#Im aware this is like a common dish but this is my specific version of it ok

[tomorrowillbeyou]

My simply awsome recipe that is my favourite to make although i don't make it so often. cheesy potatoes

get some big baking potatoes and cover them in butter and spear them with a fork then bake them in whichever way you choose you can do this in the microwave or oven or whatever

while they are baking get some butter and oil and chop up some onion (maybe like 1 small onion for 3 potatoes idk) chop it quite small and fry it kind of low in the butter and oil and then crush up garlic and when the onion gets soft and a bit brown add the garlic in and then turn off the heat after a couple of minutes

take out the potatoes, while they are still hot slice them in half lengthways (so the halves lie flat) and scoop out the middle and put it in a bowl

get a block of cheddar and grate a bit less than 1/2 as much cheddar as there is potato insides in the bowl. put it with the potatoes and also add the onion/garlic, here you can add cream, milk and yoghurt to make it super creamy, also salt and pepper, also herbs (i like to put in thyme and dill and this like ornamental sage from the garden sometimes and sometimes oregano). all of these ingredients are optional but greatly increase the awsomeness. you can also add any other random stuff you think would taste good in such a potato.

mash it all together until its all mixed and taste it and if it doesn't taste awsome to you add stuff to make it better using your own judgement and brain

scoop it back into the potato skins, there will be more mixture than there originally was but its cool just heap it up because it tastes nice

sprinkle a bit of cheddar cheese on top of each one and also maybe even fancy chunky salt if you have some

put it in the oven at like 180 ish (but doesn't matter that much) for 10 minutes and then put them under the grill for 2 minutes to get browned on top (My american correspondents are telling me this is called a broiler)

then eat it and it will be tasty but maybe don't eat it if.you are lactose intolerant. LOVE❤️

[aly126]

Im arriving tomorrow in Romania for Euros and some tourism. Since I dont really know anyone to ask, could you advise me on some food and beverages that you like or that are typical and one I should be aware of etc? Thank u!

Hope you have fun! Most touristy restauntants, like the ones in city centers, have menus in English, too, so you shouldn't worry about not knowing what things are.

Fair warning, we celebrate Easter this week, so if you go to restaurants and see Easter specials/menus, that means a lot of lamb meat. Also, on Saturday at midnight, people go to church, so don’t freak out if you see literally everyone in the streets with lit candles on Saturday night hahahah.

Ok, here are some of the traditional things.

Soup/Ciorba

So, 'ciorbă', is some kind of soup, only it's sour. Kinda like the Russian bortsch? Soup is 'supă'.

'Ciorbă de fasole'. It's beans (sour) soup. Some places serve it in bread, instead of an actual plate. Like they have a round bread, cut it, carve the soft, middle part and replace that with the soup. Some add bacon to it. Sometimes it’s served with pickled onions. It's really good!

'Ciorbă de perișoare'. Sour soup with meatballs and vegetables.

'Ciorbă de burtă'. It's tripe (sour) soup. It has tripe in it, so it might be a a turn off lol. I don't know about this one, it's kind of an acquired taste, you might not love it. I definitely don't.

'Ciorbă rădăuțeană'. I think this is meant to be the ligther/less difficult to like version of the tripe soup. It's similar in taste, but instead of tripe it has chicken breast strips. A safer choice, if you ask me.

Then there are soups, like tomato soup, chicken noodle soups, etc., but those aren't particularly special. I mean, we eat those a lot, too, but they're not different from how others make them.

Main Course

'Tochitură'. Several types of meat (sausage, pork, chicken bits) in tomato and red wine sauce. Comes with polenta and a fried egg and grated cheese on top. My favorite Romanian dish tbh, I even made it for Christmas lmao.

'Sarmale'. Minced meat rolled in sour cagabe leaves. You can have that with polenta. You can have anything with polenta here probably lol. My second fav.

'Mici'. Minced meat rolls made of beef, pork and lamb meat and spices. They go with fries and mustard.

You'll find all sort of other meat based dishes, because we eat tons of meat, like men! Fried, grilled, you name it. ‘Chiftele’ (meat balls), all sort of pork, ‘Șnițele’ (fried chicken slices), ‘Ardei umpluți’ (bell peppers, baked and filled with, you guessed it, more meat).

I don't think we have much traditional street food. You'll find a lot of 'șaorma' places, though (shawarma / souvlaki wrap thing).

Desserts

'Papanași'. They're donuts with sour cream and jam and they're awesome!

'Clătite'. they usually translate as pancakes, but they're not the fluffy, American pancakes, but thin, rolled and filled with jam, or honey and nuts, or chocolate.

'Cremă de zahăr ars'. This is pretty common too, it's basically Crème Brûlée.

‘Kurtos Kalacs’. I think these are more of a Hungarian thing, but are typical for the Transylvania region. You’ll find these in shops and they usually make them on the spot. It’s sweet dough coated with sugar, nuts, coconut, cinnamon, etc. Can’t wait to have some in Cluj, since you rarely find them in Bucharest.

'Cozonac'. You don't usually find this in restaurants, but it's a traditional Easter dessert, so in case you come across it, it's sweet bread, sometimes filled with chocolate and nuts, or turkish delight. Everyone and their mothers are making it at home this week for Easter. If it's not well made, it's not exactly great, though.

Drinks

I don't think we have some specific soft drinks. You'll find the ones you can buy anywhere, like Coke, Pepsi, etc. Because of the lemonade discourse post, I have to say, if you order 'Limonadă' (lemonade), you'll get tap or mineral water with freshly squeezed lemon juice and sugar/honey. Not Spite, or 7up.

For alcohol, we have a lot of local wine, which is pretty cheap if you buy it at a supermarket. I think the best local kinds are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, of Fetească neagră.

Some traditional alcoholoc drinks are 'Țuică', or 'Palică'. Those are basically fruity spirits, țuică being made of plums exclusively. They are served in shot glasses and generally both are stronger than vodka (it depends, though). I find those a punishment for your throat, so beware lol.

Ok, I might forget a few things, but this turned out too long as is hahah. Romanian food is really tasty, but it’s also pretty fat/greasy, so there’s that. Hope this was helpful. Enjoy!