The Hungarian Girl

Interview with the Food Bloggers of Emperors Crumbs

The Hungarian Girl — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:34:01 +0000

Katy and Valerian who are the creators of the blog "Emperors Crumbs."

It’s always nice to see other blogs or websites that focus on Central and Eastern Europe in some way. That’s why I couldn’t resist doing this interview with Emperors Crumbs, who are an American family that lived in Slovakia and blogged about their cooking experiences there. Presently, they’re back in the USA but are still blogging about their interactions with food.

They’ve also kindly offered to share their recipe on Császármorzsa (Hungarian) or Kaiserschmarren (German), a caramelized pancake dessert. The dish is very common throughout Central Europe. In English, it’s often referred to as “emperors crumbs”, which ironically is the name of their blog.

You can find the recipe below the interview. Enjoy!

Can you tell us a bit about your blog?

We’re a husband and wife team, from Slovakia and California, respectively. Our blog features recipes from and inspired by Central European cuisine.

How did it get started?

Just over a year ago we made the decision to move from Slovakia to California with our two kids. We’ve always been enthusiastic cooks, trying to recreate our favourite dishes at home, and with home about to move 6,000 miles we didn’t want to lose track of the delicious things we’d been enjoying in Central Europe. Since we enjoy writing and photography, and we thought other people might enjoy trying to make langose or parene buchty, a blog seemed like a fun project.

Why did you decide to call it Emperors Crumbs?

Of course because we do love to eat császármorzsa! But also because this dish is enjoyed under various names in many of the countries of Central Europe and symbolizes the ways in which food links the whole region. There is so much intermingling of cultures and flavours in the area where we lived, and throughout the part of Europe that used to be the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Part of the fun of working on these recipes is seeing the different versions of family favourites and tracing them through time and across geographies.

Has living in Slovakia changed the way your family eats?

Well, living in a village of 2,000 people there wasn’t a lot of take-out around! We make most of what we eat, even now. Prepared foods weren’t widely available (although that’s changing) so if we had a craving for Chinese or Indian food we had to make it ourselves, sometimes improvising with the local ingredients we could find. Now we’re making Hungarian-style bread in California. We also learned to be much more intuitive about cooking; classic Central European dishes often aren’t prepared according to a written recipe, but are handed down through families and rely more on experience and instinct.

What does your family most enjoy about cooking?

You mean besides eating? We’ve both combated homesickness with cooking; the familiar sounds and smells of the kitchen are always comforting. When we were living in the Balkans with an unreliable power supply and just a few utensils on hand, we still managed to make versions of our childhood favourites for each other: chocolate chip cookies and bryndzové halušky.

Do you have a favourite dish?

Mine is coffee. Seriously, I am crazy about coffee and I roast, grind and taste my own. Yes I don’t drink coffee I taste coffee. While living in Slovakia I had a micro roasting company and we roasted coffee on a Probat coffee roaster from 1938. Yes I don’t drink coffee I taste coffee.

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Emperors Crumbs Recipe

Makes 5-6 portions

Ingredients

2¼ cups/300 g semolina
3 cups/750 ml milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
5 eggs, separated
pinch salt
1½ cups/300 g sugar
1 lemon zest
1/4 cup/50 grams butter for sauteing
powdered sugar, compote or jam or all three as topping

Method

Mix together the semolina, flour and milk. Let it sit for an hour or so to let the semolina absorb the milk. Mix the egg yolks together with sugar and stir it into the milk mixture. Whip the egg whites and a pinch of salt into firm peaks and fold it into the milk/egg mixture. Melt the butter and add the batter. Stir the batter with a spatula or wooden spoon until it starts to form little clumps – crumbs. Depending on the size of the pan this can take up to 30 minutes. Serve hot with powdered sugar or with jam, or with compote or drizzle with some syrup.

The Brotherhood of the Volcanoes, Tokaj-Hegyalja

Kristian Kielmayer — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:22:16 +0000

Vineyards in the village of Mád. The area where Tokaji wine is traditionally grown is a small plateau, 457 m (1500 ft) above sea level, near the Carpathian Mountains. The soil is of volcanic origin containing iron and lime.

Why is Tokaj so special? Is it the soil, is it the climate or is it the grape varieties and the people?

All these factors and much more (including the very technology used in making Tokaji) play an important role.

While the expertise of winemakers can develop, grape varieties themselves can travel and even climate can change, one thing remains very much unique to Tokaj - the soil. Its true that people who work on the soil and certain alterations can modify the outcome (e.g. fertilization) but the sub soil is pretty much the same. Some argue the types of effects the mineral composition of the soil has on the finished wine and, if I wish to simplify, there is a new world vs. old world opinion to this as well. Yet, based on tastings from the most famous white wine regions of Hungary such as Somló, Balaton-Highlands (including Badacsony, Szt. György) and of course Tokaj-Hegyalja (Foothills of Tokaj), the soil plays a major role not only in the nutrient uptake but also the character of the finished wine.

So what constitutes a volcanic soil? A combination of rocks which is a product of volcanic eruption. In the case of Tokaj-Hegyalja, there were more then 400 little volcanoes which shaped the region. Volcanic rocks have many different forms, in Tokaj this varies from andesite, basalt, rhyolit, tuff, nyirok (sort of a red clay), and zeolite. Then there is also loess, limestone, marl, gneiss and much more. Loess is usually a wind blown fine-grained mix of clay and silt. Wines coming from this part of soil are usually lighter in body and softer texture but elegant and refined. Such examples are the wines of the Hétszölö estate. The colour of rhyolite of the volcanic soil varies from white to red, yellow and darker grey. In the district of Mád there are many prime examples of such soil and fantastic wines, full bodied with plenty of density and complexity such as the wines of István Szepsy.

Example of brown forest soil formed on a volcanic base from the Királyudvar Winery.

Tokaj-Hegyalja region was classified amongst the very first in the world, the vineyards have a strict hierarchy and some are better then others. However, today such “official” classification does not exist as it once did which is a great shame – if I’m honest. The wine region is located in the North-East corner of Hungary, approximately 200 km from the capital, Budapest, near the borders of Slovakia and Ukraine. Slopes are facing mainly South-East, the region is between the Hernád and Bodrog rivers while many other smaller and larger rivers also pass through the region.

These rivers play an important role in the foundation of the “noble rot”, the botrytis cinerea, which is a key component in making the famous sweet wine, the aszús, sweet szamorodnis and esszencia. The convergence of these waterways bring forth humidity, fog and warmth which create the right balance of conditions that produce this noble rot. Botrytis is the fungus which is responsible for penetrating through the healthy grape’s stomata while consuming sugar and acidity but at the same time dehydration takes place whereby water evaporates and the juice is concentrated creating more glycerol, laccase and enzymes. The cinerea refers to the unappetizing ash like looking powder on the grape skin giving it the rotten appearance. Normally grapes in this condition would never be used in wine production but in fact because of this process the end result makes a very complex and sweet wine.

Another contribution to the unique style of Tokaj is the grape varieties used. You could apply Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon or even Chardonnay to make sweet wine but why? Why would you use them when you have Furmint, Hárslevelü? Grape varieties are the tool to represent the origin and the typicity. Hungaricum, meaning Hungarian grape varieties either by history and tradition or crossing (breeding), play an important role to achieve something great. In the case of Tokaj, there is also something else which is not practiced anywhere else in the world, the technique utilized in making the aszú wines.

The botrytis affected grapes are picked separately and while this is nothing special as it’s similarily done in Germany, Austria and France, the maceration with the dry wine or must is different. This means that from the aszú berries they make a sort of “pastry dough” and from here there are 3 different ways to go forward. You can either macerate the aszú berries, pastry in unfermented must, add fermenting must or add a dry base wine. Pannon Tokaj for instance works with fermenting must because they believe that the CO2 during fermentation helps to release more flavours from the aszú berries. The tricky question with the aszú wines is when it comes to the above mentioned classification, that many of the shrivelled berries come from smaller growers and a lot of different vineyards too.

The Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region is very diverse with a lot of different soil formations with higher quality then others such as “rhyolit” - a clear and bright soil and “zeolit” which has a superior drainage, water conducting and heat retaining quality. Tokaj-Hegyalja is not just an exciting wine region in Hungary but also one of the most stunning in the world because of its terroir. The harmony between soil, climate, variety and the people create these outstanding dry white wines and remarkable aszús.

The Budapest International Wine Festival

The Hungarian Girl — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:19:53 +0000

Hungary’s largest and most prestigious wine festival is happening from September 8th – 12th located in terraces of the Buda Castle Palace (Budavári Palota).

The festival features over 1,000 wines from across the country and the world. Vistiors will have the opportinity to learn about the history of Hungarian wine making and meet renowned wine makers. Traditional Hungarian music and gastronomic delights are part of the 5-day festival. Several wine workshops and lectures are also held.

A charity wine auction wraps up the event, with proceeds donated to the Hungarian Maltese Charity Service.

For more information including tickets, visit the aborfesztival website.

Photographer of the Week: Andrey Permitin

The Hungarian Girl — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 04:41:38 +0000

Our photographer for this week is Andrey Permitin from France. Here’s a brief collection of his amazing photos of Moscow. Enjoy!

Name: Andrey Permitin
Location: Marseille, France
Occupation: Architect
Camera Equipment: Nikon D200, Tamron 17-50 f/2.8, Tokina 11-16 f/2.8, Nikon 80-200 f/4 Ai-s, Nikon 50mm f/1.8
Inspiration: Every-time it’s something or somebody new. But I can name architectural photographer Karl Hugo Schmolz.
Favourite Destination: It’s Japan but I’ve never been there, but I’d like to go. I also like the USA including San-Francisco, Los-Angeles, Dallas, and Seattle.
Website Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/eltsdi/

City skyscrapers. This photo was taken from the bridge over the Moscow River.

Moskvoretskaya embankment. This shot was made at sunset. It stopped raining a few minutes ago.

Kremlevskaya embankment. The sunset was gorgeous that day.

Music Hall and Swissotel Red Hills.

The Church of Cornelius the Saviour.

If you’re interested in becoming our photographer of the week, please visit our contact page.

The Budapest Sky

Guillaume Narbonne — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 15:07:38 +0000

Ever since I arrived in Budapest, I have been amazed by the beauty of the sky and the variety of colors and lights it can show at any given time of the day. I am lucky enough to have a flat whose windows are oriented towards the West, that way I am a privileged spectator to several mindblowing sunsets over the city. The summer has been quite generous, as you can see! I honestly can’t get enough of sunsets or sky pictures in general, and there are few things I find more beautiful than the sun rays radiating from behind a cloud.

Legend of the Krakow Dragon

The Hungarian Girl — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:53:10 +0000

Sculpture of Smok Wawelski located in Wawel Hill. The sinewy creature is the creation of Krakow's maverick artist Bronislaw Chromy.

Almost every country has legend or tale that involves a dragon. Whether its a courageous knight set out to defeat it as told by the well-known British legend in Saint George and the Dragon, or how it comes to bring good luck to a village as mentioned in several Chinese folklore’s, humans for centuries have always been fascinated by dragons.

In Poland, there is a famous legend about a dragon that once ravaged the city of Kraków. It is known as the Wawel Dragon or Smok Wawelski. The story is very popular even today and almost every Polish child knows about it. The following is some information about the Kraków Dragon.

Story of the Kraków Dragon

A popular version of this story tale takes place in Kraków during the reign of King Krak, the city’s legendary founder.

A long, long time ago when Krakow was still but a village, a dreadful dragon moved into a cave underneath Wawel Castle . The monster was huge, nasty and always hungry. Many knights died trying to chase it away. Finally King Krak – the ruler of Kraków – announced that whoever killed the beast would marry his daughter and reign over half his kingdom. A shoemaker named Dratewka decided to rise to the challenge. He killed a large ram, stuffed it with sulfur and left it in front of the dragon’s lair. The dragon came out and ate the ram which made it start to feel extremely thirsty. It began to drink water from the Vistula River which made it start to swell. At some point the dragon’s body could not withstand that much water and exploded.

The Dragon’s Den

The Dragon’s Den is a limestone cave in the western slope of Wawel Hill. It is said to be the lair of Smok Wawelski. Visitors can enter through it, which leads them down a long, spiral flight of steep stairs to a succession of three rock chambers with fossils and highly divergent karst formations. The rest of it, including five underground ponds and narrow passages are too dangerous and off limits to visitors. The exit leads through the mouth of the cave situated next to the embankment upon the Wisla river.

Dragon Bones

In Wawel Cathedral, there is an odd collection of massive bones chained up on the left outside the entrance. While legend obviously purports these to be the bones of Smok Wawelski – more conventional wisdom has claimed they might be parts belonging to a blue whale, wooly mammoth, rhinoceros, or all three. At any rate, they haven’t been removed and inspected for centuries due to their magical properties, which are credited with protecting the city from destruction during centuries of Polish partition and particularly during WWII when almost every other major city in Poland was destroyed.

Fire-breathing Monster

In 1970 a metal sculpture of the Wawel Dragon was placed in front of the dragon’s den. The sinewy creature is the creation of Kraków’s maverick artist Bronislaw Chromy. Currently the dragon breathes fire every five minutes, or when an SMS with the text “SMOK” is sent to the number 7168. The street leading along the banks of the river leading towards the castle is ulica smocza, which translates as “Dragon Street”.

Oktoberfest Celebrates 200 Years!

The Hungarian Girl — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 23:02:51 +0000

Oktoberfest is the world's largest fair, with some six million people attending every year. The festival traces its roots back to 1810 when the citizens of Bavaria came together to honor the marriage of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen.

On October 12, 1810, the townspeople of Munich came together to honor the marriage of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen.

The following day, celebrations continued with various activities, including concerts, parties, balls, and even a horse race. It was so spectacular and intense that the royals of Bavaria decided to hold another event a year later. Eventually, it was agreed that Oktoberfest would become an annual event which was prolonged and moved forward into September for better weather conditions.

Oktoberfest is now the world’s largest fair with over six million people attending every year. It consists of 30 different tents across the grounds of Theresienwiese Park, each specializing in different beers, food and music.

This year Oktoberfest will mark 200 years since it first began as a royal wedding celebration. Officially Oktoberfest has only taken place 176 times due to cancellations from wars and conflicts. However, organizers still consider this to be an important year and have arranged for some special activities including extending the festival by a day at opening and closing.

Events include a historic reconstruction of the original festival using an antique Oktoberfest tent and exhibition of historical fun fair attractions. Traditional horse races will be held daily twice a day. The last time a horse race occurred was in 1938, after which it was cancelled for political reasons.

The city of Munich will also host a special tribute of its own. The Oktoberfest-Exhibition at the City Museum of Munich will showcase the history of Oktoberfest from its origins as Bavarian celebration with royal overtones to the world’s largest beer and folk festival from July 9 through the end of October. Approximately 800 artifacts are on display including those that were directly involved in the original festivities at one time or another.

Visitors can also purchase an official 200 year jubilee stein handmade by the company Rastal. It features image of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen along with the “Muenchner Kindl” (the coat of arms of Munich). The stein can be purchased from the official Oktoberfest website.

This year’s festivities will run from Friday, September 17th through Monday, October 4th. The official tapping of the first beer barrel will be celebrated on Saturday 18th at noon. Admission to the event is free.

So get ready for two weeks of thigh-slapping-om-pah-pah-merriment!

Photographer of the Week: Stéphane Baldeck

The Hungarian Girl — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:06:05 +0000

Each week we will select a photographer whose work either showcases or reflects elements of Central and Eastern Europe from professionals to hobbyist photographers around the world. This week our photographer is Stéphane Baldeck. Here’s a brief collection of his photos that showcase the many areas of Central and Eastern Europe.

Name: Stéphane Baldeck
Location: Reunion island
Occupation: Teacher
Camera Equipment: Diverse as I borrow them from my relatives, I know nothing
about technical details.
Inspirations: History and nature
Favourite Destination: Europe, Siberia, India, Africa.
Website Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/divji_svet

Hortobagy National Park is one of the last natural steppic landscapes in Central Europe. The water well is a very old structure that is still common in Asia, as far as India.

View of The Novgorod Kremlin from the other side of the river in Russia. The city is situated on the M10 federal highway connecting Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Predjama Castle, locally known as Predjama Grad, a famous castle in Slovenia. It consists of a long cave behind the fort which allowed its defenders to escape from the invaders if they were too numerous.

Typical Slovenian folk art which flourished during the 19th century. This colour plate is a part of a beehive. The subjects usually depicted in the paintings refer to folk wisdom, tales , or even political events.

T-62 enjoying peace at the Museum of the Great Patriotic War in Kiev.

If your interested in becoming our photographer of the week, please visit our contact page.

St. Stephen’s Day Fireworks

Guillaume Narbonne — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 13:44:06 +0000

Yesterday, Hungary celebrated its most important national day; indeed, August 20th is the anniversary of the transfer of St. Stephen’s relics to the city of Buda. As Hungary first Christian king, St. Stephen is a towering national figure in the country. After he unified and converted the Magyar tribes to Christianity, Pope Sylvester II offered him a crown, which is today part of the crown of St. Stephen, one of the national jewels of Hungary that can be admired in the Parliament.

In order to celebrate this event with dignity, fireworks are traditionally showed around Hungary every August 20th. This year was no exception, and the Budapest fire extravaganza was quite a treat, with fireworks started from three different locations along the Danube, between Margitsziget and Gellerthegy. Here are a few pictures to give you an idea of the show, or to give you memories of it if you were there !

A Tribute to The Beatles in Eastern Europe

The Hungarian Girl — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 21:50:06 +0000

The Lennon Wall in Prague, Czech Republic. The space is filled with John Lennon-inspired graffiti and lyrics of The Beatles songs.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of The Beatles. A half-century later, their music is still being heard by a new generation of listeners.

Not only are they one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music but The Beatles also gave something very special to many people.

In Eastern Europe during the Communist regime, their music became a symbol of hope and freedom. While the Beatles were at the height of their success in the West in the 1960′s, back in the USSR they were a forbidden influence. But this did not stop people from listening to their music. Through smuggled albums, bootleg tapes and radio broadcasts by stations in Western Europe, the “Fab Four” made it into the hearts of millions of young people.

So, here’s a small homage to one of the greatest bands in the world. The following are some interesting elements of The Beatles and Eastern Europe.

Paul McCartney in Moscow’s Red Square

In May of 2003, Paul McCartney performed in Moscow’s Red Square for thousands of lifelong fans. The show marked the first time an ex-Beatle had played in Russia, after the band was prohibited from performing there by the former Soviet regime. Prior to the concert, Paul McCartney gave a personal performance of “Let It Be” to President Vladimir Putin.

The Lennon Wall

After John Lennon’s assassination in 1980, a Mexican art student decided to paint a tribute to the musician on a concrete wall in Prague. The Czech communist police removed it but young residents were so outraged they continued to draw more images. It eventually led to a clash between hundreds of students and security police on the nearby Charles Bridge. Today, the wall is owned by what is known as The John Lennon Peace Club, who allow the graffiti to continue.

John Lennon Street

John Lennon Street is located in St. Petersburg, Russia. It contains a sketch of the famous “yellow submarine” animation as well as carvings of each Beatle. The area is also home to one of Russia’s biggest Beatle fans that has spent decades gathering a vast collection of memorabilia. John Lennon Street now remains a place of pilgrimage for Beatle fans around the world.

Documentary Film on The Beatles and Eastern Europe

“How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin“ is a insightful documentary about the band’s influence on the collapse of the communist regime. Although, for some critics this notion might be an exaggeration. However, it does ultimately prove how four boys from Liverpool had a tremendous impact on young generations of Russians in the 60s and 70s. Produced and directed by Leslie Woodhead, an award-winning documentary filmmaker