W

.

elcome to Eleanor's kitchen

* To introduce myself, irrelevantly to the present stateship, I am truly a Czechoslovak, or if you want, a Czecho-Slovak. I was born in 1931 on the east side of Manhattan, near the Gracie Mansion. My father was a Czech origin from Kolin, my mother a Slovak, origin from Myjava. My maiden name was Podhajsky, a name which nobody could pronounce, so I was called "Poboravsky" and all sorts of names. Marrying my husband with name such as Schrabal did not help since many people believed that we are Germans, because his name "Sch" was misspelled from correct czech "Sh" which is difficult to pronounce. I met him in 1952 at the Carnegie Hall after a concert celebrating October 28th, the Czech State holiday. He was with other canceled Czechs (pronounce as "check") who escaped after February 1948 when the communists took over the country.

* The Czech land is located in the center of Europe and under the influence of their neighbors. Their original Slavic taste for souring foods with sour cream, lemon, vinegar or green grapes is greatly influenced by the schnitzel from Vienna, the goulash from Hungary and sauerkraut from Germany.

* Czech food isn't light but it is a good food. They love the dumplings, all sorts, and the pork is their favored meat. From picturesque farms comes geese (much favored over a duck), chickens and trout from mountain streams. They harvest carp from ponds for Christmas eve meal. Many kinds of variety of delicious edible mushrooms come from virgin woods and meadows. They know and like cereal products such as noodles. Their superbly delicious rye breads are served with cold meats and cheeses.

* Their Sunday dinner starts with a soup with liver dumplings, main meal is dumplings, sauerkraut and rousted porkchops, or geese.

* And naturally, it is the Budweiser or Pilsner Urquel to top every dish.


POLEVKA S JATROVYMI KNEDLICKY (Soup with liver dumplings)<

PICTURE Mix ground beef liver with butter, garlic, lemon rind, marjoram and mace. Beat in eggs and then bread crumbs, flour, salt and pepper. Let it stand in room temperature for about 1 hour. Shape into small balls (size of ping-pong balls), bring consomme to a boil, drop in liver dumplings. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. (Dumplings should be hard.) Makes 6 servings.
Go back to main menu.


DRSTKOVA POLEVKA (Tripe soup)

It could be served as a soup - it could be also served as a meal. Wash tripe well in cold water, cook 1/2 hour, wash again. In fresh cold water add salt, roots, carrot, parsley and celery cut in circles. Ad smoked meat and tripe, cook until tender. Cut up tripe in small noodles and cut meat in small pieces. Make very light browned flour with a piece of butter and 4 tablespoon of flour. Put soup into browned flour, ad mashed garlic, pepper, marjoram, chopped parsley, ginger. Cook well. Add tripe and meat. Serve.
Go back to main menu.


VEPROVE, KNEDLIK A ZELI (Roasted pork, dumpling and cabbage.)

Select center cut of pork loin, whole and uncut with bone, 3-4 pounds, well trimmed but with about eighth of an inch of fat covering the meat. Season with salt, pepper and caraway seeds. Wrap in foil , precook for about 2 hours in 400-430 F oven. (Prepare and cook cabbage and bun-dumpling.)
Then unwrap from the foil, prick all over namely fatty portions of the loin. Roast for 30 minutes adding water and pasting the loin with it and turning every 5 minutes until golden brown. (Or can be roasted on the spit.)
Finished meat should be very tender and juicy. (The pork soldtoday in the US is considerably leaner than in the past due to refined technique of raising pigs.)
From remaining juices scoop up fat, ad water, cook for 5 minutes making tasty sauce.
Cut meat, serve with cabbage, or red cabbage or sauerkraut and bun-dumpling with the sauce over.
This national (Sunday) Czech dinner should be washed down with Pilsener beer (the famous native drink).
Go back to main menu

SVICKOVA (Sour-cream pickled)

This favored Czech meal can be made from beef meat or venison or wild rabbit. BEEF: Filet mignon (whole and ready) or (whole) tenderloin buttered all over and let set for several days. (Gets harder if pickeled.) DEER OR RABBIT: Should be pickeled in brine (water & vinegar) with root vegetable (parsley root, celery root, carrot, etc.) in crock or glass bowl. STRIPS of bacon weaved through meats will make it juicier. Bake (ad brine and vegetable) and simmer until well done and tender. SVICKOVA: (Sour cream Sauce) Fine blend (in blender) ground vegetable and brine. Ad sourcream mixed with flour and ad all other increadients. Cook for 20 minutes. Slice meat, serve with svickova sauce over and houskove knedliky.
Go back to main menu.

TELECI KYTA S VINNOU OMACKOU (Leg of veal w/Wine Sauce)

Trim meat. With large needle push bacon strips through the meat. Rub with=20 salt & pepper. Place onions, carrot, celery, parsley and 3 tablespoons butter on roasting pan. Add boiling water. Roast in oven (350 F) until 170 F in meat thermometer (30 min. per pound). When half done, add wine, 2 teaspoon butter and stir in flour and sour cream. Every 15 minutes spread mixture on top and sides, cook until this has been absorbed.
To make sauce, strain pan juices, add wine, lemon peel and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir flour into cream, mix and add to sauce stirring until sauce is smooth and thick. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve with noodles, potatoes or dumplings.

Go back to main menu.

VEPROVE S KRENEM (Pork w/Horseradish)

Brown pork in hot butter. Add all ingredients - except horseradish. Simmer covered for 2 hours. Transfer meat. Force stock through sieve or puree in blender. Pour stock over meat, top with horseradish. Serve with boiled potatoes.
Go back to main menu.

PECENY KAPR S KYSELOU OMACKOU (Carp w/ Sour-Cream Sauce)

Grease a shallow making dish with butter. Season carp inside and out with salt and pepper, place bay leaves on butter and lay on it your carp. Cover with sour cream and lemon juice. Bake in oven 350 F for 40 minutes or when brown. Baste frequently,. Serve with noodles or potatoes. Makes 4 servings.
Go back to main menu.

BEEFSTEAK NA KYSELO (Steak with Sour-Cream Gravy)

Go back to main menu.

HOUBY S VEJCI (Mushrooms with Eggs)

Saute mushrooms in hot butter with salt, pepper, caraway seeds and parsley. When liquid from mushrooms has evaporated, add beaten eggs and scramble mixture. Makes 4 servings.
Go back to main menu.

SVESTKOVE KNEDLIKY (Plum Dumplings)

Cream 2 tablespoons butter, beat in eggs and salt. Gradually beat in flour and riced potatoes. Dough should be stiff to knead thoroughly. On floured board roll out dough to 1/4-in thickness, then cut 3-inch squares. Lay 1 plum on each square, sprinkle with little cinnamon sugar and fold edges over plum. Shape with hands into a ball. The wall of dough should be very thin. Drop dumplings into boiling salted water, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Brown bread crumbs in 1/3 cup hot butter. Roll dumplings in buttered bread crumbs, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Makes 3-5 servings. -
Go back to main menu.

BOZI MILOSTI (Celestial Crusts)

Cream butter and sugar, beat in egg and egg yolks, beat in cream, grape juice and lemon rind. Gradually stir in flour. Wrap dough in wax paper and chill for 30 minutes. Divide dough into 4 parts. Roll each part thinly on floured board, the thinner the better. Cut into 1 inch squares. Drop into hot fat (375 F), fry until golden. Drain on absorbent paper, sprinkle with granulated sugar. Serve hot or cold. Makes about 7 dozen. - Go
back to main menu.

MAKOVY KOLAC (Poppy-Seed Layer Torte)

Cream butter, add sugar, beat in egg yolks. Stir in remaining ingredients (except jam and cream.) Beat egg whites. Fold in batter. Grease and flour two 9-inch layer cake pans. Spoon half of batter into each. Bake in oven (350 F) for 30 minutes. Fill cold layers with jam. Top with whipped cream. - Go back to main menu.

VANILLA CRESCENTS (Vanilkove rohlicky)

Havel in hospital Czech president Vaclav Havel was for about ten days in hospital's intensive care and after he slightly recovered, the first food he then tasted were four "vanilkove rohlicky", a treat Christmas woudn't be Christmas without.

To make 36 crescents:

Cream the butter and sugar together by beating them against the sides of a bowl with a wooden spoon (or with electric mixer at medium speed) until light and fluffy. Beat in the flour 1/2 cup at a time, then add the almonds, vanilla extract and salt, continuing to beat until the mixture becomes a slightly stiff dough. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap it in wax paper and refrigiate it for about an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350 degree. Lightly butter two 12" by 15" baking sheets.
Pinch off walnut sized pieces of the chilled dough and place them on a floured board; roll each one into a strip an inch wide and 1/2 inch thick. This will make it about 2-1/2 inches long. Shape each piece into a crescent by pulling it into a semi-circle
Arranger the crescents at least 1/2 inch apart on the baking sheet. Bake in oven for 15 - 20 minutes, remove and leave to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a cake rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar.
Many people prefer "vanilkove rohlicky" a few days old.
Go back to main menu.

CESKE KNEDLIKY (Bohemian dumplings)

Go back to main menu

HOUSKOVE KNEDLIKY (Bun-dumplings)

First, cut (old) buns, horns or white bread into small croutons. If fresh,toast or frie so they are crisp. Select the best farina or flour you can get. Mix water, milk, eggs, and salt, keep adding farina until dough is smooth and makes bubbles and doesn't stick to the bowl. Mix in croutons. Divide into 4 parts, form uplong ball dumplings. Let set for about 30 minutes. Place into salty boiling water, cook for about 25 minutes. Cut with string.
Go back to menu

BRAMBOROVE KNEDLIKY (Potato dumplings)


Purchase readily prepared mixture in envelope. If not available, then Boil potatoes, then peel and mash. Add farina, flour, salt and egg. Work dough well. Divide into 5 dumplings. Place into boiling water, cook for 20 minutes.
Go back to menu

KYNUTE KNEDLIKY (Raised dumplings)

Sift flour, ad sugar, crumbled yeast and 1/2 cup lukewarm milk. Let set until yeast bubbles up.Add 1 tablespoon salt, egg, yolk and mix untildough is smooth. Let dough raise. Divide into dumplings, size of largeoranges, place into pot of boiling water. Cook 10 minutes, turn over and cookanother 10 minutes. Alway cut raised dumplings with a string.
Go back to menu


NYL Main menu | Vitejte . . | JS homepage |
Copyright © 1995 - J. Schrabal