Czech/Slovak RECIPES

How to make Czech/Slovak cottage cheese (TVAROH) / Jak si doma udelat CS tvaroh

The New Year celebrations are over so let’s get back to work and talk about something practical, like ‘how to make Czech cottage cheese or TVAROH. Tvaroh is a necessity to many Czech/Slovak meals so once we learn it we are close to reaching the ‘Czech nirvana’ :) .

Thanks to the wonderful Slovak lady named Dagmar, you can make yourself a wonderful authentic tvaroh by following a step-by-step recipe accompanied with wonderful pictures. She even translated it into English for me!!!! [click to continue…]

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Green light for Beehive cookies / Pro vceli uly je to “go”

If you are celebrating Christmas the Czech way, you have GOT to make Czech Christmas cookies. And if you are making Czech Christmas cookies you have GOT to make Beehives. Along with vanilla crescents and linz tarts, they are a must.

The only problem is that you need to have a specific mold to make them which I used to think one could not buy in the US. Well, I was wrong! You can buy the cookie mold from a website called beehivecookies.com (www.beehivecookies.com). For a very reasonable price you not only get the mold but also a cookbook and a plunger tool to make a well for the filling.

The owner of the website is Jan who not only has a Polish heritage but also married a Polish husband. Jan is an expert on beehives. She has been making them for past 8 years and the beauty of her recipes is that you don’t have to bake them at all. [click to continue…]

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Tagged as: Christmas, Czech Christmas cookies

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Another Czech Christmas cookie recipe: Bear Paws / Dalsi recept na ceske cukrovi: Medvedi tlapky

Czech Bear Paws are completely different from the American bear claws which I used to get at Starbucks sometimes. Our bear paws are part of the cookie selection which one prepares during Christmas time.

The only hurdle to make this delicatessy abroad is the cookie mold. But that hurdle was crossed when one of you guys (thanks Dagmar!) told me to use the Madeleine cookie pan. It works great but I have to admit that you get bear claws that are a big bigger then the traditional ones, probably a size of a real bear claw ;) . [click to continue…]

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Tagged as: Christmas, Czech Christmas cookies, dessert

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Perfect autumn dessert: Plum cake / Perfektni podzimni dezert: Svestkovy kolac

Costco is now selling plums but the problem is that it sells about 200 of them in a box so you have to consume them quickly before they go bad. One way to get rid of them is to make a delicious Czech plum cake. It is very easy and makes a great and unique entertainment food since most Americans don’t know such cake.

 

 

 

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Tagged as: dessert, fruit, meatless dish, sweet kitchen

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Czech delicacy: Furry Dumplings / Ceska pochoutka: Chlupate knedliky

This is one of those Czech recipes which has a weird name: FURRY DUMPLINGS. Don’t ask me who came up with that name but it probably comes from the fact that they are covered with mounts of string-like sauerkraut. Or maybe the person who named this recipe kept finding hair in his meal ?  Not sure. Either way, they are awesome.

This particular recipe was passed on to Greg by his Czech great-grandmother. The only new thing that is added to it is the spinach ingredient, since we thought it would give it a bit more user-friendly image. Now it has that healthy ‘vegetable’ or  ‘salad’ ingredient that everyone is looking for in a healthy or semi-healthy meal, plus it looks  more appealing! [click to continue…]

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Perfect summer delight:Egg spread/Vyborna letni pochoutka: vajecna pomazanka

This is a perfect summer snack or a main course. It’s quick, healthy and it’s cold!

CZ: Vajecna pomazanka moje oblibena letni pochoutka. Nejen ze je zrava (no a take trosku tucna) a rychle se pripravi, ale ji se vychlazena, takze se clovek nemusi u jidla potit ;)
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Tagged as: cold dish, summer

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The simple things: apples and noodles and such /Jednoduche ceske recepty

If you have not grown up in Czech/Slovakia you may be put off by such ‘peasant’ dishes but we love them!

The first image is just simple mixture of noodles, poppy-seeds, sugar, butter and a pinch of cinnamon.

The second dish is more healthy, [click to continue…]

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Tagged as: meatless dish

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Quick and easy poppy-seed turnovers / Rychle makove satecky

Having two kids makes me feel like I have a hundred of them: so much to do and so little time! Which brings me to this recipe. Many times I find myself craving poppy-seed kolache but there are none. Certainly not in the store and I don’t have a whole day to bake them myself.  But I think I found a workable solution to fill my cravings! I buy  puff pastry sheets (Pepperidge Farms brand) in the store, make little pockets out of them and fill them with poppy-seed filling which is very easy to make. That way I have an imitation of traditional Czech kolache (which ends up looking like a poppy-seed turnover) in no time! Well, more like in 2o minutes…. [click to continue…]

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Tagged as: meatless dish, sweet kitchen

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Impress someone with a true Slovak meal / Nauc se varit slovenske pochoutky

Here is a useful website for those of you who are Slovaks or have some Slovak ancestors…or have a Slovak girlfriend and would like to impress her by making her a true Slovak meal.

By the way for those of you who are not familiar with Slovak cuisine it is VERY similar to the Czech cuisine. Lots of potatoes and meat and cabbage and paprika and garlic and dumplings and grease. So czech out (or should I say ‘slovak out’) those Slovak recipes!

CZ: Jestlize inklinujete spise ke slovenske kuchyni nez k te ceske (i kdyz mezi nimi je opravdu jen malinkaty rozdil), mam pro vas vyborny link na slovenske recepty (klikntete zde).

Dobrou Chut!

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Tagged as: practical, slovak food

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Another Czech Christmas Cookie Recipe: Bear paws / Recept na medvedi tlapicky

I thought I would translate yet another delicious Czech Christmas cookie recipe but after searching the internet for a bit I realized I don’t have to. I don’t have to translate anything or convert the European measurements because it has already been done! Barbara Rolek, who is apparently a well-known food editor, food writer and restaurant critic for daily newspapers and magazines, has done it all for us. Since her parents were Polish I bet the Czech food is close to her heart (as it is on the map) and that is why she searched for our bear paws. Or maybe the recipe has been with the Polish culture for quite some time? Either way, thank you Barbara for this recipe!

When I was a child, Christmas cookies were my grandma’s specialty. [click to continue…]

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Tagged as: Christmas, Czech Christmas cookies, food, sweet kitchen

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