So...over the course of the day, I worked on the various elements of the Romanian dinner. Got the beans on early, cooked the mamaliga and put it in a baking pan to set up. Mixed up the ingredients for the mititei, formed them, and put them in the fridge. Got the cabbage and apples going by late afternoon. All I had left by evening was to sliced and pan-fry the mamaliga and cook the mititei. I tried sliding the sausages onto the rotisserie skewers, but after two fell off, I switched to the rotisserie basket.
It all cooked up well. The mititei were very tasty, Gina loved the texture, but found the herbs a bit strong. Next time we'll cut back just a little. I see a lot of fried mamaliga slices in our future...lol. The baked beans were good. They are different from American baked beans...not nearly as sweet, with some red wine in 'em. And the varza, the baked cabbage and apples, was very good. Not too sweet. Red cabbage and apples are always a good pick for Gina...lol.
Interestingly enough (at least to me), mamaliga probably predates polenta. In "Olive Trees and Honey", Gil Marks states that while grain porridges called puls were brought east by the Romans, it was the Turks who brought corn to the Balkans in the sixteenth century. It then moved west to Italy. Italians even called corn grano turco(Turkish grain) and sorgo turco(Turkish sorghum).
It was all very delicious, especially the cabbage and apples. *smiling* Matthew loved the sausages. He is still talking about them, and ate his cold as he walked the dogs. *shuddering* He calls them *snickering* 'Little meatloafs".
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