Czechmatediary

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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Dill is not a common ingredient in an American kitchen. The Czechs however love to cook with it. And it smells sooo good!!! Dill Gravy is probably the most famous dill recipe from the “Czech pot”. So enjoy!!!

PS: the recipe comes from an old Czech cookbook so bear with my awkward translation at times…

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup fresh chopped dill
2. 2 Tbs. of butter
3. 1/2 onion, chopped
4. 2 cups of cold chicken stock
5. 1 cup of sour cream
6. 6 Tbs. of flour
7. 2 Tbs. of vinegar (or lemon juice)
8. salt, pepper, sugar

Method:

• Make “jiska”:
  • melt butter on a pan and add chopped onion; cook until bubbly and onion has a translucent look to it.
  • while stirring, gradually add flour and stir for about 30 sec. more, until butter stops bubbling
• Remove from heat
• While stirring, gradually add chicken stock
• simmer for about 15 minutes
• Add in fresh dill and vinegar
• Add sugar and salt to taste
• Simmer for 5 more minutes

Serve over hard-boiled eggs or slow-cooked beef with dumplings or potatoes. Hmmm……….!!!!:)

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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I love karbanatky! This recipe is delicious; although my mum never made them with the bellow listed sauce it is a fresh addition to the dish. You can decide if you like them “naked” or “dressed” with sauce…..

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground meat
• 1 olderFrench bagette “veka” (= about 3-4 slices of bread)
• 1 onion, chopped into small pieces
• 1 egg
• 2 tbs hot mustard
• 1 cup of chicken broth
• 3/4 cup of half-n-half
• 1/2 tsp of marjoram
• 3 tbs cornstarch
• 3 tbs of oil
• salt, pepper
• Optional: about 4 slices of bacon, thinly sliced (more…)
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Even though Apple strudel is now mostly a Czech/German/Hungarian delicatessen, its origins go back to an ancient Greece where the thin layered dough was perfected into Baklava (http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/AppleStrudel.htm).
This is a great recipe because it is EASY and FAST. Enjoy!!

Ingredients:

1. 1 portion of “flaky dough” (Listkove testo)
   • 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
   • 1/2 cup of water
   • 2 1/5 sticks of unsalted butter (= 250g)
   • speck of salt
2. some flour to roll out the pastry
3. 3 -4 tbs. of bread crumbs
4. 3 tbs. of sugar
5. 1 tsp. of cinnamon
6. 6 - 8 sliced apples
7. 1 beaten egg (to spread onto the strudel)
8. powdered sugar (more…)
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Dill is not a common ingredient in an American kitchen. Yet the Czechs love to cook with it. And it smells sooo good!!! Dill Gravy is probably the most famous dill recipe from the “Czech pot”. So enjoy!!!

PS: the recipe comes from an old Czech cookbook so bear with my awkward translation at times…

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup fresh chopped dill
2. 2 Tbs. of butter
3. 1/2 onion, finely chopped
4. 2 cups of cold chicken stock
5. 1/2 cup of sour cream
6. 2 Tbs. of flour
7. 2 Tbs. of vinegar (or lemon juice)
8. salt, pepper, sugar to taste (more…)
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I have made this recipe about two days ago and it is gone……it was SOOO GOOD (hence the half empty pan)! For those who are not familiar with “bublanina” it is a kind of a sweet bread that is perfect for summer baking: very light and fruity. I also use yogurt instead of oil - it makes it healthier that way

Ingredients:

1. 1 and 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
2. 1 cup of sugar
3. 1/2 cup of milk
4. 1 and 1/2 cup of white yogurt
5. 4 Tbs. of melted unsalted butter
6. 2 egg yolks
7. 2 Tbs. of baking powder
8. 2 Tbs. of vanilla sugar (or vanilla extract)
9. 1-2 cups of cut up fruit of your choice (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, currants, peaches)
10. Well-greased baking pan (I used the 8×8-inch one) (more…)
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I consulted three cookbooks for this recipe of which one is taken from the “Velka Kucharka”(Big Cookbook) by Brabec - a favorite cookbook of my mom’s. “Velka kucharka” was written during deep communist times (1969) so the authenticity of this recipe is 100% guaranteed…

ZELNACKA

Ingredients:

• 7 0z. Sauerkraut
• 6 cups of water
• 2 potatoes, diced
• 2 tbs. of flour
• 1 onion,diced
• 4 slices of bacon
• Polish sausage (kielbasa)
• 5-10 white mushrooms, diced
• 1 tsp. Caraway seeds
• 1-2 tsp. Sweet paprika
• (more…)
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