Viennese Iced Coffee

I started 2013 with a restaurant review.  And I almost went the same route this year but eventually decided against it and instead opted for a cold, frothy drink.  Oddly enough, I keep craving icy treats in cold weather when that should normally happen in scorching temperatures.  But what could be better than coffee and ice cream paired together in one wicked frozen drink?  

 

On a cold, snowy afternoon, we were watching this brilliant yet deeply sad French drama ("Three Colors: Blue" – a must-see especially if you’re a fan of French cinema or foreign films in general) with our friends Gretchen and Joel.  At one point in the movie, the main character goes into a coffee shop and orders “her usual” – coffee and ice cream.  In a nutshell, it was a small cup of coffee that the woman ever so slowly pours over the side of ice cream; but that was all I needed – I was instantly thirsty for Viennese Iced Coffee!  The very next day, in arctic temperatures, I went and bought a huge container of ice cream (yes, I’m one of those peculiar people who don’t have any ice cream in the freezer because I could devour it by the ladle) and whipped up Viennese Iced Coffee, a really tasty frozen coffee beverage very popular in Viennese coffee shops that I haven’t sipped in an extremely long time!

I may or may not have mentioned that I’m a voracious coffee drinker!  In the morning, I usually go for a double espresso if I’m in the vicinity of a Starbucks or the dark and intensely smoky French Roast coffee when I’m at home.  Needless to say, I love coffee in desserts.  This particular Viennese Iced Coffee recipe has the best of both worlds.  It’s a dessert type of drink with very strong coffee and ice cream, which adds a delightful sweetness and vanilla-infused creaminess.  Not to mention that this cold drink is the perfect afternoon sweet treat that will give you the right amount of caffeine to power through the rest of your day.  And if you’re in the mood for happy hour, adding a splash of Amaretto or Irish Cream would work wonders.  Cheers!   

Viennese Iced Coffee

Adapted slightly from Barefoot Contessa Foolproof by Ina Garten 

Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients:

·         6 (1-ounce) shots of espresso or 6 ounces strong coffee, regular or decaf

·         3 Tablespoons sugar

·         1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

·         ¼ cup hot water

·         2 cups ice

·         4 scoops vanilla or coffee ice cream

·         Unsweetened cocoa powder or bittersweet chocolate shavings

·         Straws, for serving

Instructions:

Combine the coffee, sugar, vanilla extract, and hot water in a blender and stir until the sugar dissolves.  Put the ice in the blender and process on high until the mixture is almost completely smooth.  Divide the mixture between 4 glasses.  

Scoop one ball of ice cream into each glass.  Using a small sifter, sprinkle each drink lightly with cocoa powder or decorate with a few chocolate shavings.  Serve with a straw and a teaspoon.   

Poftă Bună! (Bon Appétit!)

My Favorite Holiday Recipes

I hope that everyone had a wonderful and a very Merry Christmas!  I love the holiday season because it’s the perfect excuse to showcase your favorite holiday recipes, from the simplest to the most elaborate, and enjoy them with your friends and family.  For us Romanians, the holidays represent a baking and cooking extravaganza, and although Christmas has already come and gone, I still want to share with you my Christmas and New Year’s favorites.  And they are all here at Simply Romanesco ready for you to try this holiday season and beyond.  Happy New Year!  

Appetizers

·         Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates with Prosciutto

·         Homemade Pretzels

·         Sweet and Spicy Roasted Nuts

Beverages

·         Hot Mulled Wine – fun and festive, warm and comforting, this spiked drink is perfect during the cold and snowy nights

Cakes

·         Double-Chocolate Layer Cake – a delightful chocolate overload!

·         Maple Sweet Potato Cake – although it’s not really a traditional Christmas cake, I love that it’s a cinch to make, it’s absolutely gorgeous and delicious, and goes well with coffee or tea while you open presents on Christmas morning; and let’s not forget that sweet potatoes are ever so popular this time of the year

Cookies

·         Brazilian Chocolate Truffles

·         Nutella Filled Cookies (Ișlere) – a Romanian classic and a staple in our family during the holiday season

Main Dishes

·         Herb-Roasted Pork Loin – during the winter holidays the pork consumption in Romania goes through the roof; and pork brings luck in the New Year! 

·         Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Sarmale) – Christmas is not Christmas without them

Salads

·         Boeuf Salad (Salată de Boeuf) – perhaps my favorite salad and the one I look forward to every Christmas

Side Dishes

·         Baked Potatoes with Garlic and Fresh Herbs

·         Creamed Corn

·         Mashed Potatoes with Cheddar Cheese and Mixed Herbs

·         Sweet Green Peas  

Soups

·         Chicken Sour Soup (Ciorbă de Pui) – Grandma Vicki always makes this sour soup with pork as the chief ingredient on New Year’s Day

Poftă Bună! (Bon Appétit!)

Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates

I know that we’re in the Thanksgiving home stretch!  But I just had to tell you about this elegant and impossibly easy appetizer that would make your guests swoon with delight this holiday season.  You may decide to squeeze it in on the already over-packed Thanksgiving menu for tomorrow or wait until Christmas or New Year’s or a relaxed Saturday afternoon with friends.  It’s up to you.  And if you do choose to whip it up for the big dinner tomorrow, rest assured those ravenous appetites will be kept in check before the bird is ready!   

As you can see, it only took me a few postings to come up with another great recipe that has goat cheese at its core.  I recently made these super-tasty Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates for a tapas themed party for the iconic El Clásico, the most watched soccer game in the world.  I also made them for a dinner party, a birthday celebration, and I’m making them again for Thanksgiving.  As you can imagine, everyone was smitten at first bite, gobbled them down in no time, and then demanded seconds! 

Simply put, these dates are a breeze to throw together and are wonderfully meaty and chewy, sweet and salty, creamy and fragrant all in one mouthful.  You can wrap them in prosciutto (or Serrano ham if you opt for a Spanish kick) and freely snack on them before the main courses make it to the table.  Pair the dates with a cold, crisp white wine and they will bewitch you.  And a little side note – you may want to bump up the quantities – the crowd will ask for more!

Last year, I was in charge of the entire Thanksgiving menu, and although it was only for three people, it was daunting and uplifting at the same time.  This year, I’m back to being a contributor to the mighty feast by bringing these amazing Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates, these irresistible Sweet and Spicy Roasted Nuts, and my favorite Cranberry-Orange Sauce that I’ve made religiously for the past few years.  So, here you have it…  Enjoy the recipe and I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving filled with delicious food and delightful company! 

Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates with Prosciutto

Adapted slightly from Giada at Home by Giada de Laurentiis

Makes: 16 stuffed dates

Ingredients:

·         ¼ cup (2 ounces) goat cheese, at room temperature

·         ¼ cup (2 ounces) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature

·         ¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil leaves (or dill)

·         Salt and freshly ground black pepper

·         16 Medjool dates

·         8 thin slices prosciutto, halved lengthwise

·         16 toothpicks or cocktail picks

Instructions:

In a small bowl, mix together the cheeses and basil (or dill).  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Using a paring knife, make a lengthwise incision in each date.  Gently open the dates slightly and remove the pits.  (Make sure you don’t cut the dates in half when making the incision!) 

Spoon about ½ teaspoon of the cheese and basil mixture inside each one.  Close the dates around the filling.  Wrap a piece of prosciutto around each date and secure with a toothpick. 

Arrange the stuffed dates on a platter and serve. 

Poftă Bună! (Bon Appétit!)

Apple Pancakes

It’s time we talked about pancakes!  While pancakes are traditionally considered a breakfast staple in the States, Romanians see them as an unceremonious yet utterly tasty, usually-mid-week-kind of sweet.  Or at least that’s what they are in my family.  Yes; in my grandma’s home, pancakes are always a mid-week-jackpot dessert, fairly similar to French crêpes but lacy and soft, and usually stuffed with sweet, jammy fillings including homemade apricot preserve or with sweet cheese and raisins on occasion.  And then, there are these delightful Apple Pancakes, a traditional Saturday sweet treat in my grandma’s kitchen! 

 

With fall in full swing, markets are flooded with apples and I’ve loaded up on my fair share of this season’s favorite fruit.  My apple of choice is honey crisp and I’ve stocked up on it like there’s no tomorrow.  There’s something decisively sublime about its pleasant balance of tart and sweet that other apples don’t quite possess.  So, what better way to showcase their sweetly crisp flavor than in light and cottony apple pancakes?  

These apple pancakes are neither thick nor spongy, but are nothing short of brilliant either.  They are simple, little pockets of tender, pillowy dough that effortlessly hold tart and crisp pieces of apple.  Once out of the sizzling skillet, the pancakes are lightly dusted with nicely perfumed cinnamon-sugar that gently turns into a thin, caramelized glaze as it melts, nestled in between the blistering pile of golden pancakes.  The best part – they are mighty fabulous for a relaxed dessert, and impossibly delicious with a generous drizzle of maple syrup for a satisfying breakfast.  And truth be told, there’s nothing more inviting and comforting than the charming aroma of freshly cooked apples and steaming pancakes invading every little corner of the house on a cold, fall day!

Before I leave you with this delightful recipe, I’m overdue with a proper and very big “Thank You!” to the incredibly talented Carla Sue, who writes at the wonderful and sinfully sweet blog, Eat Sweet.  Carla Sue has nominated my blog for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award!  I’m deeply honored, excited and lucky to be considered for this lovely award by a fellow blogger and friend who lives half a world away and whose sweet words, creations and gorgeous pictures always leave me drooling and hungry for more!  Again, thank you so much for nominating me, Carla Sue!   

Apple Pancakes

By Simply Romanesco inspired by my Grandma Vicki

Makes: about 20 pancakes

Ingredients for the pancakes:

·         2 heaped cups (500 ml) whole milk

·         2 large eggs, at room temperature

·         3 heaped Tablespoons (60 grams) granulated sugar

·         1/8 teaspoon salt

·         ½ teaspoon baking powder

·         Scant 2 ¾ cups (370 grams) all-purpose flour

·         1 large or 2 small apples, cored, thinly sliced (about 1/8-inch) and cut into ½-inch pieces

·         Olive oil or vegetable oil for cooking

Ingredients for the cinnamon-sugar mix:

·         ½ cup (115 grams) granulated sugar

·         1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions for the cinnamon-sugar mix:

In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon and whisk well to combine.  Set aside.  

Instructions for the pancakes:

In a large bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, sugar, salt and baking powder.  Gradually, add the flour to the milk and eggs mixture stirring constantly until the flour is fully incorporated, and you have a slightly thicker batter without any lumps and traces of flour.

Add the sliced apples and gently mix them into the batter. 

In a nonstick skillet, heat about 1 ½ teaspoon of olive oil over medium heat.  Fill a 2.5-inch ladle with the pancake and apple batter (have 2 pieces of apple per pancake) and gently pour it into the pan.  Cook pancake for 1-2 minutes per side until golden-brown.  Repeat with the rest of the batter adding about 1 teaspoon of oil per pancake.  If the pan gets too hot, turn the heat down to medium-low.  

Place cooked pancakes on a platter and sprinkle each pancake with 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon-sugar mix.      

Poftă Bună! (Bon Appétit!)

Honey and cinnamon plum cake for turning two!

My little blog turned two, last week!  And, you know, this journey would hardly be so much fun without all of you, dear readers!  And for that, I want to give you all a very big THANK YOU!!!  Thank you for reading my stories, trying my recipes, sending lovely and super sweet words of encouragement, and simply being out there and enjoying my blog!  You can’t imagine how much this all means to me!

Strangely, it seems that every year on this big, celebratory occasion I’m being followed around by the same type of plums – the cloudy purple Italian prune plums that I so long for all summer until they finally make it to the markets and into my kitchen and into sinful desserts.  Last year, I stuffed them into perfectly soft dumplings; this year, I dropped them into a deep, dark, nicely sweet and moist Pudding Cake of Honey, Cinnamon and Plums that was nothing short of legendary!

This year, my parents also enjoyed a glorious plum harvest.  The plum tree in my grandparents’ garden resembled a willow tree and almost gave in to the heavy weight of its overloaded crown of ripe plums.  Most of them found their way into simmering jams, pickled compotes, beloved cakes, and some were left for eating raw.  But while my parents, conveniently, went plum picking in the backyard, I went to the market where, luck struck, and a very generous lady put an overflowing box of swiftly ripening prune plums in my lap for virtually nothing. 

So, what do you do when fortune strikes?  You say ‘thank you very, very much’, run home and stash your freezer with multiple bags of plums to make deliciously oozing potato plum dumplings until most likely next year; and with the several remaining pounds of plums you make pan after pan of Nigel Slater’s spectacular plum cake: a pan for a second birthday, one for a Sunday brunch with friends, one for a casual wedding anniversary celebration, another one for a midweek-night sweet treat, and one more because you still have a glut of plums leftover and you like this cake way more than you care to admit!  

To be quite honest, I first made this cake about a year ago with the last fresh prune plums I had languishing around and ripening too fast for me to keep up.  But I haven’t gotten the chance to tell you about it until now.  Obviously, it’s not your posh and fancy birthday cake; it’s a charming-little-every-day-kind of cake.  It’s a sweetly mix of gingerbread and moist spice cake; spongy and sticky, deeply dark in color, loaded with warm cinnamon and tart, juicy plums that turn a vivid reddish color and slowly descend and soften into the soggy batter as the cake rises and bakes into perfection and intense flavor.  It’s a no muss, no fuss yet perfect cake for a second birthday!  

Pudding Cake of Honey, Cinnamon, and Plums

Adapted from Ripe by Nigel Slater

Makes: 16 squares

Ingredients: 

·         2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour

·         1 slightly heaping teaspoon baking powder

·         1 teaspoon baking soda

·         1 slightly heaping teaspoon cinnamon

·         2/3 cup (200 g) agave nectar

·         2 heaping Tablespoons honey

·         ½ cup (125 g) butter

·         ½ cup packed (125 g) light brown sugar

·         12 ounces (350 g) plums, pitted and halved (or quartered if they are very large)

·         2 large eggs

·         1 cup milk (240 ml)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Line an 8- or 9-inch square cake pan with parchment paper. 

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon, and whisk well to combine. 

In a saucepan, warm the agave nectar, honey and butter over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the butter melts.  Once the butter has melted, stir in the light brown sugar and whisk well.  Remove the pan from the heat, and allow the mixture to cool slightly for a couple of minutes.

Break the eggs into a medium bowl, add the milk, and whisk to mix.

Pour the agave nectar mixture into the flour mixture and stir with a large, sturdy spoon until combined, and the batter is thick.  Pour in the eggs and milk mixture and continue to stir until the eggs and milk mixture is fully incorporated, and you have a loose batter without any traces of flour.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and arrange the plums on top.  The plums will drop as the cake bakes.  Bake for 35 minutes.  Place a piece of foil loosely over the top of the cake and leave to cook for 15 minutes longer.  Switch off the oven, but leave the cake in the oven for 15 more minutes.  Remove the cake from the oven and leave to cool completely before slicing.           

Poftă Bună! (Bon Appétit!)