Snow, Brandy, and Chaos ❄️🥂😂

I usually keep holidays pretty low-key—just a quiet nod to tradition.

But when I was a kid? Oh, it was full-on “Game of Thrones” banquet mode. Mountains of food: cabbage rolls in winter, lamb and Romanian haggis for Easter, cheesecake, painted eggs. We kids hid under the table with the pets, sneak-eating like tiny bandits.

Then there was that New Year’s Eve in Bucharest: eight years old, snow up to my neck, no cell phones, and we ended up at the wrong apartment building. Two very confused elderly strangers let us in, fed us, offered brandy. I took one sip, immediately hurled, and have never touched brandy again. Best anti-alcohol lesson ever.

Another year, we drove to a mountain cabin… and realized the key was 400 km away. Classic.

Cabbage Rolls Worth the Holiday Hype

Here’s a classic stuffed cabbage roll (with meat) recipe—Romanian-style, like the ones from those holiday feasts. It’s hearty, simple, and tastes even better the next day.

(But between us, I secretly prefer the vegetarian filling)

Ingredients

(makes about 20 rolls)

• 1 large pickled (fermented) cabbage head* – about 20 whole leaves
• 500 g (1 lb) ground pork (or pork + beef mix)
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp uncooked rice
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp fresh dill or parsley, chopped
• 1 cup tomato passata or crushed tomatoes
• 1 bay leaf, a few peppercorns
• 2 cans of white dry wine (optional)
• Some bacon (optional)
• Some pork skin or pork fat (optional)

*If you only have fresh cabbage, blanch whole leaves in boiling water for a few minutes until pliable, or keep them in the freezer for a few days.

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Steps

1. Prep the leaves:
   Separate the cabbage leaves, trim the thick rib so they roll easily.
2. Make the filling:
   Sauté the onion in a bit of oil until soft. Let cool slightly.
   Mix the onion with ground meat, rice, herbs, salt, pepper, and paprika.
3. Roll ’em up:
   Place a spoonful of filling on each leaf. Fold sides in and roll tight like a little burrito.
4. Layer the pot:
   Grease the bottom of a heavy pot, then lay down a couple of chopped cabbage leaves. Add some bacon slices on top. Arrange the rolls seam-side down in snug layers, sprinkling a few more bacon pieces or cubes between the layers. If you have pork skin, tuck it in as well for extra flavor.
5. Sauce & cook:
   Pour tomato passata over the rolls. Add bay leaf, peppercorns, and two cans of water or white wine (vin alb sec) to almost cover. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook on very low heat for 4 hours. Let them rest, then bake them, covered, at 170 °C / 340 °F for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

6. Serve:
   Let them rest for 15 minutes. Spoon some sauce on top. Traditionally served with a dollop of sour cream and a slice of crusty bread.

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