Česká republika

No tour of Europe would be complete without a visit to the Czech Republic....a country with a storied and painful history. I think this is a fitting country to visit this weekend, since we are in the midst of our first snowstorm. We went from dry grass to over 10 cm of snow in one day, and the wind is strong and chilling. The Czech Republic also has a cold climate, so there are some hearty warming foods to choose from. The only difficulty I had was in choosing between the many delicious-sounding dishes that I encountered in my recipe search.

Ultimately, I decided to start the meal off with some Houbova Polevka Myslivecka (Hunter's Mushroom Soup) - the kids hate mushroom soup, so this is just perfect! The main course is Svickova na Smetana (beef tenderloin in a cream sauce), accompanied by Knedlíky (Czech Dumplings), a totally heartwarming meal. Thankfully, my oven has been fixed!! The perfect accompaniment to this hearty meal is the delightful Czech pilsner I found at our local MLCC - I don't know much about Czech wines but I can say that the pilsner was, for me, more appropriate for this hearty meal.

To add to my culinary delight, I picked up a new set of pots today, and I am totally thrilled to be cooking with them.  For one thing, it is nice to have enough pots to make my meals without having to wash one mid-prep!  For another, it is a distinct pleasure to cook with a top quality pot, it actually does make a difference (or so it seems to me).  They are an absolute dream to cook with (there is another perfect example of how I really really need a life, lol)!

Okay, results time-the soup is fabulous, two bowls later I had to force myself to dig in to the rest of the meal.  I have never made a mushroom soup before, other than out of a can, so it was lots of fun and for me, the highlight of the meal!  My dumplings were quite the soggy mess, but actually quite tasty.  The Svickova was surprisingly  labour-intensive, but worth the effort.  I found the sauce a bit tart for my liking, but that is probably my own fault for not measuring things precisely.

Once again, there are loads of leftovers (at least when the kids are here, Jess helps make a dint in that)!  I now have 4 days' worth of Czech cuisine packed away in my freezer. to go with the 2 days worth of French cuisine already there.  I'm thinking I might need to clean out my freezer soon!


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