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Treasured Hungarian Family Recipes™ 1, 2 and 3 are English language, Hungarian cookbooks  I authored earlier this year.  I am very proud of my Hungarian heritage and wanted to share our history rich culinary world with those who are passionate about cooking and food in general.  

Hungarian cuisine was influenced by many cultures throughout our turbulent past.  Although Hungarians always used a large collection of spices, our most dominant spice and the symbol of Hungary is Hungarian Red Paprika Powder.  You will be surprised to learn that the bright red powder did not originate in my country.  Hungary fell under Turkish rule in 1526, and the occupation lasted for 150 years.  No wonder Turkey’s influence still echoes in our culture and dishes.  They brought with them a variety of exotic spices, and the still treasured coffee, that made Budapest Cafe Houses flourish in later centuries.  In the beginning the paprika plant, brought  to Hungary by the Turks, were mainly used for decoration, but eventually it also started to bring colour and fire into the very inventive kitchens of Hungarian pheasants.  The experimenting of our ancestors created a spice that became the symbol of a nation.  Its pungency ranges from extremely sweet to fiery hot, depending on the  type of pepper the powder was produced of.  By the time we reached the 19th century,  red paprika became the most dominant spice in Hungarian kitchens all over the country.    Today, Hungarian red paprika touches the lives of many people daily.  Such famous dishes as Hungarian Goulash, Hungarian Goulash Soup, Hungarian Fish Soup, Hungarian Cabbage Rolls and of course one of our most famous dishes, Hungarian Chicken Paprikash get their wonderful, bright red colour from the famous powder.  Interestingly enough, Hungarian Cabbage Rolls are not made with tomato paste as in many other cultures.  We use garlic, a little bit of extra virgin olive oil and red paprika to finish this magnificent dish. 

Austria’s influence is also very dominant in Hungary,  because of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy between 1867-1918.   Such specialities as their snitczels, sausages, wieners, vegetable main dishes are still a staple of  the traditonal Hungarian kitchen even today.   The Hungarian aristocracy always maintained a French style of cooking, so there is tremendous amount of French influence in our gourmet dishes as well.  One of our most famous desserts is the fiery Gundel Crape, speciality of the Gundel Restaurant still found today in Budapest.   Hungarians are very proud of their variety of crape recipes passed down from generation to generation in their families.  It is believed that the most popular dessert in Hungary is the crape which could be filled with jam, sugared cocoa powder, cinnamon sugar, cottage cheese, walnuts, poppy seeds and many more unique but equally tasty creations.   Once filled, it is rolled up and served with a delicate dusting of powdered sugar.  Children demand these tempting  sweet treats at least once a week.   However, there is also a large variety of savoury crapes, that could also be breaded, filled with Foie Gras, pate or cheese. 

Our King Mathias of the 15th century has introduced Italian culinary methods into the traditional Hungarian kitchen.  He married an Italian princess, Beatrice of Naples.  She brought with her exotic cheeses, pastas, and unique spices.  Turkey was also introduced to Hungarians at the same time.  It is even a large part of agriculture today.  My family always had a large turkey farm in the country and our birds were contracted all over Europe.  I have many found memories as a child taking weekend trips from the city. 

As you see the Hungarian culinary world is full of variety, imagination, passion, fire, history and tradition.  Our restaurants, cafe houses and cake shops created such lasting treasures as Dobos Torte, Eszterhazy Torte, Jokai Torte, Sacher Torte and Hungary’s answer to the Walnut Roll, “Beigli” in Hungarian.   I hope that your curiosity was sparked by my article.  If you would like some free recipes, please visit my website.

Villaware is just one of the companies well-known for their waffle makers. They turn out many different models of these makers for you to choose from. It all depends on what you want in a waffle maker as to which model you will be drawn to. We will look at a few of the models below to show you what they have to offer you. You can buy any of these models online for much cheaper prices than the department store.

With the UNO series you will find one model with which you can make a waffle boat. This is part of the “Villaware 2007 UNO Series” and it makes a waffle in a shape of a boat in a single 6-inch piece. There is a light to let you know when the plates are hot enough and to let you know when the waffles are finished cooking. It has a top-notch nonstick coating. The handles stay cool to the touch. Storage is a snap because it can stand on end and cleaning is really a breeze.

Another UNO waffle maker is the farmyard one which can make four different 3.5-inch-sized waffles in various shapes. You get one each of a chicken, barn, pig and cow which will delight your children as well as tickle your funny bone. The small waffles have deep enough pocket to hold the delicious toppings or syrup that will ultimately be placed on them.

Then you can find the V3400 Moderno that this company puts out on to the market. It is a professional model that makes Belgian waffles. This uses the flip-over method for cooking the waffles to insure evenness.  It has lights that show on, off, and ready. The temperature controls can be adjusted. These are just a few of the features of this pro model.

So the time had come for you to get that dream kitchen you have always wanted!  Great.  Now the fun begins as you get to brainstorm and come up with a few kitchen design layouts that you can design around your life.  Many people get bogged down in the beginning, not know where to begin and have a hard time seeing the finished product in their mind before even coming up with a basic design.

Here are a few tips to get you started on the best kitchen design layout for you…

Think of your average day and write down all the things you do and use in your kitchen.  Do you like the distance your sink is from the fridge?  Is your coffee machine a little out dated and an espresso machine is more your style now?  Is the white stove the style you want or are stainless steel appliances high on your list?  Many people forget the space for food preparation…would a kitchen island design really improve every day in your new kitchen.  keep asking yourself these types of questions until you have a list of 20-30 things that are ‘must haves’ in your kitchen design.

Next consider the footprint you will have to work with.  If you have a larger kitchen say 15′ x 20′ you have different options then someone with a small kitchen to design around.  A small kitchen design will need to focus on storage, counter space and maximizing useful space with a nice kitchen island.  Bigger kitchens while easier to fit in more items they can become too cluttered with appliances and having too long a distance between major work areas.  Instead, try to focus on work area and seating areas in a large kitchen to maximize the use of a bigger space.  Some people find kitchen design software helpful in showing how the different parts of your kitchen design work together.

Kitchens need great lighting…so much so that you should really spend time with lights in your existing kitchen so you can see where you really like light.  Pot lights typically will be placed over the passage area around kitchen islands while it is smart to design some under counter lighting for task specific light when making your famous cookies!

Appliances become a major start point in any kitchen design layout.  Since your cabinetry has to be made to fit  around that big stainless steel refrigerator you have been looking at you have to decide early in the process what style and size of appliances you want.  Counter depth appliances can be a great way to create the feel of more passage space in a small kitchen design but remember they don’t always have the same capacity of standard appliances.  Check carefully with different manufacturers and make a few trips to different appliance stores with your notepad so you can make a good list of your favorites.  Picking good quality appliances will make the most of your kitchen design layout.

Before you decide to go ahead with your design take some time to review the initial list you made with all the dream items on it.  Did you get the stainless steel kitchen island or the vapor steam cleaner for quick clean ups that you wanted?  Does that fancy new espresso machine have a nice place on your quartz countertops and don’t forget some nice martini glasses for those special occasions.  Taking the time at the beginning to make your list will pay off in the end with a beautiful kitchen.