Saptamana 10 / Week 10

Bijuteriile au fost intotdeauna un element strans legat de existenta monarhiilor, iar dintre bijuterii, nimic nu este mai reprezentativ pentru regalitate decat tiara. Aceasta varianta a coroanei, purtata de doamnele de vita nobila, a atins apogeul popularitatii in secolul al XIX-lea, insa ea este un element indispensabil al evenimentelor regale chiar si in secolul nostru. In ceea ce priveste casele regale europene, tiarele au cel putin o dubla valenta: pe langa reprezentarea simbolica a statutului, ele contin o adevarata istorie de familie si traditie.

Casa regala a Romaniei a detinut o colectie impresionanta de bijuterii. Din pacate, eu nu cunosc ce s-a intamplat cu multe dintre piesele cele mai importante care o compuneau si nici nu am gasit foarte multa literatura care sa elucideze aceasta enigma.

In postarea de azi, doresc sa ma opresc asupra uneia dintre piesele foarte speciale care, din fericire, continua sa fie in posesia Familiei Regale: tiara meandru sau, in varianta engleza, the Greek key tiara. Sunt incantat ca aceasta minunata bijuterie continua sa fie folosita la cele mai importante evenimente regale de pe continent, cu precadere de catre ASR Principesa Mostenitoare Margareta.



ASI Marea Ducesa Kyrill a Rusiei (Victoria Melita)



Din cate am aflat in urma cu mai multi ani de la un prieten britanic, aceasta tiara a apartinut initial Marii Ducese Victoria Melita a Rusiei (sora reginei Maria a Romaniei), care trebuie sa fi ajuns in posesia ei odata cu intrarea in Casa Imperiala rusa. Nu exista nicio poza care sa indice ca Victoria Melita ar fi detinut tiara inainte de casatoria cu Marele Duce Kyrill al Rusiei.

In urma revolutiei care i-a rasturnat de la putere pe Romanovi, se stie ca Ducky (porecla dupa care era cunoscuta sore reginei Maria), la fel ca marea majoritate a altetelor imperiale ruse, a fost nevoita sa vanda marea majoritate a bijuteriilor sale pentru a putea supravietui in exil. Se pare ca regina Maria (la randul sau o mare admiratoare a bijuteriilor) a achizitionat aceasta piesa deosebita de la sora sa pentru a o oferii drept cadou de nunta nurorii sale, principesei Elena (mama regelui Mihai), in 1921. 




© Diana Mandache
Regina Elena a Romaniei (principesa a Greciei)

 

Numele acestei tiare – the Greek key tiara – era extrem de potrivit, avand in vedere ca inainte de casatoria cu cel care avea sa devina mai tarziu Carol al II-lea al Romaniei, Elena a fost printesa a Greciei.

Aceeasi tiara a fost purtata de regina Ana cu ocazia casatoriei sale cu regele Mihai, in 1948, la Atena.



© Casa regala a Romaniei
Nunta ML  regele Mihai I & regina Ana, Atena



In prezent, tiara este folosita in principal de ASR Principesa Mostenitoare atunci cand reprezinta Casa Regala romana la evenimentele de gala, cum a fost cazul nuntii Principesei Mostenitoare Victoria a Suediei (vezi Saptamana 4).



© Antoinette Engster Photography
ASR Principesa Mostenitoare a Romaniei



Este surprinzator insa ca Principesa Margareta nu a purtat aceasta tiara cu ocazia nuntii sale cu principele Radu, in 1996, preferand o alta tiara, creatie a casei Cartier.

Urmatoarea reteta marcheaza finalul capitolului “Tata” si, dupa parerea mea (si a multora dintre cei dragi mie), reprezinta o adevarata bijuterie intre deserturi!

Cheesecake

Blatul acestei minunatii se obtine prin sfarmarea a 300 de grame de biscuiti digestivi (va recomand biscuitii Gullon, care se gasesc in multe dintre magazinele din Cluj si sunt cei mai gustosi, dupa parerea mea) si amestecarea lor cu unt topit (eu folosesc un pachet mic de unt de 100g, din care vreo 10g folosesc la ungerea tavii) si un pic de scortisoara (optional). Reteta Principesei cere si cateva linguri de zahar, insa dupa testarea retetei, consider ca nu este obligatoriu acest ingredient. Aluatul obtinut se preseaza pe fundul unei tavi rotunde (unsa cu unt topit in prealabil), pentru tarte, si se pune la rece pana cand terminati umplutura. Cea mai indicata este tava cu catarama , a carei margini se pot indeparta. De asemenea, folosirea hartiei de copt usureaza foarte mult munca!

Umplutura contine 1 plic de gelatina simpla, 2 cutii mari de Philadelphia, 200 de grame de smantana grasa, 200 de smantana dulce (pentru frisca) si zahar. Branza Philadelphia de bate pana devine moale, dupa care se incorporeza gelatina (prealabil inmuiata in apa rece si dizolvata la foc mic, conform instructiunilor de pe plic), urmata de o jumatate de cana de zahar si un varf de cutit de sare. Separat se bate smantana dulce pana se intareste, dupa care se adauga smantatna grasa, iar produsul final se adauga peste branza Philadelphia si gelatina si se amesteca serios cu mixerul. Crema obtinuta se adauga peste blat, dupa care se introduce din nou la rece, preferabil pana a doua zi.

In ceea ce priveste decorarea, Principesa propune un sirop obtinut din 200 de grame de fructe proaspete (afine, capsuni, zmeura etc.), jumate de cana de zahar si vreo doua linguri de apa. Zaharul, apa si o treime din fructe se pun la foc si se fierb pana fructele se macereaza, iar zaharul este topit. Amestecul se tine la foc domol pana se ingroasa, dupa care se raceste si, in cele din urma, se adauga restul de fructe proaspete. Gustul acestui topping este minunat, dar, din nou in urma testului, sfatul meu este sa adaugati sucul de la jumatate de lamaie sau limeta, pentru a evita obtinerea unui desert exagerat de dulce.

Am gustat acest desert pentru prima data in Anglia in anii ‘90, dupa care l-am incercat, in diferitele sale forme in Statele Unite si pot spune ca mi-a placut intotdeauna, indiferent de reteta. In mintea mea, cheesecake merge cel mai bine cu capsuni, desi am incercat toate combinatiile, de la zmeura si ciocolata, pana la visine si dovleac sau cafea. N-am intalnit persoana caruia sa nu-i placa!

Reteta detaliata se afla in “Cartea regala de bucate”, Ed. Curtea Veche, Bucuresti 2010, pag. 30-32.

***

Jewels have always been an element closely connected to royalty. Among the different type of jewelry, nothing is more representative for monarchy than a tiara. This version of the crown, worn by ladies of the aristocracy, reached its popularity peak during the XIX^th century. Even now-a-days it is a must at royal events. As far as the the royal families of Europe are concerned, tiaras have at least a double valence: not only are they a symbol of the social status, but they also contain a lot of family history and tradition.

The royal family of Romania possessed a spectacular jewelry collection. Unfortunately I don’t know what happened to many of its most important pieces and I haven’t found much literature to elucidate this enigma.

In today’s post I wish to write a bit about one of the most special pieces of jewelry that fortunately is still in the possession of the Royal Family: the Greek key tiara. I am delighted that this beautiful piece of jewelry is still used at the most important royal events on the continent, especially by HRH Crown Princess Margarita.

As I found out many years ago from a British friend, this tiara originally belonged to the Grand Duchess Victoria Melita of Russia (Queen Marie of Romania’s sister). The tiara must have got in her possession once she entered the Imperial house of Russia. There is no picture indicating that Victoria Melita wore the tiara before her marriage to the Grand Duke Kyrill of Russia.

After the revolution that drove the Romanovs from the power, Ducky, as the Grand Duchess was known to her family, as well as many of her Russian relations had to sell most of their jewelry in order to survive in exile. It seems that queen Marie (a huge lover of jewelry herself) purchased this special piece from her sister in order to offer it as a wedding present  to her daughter-in-law, princess Helen (the future Queen Mother of Romania and mother of HM King Michael I), in 1921. The name of this tiara – the Greek key tiara – is extremely suitable as before her marriage to the future Carol II of Romania, Helen was princess of Greece.

The same tiara was worn by queen Anne at her wedding to king Michael, in 1948, in Athens.

Nowadays the tiara is used mainly by HRH the Crown Princess when she represents the royal family at official events, such as Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden’s wedding (see Week 4). It is surprising that princess Margarita didn’t wear this tiara on her own wedding day, in 1996, preferring another tiara, designed by Cartier.

The following recipe is the last one in the chapter “Tata” and, in my opinion (and that of many people I hold dear) it represents a real piece of jewelry among desserts!

Cheesecake

The base of this wonderful dessert is obtained by crushing 300g of digestive biscuits  and mixing them with melted butter (I use a small pack of 100g of butter, out of which about 10g are used to grease the springform tin) and a little bit of cinnamon (optional). The princess’ recipe requires sugar as well, but after testing it I think that this ingredient isn’t mandatory. The biscuit mixture thus obtained is pressed on the bottom of the greased tin and put in the fridge to chill while the filling is prepared. For an easier process, it is better to use parchment paper!

The filling is made out of one small packet of plain gelatin, two big packs of Philadelphia cream cheese (400g), 200g of full fat sour cream, 200g of cream and half a cup of sugar. Beat the cream cheese until it becomes soft; afterwards incorporate the gelatin (prepared in advance according to the instructions on the pack), followed by half a cup of sugar and a pinch of salt into the cream cheese. Separately whip the cream until stiff then add the full fat sour cream. Add this mixture over the cream cheese and the gelatin and mixed together with a hand-held mixer. Pour this mixture on top of the biscuit base and put in the fridge to chill, preferably until the next day.

For decorating, the princess suggests a syrup made from 200g of fresh fruit (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries etc), half a cup of sugar and two spoons of water. The sugar, the water and a third of the fruit need to be boiled until the fruit is macerated and the sugar melted. The mixture is then kept to simmer until it thickens; afterwards it is cooled down and eventually the rest of the fresh fruit is added. The taste of this topping is wonderful but again, after having tasted it, my advice is to add the juice from a half a lime or lemon, to cut some of the sweetness.

I had tried this dessert for the first time in England in the 90’s. After that I enjoyed it in its different forms in the USA and I can state that I have always loved it, no matter the recipe. In my mind, cheesecake goes best with strawberries, although I have tried loads of combinations, from raspberry and chocolate to cherries and pumpkin or coffee. I haven’t met anyone who didn’t like cheesecake!

The detailed recipe can be found in “Cartea regala de bucate”, Ed. Curtea Veche, Bucuresti, 2010, pag. 30-32.