One of my goals for a really long time was to cook a 3 course meal by myself. I finally felt confident enough in my cooking ability, had a decent kitchen and had enough time to attempt this.
The day started off early. I was up with the sun to visit the market. My original plan was to make a brisket, but there is no brisket to be found in Hungary. Or maybe my translation was wrong. I can’t tell the cut of meat by sight either.
I started cooking early in the day. Originally I wanted to make the cake the day before so I wouldn’t have so much to do the next day. Have you ever tried to whip egg whites by hand? Its pure torture. I soon gave up that idea and went to purchase a hand mixer the next day. I managed to rescue my half whipped whites and baked the cake first thing.
Next up was making the stock for the soup, followed by making my mashed potatoes and honey glazed carrots.
When I asked one of my Hungarian friends what whipping cream was in Hungarian, she gave me the wrong name which I soon found out when it wouldn’t whip. Luckily the stores hadn’t closed yet for the holiday and I popped back in to take a look. I managed to find the right thing thank goodness. I also got some canned whipped cream just in case the liquid didn’t work. I had so many kitchen fails while baking this cake. Its so much more difficult in a foreign country, but I’m really happy it turned out.
The last thing I did was make my stuffed chicken. I took a chicken, butterflied it and put slices of ham, spinach and cheese inside, before rolling it up. You dip it in a seasoned flour base, eggs and then in some breadcrumbs. I didn’t have breadcrumbs, so I smashed up some crackers with a rolling pin (great stress relief!).
Everything turned out the way it was suppose to and it really tasted good. With the exception of the cake, everything is super simple to make. I think I’ll have to keep some chicken breasts on hand in case I ever need to whip up something presentable for dinner.
Here is my menu for the evening:
Appetizer: Vegetable soup with home made rolls
Entree: Stuffed chicken with mashed potatoes & honey glazed carrots. Veggie option: sour cream pasta (no photo).
Dessert: Japanese style strawberry shortcake.
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