If you are ever in the mood for a lot of different vegetables in a juicy stew, then you should consider this Romanian recipe. The ingredients listed below represent a sample of delicious fresh vegetables that are easily available in the fall in my home country, and they are the ones I grew up enjoying in this dish. However, feel free to use any others that you like, or change the quantities and proportions in any way that you prefer.

You should also note that there are quite a bunch of ingredients, which means that you will likely end up with a lot of food. Plan for having family and friends over to enjoy the food, or consider freezing some of it for a later time.

Ingredients:
 - One yellow onion
 - One leek
 - One parsnip
 - One celery root
 - Two zucchini
 - Eight small yellow potatoes (or four-five larger ones)
 - Eight-ten fresh tomatoes, or one 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
 - A small head of cabbage
 - Three or four cups of green beans
 - Two colorful bell peppers
 - A small head of cauliflower
 - Two cups of peas
 - Two cups of chickpeas, or one 15 oz can of chickpeas
 - Half a bunch of parsley
 - (Optional) A pound of pork shoulder or other meat for stews
 - A quarter cup of oil
 - Spices: salt, pepper, thyme, bay leaves

Preparation:
 - Use a large pot that can accommodate the entire dish.
 - If you have meat, start by cutting it into small pieces, and quickly fry it on high heat in oil until it turns brown. Do not cook it thoroughly at this point - it'll cook later on with the vegetables anyway. Remove the meat from oil and set aside.
 - Clean and cut the onion, leek, parsnip, and celery root. Cook them in oil on medium-high for about 5 minutes, and stir regularly to not burn. Add a cup of water and cook for another 10 minutes while stirring regularly.
 - Meanwhile, clean, peel, and dice the zucchini into cubes. Add them to the pot, and cook for another 5 minutes.
 - Clean, peel, and dice the potatoes. Add them to the pot, together with the can of tomatoes and two cups of water. Add spices: I used eight bay leaves, a bunch of fresh thyme. Also, add salt and pepper to taste (prefer to add less than needed, as more can be added later). Stir gently, and reduce the heat to medium-low.
 - While the dish is cooking, we'll quickly proceed with the remaining vegetables. Start with the cabbage (cut it into smaller pieces and add it to the pot), then the green beans (cut into 1-1.5 inches long), bell peppers (diced), cauliflower (separate the florets), and finally the peas and chickpeas.
 - Add the cooked meat back to the dish (if you're using that).
 - Cover and simmer on medium-low heat for another 30 minutes (until the potatoes are cooked). The dish should be about three-quarters submerged in liquid.
 - Remove from heat. Sprinkle the chopped parsley on top, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes (or until serving time).

Presentation:
 - The dish has a bunch of cooked vegetables: they're certainly healthy, though maybe not the sexiest photo models. One trick to improve the presentation is to select vegetables of a varied assortment of colors: orange and red from carrots, bell peppers, and tomatoes, green from the peas and green beans, yellow from potatoes, and lighter colors from cabbage, cauliflower, parsnip and celery root.
 - Some fresh chopped parsley added right on the plate adds a touch of color and freshness to the dish.
 - For meat lovers, consider keeping the meat out of the stew, and instead serve the dish accompanied by a fried or grilled piece of meat (sausage or pork chop). The meat then adds a beautiful spot of brown deliciousness to the presentation.
 - Finally, the vegetable medley stew goes really well with pickles, a slice of bread, and maybe a beer.

The spring has finally arrived, and Easter is just around the corner. The recipe presented here has its roots in the observance of Lent, during which time the chef of the house might prepare a vegan stuffed dolmades. My mom certainly did. I remember her preparing one of two basic variations: filled either with only rice, or with a mixture of rice and finely-chopped mushrooms. As you might imagine, both are simple and neither taste like much. This might serve as a reminder that you are sacrificing something (meat) during Lent. However, one should also have the option to give up meat without giving up the flavor.

We have two main types of 'sarmale' in Romania, where I am originally from: some are rolled in pickled cabbage leaves and others are rolled in young vine leaves. While the stuffing is usually similar for the two, that's pretty much the only thing they have in common: the former are usually sweet and sour (sweet from the meat and tomato sauce and sour from the pickled cabbage leaves and/or sauerkraut), while the latter have a very distinctive texture from the thin vine leaves. The latter is a special treat around Easter and during the spring in general, once the vine leaves are fresh and tender.

Ingredients:
 - One red bell pepper
 - Half a cup of olive oil
 - One onion
 - One large head of garlic
 - One bunch of dill
 - One bunch of parsley
 - One 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
 - One 14 oz can of tomato sauce
 - Four eggs
 - One red beet
 - One cup of rice
 - Two medium-sized squash
 - One pound of shelled walnuts
 - One pound of fresh vine leaves (or marinated, if it is the only option)
 - Spices: salt, pepper, thyme, paprika, bay leaves

Preparation:
 - Bring two cups of water to a boil. Rinse the rice separately, then add it to the boiling water, reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid, and keep on cooking for 20 minutes. Make sure the pot you use is large enough to allow the rice to expand without overflowing. When ready, gently stir in the rice with a fork to increase its fluffiness. Set aside and let it cool.
 - Meanwhile, boil the red beet (about 30 minutes). Peel and set it aside to cool down (you can submerge it under cold water to speed up the process). Once you can handle it, shred it through a grater.
 - While the rice and the beet are cooking, peel the carrots and squashes and shred them through the grater. Also, mince the red bell pepper and the walnuts (no meat in this recipe, but walnuts add some proteins).
 - Peel and mince the onion and the garlic head.
 - Add the bell pepper, onion, and carrots to a pan, add a bit of oil, and fry on medium heat for 5-10 minutes. This helps bring out the flavors.
 - Break and beat the four eggs, separately.
 - Chop the dill and parsley.
 - Now to mixing everything: in a large pot, mix the rice, shredded beet, bell pepper, onion, carrots, garlic, olive oil, chopped dill and parsley, tomato sauce, eggs, walnuts, and squashes. Add salt, pepper, thyme and paprika, to taste. This forms the tasty filling for our dish.
 - Coat a large pot with a bit of oil. This is where the cooking will happen, and we don't want to dish to stick to the bottom. Please a few bay leaves at the bottom of the pot, for flavoring.
 - Take one grape leave at a time. Place a tablespoon or more of the filling in the center (or more, depending on the size of the grape leave). Carefully wrap the leave around such that the filling cannot escape. Place carefully in the pot, and pack them tightly. Proceed to the next grape leave (expect the process to take a while, the exact amount depending on your dexterity).
 - Mix the can of diced tomatoes with water in a separate bowl. Pour the mixture over the sarmale into the cooking pot. If needed, add more water until the sarmale rest under about half an inch of liquid (some of this liquid will evaporate during cooking).
 - Cover, and bake at 400F for one hour.
 - Enjoy hot, usually with bread, sour cream, and maybe a hot red pepper (if you like your food spicy).

Presentation:
 - The dish requires ample preparation time, so it's not very common (usually reserved for guests or special occasions). I find the best presentation to come from the number and the pattern formed by the tightly packed sarmale in the dish, so I usually pick a nice pot to cook the dish in, then serve them directly from the pot. Even if I transfer them to a plate, I think the best presentation involves a large plate that accommodates a good number of sarmale.
 - If you feel something is missing in just numbers and pattern, it's probably color (cooked grape leave are not very colorful). Consider adding some fresh colors: red (a hot pepper or some paprika), white (sour cream), and maybe greens (e.g. a branch of fresh thyme). Alternatively, you can use dill instead of thyme, but I'd chop it and mix with the sour cream, such that it pops up more.

I've seen stuffed bell peppers quite often here in the United States. That recipe has been always missing something, in my opinion. Back in Romania, we use a more varied selection of vegetables to be stuffed, and also a delicious wine-based sauce to make your taste buds dance with joy. A stuffed bell pepper is quite good, but you might be in the mood for a stuffed summer squash at the moment; or a stuffed tomato; or all of them combined. Why not? With this recipe, everything is possible.

There are a couple more changes in the recipe I present here. First, we Romanians love fattier meats - they are much smoother when cooked. To keep the recipe healthy, I use a lean ground meat (for example, ground turkey breast) which I combine with shredded squash pulp. It has the same effect. Second, we traditionally serve this recipe with sour cream. However, the recipe here features a savory creamy sauce instead, which perfectly complements the stuffed vegetables and can be used instead.

I hope you have a chance to try this authentic Romanian recipe, and I promise it will take you and your guests on a nice culinary adventure in the south-eastern parts of Europe.

Ingredients:
Vegetables to be stuffed (they should all have about the same height)
 - Five small bell peppers
 - Five beef tomatoes
 - Five squash pieces (you'll need to cut them out from two or three larger summer squashes)
Stuffing
 - A pound and a half of lean ground meat
 - Half a cup of rice
 - One small summer squash
 - One large onion
 - One carrot
 - Spices: one tablespoon each of salt, pepper, thyme, and paprika
Sauce
 - One cup of tomato sauce
 - One cup of sour cream
 - Two cups of white wine
 - Ten tablespoons of vegetable oil
 - Half a cup of fresh chopped parsley

Preparation:
 - Cut the tops of the bell peppers, and discard the seeds.
 - Cut the tops of the tomatoes, and carve out their centers.
 - Cut the large summer squashes into pieces (about the same height as the tomatoes and bell peppers). Remove their pulp and set it aside.
 - Now to preparing the stuffing. Finely dice the small summer squash, as well as whatever pulp is left from the larger summer squashes. Mix it with the meat.
 - Finely dice the carrot and the onion. Fry them in three tablespoons of oil for five minutes. Add half a cup of rice, stir, and cook for another couple of minutes. Let cool, then mix with the meat.
 - Add the spices (salt, pepper, thyme, and paprika) to the meat. Mix everything until uniform.
 - Next, stuff the vegetables with the meat mixture. Do leave a bit of space for the rice to expand (maybe enough space for another one tablespoon of mixture to fit in.
 - Now to cooking. We need to use a deep pot where the vegetables can be covered with water, but which can also be used both on top of the oven for boiling, and also inside of the oven for baking. If you don't have a single such pot, two smaller ones will do the job.
 - Coat the pot with the remaining vegetable oil.
 - Gently transfer the stuffed vegetables to the pot. They should be pretty close together, with not much space remaining in between.
 - Pour two cups of wine over the vegetable.
 - Add water to almost cover the stuffed vegetables (leave about half an inch).
 - Start cooking until the water is boiling. Cover with a lid while leaving a bit of space for the steam to escape. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 45 minutes. During this time, about half of the water should evaporate.
 - Finely dice the interiors of the tomatoes, and mix it with the tomato sauce and the sour cream. Add to the liquid in the pot and mix gently.
 - Place the pot in the oven (without the lid), and bake at 375F for 20 minutes.
 - Remove the dish from the oven, and sprinkle the chopped parsley on top. It is now ready to be served.

Presentation:
 - The dish as it comes out of the oven features a nice variety of colorful vegetables accompanied by the fresh green of the parsley. It also offers the guests a variety of options to choose from: do they prefer tomatoes, peppers, squash, or a piece of each and every one?
 - When serving, encourage the guests to cut each stuffed vegetable on their plate in two, open it up, and add sauce from the pot over the stuffing. This makes it extra moist, smooth, and delicious.

My mom cooked this delicious dish a while back, and I loved the subtle garlic hints in the sauce and the juiciness of the meat. The recipe is simple, and the effect is grand. I've just prepared it for guests this past weekend, and got the ultimate compliment: folks using pieces of bread to not waste any single drop of the sauce in their plates.

Ingredients:
 - Five or six chicken legs (drumsticks or thighs)
 - One bell pepper (or one cup of colorful bell pepper slices)
 - Eight ounces of tomato sauce
 - Four tablespoons of vegetable oil
 - Half a head of garlic, sliced
 - Spices: salt (half a teaspoon), pepper (half a teaspoon), thyme (half a teaspoon), paprika (half a teaspoon, optional)
 - Quarter cup of finely chopped parsley

Preparation:
 - Preheat the oven to 375F.
 - Coat a pan with oil. Add half of the tomato sauce, the chicken pieces, then the other half of the tomato sauce on top. Make sure the chicken pieces are nicely covered. Add the sliced bell pepper in between.
 - Sprinkle the pepper, thyme, and paprika. Save the salt for later.
 - Cover with aluminum foil, thoroughly; this helps preserve the juices. Bake for 45 minutes.
 - Remove the foil. Add the sliced garlic. Baste everything with the liquid in the pan. Add salt. Bake for another 20 minutes.
 - Remove from the oven, and sprinkle the chopped parsley on top.

Presentation:
 - Serve the dish as it comes out from the oven (it already features a great variety of colors: the red from the tomato sauce, the green from the parsley, and the color from the bell pepper slices).
 - Serve hot alongside mashed potatoes or pasta, and possibly accompanied by pickles (Romanian style).

This is one of the first recipes I learned to cook. I was freshly out of my parents' home, out of my country, far away from even the whole European continent: I was a newly enrolled graduate student in the United States. A week or two after landing on the American continent, I started craving for Romanian food. And boy, was it hard to find those delicacies in the area my school was in. I started asking my mom for easy recipes over the phone and over email, and this is one of the first she shared with me.

I did not know anything about cooking rice at that time. At the same time, my mom forgot to warn me that it grows in size tremendously: I guess that's something everyone should know, though I didn't. I was really excited to finally have some food from back home. So, I eyed the quantities for each ingredient in her recipe (slightly different from the one I detailed here), and I filled the pot with the ingredients (including the uncooked rice). And the rice started growing, to my great surprise. One pot of pilaf soon became two, then three. The dish tasted great in the end, just like it did back home. But I had so much of it in such a short time: I ate it for both lunch and dinner, most days, for the next week or so. As such, I really had enough of that taste, and I did not want to see it in front of me for a long time. It's been 15 years, and I finally craved for this dish again. And, as I prepared it, I thought I'd share the recipe with you as well. Hope you give it a try, and if you do, I hope you remember that rice triples in size when cooked.

Before I delve into the recipe, let me also mention that I consider this to be a difficult dish to prepare. The reason is that I like recipes that are more hands-off, where you can leave stuff in the oven or on the stove and not pay much attention to them (for example, I once started preparing the Fall-Off-The-Bone Baby Back Ribs, then I headed to the beach for a few hours of volleyball, only to come home and find the dish almost ready for eating). The rice pilaf takes significantly less time, but it requires one to watch it carefully, and to promptly remove it from heat when ready. The reason for this is that if you keep the rice cooking further, it absorbs more and more moist, it looses texture, and it ends up as a mush.

Ingredients:
 - One onion
 - One red bell pepper
 - One carrot
 - One medium squash
 - Two tomatoes
 - One and a half cups of rice
 - Four or five chicken drumsticks
 - One and a half cups of white wine
 - Three cups of chicken broth
 - A quarter cup of freshly chopped parsley
 - A quarter cup of olive oil (or half a stick of butter)
 - Spices: salt, pepper

Preparation:
 - Preheat the oven to broil or highest heat available; we will need this for the final step.
 - Finely chop the onion, bell pepper, carrot, squash, and tomato. Also finely chop the parsley, but save separately for later.
 - Place the oil (or melt the butter) in a pan, add the chicken drumsticks, and cook on low heat until the chicken changes color (about five minutes). Add the chopped onion, bell pepper, carrot, squash, and spices (salt and pepper) to taste. Cook for another 5 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes, and set aside.
 - Place the wine in a pot, add the rice, and cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Only stir gently and occasionally to make sure the rice does not stick to the bottom.
 - Add the chicken broth over the rice, together with the chicken and the vegetables (also, transfer the oil they were cooked in, as well as any juices there might be: they all help make the recipe flavorful and smooth). Add also most of the chopped parsley (keep a bit for the end). Mix gently. Continue cooking on low heat for another 10 minutes. Try a bit of rice, and cook for a few extra minutes if it still feels undercooked.
 - Make sure the pieces of chicken are at the top. Transfer the dish to the preheated oven, and cook until the chicken gets a nice crust and a beautiful color to the top of the dish. When ready, remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 15 minutes. This final step allows the rice to become more moist and flavorful.
 - Use a fork to gently fluff up the rice. Then sprinkle the final bit of chopped parsley on top, for extra color.

Presentation:
 - The dish looks great in and of itself: an ocean of white rice, with occasional colorful accents from the red bell pepper, carrot, tomatoes, and parsley.
 - If you managed to brown the chicken a bit as well, the presentation should be perfect.

I've dreamed of preparing a Renaissance dish ever since I visited a Renaissance Festival in the United States. I noticed that one of the most popular (and more unusual) foods there was the turkey drum, and that was a good starting point. One challenge was to make it tender and moist: this is achieved through slow simmering followed by a quick broil. And what can go better next it, other than some smooth flavorful beans?

Ingredients:
 - One big smoked turkey drum or two smaller ones
 - One each of a small yellow squash, carrot, onion, and parsnip, or half of bigger ones
 - One pound of beans
 - Four or five garlic cloves
 - Four tomatoes
 - Cooking oil
 - A bunch of parsley
 - Spices: a tablespoon of thyme, six to eight bay leaves (depending on size), salt, pepper (whole and ground), chili pepper

Preparation:
 - Put the smoked turkey in about a gallon of water (they should be completely covered). Add three or four bay leaves and a teaspoon of whole black pepper seeds (if you have any). Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer for two hours and a half - this helps the drums get moist and tender. When you see the meat start to fall off the bone, place in a tray with a bit of oil and broil in the oven for a few minutes - this should add a nice red tint to the presentation. Note: we're not planning to cook in the oven, just to give it the color, so use the highest temperature possible and keep an eye on the meat. Also, do not discard the water where the turkey simmered - it is a great base for a soup or a stew.
 - We will prepare the beans while the turkey is cooking. We need one pot and one extra large pan. Place the beans in the pot, cover them in water, bring to a boil, then discard the water. Repeat this five times - it helps eliminate whatever makes beans gassy.
 - Meanwhile, finely dice the carrot, parsnip, onion, yellow squash, tomatoes, and garlic cloves. Place them in a pan with half a cup of cooking oil, and simmer on low heat while the beans are cooking. We want them to almost become a puree - it adds a delicious base for the recipe and keeps everyone guessing how you achieved the flavor with no apparent help.
 - Once the beans have boiled in five waters, drain them, and add them to the simmering vegetables. Add about four bay leaves, a tablespoon of thyme, salt, pepper, and a a touch of chili pepper (to taste). Transfer a cup of water from the smoked turkey pot (for extra flavor), mix, and continue simmering for half an hour.
 - When the beans with vegetables are cooked, add some chopped parsley, mix, and remove from heat. Or save the parsley to decorate at serving time (either works equally well).
 - Serve the beans alongside the turkey legs, while they're still hot.

Presentation:
 - Sprinkle finely chopped dill on top of the dish to add an extra splash of freshness to the presentation.
 - We love beans with fresh onions (or scallions) in Romania; they really go well together.
 - Serve alongside a cold beer. I wish I had my stein handy when I took the picture.
 - If you really want to go all in, consider handholding the drums while serving, and make barbaric sounds of enjoyment to show the cook how much you appreciate devouring the dish. I'm sure the kids would love this part.

The cajun roasted chicken is becoming my favorite dish for when I have guests coming over. One reason is that it's great looking - a big colorful piece of tender meat. It additionally allows for a smooth introduction to an exotic cuisine: I always serve this alongside an authentic Romanian garlic sauce. It also offers a lot of variety: some people like dark meat, some like white meat, there are vegetables, an adjustable degree of spiciness via the garlic sauce, and I usually add a few mushrooms next to the chick for vegetarians. Finally, it's very simple to prepare and does not require much attention: you basically spend 30 minutes to put together la pièce de résistance for the whole dinner (the rest of the preparation time is hands free while the bird is roasting in the over).

One more note on this recipe. The chicken as a whole is a big piece of meat, and many people find it challenging to choose the appropriate time and temperature such that the chicken is juicy yet properly cooked. This recipe presents a simple solution to the conundrum: cook the chicken covered to keep it moist while killing bacteria, then remove the cover to finish the preparation and to give the dish a nice color. This is the kind of easy trick that can help anyone prepare impressive meals.

Ingredients:
 - One chicken (about 3 pounds)
 - Six or seven medium-sized red potatoes
 - Two carrots
 - One onion
 - One squash (optional)
 - One red bell pepper (optional)
 - A bunch of parsley
 - One beer
 - Cooking oil
 - Spices: salt, ground pepper, cajun spices

Preparation:
 - Preheat the oven to 450F.
 - Meanwhile, peel and dice the potatoes and carrots. Boil them for about 10-15 minutes.
 - Coat a 2 inches deep baking tray with a bit of cooking oil. Add the boiled potatoes and the carrots. Peel and dice an onion, and add it in (I've been told more than once that the onion in this recipe was the best tasting onion the guests have ever tasted). Optionally, dice a squash and a red bell pepper, and add them as well. Gently mix the vegetables until they're equally distributed: you don't want a corner with bell peppers and another one with the carrots - it just does not look as good in the presentation. Add salt and pepper over the vegetables.
 - Generously coat the chicken with cajun spices (both inside and outside). Place in the baking tray, over the vegetables.
 - Pour a can of beer inside the chicken and over the vegetables. It would be great if the vegetables are covered in beer (particularly the onion), but make sure the liquid is not all the way to the top of the tray: there will be some extra juices from the chicken, and we don't want them to overflow the tray and mess up the oven. It is perfectly fine if you open a second bottle of beer, add those critical couple of teaspoonfuls over the recipe, then drink the rest. :)
 - Carefully seal with aluminum foil (helps keep the chicken moist), and cook for two hours in the oven at 450F. Drop the temperature to 400F, remove the aluminum foil, and cook for another half an hour (or as long as needed, depending on the size of the chicken -- use a thermostat to check) on the lowest rack to finish cooking and give the skin some color. Check periodically - if the chicken skin starts turning too dark but the chicken is still not fully cooked, then brush it with the juices covering the vegetables, and place a sheet of aluminum foil over the chicken to preserve the color.
 - Remove from the oven. Serve hot or warm.

Presentation:
 - The chicken on the cooking tray looks impressive in and of itself. I'd just place it in the middle of the table, on a heat-resistant serving mat.
 - Use the bunch of parsley for both color and freshness. Either place it on the side, as in the photo above, or alternatively, chop it finely and sprinkle it all over.
 - With your permission, I suggest you serve this recipe accompanied by some authentic Romanian garlic sauce. It is a killer combination that always makes an impression.

I've recently decided to reduce my consumption of meats, which means I have more chances to enjoy the delicious flavors and textures of fruits, vegetables, and nuts. That also gives me more opportunities to play around with healthy organic produce and to come up with new concoctions. Here, I present a yummy recipe for meatballs that lacks, well, meat.

I started the thought process by imagining what combination of ingredients might come close enough to meat. I chose red beets for both color and texture. I added squash to keep the dish flavorful and juicy, as in the my earlier Romanian meatballs recipe. I thought couscous would also go well into the composition (it adds consistency). Finally, I added ground walnuts for their rich flavor and for a bit of unexpected crunchiness. Throw in the onion, garlic, and spices, and the mixture smells so good and fresh that you want to eat it with a spoon before it's even cooked.

I further find interesting the progression of color in the original meatball recipe and in this variation. The meatball recipe starts with a pink colored mixture, a healthy tint brought about by the meat. However, the meatballs turn brown during the frying process. The color pigments in the red beets are much more persistent, which allows the meatless balls to maintain a beautiful pink tint all throughout.

Ingredients:
 - Two red beets
 - A medium-sized squash
 - Half a cup of garlic cloves
 - Half an onion
 - Two cups of walnuts
 - One cup of parsley
 - Four eggs
 - One cup of couscous
 - Spices: salt, ground pepper, thyme, a bit of chili pepper
 - For frying: flour (about a cup), and a lot of cooking oil

Preparation:
 - Preheat the oven to 450F. Cover the red beets in aluminum foil, and bake for 90 minutes. Remove the beets from the oven and let cool. Then carefully peel, chop (I use a food processor), and set aside.
 - While the beets are cooking, place one cup of water in a pot, add two tablespoons of oil and a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, then quickly stir in a cup of couscous, cover, and let stand for five minutes. Use a fork to stir the cooked couscous until fluffy.
 - Clean, peel, and chop the squash, half of an onion, garlic cloves, walnuts, and parsley. Mix with the beets and couscous when ready.
 - Add the eggs and spices to taste. Mix everything until the composition is uniform.
 - Now to the cooking part. First, heat up the oil on medium heat. I use a deep pan, and I make sure the oil is about two inches deep (we want to have the balls completely covered in oil when cooking, such that their outer part cooks quickly and uniformly.
 - Use about two spoons of mixture to form each ball shape. Roll them through flour, then fry them for about two minutes each.

Presentation:
 - Even when cooked, the vegetarian meatballs will have a nice pink/red color due to the beets. Choose some fresh ingredients of colors that complement this: for example, fresh parsley or scallions.
 - I chose to present a few balls in a black long dish with a red outline: the black helps emphasize the nice colors in the meatballs, while the red delimits the presentation (while also matching the main color theme in the dish). An alternative presentation of this appetizer could have involved a bunch of meatballs in the center of a wider plate, surrounded by greens (scallions, cucumber slices, celery, or parsley), and accompanied by some cherry tomatoes and feta cheese cubes for extra color. Play with your imagination and your sense of style, and I am sure you can come up with even better presentations.

I discovered this recipe a long time ago, and it's been an all time favorite for my friends and family. The preparation is simple, and the long cooking time softens the meat until it literally melts in your mouth. And while the preparation takes a while, you don't really need to stay next to the oven the whole time (in the past, I even headed to the beach for some volleyball while the dish was cooking in the oven).

Ingredients:
 - Baby back ribs
 - Barbecue sauce (I prefer the Hickory Smoke flavor)
 - One beer
 - Cooking oil
 - For presentation: your favorite colorful side dishes (for example, coleslaw and fries)

Preparation:
 - Preheat the oven to 425F.
 - Start by picking a cooking tray that's at least three inches deep. We want the ribs to cook in liquid, such that they are juicy and fall off the bone when done. Use about half a cup of cooking oil, and add beer until we have about half an inch of liquid (I use either an amber ale or a pale lager, though I don't think this will influence the flavor too much). A beer will likely be enough, depending on the shape of the tray you're using.
 - Clean the ribs and place them in the tray such that the presentation side faces down. We'll be cooking the meat for a while, and only flip it over towards the end such as to finalize the color and the texture for the presentation.
 - Put the tray in a preheated oven, and do not cover. Cook at 425F for an hour. Lower the heat to 225F, and cook for another four hours. Next, we first coat the top side with barbecue sauce, and continue cooking for another 30 minutes. Gently flip the ribs such that the presentation side is now facing up; coat with a generous layer of barbecue sauce, and cook for another 30 minutes.
 - Remove from the oven, and serve before it gets cold.

Presentation:
 - The ribs should have a beautiful red color when done. We'll add more colors in the side dishes that accompany it.
 - Coleslaw is my favorite side dish for this recipe; it looks great when you mix both red and green cabbage to prepare it.
 - Fries can be another great side dish, particularly when made out of colorful heirloom potatoes.
 - If you want to try a Romanian twist to the recipe, a good serving of colorful mujdei can go a long way in both taste and color.
 - Last, and certainly not least, you may want to enjoy the recipe with a cold beer. I usually do.

My mom created this recipe right around the time I moved to the United States. I was all alone and did not know much about cooking at that time - I could basically fry eggs and maybe potatoes. As this was the new favorite recipe for the whole family, my mom kept cooking it again and again. She'd then email me to describe how everyone savored the dish, how they were licking fingers, how they were asking for more. I think she wanted me to move back next to her, and the fresh memories of her amazing cooking made it really difficult to stay far away. In loving memory of my mom, here's her recipe for everyone to enjoy.

Ingredients:
 - One pound of smoked bacon chunk (about two cups when chopped)
 - One onion
 - One red bell pepper
 - Two yellow squashes
 - 1.5 cups of heavy whipping cream or sour cream
 - Spices: salt, pepper, chili pepper
 - Cooking oil

Preparation:
 - Chop the bacon. Dice the bell pepper. Finely dice the onion and yellow squashes (we want them to melt and provide good flavor without being easily identifiable in the sauce).
 - Cook the bacon and onions in two tablespoons of cooking oil on medium/low heat for about 10 minutes. Stir frequently to make sure that it does not stick to the bottom or burn.
 - Add the bell pepper and yellow squashes, cover, and continue cooking for another 10 minutes. Stir occasionally, particularly in the first few minutes.
 - Add a cup and a half of water, spices (salt, pepper, and chili pepper, to taste), remove the cover, and continue cooking for another half an hour.
 - Add the heavy whipping cream or sour cream, mix until the sauce is uniform, and continue cooking until it simmers.
 - Serve hot over pasta.

Presentation:
 - An interesting type pasta can add a lot to the look of the dish.
 - You can further use some fresh leaves to add a splash of green to the presentation.

I love this pasta recipe for several reasons. First, the spaghetti squash is a great replacement for pasta: it is a natural product that is higher in nutrients and lower in calories and carbohydrates. Second, the sauce has an olive flavor and a creamy consistency unlike any other pasta sauce you've tried before. Give this recipe a chance, and you won't be disappointed.

Ingredients:
 - One medium-sized spaghetti squash
 - Olive oil
 - One cup of pitted kalamata olives for each serving
 - A couple of cherry tomatoes per each serving
 - Heavy whipped cream (about one cup)
 - Spices: salt, pepper, and optionally chili pepper
 - For presentation: basil leaves, parmesan cheese

Preparation:
 - Cut the spaghetti squash in half, and boil it until the fork goes in easily (about 45 minutes to 1 hour). Remove it from heat, and gently scrap the meat with a fork to get some nice pasta strings.
 - Mix the spaghetti squash meat with a bit of olive oil and salt - it gives the pasta some flavor and shininess, and it helps separate the strings better.
 - While the spaghetti squash is boiling, you can go ahead and cook the sauce. I use one cup of kalamata olives per each serving. Add the pitted olives to a blender, and pour enough heavy whipped cream to get the blender rolling. Blend them together, though make sure you still have some chunks of olives (for consistency, you really don't want just a paste).
 - Transfer the olive mix into a pan, and add the cherry tomatoes cut in half. Sprinkle the spices on top, and cook on low heat for about half an hour.

Presentation:
 - For the best presentation, you might want to place the dish on each individual plate: the pasta on the bottom and a layer of creamy olive sauce on top.
 - If you can rescue some of the cherry tomato halves, you may want to place them on top for a splash of red color.
 - I further used some parmesan cheese and a leaf of basil to finish the presentation.
 - Most importantly: enjoy while still hot!

I grew up in a tall apartment building, like most Romanians during the communist era. My memories are filled with my mom's delicious homemade recipes cooked on the stove or in the oven. Grilling was a luxury, something you did when you went on a picnic during a weekend or on a longer vacation. Mititei were always the highlight of the menu on such special days - they remind me of leaving the city behind and spending some time near a lake or in the mountains. This is probably one of the dishes that you'd greatly miss, once you enjoyed it in Romania (another one is sarmale).

What makes this recipe memorable? First, it's the flavor - multiple hidden spices that make the meat taste great. Second, it's the tenderness - we usually prepare the mititei from fatty ground meats, which then keeps them tender during cooking. As such fatty meat is not that easily found abroad (and as it's not necessarily that healthy for you anyway), the recipe below introduces a twist (which might be classified as sacrilege back home, but it does the trick). Third, it's the great flavor added by grilling. Hope you have a chance to prepare and enjoy this great Romanian recipe.

Ingredients:
 - Two pounds of ground meat; ideally: a combination of ground beef, pork, and lamb; common: a combination of beef and pork; simplest: either ground beef or ground pork
 - One teaspoon each of ground cumin, anise seeds, allspice, and coriander
 - Two teaspoons each of ground pepper, thyme, and salt
 - One cup of beef broth
 - One and a half teaspoons of baking soda
 - One tablespoon of lemon juice
 - A small head of fresh garlic, or half a large one
 - Two tablespoons of olive oil
 - Two medium-sized yellow squashes

Preparation:
 - Peel the yellow squash, discard the skin, and shred the interior.
 - Mix the baking soda with the lemon juice.
 - Thoroughly grind the garlic.
 - In a large bowl, mix all the solid ingredients. Add the baking soda with the lemon juice and also the olive oil, then mix. Now to incorporating the soup: this is a slow process where you add a bit more soup to the solid ingredients, and mix it in, then repeat. The whole process will take a while, and it's important for everything to be mixed uniformly: I use a mixer and it takes me about 10-15 minutes to form the mititei paste. If you're not using a mixer, you may want to use the olive oil to cover your palms early on: this prevents the meat from sticking to your hands.
 - Form the mititei: for each one, wet your palms with a bit of water, then take about three or four tablespoons worth of the mix, press in the palm of your hand, and roll in the form of a cylinder (the water will help it stick together and away from your hands). Do not worry if they don't yet keep the desired shape: their consistency will solidify after spending some time in the fridge (next step). Continue this process until you've used all the mititei paste.
 - Refrigerate overnight - this allows the flavors to blend, it makes the composition firmer, and allows them to keep their shape while cooking.
 - Remove from fridge, and roll again in your hands to reinforce a nice cylinder shape. The composition is much firmer now, and the mititei will keep the desired shape much better.
 - At this point, you're ready to grill the mititei. Make sure you prepare them medium-rare, such that they stay juicy and soft.

Presentation:
 - The color of mititei can hardly be compared to how tasty they are. But the presentation can greatly benefit from colorful accompanying side dishes. For example, garlic roasted potatoes and a summer salad.
 - There's nothing like a cold beer to complement this dish.

Sarmale is one of my favorite Romanian recipes for the winter season. The flavor is a delicious combination of smoky, meaty, sweet, and sour. The preparation is a bit tedious, but once done you'll enjoy fabulous feasts for the next few days.

Ingredients:
 - To soften the cabbage leaves (if needed): 12 cups water, half a cup of vinegar, and two tablespoons of salt
 - One cup of raw rice
 - Two pounds of ground pork
 - One squash (peeled, then shredded)
 - Half of a big red pepper (or an entire smaller one)
 - One cup of baby carrots
 - One onion
 - One clove of garlic
 - Three tablespoons of spice mix: salt, pepper, chili pepper, thyme, paprika, in equal quantities
 - Four tablespoons of cooking oil
 - One can of tomato sauce
 - About two pounds of sauerkraut
 - One cup fresh dill (chopped)
 - A bulky piece of smoked bacon (about one pound)

Preparation:
 - Here's an overview of the process. First, we need to soften the cabbage leaves (you'd want to skip this if you're lucky enough to get whole pickled cabbage leaves). We'll then prepare a meaty mixture and roll it in the leaves. Traditionally, this stuffing uses fatty pork meat - the fattiness makes the sarmale tender and soft. Here, I describe a healthier alternative that's easier to procure: use regular ground pork meat, but mix it with shredded squash. Finally, baking will allow all the flavors to blend in nicely.
 - Let's start with softening the cabbage leaves. Take a cabbage head, and cut the core out with a sharp knife. Mix 12 cups of water, half a cup of vinegar, and 2 tablespoons of salt, and bring to a boil. Pour the boiling mixture over the cored cabbage - you'll notice it open up like a blossoming flower. Gently remove the leaves one by one, and avoid tears and ruptures. Leave them in the hot brine a bit longer, until they become soft and pliable.
 - We'll need three cups of boiled rice. I like to prepare that myself, with a twist: mix one cup of water with one cup of sauerkraut brine, and bring to a boil. Rinse one cup of rice separately, then add it to the boiling mixture, cover, reduce the heat to low, and keep on cooking for 20 minutes (don't remove the lid). Note that the rice expands while cooking (it grows about three times its original size), so use a pan big enough to accommodate this quantity. When ready, stir in the rice with a fork to increase its fluffiness. Let it cool.
 - Meanwhile, dice the red pepper, carrots, onion, and garlic. Place them in a pan with oil, and cook for 15 minutes on medium heat. Let cool as well.
 - We're now ready to prepare the stuffing. In a large bowl, mix together the ground pork, the shredded squash, the rice, and the veggie mixture cooked earlier in the pan. Add the spices, olive oil, one cup of pureed tomatoes, and the chopped dill. Mix thoroughly.
 - With the stuffing ready, let's talk about putting together the sarmale (each one needs to be rolled individually, which will take some time). Take a leave of cabbage (cut it in half if it's too big), place two tablespoons of mixture in the center, and roll: fold one of the longer sides over the meat, then roll across the longer side, then stuff the remaining side in.
 - Take a big pot and add a bit of cooking oil. Then place a thin layer of sauerkraut to make sure that none of the sarmale sticks to the bottom. Carefully place a layer of sarmale, with a few chunks of smoked bacon interleaved and a couple of bay leaves. Make sure they're tightly packed - we don't want much space in between.  Top with a thin layer of pureed tomatoes. And repeat until the pot is full (or until you run out of sarmale) - another layer of sauerkraut, followed by one more layer of sarmale and a few chunks of smoked bacon (plus one or two bay leaves) , then one thin layer of pureed tomatoes. When finished, top everything with layer of sauerkraut.
 - Add two or three cups of water (depending on how tightly you placed everything in the pot).  We want the sarmale to cook in water and become tender and moist.  Bake in the over at 400F for two hours.

Presentation:
 - Serve the sarmale hot or warm.
 - The dish goes well with sour cream, chili peppers (fresh or pickled), and polenta. They all add a bit of color to the presentation.
 - Enjoy sarmale with a cold beer, and with great company.

This is a fairly common Romanian recipe, usually served during the cold winter months. I love this recipe because it infuses tomato and garlic flavors to regular meat. Mix the tomato sauce with mashed potatoes and add pickles - and you've got yourself a winning combination!

Ingredients:
 - 6 pork chops
 - One 18oz can of tomato sauce
 - One cup of wine
 - Spices: salt, pepper, chili pepper, thyme
 - One head of garlic
 - Finely chopped fresh parsley (for presentation)

Preparation:
 - Quickly fry the pork chops on high heat (one minute each side, or until they start to catch a bit of brownish color).
 - Preheat the oven to 325 F.  - Mix the tomato sauce, wine, and spices. Place a thin layer on a flat baking dish, then place the steaks, and cover with the remaining tomato mixture. Cover with aluminum foil.
 - Cook in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove aluminum foil and cook for another 25 minutes. Add the chopped garlic, mix, and cook for another 5-10 minutes.

Presentation:
 - Place the dish over a bed of mashed potatoes (or pasta).
 - Add a generous amount of sauce over each steak.
 - Sprinkle chopped fresh parsley for an adding bit of green.
 - The dish is greatly complemented by a side serving of pickles and a glass of cold beer.

Romanian cuisine varies a lot from one season to another. Sauerkraut and smoked meats are two very common ingredients for dishes served in the winter (though you can find them throughout the year nowadays). This dish combines them both - it is one of my favorite traditional recipes to enjoy during the cold weather.

One trick to cook this recipe well is to balance the initial sourness of the sauerkraut with sweet and smoky flavors. This is achieved by combining it with flavorful ingredients (tomatoes and cooked onions taste sweet, meats are smoked), then baking the dish in the oven. Do not forget the bay leaves, thyme, and a slight spicy kick!

Ingredients:
 - 6 pounds of sauerkraut
 - 1 large onion
 - 1.5 pounds of diced tomatoes (canned or fresh)
 - 1.5 pounds of smoked sausages or meats
 - 1 cup of cooking oil
 - Spices: 7-8 large bay leaves, 2-3 of teaspoons thyme, salt, pepper, chili pepper (to taste)

Preparation:
 - Slice the onion, and cook it in oil on low heat for 15-20 minutes (until it becomes soft).
 - Mix the cooked onion and oil with the sauerkraut, tomatoes, smoked meat, spices, and add 3-4 cups of water.
 - Cover, and cook on medium heat for 1.5 hours. Stir occasionally to prevent burns.
 - Transfer the dish to the oven (move to another pot if necessary), and bake at 475 for another hour.
 - Serve hot with bread or polenta, raw onion, and a cold beer.

Presentation:
 - If available, fresh scallions would add a nice touch of green color while greatly complimenting the dish. Alternatively, slice some red onions and serve alongside instead.
 - A grilled sausage looks great alongside this dish, and so does a cold beer.

I've had this unforgettable recipe for the very first time in a small German city called Koblenz.  At first, it seemed like an innocent steak with a creamy sauce.  And then, an explosion of spice hit me - it tingled my mouth and invited a refreshing sip of German beer.  I've been a fan of this steak recipe ever since, and hope you become one too.

Ingredients (per each person):
 - 1 steak
 - 3 tablespoons of olive oil
 - Spices: salt and pepper
 - 3 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream
 - 1 teaspoon of green peppercorns
 - Half a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce

Pre-preparation (one day in advance):
 - I like to marinade the meat for about 24 hours.  I add about a tablespoon of olive oil on one side of the steak, generously sprinkle some salt and pepper, and rub them in gently with your fingers (or with a spoon).  Turn the steak over, and repeat the process.  Then cover with a plastic foil, and place in the fridge for a day.

Preparation:
 - There are two easy approaches to prepare the steak: grill or panfry.

 - For grilling, heat up your grill and cook the steaks as you know best.

 - For panfrying, Heat up a pan to medium-high heat.  When ready, place the marinated steak in it.  Cook for about 2 minutes on one side, turn, and cook for another 2 minutes.  If you like the steak medium or well done, you may want to cover the pan while cooking.  If you like it rare, you may want to replace the pan with a lightbulb.  :)

 - When all the steaks are ready (I assume you want to share this recipe with family or friends), you need to proceed to preparing the accompanying sauce.  Use the same pan where you cooked the steaks: the leftovers from cooking the steak will add extra flavor to the sauce (optionally, add the Worcestershire sauce if you want extra flavor).  If you grilled the steaks, you need a pan for the sauce, and you'll also need to use the Worcestershire sauce to add some color.

 - Heat up the pan.  Add the heavy whipping cream, the green peppercorns, and the Worcestershire sauce to the pan.  Cook for about 30 seconds to a minute, while gently mixing with a wooden spatula.  The cream will suck in the Worcestershire sauce and some of the juices left over from the cooked steaks, and will start turning brownish.  When ready, add the sauce over the steak.  Serve immediately, while all the ingredients are hot and tasty.

Presentation:
 - Present next to a couple of colorful side dishes.  Here, the steak is presented accompanied by Garlic Carrot Fries and Yellow Wax Bean Salad.

Ingredients:
 - 8 ounces of mushrooms
 - Half a chicken breast, boneless
 - 2 tablespoons of shredded parsnip
 - 4 baby carrots, diced small
 - Half an onion
 - 3-4 small cherry tomatoes, diced
 - 2 tablespoons of shredded zucchini or squash
 - 3-4 tablespoons of oil
 - 3-4 tablespoons of flour
 - 2 cups of sour cream
 - 1 cup finely chopped dill
 - Spices: salt, pepper

Preparation:
 - Boil the chicken breast, mushrooms, parsnip, carrots, onion, tomatoes, and zucchini/squash in 6 cups of water.  This will last about 30 minutes, and it will look similar to a soup.  Wait for this to be ready before you proceed to the next step.
 - In a deep cooking pot, place 3-4 tablespoons of oil.  Heat it up.
 - Carefully sprinkle the flour over the hot oil, one tablespoon at a time, and mix till uniform.
 - Use a ladle to transfer the cooked meat and veggies soup (together with the liquid) to the pot with the flour and the oil.  Transfer one full ladle, then mix till uniform.  Only then you may proceed to transfer the next full ladle.
 - Cook everything for another 5 minutes.
 - Add the sour cream and the spices, and mix till uniform.  Cook for another 5 minutes.
 - Remove from heat.
 - Add the chopped dill, and mix.

Presentation:
 - Serve with polenta.  I like to let the polenta cool, then slice it carefully, and use some of these slices to decorate the dish.

Ingredients:
 - 2 pounds of potatoes
 - 1 onion
 - 1 pound of ground beef
 - 1 can of diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
 - Spices: salt, pepper, chili pepper, thyme
 - Cooking oil

Preparation:
 - Peel the potatoes, cut them into cubes, and boil them.  Remove, discard water, and let the potatoes drain in a colander.
 - Dice the onion, and broil it in a bit of cooking oil.  When it starts to turn yellow, add the ground beef and then spices (salt, pepper, chili pepper, and thyme), mix, and cook for about 4-10 minutes (until the beef is not red anymore).
 - Mash the potatoes, and add salt to taste.
 - Pick your favorite baking dish.  Preferably, it should be non-stick.  Ideally, if should also fit all the ingredients.  Gently coat the baking dish with a bit of oil of butter to further help remove the moussaka later on.
 - Split the mashed potatoes in three equal quantities.  Use the first third to form a uniform layer on the bottom of the baking dish.
 - Split the cooked ground beef composition in two halves, and use one to form a uniform layer on top of the potatoes in the backing dish.
 - Add half of the diced tomatoes in another uniform layer on top.
 - Add few more spices if necessary (remember that we did not add any salt nor spices to the potatoes or to the tomatoes).
 - Add another layer of mashed potatoes on top (though save the last third of them for the end).
 - Add another layer with the remaining ground beef.
 - Add another layer with the remaining diced tomatoes.
 - Add more spices, as needed.
 - Finally, add the last layer of potatoes.
 - For a nice color on top, top everything with thin slices of butter or shaved cheese.
 - Preheat the oven at 425F, and bake for 40 minutes.

Presentation:
 - Cut the serving slices vertically, and carefully remove each slice to preserve the layers.
 - Serve next to pickles, which also add some extra color to the presentation.
 - A cold beer goes perfectly wish this dish.

Ingredients:
 - 2 boneless chicken breasts
 - 1 head of garlic
 - 1 cup of parsley
 - Spices: salt, pepper, chili pepper
 - Cooking oil

Preparation:
 - Cut the chicken breasts into cubes or slices.
 - Peel the garlic, and chop it finely.
 - Put a bit of cooking oil in a pan.  Add the chicken.  Place the garlic on top of the chicken (we don't want it to cook yet).
 - Cook on medium heat until the chicken turns white.
 - Turn the heat to high, and stir (we want to start cooking the garlic as well).  Add spices: salt, pepper, and chili pepper.
 - Cook on high heat until we get some spots of nice brownish color on the chicken pieces.
 - Remove the garlic chicken from the cooking pan.
 - Mix with the chopped parsley, and serve.

Presentation:
 - The recipe has a limited range of colors: the green of the parsley, and the white/brown of the chicken.  Enlarge this range with different add-ons.  For example, we placed the recipe on a bed of mango pieces, and we used strips of heirloom carrots to add accents of red and purple.

Ingredients:
 - 3 pounds of onions
 - 2 cups of chicken meat
 - Half of a green bell pepper
 - 1 large tomato
 - Spices: salt, pepper, chili pepper, thyme, and bay leaves.
 - Fresh dill or parsley
 - Cooking oil

Preparation:
 - Dice the onions, and fry in oil on medium heat until they start falling apart (about 1 hour).  We need them cooked thoroughly - they'll form a yummy sauce for the dish.
 - Cut the chicken into cubes, and add to the recipe.  Turn the heat to high, and cook for about 10 minutes.
 - Add salt, pepper, chili pepper, thyme, and 2-3 bay leaves.  I like to exaggerate a bit with the chili, and make the dish spicy (which compliments well the sweetness of the cooked tomatoes).
 - Chop the bell pepper half and the tomato, and add to the dish.
 - Also, add a couple of cups of water.  Reduce the heat to medium, and cook for another 20-30 minutes.
 - Remove from heat, and add one cup of chopped dill or parsley.
 - Serve warm.

Presentation:
 - The set of colors in the dish can be further extended with strong greens and yellows.  First, top the dish with a bit of fresh chopped dill or parsley just before presenting the dish to the guests.  Then, serve the "tocanita" next to polenta: it adds a nice yellow to the presentation, while also  the taste.
 - It you aimed for a spicy dish, a glass of cold beer goes really well alongside.