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I know how everyone of us poor Czech/Slovak souls living abroad, suffer without real Czech bread and that is why I went on a recipe hunt. And I found one. When I first read it though, I thought I was going to either faint or have an anxiety attack. It looked so complicated!!! “Well, I will at least give it a try, just for the heck of it”, I told myself. And I have to tell you, it was actually a lot of fun! Sure it takes couple of days to prepare the sourdough, but it really takes up like 1 minute per day - very easy and very worth it! When my first loaf came out of that oven I just couldn’t believe the fact that it looked like a real loaf of bread! And when I tasted it I became even more amazed as it not only looked but also tasted like a REAL Czech bread! (more…)

Krupice is great the ultimate comfort food. Are you depressed? Did you just break up with your boyfriend? Did your favorite show on TV just get canceled? Make some Krupice!

Krupice brings a lot of childhood memories to me. They used to serve it to us in the kindergarten/pre-school cafeterias (I think they finally stopped serving it to us at the university). What was also cool about this product that the box you would buy it in had a little “puzzle” on it. (more…)

Rohliky are the signature pastry of the Czech republic. They are something like a French baguette but without the French attitude:-) You can spread butter and jam on top, or you can cut them in half and make a meat-n-cheese sandwich. But they taste the best just eating them alone or dipping them in a glass of milk. I have been looking for the recipe for ever and I finally found one AND was able to convert the yeast amount into the non-metric measure (yes!!). Bellow is an actual picture of my first rohliky and I have to say, it turned out pretty good considering that I don’ t do much baking at all.

Konecne! Recept na rohliky pro nas, ty kdo ziji v cizine! (more…)

Summer is almost here so let’s get ready for it! Besides Bublanina, Ovocne knedliky (Fruit Dumplings) are definitely the signature Czech (and Slovak) summer dish. Dumplings in general are eaten by a variety of cultures ranging from the Armenians, Chinese and Jamaicans to the Dutch, Irish and of course the Eastern Europeans. They can taste sweet or savory - both equally good choices. The Ovocne knedliky belong to the sweet-tasting dumpling family as they are filled with fruit. One can stuff them with any kind of fruit imaginable; if you want to you use kiwis, go for it (although I am not sure about the taste)! The strawberry dumplings are the best though and that is what am I presenting to you today. (more…)

Bramboracka is the Queen of all the Czech soups. It’s amazing what a little potato can do when mixed with some vegetables and herbs! I tried to look up the history of Bramboracka but with no luck:-(. There are zillions of styles of bramboracka, this recipe seems to be the most authentic one.

BRAMBORACKA

Ingredients:

• 3 large potatoes, diced into cubes
• 6 cups of water
• 1 onion (more…)
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PERNIK

Pernik (Czech-style gingerbread) has been considered a fancy pastry ever since its beginnings and used to be prepared only for special occasions. Where did pernik come from? No one really knows…some sources point to the ancient Greece and Egypt where it was used as a sacrificial food for various gods. The first pernik was more of a honey-sweetened bread than how it is  known today. In the Czech Republic the word “pernik” was first documented in 1335 in the town of Trutnov. The Mid devil pernik recipe called sometimes for more than 90 different types of spices! The most expensive pernik was made with honey - hence the name - the “white” pernik. In the 18th century the bakers  were making 4 types of pernik:

1. Marcipan
2. Pernik
3. Cerne sisky (black clumps) - used as a sweetener (more…)
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Vanocka has a long history. In the past the Czechs called it pletenice or zemle or ceplik. Before the 18th century it could only be bought at the baker store, people rarelly made it at home. Since preparing vanocka wasn’t and isn’t easy a variety of customs have developed over time to make sure that the baking process is successful :). One of those customs, for example, was for the woman to wear a white apron and kerchief while she was cooking so she couldn’t talk, AND she was supposed to jump up and down while the dough was rising (I personally still do that and my vanocka always comes out perfect; one time I wore an apron that was green and instead of vanocka I found a baked pig in my oven! So all that to say, please make sure that your apron is WHITE!). Another tradition was (and still is) to bake in a coin and whoever found it in their slice was to be wealthy the following year.

Ingredients:

• 6 cups of all-purpose flour
• 9 Tsp of sugar
• 4 oz of unsalted butter
• 1 Tbs of yeast
• 1 cup of milk (more…)
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If you haven’t tasted vanilla crescents (vanilkove rohlicky) yet you haven’t quite lived your life into the full. They are absolutely the best Christmas cookies this earth has ever had. Despite the simplicity of the recipe some kind of a Christmas magic happens during the cooking process and an art of perfection is born…

My grandma would always make batches and batches of Vanilkove rohlicky so that we wouldn’t run out during the Christmas season. Since we helped ourselves to them about 10 times a day - despite my grandma’s attempts - we ended up being out of them about 3 days after Christmas. Then we had to “get to work” and finish up the rest of the other Christmas cookies; what can I tell you…life was rough back then!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb of unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 Tsp of vanilla extract (more…)
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Bramboraky (Potato Pancakes) are my all-time favorite! They are really easy to make and the cost is about 5 cents per person The only downside of this dish is that they don’t make very good leftovers. Hence prepare them, fry them, and eat them all on the spot! Oh, and also, warning for the meat lovers: no meat in this one! Sorry!

Ingredients:

• 6 large potatoes, pealed
• 1 egg
• 5 cloves of garlic, grated
• 1/4 cup of milk
• 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1 Tsp of dried marjoram
• pinch of salt and pepper
• about 4 Tbs of oil (more…)
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The word “goulash” means “herdsman” in Hungarian, meaning that it was originally a meat dish prepared by herdsmen. Starting back in the Middle Ages massive herds of cattle were driven to Europe’s greatest cattle markets in Moravia (hello!!), Vienna and Venice. During those long voyages the sickly animals had to be slaughtered. In order for the herdsmen not to waste any cow they just cut them up and threw them in the pot together with all of the germs, viruses, bacteria or whatever the poor cow died of….and that’s how goulash came into the world! Goulash has quickly become an important part of the Czech cuisine as its taste penetrated the whole former Austrian-Hungarian Empire. This luscious mixture of slow-stewed meat, vegetables and a good handful of sweet paprika just took over Eastern Europe. Beware though when you cook it! One authentic Hungarian website warns that “under no circumstances should flour be used to bind the soup..” (oops, I guess I have a confession to make..). The reason why no thickening substances (flour or cornstarch) need to be used is because the meat itself derives its thickness from tough collagen, which is converted to gelatin during the cooking process.

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Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lb beef for stew or beef chuck
• 1 onion, thinly sliced (more…)
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