Czech Foods Recipes

Some of the most versatile instant dessert mixes include the quick bread mixes, instant pudding mixes and of course the cake mixes whether yellow, chocolate, or white. There are times when it is best to go with the homemade route when preparing the basic cake or brownies and avoid the hydrogenated fats present in the premade cake mixes. I am not implying that using butter is safe (as there are plenty of saturated fats with this type of shortening). Nothing is as good as going from scratch when it comes to nutrition; though I find that the store bought mixes all carry a consistently decent flavor that can be difficult to replicate for the novice home baker such as myself when going about cake baking using nothing but old school ingredients. (Besides….my specialties are sauces, meats and grilling). Maybe it is the consistency of a Duncan Hines yellow cupcake or Pillsbury devil’s food cakes slice that triggers fond memories of childhood birthday parties and summer picnics. My own feeble a

Throughout the years, my knowledge of Czech cooking has been acquired by two primary sources: family recipes passed on from past generations, and Czech cookbooks. One of the commonly used Czech cookbooks I have in my collection The Czechoslovak cookbook by Joza Brizova. The 282 page cookbook translated in English is divided into sixteen chapters which include the main categories such as soups, meats, poultry/game, eggs, dumplings, breads, desserts, and confections. The index is very useful as you can look up a particular dish by Czech name or the English equivalent. For example Svickova can be looked up by that name or listed as beef “tenderloin” with sour cream. On each recipe page the recipe is first titled in English with Czech name below it. The degree of difficulty with these recipes varies (as in all cookbooks), though I find that most items within this Czech cookbook can be prepared by the novice. The meat, dumpling, and sauce sections by Brizova are reason enough to purchase th

The timing of running out of office coffee and the new release of Dunkin Donuts K-Cups could not have come at a better time a few days back as our coffee storage was bare and a co-worker and I were really dying for a good cup of brew. A few months back, my office recently purchased the Keurig one cup coffee maker due to fellow workers having preferences for different coffee flavors (and strengths). There was apparently too much coffee waste and the “one cup at a time” brew system appeared to be the best solution for everyone’s needs. One of my favorite standby coffees for the Keurig system has become the “Donut Shop” coffee. This particular brew is decent and reminds me of a morning breakfast blend coffee.   Donut Shop K cups have become my weekday morning staple to help kick start the day right. Now enter the finally released Dunkin Donuts K Cups. They are sold at most Dunkin Donuts locations of which one can purchase a box of fourteen at approximately $12.00 or comes out to about eig

At one time or another one is going to be faced with a decent amount of milk that is going to go to waste if not used up very quickly. The reasons for excess milk are numerous. One reason may be leaving town for a few days or purchasing too much due to entertaining other guests.   Perhaps the neighbor is on their way out of town and left you with practically a full gallon of 2% to next to the one in the refrigerator. There are numerous ways to make use of this extra milk without letting it go sour. Keep in mind that the date on milk cartons is typically the “end of sale” date. As long as the grocery store is using adequate refrigeration, there is no reason why the milk should not last an additional four to seven days in your refrigerator past the sale expiration date. That being said let your nose and taste buds be the judge as if it smells or tastes funky, you know what to do. Here are several ways to buy extra time for that milk about to expire. Using up extra milk at the breakfast t

This is a rather trashy takeoff on my rather traditional pavlova...  it is a meringue filled with Jello-O chocolate fudge pudding and topped with whipped cream peaks. You will need: 3 large Egg Whites 3/4 cup sugar 1/4 tsp cream of tartar 1/4 tsp salt 8oz. Cool Whip lite or fat free OR make your own whipped cream using heavy cream/whipping cream, sugar, and a bit of clear vanilla or almond extract. 1 package chocolate fudge pudding 1. Separate egg yolks from whites, adding whites to a mixing bowl. 2. Mix egg whites with an electric mixer until frothy (medium speed). 3. Once frothy, mix in sugar, cream of tartar, and salt, adding just a bit at a time. 4. Continue to beat, this time on high, until mixture becomes stiff and peaks of egg white stand up on their own. 5. Spread into a 9 inch circle on parchment paper (or an equivalent), leaving an indent in the top for cream/fruit later. 6. Bake at 225F for approx 70 minutes.  At this point, the pavlova should be dried/firm. Quickly close ov