Magyar Hírek, 1985 (38. évfolyam, 2-26. szám)
1985-07-27 / 15-16. szám
A FEW OLD CHESTNUTS FROM A BOOK OF HUNGARIAN HUMOUR COLLECTED BY MÁRIA EMBER RECIPES Radio Hungary in English A ye olde worlde joke Aristid and his wife are strolling on the Danube Embankment in Budapest A pigeon rises in front of them and her droppings bomb the fur collar of the Countess. The Countess turns to her husband and asks: “Aristid, have you perhaps a small piece of paper with you?" “I have indeed, my dear, but how do you expect me to fly after the pigeon?” From the 1950s Three men in a railway compartment. One sighs. So does another. Thereupon the third one: “Gentlemen, don’t let’s talk politics. It could easily lead to trouble.” * The speaker at the CP function listed figure after figure showing how life was getting better and better. The meeting is thrown open to discussion. Cohen rises to his feet. “All I should like to say is: May Comrade Rákosi live for long.” Applause. Everyone is enchanted. How articulate that Cohen is! How wittilly he managed to link up statistics of success and the beloved reader of the people to whom we owed everything. When the applause died down Cohen rose to his feet again. “All I wanted to say: May Comrade Rákosi live for long.” Applause again, standing applause. But some are beginning to resent that Cohen wishes to exploit his success to the full. As soon as everyone is on their seat again Cohen rises once more. “Comrades, all I wanted to mention is that may Comrade Rákosi live for long.” The Party Secretary interrupted calmly. “The subject has been mentioned already. Comrade Cohen.” “But you have not let me finish, not once. All that I wanted to say was, may Comrade Rákosi live for long on fifteen hundred forint a month.” Around 1963 in Budapest It’s cold outside. Cohen hurries into a Café and orders a hot pot of tea. “Would you prefer Russian or Chinese”, the waiter asks. Cohen thinks for a moment. “Do you know what, bring me a cup of coffee instead.” Just as well you mention it The practised eye of the hall porter soon recognised that the handsome young man and the shy young girl to whom he handed their key must be on their honeymoon. “Can I do anything for you Sir? Perhaps breakfast in bed, a drink, refreshments?” “No thank you”, the young man said. The hall porter did not give up. “Perhaps a bunch of flowers for the lady wife?” “Superfluous”, the young man said, as he pulled out his wallet. “But you could call her on this number and tell her I’m still in conference.” Poule au vin. Ingredients: A hen weighing about 1 kg, I1/* litres of water, 1 tablespoonful salt, 1 onion, 1 clove, 2 carrots, Vs head of celery. For the sauce: 2 tablespoonfuls of margarine, 2 tablespoonfuls of flour, 1/5 liter of white wine, Vi liter of meatstock (may be made with cubes), the yolk of one egg, 1/10 liter of cream, a pinch of nutmeg, a bunch of chives. Put the vegetables, clove and onion into water and bring to the boil. When the water boils put in the cleaned and cubed hen and cook until tender. In the meantime prepare the sauce. Heat the margarine, the flour and until you get a smooth mass, add the wine, then the meatstock and boil for 10 minutes. Stir the yolk of an egg into the cream pour this into the sauce, season with nutmeg and chives, pour the sauce onto the cubed meat and boil it up again. Garnish the dish with mashed potato. Chicken stuffed with cheese. Ingredients: 1 chicken (about 700-800 grammes), 150 grammes of cheese (possibly a mixture of semi-fat and caraway-seed varieties), 1 onion, two cloves of garlic, 2-3 tablespoonfuls of oatmeal soaked in milk, 2 tablespoonfuls of oil, salt. Salt the washed chicken inside and outside, and let it stand for 1-2 hours. Grate the cheese and mix with the finely chopped onion, garlic, the milk-soaked oat meal, and stuff the chicken with the mixture. Fasten the bird well with skewers. Bake it in a preheated oven, preferably in an earthenware dish for about 40 minutes. Halved apples may also be baked—unpeeled—with the chicken for garnishing. The rice pudding It happened in Hungary during the Second World War that the siege closed around Budapest. Everyone spent New Year’s Eve down in the shelter. One of the families was due to celebrate the grandparents’ golden wedding, and so it happened that it was in a damp air-raid shelter that they kept the promise they made each other in the days of their youth that—at their golden wedding —they would each open the box into which they placed a grain of rise every time they committed adultery. It was grandpa’s turn first. He blushed as he smashed the pottery pig, and their married daughter, acting as umpire, counted six grains of rice midst the sherds. Grandma jokingly threatened him, then it was her turn. But not a single grain of rice was to be found amongst the sherds. The whole family was enchanted. Grandpa, with tears in his eyes, kissed her hand. Late in the evening the two woman sneaked upstairs to the kitchen to get something to eat for the famished family. The married daughter then asked her mother again: “But Mum, for fifty long years, never, not even once?” Grandma smiled happily. “And that rice pudding which I made for you last night, do you think I got the rice for that at the grocer’s, now?” Chicken goulasch á la Szeged. Ingredients: A chicken (about 800 grammes), 2 onions, a bunch of soup greens, 1 green pepper, 2 spoonfuls of tomato puree, salt, pepper, red paprika. 2 spoonfuls of oil, 3-4 potatoes. Fry the finely chopped onions until transparent, then add the green pepper, the tomato puree and pepper, and place the cleaned chicken pieces into the dish. Cook till tender in a little water. Then add the cubed potatoes, the greens and enough water to cover the lot, allow to cook until all is tender. Garnish with small pieces of paste boiled with the soup (csipetke). M. K. The programmes are broadcast in English on Tuesdays and repeated on other days as presented below July 30th to August 5th Sándor Pethő, journalist founder of the daily paper Magyar Nemzet in 1938. The personality of the chief editor of Magyar Nemzet as described by his son Tibor Pethő, who was also editor-in-chief of the paper until quite recently. The programme commemorates the one hundredth anniversary of Sándor Pethő’s birth. (Repeat of the programme which was transmitted on March 12th, 1985.) August 6th to August 12th A memorable Sunday in Hungary in mid-October 1944: the story of Regent Horthy’s abortive attempt to pull out of the Second World War in its penultimate stage. The inadequately prepared move failed to lead to a truce but precipitated one of the darkest periods of Hungary’s history: the takeover of Hitler’s Hungarian stooges, the Arrow Cross Party. (Repeat of the programme transmitted on October 9th, 1984.) August 13th to August 1.9th The portrait of Endre Bajcsy-Zsilinszky. His turning against those who were ready to sell out the country to Hitler’s Germany. His courageous attitude in the parliamentary struggles during the Second World War and repeated calls for national unity and resistance against the German invaders. His tragic end on Christmas Eve 1944 close to the Austrian border. (Repeat of the programme transmitted on December 19th, 1984.) August 20th to August 26th A sad page from the history book on Hungary: 1944 the penultimate stage of the Hungarian holocaust. The programme is based upon documents about the events of 1944 (they were released quite recently by the Holy See) and upon an interview made with a retired official of the Vatican. (Repeat of the programme transmitted on May 28th, 1985.) August 27th to September 2nd A major turning point in 1he nation’s history: 1945. Taking stock of the losses Hungary suffered during the Second World War. Launching a major and ambitious reconstruction programme. (Repeat of the programme which was transmitted on April 2nd, 1985.) During the three summer months of the current year we shall be repeating programmes which were transmitted between September 4th, 1984 and June 3rd, 1985. In case you are a regular listener and missed one or another of the instalments when they were first broadcast you can now make up for the deficit since each of the repeated instalments will be transmitted on five consecutive occasions as shown by the schedule below: —every Tuesday at 18.00 Greenwich Mean Time (or 2 p. m. Eastern Standard Time); —every Wednesday at 00.30 GMT (or Tuesday, 8.30 p. m. Eastern Standard Time); —every Friday at 18.00 GMT (or 2 p. m. Eastern Standard Time); —every Saturday at 00.30 GMT (or 8.30 p. m. Eastern Standard Time); —every Monday at 03.00 GMT (or Sunday 11 p. m. Eastern Standard Time). The programmes are repeated on short wave on the 25, 31, 41 and 49 metre bands that is, on 11910, 9655, 9585 and 6110 kHz, respectively. For further information or details please address your letters to The Editor of Hungary’s History Serial c/o Szülőföldünk Magyar Rádió Budapest 1800 Hungary 63
