A.M. Ruggirello's Blog, page 4

{Feature} Straşnic Handmade – Iași, Romania

via Straşnic Handmade

Note: This post is long overdue, and I want to apologize to Straşnic Handmade for how long it has taken me to post this feature. 

Guys. GUYS. I am so excited to feature this company today. SO, SO, SO excited. I literally stumbled upon Straşnic Handmade on Twitter, and I’m so glad they slid into my feed. SO GLAD.

Firstly, if this blog doesn’t convey the point, I love Romania and all things Romanian. (Except for maybe communism. I’m not a huge fan of communism.) So, companies...

A Note For Cookbooks Purchased Before May 2021

Sigh… typos. They’re unavoidable, no matter how many times or many people look over a document. C’est la vie, or rather, este viață. This post is for those of you who have purchased a cookbook, either from me directly or one of my distributors, prior to May 2021. Here are a few typos I’d like to address so that you don’t run into any cooking disasters and are able to fully enjoy the recipes. Please note: If you’ve purchased a cookbook after May 2021, these changes have been made in the book dire...

Pilaf Din Ficat De Pui {Chicken Liver Pilaf}

While Pilaf Din Ficat De Pui (pronounced pee-lah-f deen fee-cah-t deh p-oo-y-ee) can be made with other, more familiar, parts of the chicken, I encourage you to try it with the livers. Chicken liver adds a hearty, decadent touch to what would otherwise be your standard pilaf dish. It’s also common to use all parts of an animal (yes, even the more undesirable organs), so this recipe makes use of the uncommon but flavorful and earthy offals (a.k.a. organs).

Update 05.2021 // Hey! This recipe ha...

Ciorbă de Legume {Sour Vegetable Soup}

I’m a huge fan of recipes that make use of what you have, especially if it’s on the verge of meeting its trashcan demise. So while this Ciorbă de Legume (pronounced ch-or-bah day leg-oom-ay) has a list of vegetables that make up the soup, I give you free rein to add in whatever vegetables you need to use up! If it’s a heartier vegetable (think potatoes, cauliflower…) add it to the pot earlier in the recipe. If it’s a more delicate vegetable (think tomatoes, zucchini…) add it in near the end of t...

It’s Official…!

From Dill to Dracula is becoming a cookbook!

After over two years of hard work, I’m excited to share that From Dill to Dracula: A Romanian Food + Folklore Cookbook will be available in hardcover, paperback, and digital formats this coming Fall (date TBA).

I’ve packed 80 recipes into over 250 bright and colorful pages to whet your appetite and showcase the beauty of Romania’s history, culture, and people.

You guys—I can’t believe it’s finally happening!

Please stay tuned for the cover...

New Posts Are Coming!

Thank you for your patience as I collect my thoughts from our recent trip to Romania and blog all about our adventures, new recipes, and some exciting bookish developments!

Stay tuned.

Romanian, The Great Unification, And 100 Years

You may have seen this logo floating around the interwebs at the beginning of this month but, if you’re anything like me (and I’m Romanian), you may not have known the importance behind its spread. That’s why I’m here—to help us deep dive into Romania now, and Romania 100 years ago, at what’s dubbed as The Great Unification.

Long story short, The Great Unification, and what’s being celebrated on this centennial, is the effort of all Romania’s historical provinces—Transylvania, Banat, Crișan...

Pasta de Cartofi cu Pâine și Zahăr {Romanian Potato Pasta with Bread and Sugar}

Bună băieți. De mult timp, nici un chat!

Hey guys. Long time, no chat!

I know it’s been a while since I’ve blogged. I could say life got in the way (it did), or I haven’t been cooking Romanian foods as often (I haven’t), but really I just didn’t prioritize blogging as much as I should have. I know my blogging schedule was lax to begin with (every/other Monday), but it became really lax, more like every/other half year.

So sorry. I hope to make From Dill to Dracula more of a priority in my lif...

Romania Top 5 2017 — A Year in Review

via Unsplash

An Nou Fericit!
(Pronounced ahn n-oo fair-e-cheat)

Happy New Year!

It’s 2018! We made it! Congrats to all! (Seriously, we could all use congratulations at this point. Last year was rough). A lot happened in 2017. Not just here in the U.S., but quite a few headlines from Romania reached our shores. Things I didn’t cover, and some things I did.

↓ Here are some of the top five events of 2017 in Romania ↓

5 // Cinci — Romania’s First Woman & First Muslim PM. Almost.

So close, yet s...

Thanksgiving Pecan Pie Egg Rolls (no corn syrup!)

Per the many requests I’ve received, I wanted to share with everyone my Pecan Pie Egg Roll recipe, made this past Thanksgiving. I know, I know, it’s neither Romanian nor a holiday celebrated in Romania, but it is delicious, and will definitely inspire some Romanian-themed egg roll recipes in the future. Plus, even though this is a Romanian Food & Folklore blog, it’s still a food blog, and this is a recipe I workshopped myself, so I think it still counts