Székely Gulyás

What's that, you ask? Hungarian deliciousness. (It's pronounced 'se-kay goo-yash', kind of, if you run across any Hungarians.) I've read various accounts of its origin, and I don't know which one is true, but it honestly doesn't matter to me. What it comes down to is pork and sauerkraut stewed together with paprika and caraway seeds, then finished off with sour cream. Definitely not health food. But your tummy will thank you.

I used 101 cookbooks' recipe, omitting the flour, and cutting back on the caraway seeds (because I hate the little buggers). I also upped the paprika, and added a bunch of freshly cracked black pepper. And I changed the sauté order around, browning the spare ribs first (and removing them from the pan), then the lean pork and onions, because that's how my Hungarian friend taught me to do it. I also didn't use the full 12 ounces of sour cream, only about 8, because the dish was rather liquidy. I think if I made this again, I'd probably only use 1/2 cup of water instead of the full cup.

However you make it, with the combination of pork, cabbage, and fat, you really can't go wrong. Oh, and make some spaetzle (or, in Hungarian, nokedli) to go with it.

I don't remember whose recipe I grabbed for the spaetzle (sorry!), but it was 1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 eggs, 1/4 cup water, and 3 tablespoons melted butter. I used my large-holed cheese grater propped over a pot of salted boiling water, and a knife to scrape the dough through the holes (don't waste your $$ on a spaetzle-maker). Cook the little dough-worms until they're done, a couple minutes or so.

After this, I'm eating nothing but salad for at least a week, or at least until I can feel my blood flowing through my arteries again.