About me
It is said there are four great cuisines in the world: French, Italian, Chinese and...Hungarian. I like to hear that. As a pedigree Hungarian, I can safely comment on their foods; the main dishes are savory with seasonings, a delicate touch of fiery red, but mildly sweet, paprika or an occasional surprise flavor of dill or caraway seed and satisfying with the delicious richness that sour cream can lend. Hmmmm, sounds good to me! Contrary to popular belief, Hungarian food is much more than paprika and goulash. In this book, you will find a wide array of recipes to expand the appreciation of this cuisine. Whether you crave Chicken Paprikás or Almás Rétes, these family treasured authentic Hungarian recipes include a vast array of national favorites, from appetizers through desserts. I am the newest author in my family of a fine Hungarian cookbook – called Helen’s Hungarian Heritage Recipes. Congratulations to me! Whoo hoo! Who knew. I won a Thomas B. Costain Literary Award in grade 11 in High School, but never in my wildest dreams would think that I would write a book – let alone a cookbook – let alone a Hungarian cookbook!. It’s hard even now to imagine the hundreds of hours I spent with my sweet mother compiling, editing, testing and tasting until the job was complete. Well worth it though – the fruits of our labour are read in every email saying “Thank you for rescuing our Hungarian Heritage”. That means a lot! I love to cook and I do that like everything else – with flair, gusto, passion and of course - a huge clatter and dozens of bowls, spoons and linen tea towels. I have been the one of the three sisters that stayed the closest to our Hungarian heritage of cooking. Compiling this cookbook; recipes that otherwise would have been lost in my Mom's memories, has truly been a labor of love. I love to try new recipes and have an amazing library of cookbooks, but at the end of the day, I sincerely love the old die-hard satisfying feeling that Hungarian cooking brings to me, my beloved family and guests. I love to share little anecdotes before my recipes and my recipes themselves rely on a minimalist style that some have called "culinary shorthand". Applause, applause – finally a book and writer that gets right to the point – COOKING! Oh yes, and by they way, I should mention, my recipes are also fun to read and easy to prepare. I try to incorporate my childhood memories and recollections of how I remember life in our home. Our family traditions grew and expanded to include a more Westernized way of life, if you will. But, I do remember helping Dad make lye soap on the tobacco farm and “smoking” Hungarian sausage over hickory fires and noodle making and churning butter in Dad’s pickle jar devices. I also remember making headcheese at pork killing time, and re-count the stories over Sunday dinner weekly. One stand-out story: one of Dad’s friends from work, who was NOT Hungarian, along with his new Hungarian wife, was invited for breakfast at the Czégény's - Alexander style. Not only was the breakfast of toasted rye bread, Hungarian bacon and bounty from the garden, amazingly different than what he was accustomed to eating on a Saturday morning, he had NEVER tasted Hot Hungarian peppers before. Unbeknownst to him, dad secretly rubbed the peppers a little in his hands before cutting to release more of their hot fiery flavour. The breakfast went fine, except for the peppers. The first bite was sweet, but then cunningly hot and then his lips began to burst as it were – into flames. We all watched in amazement. His face went red, his eyes started to tear and upon this, his wife wanted to show her sympathy and planted a huge hot and burning Hungarian pepper kiss on his lips. Dad was in prankster heaven and laughed until he cried. Our guest was in agony, but was crying for a different reason. A great Hungarian story to remember. I really tried to creatively weave my own perspective and personal philosophy of life and observations into this book. My helpful nature flows through with an abundance of hints. I would like to think that I am definitely a twist on the movie - Good Cook, Likes Music (2005) – she is a Great Musician, Loves to Cook (2006). Lavishly illustrated by my talented and gifted graphic artist daughter Evangeline, you will enjoy the food photography, the cover and divider designs and overall colourful and delightful feel you get from this entertaining, instructive and definitive book. Even the carefully chosen cover design depicts the world-famed Mezökövesd embroidery that is so very typically Hungarian. (Mezokövesd is located in northeastern Hungary near the historic city of Eger. This small town is famous for it's folk art and unique cultural traditions. The people of Mezökövesd and its neighboring villages are known as the Matyó, a nickname whose origins is unclear but may related to the great Hungarian King Mátyas. The Matyó are famous for their elaborate folk costumes, intricately embroidered textiles, and colourful painted wooden furniture. You will find many Matyo dolls throughout this book.) We’ve all managed to inherit the love of cooking, good food and to create in the kitchen, but to have inherited my mother’s amazing natural gift, would have been indeed a great honour. Again, congratulations and thank yous to my mother for allowing me to pen her cherished Hungarian classic recipes to create such a timeless piece, a legacy of Helen's Cooking Treasures!