A Christmas Story Meatloaf Dinner: Braised Sweet & Sour Cabbage

     I was in the mood for meatloaf after receiving my vintage Universal Chopper and my mind was immediately drawn to the movie "A Christmas Story" where the family is seen eating the same dinner every night, namely meatloaf, mashed potatoes and braised red cabbage.  So what better way to break in my new kitchen gadget than by recreating that dinner.

Chicken Soup Recipe, Depression Era

     I've tried many ways of making chicken soup over the years and while they were all good they weren't fantastic I was always looking for something else.  This started as a research project into Depression Era cooking.  One of things that Herbert Hoover promised as president was "A chicken in every pot" and there's a reason for this, chicken was expensive, especially young chickens.  Chickens were kept for laying eggs and after 5 years when they stopped laying that's when they ended up as dinner.

Rakott Krumpli (Hungarian Potato Casserole)

I'm sorry I didn't take a studio food porn shot of this dish but when I made it we had come home late from work and were very hungry.  I had been looking for something different for dinner and had found this recipe on a list of "Top Ten Hungarian Foods to Try" on some website or another.  Every culture has their own version of potato casserole but this one intrigued me as it is a breakfasty dish you eat for dinner.  It falls into the category of Hungarian comfort food and as such is not in the least healthy but hey, we can't munch kale chips all the time.

Hungarian Pork With Sauerkraut

Eastern European countries have many ways to cook cabbage and pork.  My Polish/Russian grandparents cooked a dish called Kapusta that was a mixture of pork, cabbage and sauerkraut.  This dish being the Hungarian equivalent, it has some differences though.  The addition of tomatoes gives it a sweet kick to counter the vinegar taste of the sauerkraut and all is brought together with the ever present sour cream at the end.  This dish is more of a stew than a main dish and is best served in a nice wide bowl.  Leftovers can be frozen.  For the pork, get a cheap cut of meat like a picnic ham.  Use only the meaty part reserving the fat for use in another recipe.  Properly speaking, this dish is a Szekler recipe which originated with the Szekely people who live in the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania.  My family descends from this group with Tamasi's being mentioned in various codexes from the 1300's as "Counts of the Szeklers" and having fought hard against the constant Turkish invasions.  The origins of the Szeklers are unclear and it is thought they are descendants of the Avars who settled in that area in late Roman times and were used as a border control by the later Byzantine Empire.  When the Magyars came later and settled Hungary the Szeklers continued their border control responsibilities. This recipe is from the New Brunswick Orthodox Church Cookbook printed in 1958.

Haluska, Hungarian Cabbage & Egg Noodles

Because of my Hungarian ancestry, I am of course fascinated with Hungarian cuisine.  Real Hungarian cuisine not the bastardized recipes that most Americans are familiar with.  Hungarians, it is said, have more ways to prepare cabbage than any other ethnic group from Eastern Europe and more incredibly, none of those ways involves boiling the cabbage.  Hungarians are strictly against boiled cabbage because it destroys the wonderful flavor and texture of this lowly vegetable.  Most Americans are familiar with the slimy cabbage that is procured on St. Patrick's Day, but a whole new world awaits and you may grow to love cabbage if you give it a try Hungarian style.  Previously I posted my recipe for Hungarian Coleslaw but here we have a hot dish that is light, packed with vitamins and full of great flavor.

Authentic Hungarian Chicken Paprikash

One of the crucial elements of frugal cooking is ethnic recipes.  Many Americans adapted the recipes of Germans, Hungarians, Italians, Russians, etc. to suit their tastes.  These were people who were used to living frugally back in their home countries and Americans learned much from their cooking styles.  It also started the downward decline in the formerly popular "meat and potatoes" type of meals that were prevalent through the boom years of the 1920's.  Hungarian cooking is usually typified by the ubiquitous Goulash, a stew of beef, onion and paprika.  While Goulash is tasty in it's own right I much prefer Paprika Chicken (Paprikash).  Formerly we had been using a mentally recorded recipe passed down from my great grandparents and while it was good, there was something missing.  That something was good quality paprika.  Most paprika sold in the US is of inferior quality, having a dull red color.  True Hungarian paprika is a vibrant red and has an unmistakeable smell similar to fresh red bell peppers.  Getting good Hungarian paprika can be tricky, but not to worry the good Spanish sweet paprika is equal to it.  Check out TJ Maxx, Marshalls or Home Goods for tins of Spanish paprika marked Pimentón Dulce this is the really great sweet Spanish Paprika.  Also you will need some Hot Hungarian Paprika, it doesn't make the dish spicy but it adds a little kick.  Hot Hungarian paprika will be darker in color than the vibrant red of sweet paprika.

Hungarian Coleslaw

I've made this recipe on a number of occasions but I have not yet had the chance to post it on the blog. I once heard it said that Hungarians have more ways to prepare cabbage than any other Eastern European ethnic group and none of them involves boiling.  Hungarians actually hate boiled cabbage and prefer to fry it in lard or eat it raw like this coleslaw.  I've never been a great fan of coleslaw, I dislike vinegar based slaws and Marzetti slaw dressing makes me run away in fear.  What makes this recipe different is it's sour cream based rather than mayonnaise based.  Hungarians have a special love for sour cream and you'll rarely find a recipe that doesn't include it or have it on the side.  You will need a slaw shredder or mandolin slicer to get the cabbage into nice thin strips.