Both of my parents were born in Hungary, and, lucky for me, my Mom still loves to make Hungarian dishes. Stuffed Cabbage is a family favorite, especially in the colder months, and I’ve adapted my Mom’s recipe a little bit over time. If you decide to make the dish, be sure to set aside enough time (1-2 hours for prep, 4 hours or longer for cooking time). This is a great leftover meal, as it tastes better when reheated.

Paprika is a key ingredient in Hungarian cooking, so when using it, take the time to look for a good quality Paprika, preferably Hungarian. Hungarian Paprika is a little spicier than Spanish Paprika, and provides a wonderful color as well as needed flavor to the dish. Our local supermarket carries Hungarian Paprika in the spice aisle (Pride of Szeged Hungarian Paprika), and we buy a lot of our spices from Penzey’s – they have several varieties of Paprika, but I prefer to use the Hungarian Sweet.
Ingredients:

• 1 large or 2 medium Green Cabbages
• 1 1/2 pounds Ground Beef
• 1 pound Ground Pork
• 1/4 cup non-instant Rice
• 1/4 pound Bacon, diced
• 1 medium sweet Onion, diced
• 3 tablespoons Flour
• 1 bag of fresh or one large can Sauerkraut
• 1 Green Pepper, diced
• 1Tomato, diced
• 4 tablespoons good quality Paprika, preferably Hungarian
• Kosher Salt
• Ground Black Pepper
• Sour Cream for garnish, if desired

Core cabbage(s). Bring enough water to a boil so that the entire cabbage will be emersed. Boil cabbage (one at a time if using two) for approximately 5 minutes or until leaves are starting to pull away from core. Remove from water and let cool. Once cooled off, carefully remove green leaves until you reach the tougher white leaves. Do not use the white ones for rolling as they are difficult to fold, but roughly chop a few of them to add to the stock pot.

Parboil rice for 10 minutes. While the rice is cooking, combine ground beef, pork, 3 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper in a bowl; mix well to incorporate salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, brown bacon in medium to large stock pot. Remove bacon and half of the grease that was rendered (discard grease). Add onions to remaining bacon grease and cook until translucent. Remove half of the onion mixture and add it along with the rice to the meat mixture; stir to incorporate the onions and rice. Add the flour to the remaining onion mixture in the stock pot and stir for a couple of minutes; this will help eliminate the flour flavor, but help to thicken the base. Add paprika and four cups of water. Stir and bring to a soft boil.

Rinse the sauerkraut in a strainer. Add the diced green pepper and tomato and gently toss to incorporate them together.

On a cutting board, trim off the tough stems of each cabbage leaf as shown in the picture below; this will make the rolling easier.

Put about a tablespoon (depending on the size of the leaf) of the filling into each leaf, and fold bottom to the middle, then each side into the middle, then roll leaf (will resemble an egg roll, as pictured below).

To assemble, put some of the leftover cut-up cabbage leaves into the bottom of the stock pot, then add a little of the sauerkraut mixture. Lightly salt and pepper contents in the pot.

Next, place cabbage rolls in a circle, and fill in gaps with the meatballs. Cover with more cut up cabbage leaves and another layer of the sauerkraut mixture. Lightly salt and pepper again. Continue until you are out of cabbage rolls and meatballs. Finish off with the sauerkraut mixture on top. Add enough water to barely cover mixture.

Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer/soft boil for at least 4 hours, as you are cooking raw pork. The longer you let it cook, the more flavor you will get out of the dish. Oftentimes, this dish is served with a dollup of sour cream. Enjoy!

We normally make this soup the day after Thanksgiving, but with turkey and turkey stock. It uses the leftover Wild Rice Casserole which we make extra of just so we can have this soup! The wine (Marco Negri) that is used in this soup is a sweeter white wine. My cousin gave us this wine as a gift about 7 years ago and I am completely puzzled as to how it survived as long as it did without us drinking it.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups Chicken Stock, see Recipe
• 3 cups Wild Rice Casserole, see Recipe
• 2 cups diced, cooked Chicken, see Recipe
• 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt , or to taste
• 1 cup White Wine + 1/4 cup
• 1 1/2 cups Heavy Cream
• 1 medium Onion, diced
• 3 stalks of Celery, diced
• 2 Carrots, diced
• 1 clove of Garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon Olive oil

Saute onions, celery, carrots and garlic for 10 minutes over low heat with the olive oil until onions are translucent, not browned.

Add 1 cup of the wine along with the chicken to the pan along with the veggies, and turn the heat up to medium high. Let the alcohol and liquid evaporate for about 5 minutes.

Add the chicken stock, cream, salt and Wild Rice Casserole. Simmer over medium low for 20 minutes.

At the end of the cooking process, if you would like a little more of a pronounced wine flavor add in an extra 1/4 cup of wine.

Chicken stock is a great substitute whenever using water to add flavor. Whether we are making soup or rice, we always like to have homemade chicken stock in the house; you can make extra and put it in the freezer for later use.

Ingredients:

• Whole Fryer Chicken, cut up
• Ends of four Celery Stalks
• Ends of four Carrots
• Onion, quartered
• Bay Leaf
• Water

Note: We usually cut up the remainder of the celery, carrots and another onion to set aside for later use (chicken soup, etc.).

Lightly salt and pepper chicken and cook it in a 350 degree oven for approximately one hour or until done. Let cool, discard skin and remove chicken from bones for later use.

Add bones, celery, carrots, onion, bay leaf and water (as much as you want, at least enough to cover all ingredients) to stock pot – note that the size of the stock pot all depends on how much stock you want to make. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, but hot enough to have a very low boil. Heat stock for at least two hours – the longer you have it on the heat, the more flavorful your stock will be. Strain the stock and refrigerate, as the fat will naturally rise to the top and you can skim it off for a very low-fat, healthy stock.

For freezing, we put the stock in ice cube trays until it is set, then seal it.

I am still amazed at the wonderful treasures we can find at our Farmer’s Market! Today, we scored a pint of the elusive ground cherry. What are those I asked? The vendor gave us a sample and went on to explain that it was something that her grandfather had always grown on the farm. These sweet little packages look like tiny tomatillos, but when the papery husk comes off they are yellow when ripe and are not sticky to the touch like a tomatillo is. The texture is like a small cherry tomato, but the taste is sweet and complex with hints of melon, tomato and strawberry. We kept on eating them trying to put a finger on what they reminded us of, and before we knew it we had burned though half of our stash. The vendor told us that they had used them in pies and jams, but I wanted to capture this unique flavor without cooking them.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pint of Ground Cherries, each one halved
• 1/4 Red Onion, diced
• 1/4 jalapeno, diced
• Cilantro, chopped
• Red Bell Pepper, diced
• Very *small* squeeze Lime Juice
• Roughly a teaspoon or two Extra Virgin Olive oil
• Very *small* pinch Salt

Mix everything together and let sit for 30 minutes so the flavors can come together. Do not overdue it with the salt or lime; the small amount of salt is only needed to draw out liquid from the cherries so they can macerate with the olive oil and lime juice.

We have been making this potato salad for about 4 years and it is very good. I like to use a combination of purple and red potatoes for a nicer presentation. Purple potatoes are slowly becoming more popular here, as they are showing up in our grocery store every so often, and they are even at our local Farmer’s Market. Be careful when cooking purple potatoes, as they are not as forgiving as red potatoes and can turn mushy very quickly if overcooked.

Ingredients:

• 12 – 14 Potatoes, combination of red and purple
• 1/2 Red Onion, thinly sliced
• Cilantro leaves, roughly torn
• Toasted, salted Pine Nuts, for garnish

For the Dressing:

• 1/2 cup Mexican Table Cream (Crema Mexicana)
• 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive oil
• Juice of one Lime
• 3/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 tablespoon Honey
• 1/2 cup finely chopped Cilantro

Boil the potatoes for 15 – 20 minutes in salted water or until fork tender, and let them cool. Be sure to check the purple potatoes sooner as they cook quicker. I like to boil them whole with the skins on as I find they get less waterlogged. Also, I bring the water up to a boil with the potatoes in the pot to make sure they cook evenly.

Mix the dressing ingredients together.

You can leave the potato skins on or off; personally, I like to take them off. It is fairly easy to just peel them off now that they have been cooked. When the potatoes have cooled down, cut them in approximately 1 inch cubes (or whatever size you like) and carefully mix them with the dressing, onions, and the roughly chopped cilantro. You may not need all of the dressing so start with half and go from there. Be sure to taste, as chances are good that it will need a little more salt. Garnish with the toasted pine nuts and a little fresh cracked black pepper.

Ingredients:

• 4 large fresh Tomatoes, quartered
• 1 quarter of an Onion, use larger pieces
• 2-3 table spoons Roasted Garlic Oil*
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• Olive oil, for coating the tomatoes and onions
• 1/4 teaspoon of Crushed Red Pepper. (+ or – to your own liking)

*When I make roasted garlic I put a few table spoons of olive oil in a foil packet with a head of garlic and a little kosher salt. Instead of adding the roasted garlic in this sauce and olive oil, just use this garlic infused oil instead. Spread the roasted cloves over some grilled baguettes.

The tomatoes should be grilled until they are almost falling through the grates. As you take them off of the grill, try to discard the skins. Leave them on while grilling though, this helps them stay together.

In a food processor, blend everything together.

This makes an excellent sauce for pizza, pasta or a dipping sauce for bread.

A few notes and tips:

• Make sure you soak the grape leaves in water for at least 15 minutes otherwise they may be very salty. I kept them in water while i was rolling them. This also makes sure they stay moist.
• Try not to let the grape leaves get to dry before grilling them so they don’t burn and crumble.
• Don’t over cook the rice. I like to cook mine with a little bit of butter as this helps keep the grains separate. Fluff the rice a few times so it cools off nicely. You don’t want a big clump of glutinous rice.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Dried Cherries (unsweetened), chopped
• 1 small red Onion , minced
• 1/4 cup Fresh Parsley, Finley chopped
• 1 cup diced [tag]Tomatoes[tag]
• 1-2 cloves of Garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese.
• 1 teaspoon Kosher [tag]Salt[tag]
• 1 pound of Ground Pork.
• 3 cups cooked Jasmine Rice, room temp
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• Lemon Zest, from one lemon.
• 30 Brined Grape leaves, rinsed

Mix everything but the pork , grape leaves and half of the salt in a large mixing bowl. Taste the mixture and adjust the seasoning. If you want to go meatless you can skip the next step with the pork. Some kalamata olives would be great instead.

Combine the other half of the salt with the pork separately and mix the pork and the rice stuffing together. This just ensures that everything gets evenly seasoned.

Lay a grape leave flat and place a log of the stuffing on it. To roll it up, fold the back over first and then fold each side over.

Now just roll it up tight.

Place the stuffed grape leaves on the top rack of your grill with the seam side down. Cook them this way at ~400 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until cooked all the way through. There is raw pork in there so make sure it is completely cooked.

Flip them half way through the total cooking time.

You can serve them with a drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil and touch of lemon juice over the top. I have also added some finely diced red pepper and fresh parsley.

Ingredients:

• Tomatillos, about a dozen
• Anaheim Pepper
• jalapeno
• Onion
• Roasted Garlic
• Cilantro
• Juice of one Lime
• Salt to taste

If you have never used tomatillos, they have a papery husk on the outside. When you peel it off their skin is sticky until washed.

You need need to peel the tomatillos and rinse them with water with the peppers.

Coat the tomatillos, peppers & onions with olive oil. I normally just pour a little olive oil in a plastic bag with the veggies and shake it up and dump them out on the grill.

It’s okay to pretty much char them because you want that. The onions should be taken off the grill first since they have high sugar content and will burn quickly.

Peal the skin off of the anaheim pepper; it should slip right off. If you can’t get it all that’s okay, since a little charred skin adds nice flavor.

Whiz all of the ingredients in a food processor.

All Done!

Ingredients:
8 Tomatoes
1/4 Red Onion
1 bunch Cilantro
1 Serrano Pepper
1 Lime
Salt
Sugar

The Ingredients….

Add the tomatoes to a food processor and blend until somewhat smooth. Place puréed tomatoes in a sieve or colander.

Squeeze out excess liquid. This step will prevent the salsa from becoming soupy when we add the lime juice.

Add the red onion, serrano and cilantro to the food processor and give it a whirl.

Pour the contents of the food processor into a bowl, and add pureéd tomatoes in as well. Add lime juice, then salt and sugar to taste. Mix by hand.

This will come to its full flavor when it has had time to rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

• Boneless (I’m using 2 here)
• ¼ of a Pineapple, cubed.

Sauce:

• 2 small Red Peppers, not too spicy like wax or cherry
• 1 handful of Cilantro
• ¼ red Onion
• ½ Banana
• Juice of one Lime
• 8 ounce can of crushed Pineapple
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
• 2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
• 1 tablespoon Fish Sauce
• ¾ cup Coconut Milk
• 2 teaspoons kosher Salt

Blend all of the ingredients for the sauce in a food processor.

Cut the pork into large cubes.

Place the pork and pineapple cubes in a disposable tin suitable for using on your grill.

Cover the pork & pineapple with the sauce. You should have some extra sauce left over. The sauce that will be in with the pork will be excellent but will contain a lot of fat. If this bothers you, cook the remaining sauce separately and serve that.

Cover tin with foil and cook indirectly on your grill for about 3 hours at 300 degrees.

About 3 hours later the pork should be tender…try some!

Pick out the pork pieces and grill them for about 5 minutes. Set the pineapple pieces aside.

Serve with rice and some of the sauce. I like to just mix it all up.

Served with: guacamole and fresh tomato salsa.

I marinate the chicken in olive oil, salt and pepper; keep it simple so it does not compete with the condiments for flavor. Marinate for a few hours.

Place the chicken on to the grill.

Grill the peppers and onion; the onions will need to come off first.

Grill the chicken until it’s done.

Spray the tortillas with cooking spray and grill them very shortly until pliable and warmed through.

Serve chicken with tortillas, grilled vegetables, and other condiments.

• Chicken (I’m using my boneless skinless chicken thighs today)
• ¾ cup for the marinade
• ¼ cup for sauces and dipping
• ¼ thinly sliced red Onion
• 1 baby red Bell pepper, thinly sliced
• Minced Parsley
• Kosher Salt

Marinate the chicken with the vinaigrette; reserve some for use later.

When grilling, be careful not to burn the chicken, as the marinade has sugar in it.

When plating, top the chicken with the onions, peppers and parsley; drizzle some of the reserved sauce on top. Finish the dish by seasoning to taste with kosher salt.