy. There’s a good chance she was probably even eating bacon while telling me not bring pork to Rosh Hashanah. Anyway, being under self-imposed pressure to coming up with something cool, I went through my notes and I found one saying “sage sauce for ravioli - A Chef’s Table”. I quickly browsed through all the episodes that I watched, even checked the internet, but unfortunately couldn’t find any reference to sage sauce. I'm not sure what made me write that down, but it sounded good.

Homemade ravioli may sound scary to some and I’m not going to lie to you and say it’s easy, because it’s not. But it’s not rocket science either. It’s easier than baking for sure. So why would you make it, you may ask? Because it’s rewarding and fun to make, not to mention, that it tastes a thousand times better than store-bought ravioli. It’s like tasting a good craft beer after drinking Bud Light your whole life (crazy Americans with your light beers). If you are concerned about the amount of butter and cream the sauce contains just sprinkle it with a good olive oil, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper instead. The subtle taste of the lemon zest and the tart juice will bring that refreshing element to this creamy meal. Buon appetito!

Homemade Green Pea and Ricotta Ravioli with Creamy Sage Sauce

Serves 4-6 people (about 30-35 ravioli)
Prep time: 60 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Inactive time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

Pasta Dough (same as for Tagliatelle)

1/2 lb "00" flour
2 whole eggs, pasture raised
2 egg yolks, pasture raised
1/4 tsp salt
1 TBS olive oil, extra-virgin
1/2 cup "00" flour, for kneading and rolling
1 TBS salt, for cooking the ravioli

Filling

10 oz ricotta cheese
1/2 TBS fresh lemon zest (1/2 medium sized lemon)
3 tsp fresh lemon juice (1/2 medium sized lemon)
1 cup green peas (fresh or frozen)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
1 1/2 TBS fresh basil leaves, finely chopped (about 8-10 basil leaves)

Creamy Sage Sauce

5 TBS butter
20 fresh sage leaves
1/2 cup dry white wine (must be dry)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
3 tsp lemon juice (1/2 medium sized lemon)
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
3 tsp lemon juice (1/2 medium sized lemon)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup pasta water
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

Start with the pasta. In the center of your work station (preferably a large wooden cutting board) pile up a half pound of flour. Keep the rest nearby. Make a “well" in the center and pour in the eggs and the yolks. Add salt and one tablespoon olive oil and beat the mixture lightly with a fork. Using your fingertips, gradually start incorporating the flour into the egg mixture. Gradually work the dough together until all the flour is mixed in. The dough should be sticky to touch (not to your fingers) and it should hold together. Depending on the size of the eggs, you may need to hydrate your dough if it is too dry by adding a few teaspoons of water.
Knead the dough using the palms of your hand, until the dough becomes smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Make a ball out of the dough, sprinkle flour, wrap ball in plastic, and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least half an hour.
While the dough is resting prepare the filling. In a medium bowl mix all the ingredients for the filling. Using a wooden spoon or a spatula stir until all ingredients are well combined. Cover bowl with a plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it in 4-5 equal parts. Slightly drizzle water over a kitchen towel and cover the small dough balls. You will work with one at a time, so the damp towel will keep them from drying out.
Take the first piece of dough, flatten it with your hands so that it is 1-inch thick and sprinkle with a little flour on both sides. Using a pasta maker, roll out the dough. Start with the thickest setting and work your way to setting number 6. (1.5 mm)
To stretch the pasta into a sheet, roll it through the pasta maker on the rest of the settings, going down one level at a time (from thick to thin), rolling it through about 2 or 3 times on each level. The more you run it through the machine, the silkier your pasta will be. If the dough starts sticking at any point, sprinkle flour on it.
Once you have your sheet of pasta finished, cut into 2.5-3 inch-wide strips if using a ravioli stamp. If you opt to use a cutter instead of a stamp, leave the sheet as is for now because you will fold it over the filling in the next step.
Place a tablespoon of filling one inch apart from each other along the center of a dough strip if using a stamp, or over the lower half of your pasta sheet if using the folding method. Brush with water the second strip or top half of the dough to moisten it. It will help with sealing the ravioli.
Gently pat the dough down around the filling to make sure that they aren't any air pockets and the ravioli is sealed.
Firmly press ravioli stamp until it cuts through the dough. If using ravioli cutter, cut into even squares. Place the ravioli on parchment paper and sprinkle with flour. Repeat process until you finish the rest of the dough.
Bring a large pot of water and one tablespoon salt to a boil over medium-high heat.
While the water comes to a boil, prepare the creamy sage sauce. In a large deep skillet melt butter over medium-high heat. When completely melted add sage leaves and fry them for about 1 minute until the butter and sage leaves turn brown. Immediately add white wine and stir. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 4-5 minutes.
Pour in the cream, stir and bring again to a boil, about 2 more minutes. Add lemon juice and parmesan cheese and stir well. Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer while you cook the ravioli. Stir occasionally to make sure the sauce doesn't burn.
When the water in the pot starts boiling place ravioli in the water and cook for 3-5 minutes depending on the thickness of the pasta you used. When cut, the ravioli should show no starchy line in the middle.
Using a sieve or a slotted spoon transfer the the ravioli from the pan to the creamy the sage sauce. When all the pasta is cooked and in the skillet, scoop half cup pasta water and pour it in the skillet. Dispose the rest of the pasta water.
Crank up the heat to medium. Toss well until all the ravioli is coated in the creamy sauce. Bring to a boil and remove from the heat, about 2-3 minutes. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning.

Notes

When making the dough, make sure that you don't use cold eggs straight from the refrigerator. Let them sit at room temperature at least 10 minutes prior to using them.
When using the pasta maker, run the dough through the largest setting at least 4-5 times, folding it in half after each roll.
For more restaurant-like thin ravioli work your way up to setting 7. Number 7 will yield a very thin sheet (about 1.3 mm) making it more delicate to work with. On the up side, the time it will take to cook will be less (2-3 minutes).
Folding the sheets in half is a quicker method than cutting the sheets into strips. I got used to the strips method, but either will work fine.

Romanian Savarin Cake (Savarina)

September 19, 2015 by Aurel Pop in Dessert

The savarin cake or savarina, as we call it in Romania, is the cake of my childhood. As a matter of fact, I'm confident that it's the childhood cake of every Romanian my age. So many great memories are related to this dessert. As a kid I thought that savarina was the best cake ever made and I'll tell you that I still think it's one of the best. The light and fluffy cake oozing with sugar and rum, stuffed with fresh whipped cream and topped with tart jam. It's heavenly.

Savarina was the first cake I remember eating at a patisserie and it was the first cake that I ever paid for on my own. I must've been 5 or 6 years old at the time. I remember walking home from the nearest playground after playing soccer all day with my buddies. It was at the local elementary school, which was very originally named Școala Generală Numărul 2 (translates as Elementary School #2). On my way home, I walked by one of the few patisseries that existed in my town. It was called Cofetăria Tineretului. Until that day I had never entered a bakery without one of my parents or my older sister. Going to such a place wasn't an everyday thing. It was always reserved for special occasions like birthdays, the end of the school year, or school festivities (serbare, in Romanian).

So that day I decided to break the rule, take some money from my savings (I was always saving money for something) and to treat myself and my buddy with a cake. I payed 2 lei (old Romanian currency) and it was one of the best feelings in the world. I remember punching my buddy for stealing the cherry from the top and taking too big of a bite from the whipped cream.

Other significant life events related to savarina:

my neighbor Gabriela's birthday (March 5th I still remember the day since we always had savarina for her birthday)
first elementary school date with a girl (can't remember her name. I was a player back then. Making all the girls in school believe that I was a ninja helped my dating life enormously.)
my sister's first date with a guy called Burzo (he bought me 2 savarine to leave him and my sister alone for 10 minutes so that they could hold hands.)
my sister's second date with Burzo (he bribed me with 4 savarine to skip going to the movies with them. The price was higher because I had to break my dad's instructions of following my sister closely)
first high school date with Andra (all the girls found out by then that I wasn't a ninja. The only girl willing to go out on a date with me was her.)
my mom's birthday (because she always brought savarina home every November 15th)

Years have passed since those days, but every time I go to Romania I will have a savarina or two. In less than a month, I'm going home on a two week vacation, but this time Roni is going to join me too. She's going to meet my family, eat my mom's and Buna's amazing food, meet my college friends and drink my father's awful homemade wine. All of these combined with the fact that she's never been to Romania before makes it one of those special occasions to add to the list above.

Romanian Savarin Cake (Savarina)

Yields 10-12 cakes
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Inactive time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

Dough

5 oz whole milk
1/4 oz dry yeast (1 packet)
1 TBS sugar
9 oz cake flour (about 2 cups)
2 whole eggs, pasture raised
2 egg yolks, pasture raised
2 TBS oil (peanut oil, canola oil, or softened butter)
1/4 tsp salt

Syrup

1 1/2 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup dark rum (or 2 TBS rum essence)
2 tsp lemon zest (lime or orange)

Garnish

2 cups whipping cream
2 TBS sugar
2 inch vanilla pod (or 1/8 tsp vanilla extract)
2 tsp lemon zest (or orange)
2 TBS jelly (sour cheery or blueberry)

Instructions

Heat milk to around 110F (45C). Add yeast, sugar and mix well. Set aside for about 2-3 minutes until the milk starts to bloom (you'll see it bubble up).
In a large mixing bowl combine flour, eggs, yolks, oil and bloomed yeast-milk mixture. Using a spatula gently stir and mix the dough until it becomes smooth and silky. Add salt and stir one more time. Cover mixing bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 20-30 minutes until it doubles in size.
In the meantime prepare the syrup. In a medium sauce pan, mix water and sugar and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 2-3 minutes. Add rum and lemon zest and boil for 2 more minutes. Remove from the heat and let the syrup cool.
Preheat oven to 360F (185F) degrees.
Place parchment baking liners in a muffin pan. Using a spoon, fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full. Allow it to rise for a second time until the dough rises close to the top, about 10-15 minutes.
Place the muffin pan in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown*. Remove from the oven and let them cool.
In the meantime, in a large metal bowl mix sugar, vanilla beans, lemon zest and whipping cream. Using a whisk or a hand mixer whisk until you get stiff peaks.
When the cakes are cold, flip them upside down, and cut them crosswise about one inch from the top (flat side) to make a little lid.
Immerse the cakes in the rum syrup and let them soak for about 30 seconds each.**
Spoon whipped cream into a pastry bag. Pipe whipped cream between the layers of the cake.
Using a knife carefully spread jelly on the top of each cake.
Place the savarin cakes in the refrigerator for an hour before serving.

Notes:

* The baking time depends on the size of the cakes, but it shouldn't take more than 25 minutes.
** For extra moist cakes make double the amount of rum syrup and soak for 1 minutes instead.