With Fall around the corner, you can bet we’re getting ready for Halloween! That mean’s horror movie content (aside from our cookbook)! Up first, we have The Nun! We’ve been waiting eagerly for this one and decided to go a bit of a different route for it. Instead of a recipe, we’ve put together a guide for creating a Romanian Mezeluri Board!
In The Nun, “when a young nun at a cloistered abbey in Romania takes her own life, a priest (Demián Bichir) with a haunted past and a novitiate on the threshold of her final vows (Taissa Farmiga) are sent by the Vatican to investigate. Together they uncover the order’s unholy secret. Risking not only their lives but their faith and their very souls, they confront a malevolent force in the form of the same demonic nun that first terrorized audiences in “The Conjuring 2,” as the abbey becomes a horrific battleground between the living and the damned.”
Building Your Mezeluri Board
We did a bit of research into building a mezeluri board. The first thing we learned was that mezeluri literally means “cold cuts”. However, there is a bit more to it. We visited De La Ana European Delicatessen in Phoenix for help. The owner Ana (who happens to also be Romanian) put together a selection for us. Below are items that you would see in a Romanian home when entertaining.
Meats
- Pick Original Hungarian Salami (in a mezeluri, not all ingredients will come from Romania)
- Headcheese (Ana suggests Schmalz’s because it uses more meat and less aspic)
- Kabanosy Smoked Sausage (this is usually purchased fully cooked but Ana suggests frying it first)
- Smoked Sprats in Oil (these smoked fish are great on bread as their oil is full of flavor)
Cheeses
- Kashkaval (This is basically the official cheese of Romania)
- Branza de Burduf (This is a soft cheese that is very tangy but quite popular)
- Telemea de Oaie Afumata (This is a smoked feta)
Condiments
- Zacusca Taraneasca (Vegetable dip with eggplant, peppers, onion, and tomatoes)
- Salata de Vinete (Another dip with eggplant, onion, and green pepper)
- Castraveti in Otet (Baby pickles- these are a sweeter dill style pickle)
We hope you get a chance to make a mezeluri board of your own! Are you ready to have the pants scared off of you? Well, here is your chance! We are giving away 10 pairs of VIP screening tickets for a sneak preview! The screening will be held at Harkins Tempe Marketplace, on Wednesday, September 5th. The screening starts at 7 pm and the winners should arrive at 6:15 in order to guarantee their seating. Winners will be selected on Monday, September 3rd. Good luck!
*The Geeks received no compensation to facilitate this write-up; opinions are wholly our own. Advanced screening passes provided by Allied Marketing. View our Disclosure Policy for more info.
