Who’s in the kitchen: I’ve come, to eeeeat yourrrr cake!

This Monday I will be flying to England to embark on a transatlantic inaugural cruise on NCL’s Breakaway, their newest ship, that will be following the path of the Titanic. Of course we got a great deal and we are being flown to England at no additional charge. Our flight probably won’t be as interesting as the last time my husband Jerry flew to Europe. His daughter gave birth in Israel and because the baby was jaundiced, he had to wait till the last minute till he knew when the bris would take place. The prices were very expensive as it was right after Tisha B’av and it was very last minute. Not wanting to spend $6,500 he decided to book a flight with a stopover…or two. Now you know there is going to be a story of some sort when Jerry Joszef flies from JFK to Paris, then to Romania on his way to Israel. He was actually excited, since his father was born in Transylvania.

The flight to Paris was uneventful and the transfer to the second plane smooth. Once in Romania, it seemed he was the only person transferring to a connecting flight. There he was in a small area that was dimly lit and the other person in the room was a woman polishing the floor. He tried to inquire if he was indeed in the right location. Jerry speaking no Romanian and she speaking no English made for a game of charades. Finally she smiled and motioned for him to follow her. The next area was just as dimly lit, and looked like it hadn’t been in use for months. Just as he was thinking he was in the wrong part of the airport three men excitedly came running in. “You’re on the connecting flight to Israel?” Jerry replied, “Yes, where are all the other passengers?” “You’re the only one, the others are flying directly from Romania,” they replied. One agent checked his papers, the second checked his baggage and the third checked Jerry. Of course Jerry had to make conversation with them. He is a people person and can talk to anyone about anything. Take for instance the El-AL agents that ask questions, in an attempt to weed out passengers who seem like terrorists. Jerry discusses his parents surviving the Holocaust and their dream of traveling to Israel becoming a reality, and a myriad of other Israeli topics. I have to gently (ok I admit, I actually stomp on his foot) remind him that they really don’t care, and they are just checking out his appearance and demeanor as he speaks. Not to mention that hundreds of people on line behind him are impatient. That day in Romania, though, the three agents were only too happy to discuss his dad’s stories….being born in Transylvania and having been a soccer star there. They insisted that he come back at a later date to visit his historic homeland in Transylvania. Jerry was actually excited that the flight was delayed for over an hour as he was able to browse (and unfortunately buy) the many Dracula gift items they had in the gift shop. As an extra bonus the store owner loved listening to Jerry’s stories. Don’t mention the Dracula coasters, decorative plates and other items he bought all with Transylvania stamped on them. I have them stored away, somewhere safe. He hasn’t asked about them lately; I would like to keep it that way.

Jerry was the only American passenger. There was group of over a 100 Christian Romanian Pilgrims on a crusade to their holy sights. This was Jerry’s lucky day. The stewardess told Jerry they had an extra seat in first class for him. They led him to the front row of what seemed the coach area and then drew a curtain behind him. All of a sudden it turned into first class “Romanian style.” So there he was, in “first class” behind a curtain and a large group of Christian Romanian pilgrims behind him. For a moment, in his imagination, he was in the Holy Land (first class) and the Christian pilgrims were crusaders, preparing to free the Romanian plane from the American Jewish infidel.

On that note, I bring you a wonderful Romanian recipe for Aranygaluska. Non dairy creamer or soy milk can be substituted for the milk.

ARANYGALUSKA

(the real version of the pull apart cake many of us bake)

Ingredients for the dough:

- 2.2 lbs flour

-1 1/2 C sugar

-7 fl oz cooking oil

- 4 egg yolks

- ½ tsp salt

- 2 oz cake of yeast

- grated rind of 1 lemon

- milk as needed

Ingredients for the coating:

- 10 oz ground walnuts

- 5 oz sugar

1. Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm milk. (Make sure it’s not hot, or else it will kill the yeast.) Add 8 tablespoons of flour. Set the mix aside in a warm place until it doubles its volume.

2. Dissolve the 1 1/2 cups of sugar and salt in lukewarm milk. Place the remaining flour in a mixing bowl, and add the yeast mix, the milk with the sugar and salt, the egg yolks, and the lemon rind.

3. Knead the dough until it forms bubbles. Add the lukewarm cooking oil and knead the dough till it doesn’t stick to your hands.

4. Grease the bottom and sides of a springform pan.

5. Dip a tablespoon in cooking oil and then scoop out balls from the dough. Roll the balls in the ground walnut and sugar mixture.

6. Place the balls into the spring form pan till pan is full with one layer. (You might have left over balls which you can bake in a separate disposable tin, that you can test right out of the oven). Sprinkle the remaining ground walnut and sugar mix. Bake at a 325 for approximately one hour.