Apricot dumplings/
Galuste cu caise

Prepare as for plum dumplings. Choose small, ripe, firm apricots.

Baked polenta/
Mamaliguta la cuptor

Prepare a quick polenta, replacing the water with milk. Add 4 oz/100 g crumbled sheep cheese, 4 oz/100 g butter and salt if needed. Let cool a little, then mix with three beated eggs. Grease a pan or baking sheet with some butter, place half of the polenta in, spread the rest of the cheese and small pieces of butter on top, then cover with the other half of polenta. Put some more butter on top of that and bake for 20-30 minutes. Serve hot.

Baked polenta with eggs/
Mamaliga cu ochiuri

Set the milk to boil and add, gradually, as much corn meal to make a medium soft polenta. When it is cooked, add 2 tablespoons each of butter, sour cream and grated cheese. Butter a heat resistant glass dish, place the polenta inside and smooth the top. Then, with a buttered spoon, make holes (nests) the size of an egg. Break an egg inside of each nest. Sprinkle with salt, add a few slivers of butter and place in the oven, until the egg whites are set. Serve immediately. You can also serve this in individual ramekins.

Baked polenta with milk/
Mamaliga cu lapte la cuptor

Make a rather soft polenta from the milk and corn meal. Set aside from heat and mix in the grated parmesan, Swiss cheese and eggs. Sprinkle some salt. Butter a heat resistant glass dish and place the polenta inside. Pour the sour cream and sprinkle some grated parmesan on top. Place in the oven to brown it slightly.

Boiled dumplings/
Papanasi fierti

Mix the cheese with the yolks, add the flour, salt and whipped egg whites. Make a flattened roll, about two fingers thick. Spray a little flour on top and then cut in 1 1/2" thick pieces. Place these dumplings in boiling salt water and boil until they rise to the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon, place on a plate and put some melted butter on them. Serve hot with or without sour cream.

Boiled meat dumplings/
Coltunasi umpluti cu carne fiarta

Grind the meat that has boiled for soup, then fry together with a chopped onion in one tablespoon of lard. Prepare dumplings as for cottage cheese dumplings. Serve as for raw meat dumplings.

Boiled polenta/
Mamaliga fiarta

Set the water to boil. When the water is boiling, add the salt and a little of the corn meal. After a few minutes, when the water is boiling, add the rest of the corn meal. Mix it briefly and then let it boil at low temperature for about half an hour. Then, with a wooden spoon start mixing vigurously. If the polenta seems soft, add a little bit more corn meal. Mix continuously. To test if the polenta is done, hold the wooden spoon straight. Rotate it fast between your palms and then try to pull it out. If it comes out clean, the polenta is done. If not, let the polenta boil a little longer. Then you wet a wooden spoon in water and gather the polenta to the center. Let it boil a few more minutes and then shake the pot a few times and pour the hot polenta on a wooden cutting board (not recommended to pour on a plate). Let it set for a few minutes and then cut it with a clean string.

Cheese dumplings/
Galuste cu brinza

Prepare a dough as for the plum dumplings. Shape small balls with your hands. Then boil in slightly salted water. Scald with melted butter or lard, put some cheese on top of them and serve hot.

Cottage cheese dumplings/
Coltunasi cu brinza de vaca

Sift the flour, make a nest in the middle and place the egg and salt there. Mix the egg with a little flour, adding some water too. Make a stiff dough. Make a ball of the dough, cover with a cloth and let rest for 10-15 minutes. Roll a thin sheet and cut 3 inch squares. Place some cheese onto each square and fold to make a triangle, sticking the edges well. As you make the dumplings, place them on a floured surface, covering with a cloth. When all of them are done, place in boiling salt water. Let boil until they rise to the surface. Drain, wash with tepid water, then place on a plate and scald with melted butter. You may serve with sour cream too. Back to Boiled meat dumplings

Cream of wheat croquettes/
Crochete de gris

Boil the milk. When it is boiling, add the cream of wheat a little at a time, like a rain. Keed stirring. Let it boil until it resembles a soft polenta. Remove from heat, add butter and salt and mix. After cooling, add the beaten egg, mixing well. From this mixture, shape croquettes the size of a small sausage. Fry in hot lard and serve with sautes.

Cream of wheat with fruit,charlotte style/
Gris cu fructe in forma de sarlota

Boil the fruits. After coming to a few boils, remove from heat, let cool, then sift fruits and liquid. Boil, adding sugar, vanilla and cream of wheat, adding this last a little at a time, like a rain, stirring continuously until it thickens like a cream. Remove from heat and beat until foamy. Then pour into a charlotte or pudding mold which was previously moistened with cold water. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Before serving, turn onto a plate and garnish with some raw fruit.

Cream of wheat with milk/
Gris cu lapte

Set to boil the milk with the water and vanilla. When starting to boil, begin to add handfuls of cream of wheat, a little at a time, like a rain. Keep stirring with the other hand. After all cream of wheat is used up, add sugar and salt and let moil at slow heat until the cream of wheat absorbs all milk, without making it too hard. The cream of wheat hardens after cooling. Remove the vanilla and place onto a plate. Serve cold, with fruit syrup, preserves or caramelized sugar sauce

Cream of wheat with milk and chocolate, charlotte style/
Gris cu lapte si ciocolata in forma de sarlota

Set to boil the milk with sugar, butter and chocolate. When it starts boiling, add salt and cream of wheat, a little at a time, like a rain, continuously stirring. Boil until thickened like a cream. Remove from heat, add the rum, mix well and place in a charlotte mold which was previously moistened with cold water. Refrigerate a few hours. When serving, turn onto a plate and garnish with whipped cream.

French toast/
Friganele

Beat the egg, add the milk, sugar and a little salt. Moisten the bread slices and fry on both sides in hot lard. Serve with green peas with butter.

Fried dumplings/
Papanasi prajiti

Mix the cheese with the yolks, add the flour, salt and whipped egg whites. Take tablespoonfuls and shape longish and flat dumplings. Roll them in flour and fry in hot lard. Serve powdered with confectioner's sugar and sour cream (optional).

Fried polenta slices/
Friganele de mamaliga

With a clean string, cut leftover polenta into slices. Sprinkle grated cheese on the slices and fry in butter or lard. Serve with vegetables.

Fried polenta slices II/
Mamaliga prajita

There are two options here. Either make a rather hard boiled polenta, slice it and then fry the slices in hot oil. Serve with whipped dry beans or peas. Or, make a rather soft polenta with the corn meal and equal quantities of water and milk. Add 2-3 tablespoons grated parmesan, 1 tablespoon butter. Mix well. Then pour the polenta on a wet wooden cutting board. When the polenta is cold, cut it in diamonds. Fry in hot butter, sprinkle with parmesan and serve with sour cream.

Macaroni with cheese/
Macaroane cu brinza

Set the salted water to boil. When it comes to a boil, add the macaroni. When it comes to a boil again, lower the heat and boil until done. Drain and wash with cold water. Melt the butter in a pot, add the macaroni, 2 tablespoons of cheese, mix well and place in the oven for a few minutes. Serve hot after adding the rest of cheese on top. Back to Macaroni with cheese and tomato sauce

Macaroni with cheese and tomato sauce/
Macaroane cu brinza si sos de rosii

Prepare as for macaroni with cheese. Prepare a thick tomato sauce from 14 oz tomatoes and a teaspoon of sugar. When serving, pour the sauce over the macaroni and add the cheese on top.

Macaroni with meat/
Macaroane cu carne

Boil the macaroni in 3 quarts of salt water, drain and rinse. Fry the finely chopped onions in 2 tablespoons of lard. When it starts turning yellow, add the boiled and ground meat, salt, pepper and let fry a little. Melt one tablespoon of lard in a pot, add the macaroni, the fried meat, mix well and then bake in the oven for a few minutes.

Noodles/
Taitei

Sift the flour, make a hole in the middle and pour the eggs inside. Mix them with a little flour, then add the water and salt and make a stiff dough. Divide in three, then work each third a little, make into balls and let rest, covered, for 5-10 minutes. Take each ball and make a sheet as thin as possible. Place it on a floured cloth and let dry. When half dry, cut 1 inch wide strips, place 4-5 strips on top of one another and cut, with a very sharp knife, into very thin strips. Sprad the noodles onto a clean surface and let dry for another 15-20 minutes. They can be used afterwards. Back to Spaghetti

Noodles with walnuts/
Taitei cu nuci

Boil the noodles in salt water. Drain, rinse in cold water. Then mix with sugar, walnuts, cinammon or vanilla. The noodles may be replaced by macaroni or spaghetti.

Pancakes/
Clatite

Place a cup of flour into a bowl. Add eggs, salt and mix with a wooden spoon until the eggs absorbed all the flour, adding a little cold milk at a time, until all the milk is used up. The mixture should resemble thin sour cream. You may add some flour or milk to adjust the consistency. Take a pancake pan and heat it. Grease it lightly with melted butter or oil. Place one tablespoon of the pancake mixture in the hot pan, shaking the pan so that the bottom is covered. When it starts browning, turn onto the other side. Fill the pancakes with preserves, marmelade, cheese or meat.

Plum dumplings/
Galuste cu prune

Boil well washed potatoes in their jacket. When done, peel them and crush with the potato press or grind them. Place the potato paste in a bowl and mix with the eggs, flour, one teaspoon of sugar and a little salt. Make a three finger thick roll from this paste. Cut one finger thick pieces from it. Flatten these pieces with your hand and place one pitless plum onto each of them. Then roll into a ball with your floured hand. When all the dumplings are made, boil in salt water. When they rise to the surface, they are done. Remove with the slotted spoon and roll in breadcrumbs previously fried in butter, so that each dumpling is completely covered in breadcrumbs. Place on a serving plate and powder with vanilla confectioner's sugar. Serve warm. Back to Apricot dumplings

Polenta ball/
Bulz de mamaliga

Make a medium hard polenta. Take pieces the size of a medium apple and fill each ball of polenta with 1-2 teaspoons of cheese. Then grill the balls, preferably over an open fire. They are ready when they are golden brown outside and the cheese is melted inside.

Polenta with feta/
Mamaliga cu brinza de oi

Make a medium soft polenta using equal quantities of water and milk. When it is done, add a cup of crumbled sheep feta cheese and mix until the cheese is well blended in. Pour on plates and serve very hot with sour cream.

Potato blini/
Blinele de cartofi

Peel and wash the potatoes. Grate small. Place in a bowl, add sugar, salt, yeast mixed with milk and flour. Mix everything well, cover and place in a warm place. After it has risen, take tablespoonfuls and fry on both sides in hot lard or oil. Serve hot with sour cream.

Potato doughnuts/
Gogosi din cartofi

Roast the potatoes in their jackets, then peel and grate them (while they are hot). Place them in a bowl, add the yeast mixed with the sour cream and yolks, salt and mix with flour to make a medium soft dough. Cover the bowl with a cloth and let rise in a warm place. After it has risen well, roll a sheet the thickness of a pencil. Cut rounds with a glass and place some ground ham or crumbled sheep cheese mixed with an egg on each round. Cover with another round and make sure the edges stick. Fry in hot oil and serve hot with tea.

Quick polenta/
Mamaliga pripita

Set the pot with water to boil. When the water is hot, add salt. Sprinkle a little of the corn meal. When it starts boiling, place a wooden spoon in the pot and start to gradually add the corn meal (rain-like). Keep mixing with the wooden spoon. When the polenta seems sufficiently dense, stop adding corn meal. Keep mixing, pressing the polenta towards the edges of the pot. When the polenta is cooked through, take the wooden spoon out and clean it with another wet spoon. Start gathering the polenta towards the center of the pot and let it boil for a few more minutes. After it has made a few more steamy bubbles, grab the pot with oven mitts, shake it a few times and pour the polenta on a wooden cutting board. The quick polenta is softer than boiled polenta and is served with fried eggs, cheese and sour cream, etc.

Raw meat dumplings/
Coltunasi umpluti cu carne cruda

Grind the meat, add salt, pepper and the finely chopped onion that was previously fried in a tablespoon of lard. Mix everything well. Use this as filling for the dumplings. Boil in salt water, rinse in warm water and scald with hot lard. Serve hot.Back to Boiled meat dumplings

Rice with milk I/
Orez cu lapte I

Set to boil the milk with the water and vanilla. When it comes to a boil, add the washed rice. Let boil, at slow heat, stirring now and then. It is ready when the rice grain can be easily crushed between your fingers. Remove the vanilla, place the rice on a plate and serve warm or cold, with preserves, glacee fruits, syrup or whipped cream.Back to Rice milk II

Rice with milk II/
Orez cu lapte II

Prepare as rice with milk I. When ready, remove from heat, add salt, rum, egg yolks, butter and mix well. Arrange on the serving plate and garnish with whipped cream and fruits from preserves.

Sour cherry dumplings/
Coltunasi cu visine

Wash the sour cherries, remove pits and leave them in the strainer with some sugar. During this time, prepare the dough. Before filling the dumplings, press down on the sour cherries to drain the liquid. Mix this liquid with 3 tablespoons of sugar and refrigerate. Fill the dumplings, boil them, drain them and then rinse them in lots of cold water. Drain them well, arrange on the serving plate, powder them with the rest of sugar and then pour the cherry liquid mixed with sour cream on top. Serve cold.

Spaghetti/
Iofca

Prepare a dough as for noodles. Cut the strips laid on top of one another in narrower strips, (about as wide as a finger). Spread on a clean surface and let dry for 20-25 minutes.

Wine doughnuts/
Gogosi de vin

Set the wine to boil with the butter. When it is boiling, set is aside from heat and gradually add flour, stirring continuously, until you get a medium stiff dough. Keep stirring until it starts to cool down. Gradually add 4 yolks and 1 tablespoon sugar. At the end add the whipped egg whites. Take teaspoonfuls of the batter and place in very hot oil or lard. When done, sprinkle confectioner's sugar on them.