It had been a couple months for one reason or another, but Jeroen, Lennard and I made it down to Szalonna again last weekend. Because of a children's booksale, we could not leave until 6pm, which got us down there quite late.
The house was cold, but not frigid yet. Even so, it took until Sunday night until it was positively warm. While the boys were feeding the stucco and tile stoves trying to heat up the place, I made some quessadillas for dinner. After a week of early mornings, it was a pleasure to sleep in. I spent the early afternoon darning my wool socks in front of the stucco stove. Why don't Hungarians have wool socks? A thousand years of history - no wonder the general population is so depressed - cold feet! I have only ever seen wool socks at festivals, and those are unpractically pure white, handmade, one size and very costly. Having reservations for a late lunch/early dinner, we drove over to  nearby Szakacsi where Elisabeth Van Aerde runs a restaurant and guest house . We had been there once before for a great meal in September. We started with hot homemade pita-like breads with carrot-orange soup. The orange was dominant and I was not sure if the main ingredient was pumpkin or carrot until I was told, but it was very nice just the same. As the designated driver, I was on Torley's sweet non-alcoholic champagne, a sparkling grape juice that went down very well. Everyone else went through a few bottles of Frittman's Irsai Oliver 2008. Frittman, based in Kunsag, was winemaker of the year in 2007. However, this distinctly pear-ish wine was unimpressive. During a blind wine tasting of Kekfrankos wines in March, I really disliked his Kekfrankos which tasted like beef. For Irsai, I would highly recommend the Nyakas Vineyard in Etyek.
Next came, and I think we all agree even though it was the appetiser, the highlight of the evening - homemade organic spelt pasta with walnut/cheese/rosemary sauce. This was followed by a Spanish chicken dish with roasted garlic. I was very happy to be reminded of roasted garlic - a very easy dish which I used to make after having it once in Spain, and which I have always associated with the nice feeling of getting out of jail. Cut the tops off a few garlic bulbs, dribble with olive oil and bake until soft. Then you can squeeze the garlic out clove by clove. The chicken drumsticks were accompanied by roasted vegetables. Desert was homemade apricot and vanilla icecream with bits of yummy dried apricots and almond slivers on top. I would have preferred a warm chocolate brownie or something considering it was -5 outside, but Dutchies eat icecream no matter what the weather. We finished the evening with a rare bottle of Lenkey's (Mad) Harslevelu 2003 late harvest sweet wine. If you like sweet Tokalj wines, and not necessarily just the aszu varieties, try this! 

The total cost for 3 people was 20000 huf, which is not bad at all if you consider the wine and coffee was included. If you are looking for a luxurious and relaxing weekend in the Cserehat, contact Elisabeth at: 06-48-349-343, v.aerde@move2hungary.com. http://www.move2hungary.com. You can go horse riding, hiking, explore Aggtelek National Park, go wine tasting, or just put your feet up on the veranda.

If you are coming through Szendro, you get the horrible road, but if you go through Lak, the way is much easier.