Customer Reviews

Cherished Czech Recipes

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been looking for my mother's recepies all over the place and for the first time I found a book that really covers them all. If you are a real fan of Czech foods or if you just like to try new things, this is the books for you.

Cherished Czech Recipes, in the popular recipe-card file Stocking stuffer format. is full of the best recipes and notes about Czech culture. Compiled by Pat Martin, this little book reflects the best food traditions of Czech Americans. Pat served as the first coordinator of the Czech Village Association in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Many of the recipes featured have not been published previously, and a special section features traditional Christmas favorites of pioneer Czech families.

The cover art is a collaboration between noted Czech-American folk artist Marj Nejdl and graphic designer/calligrapher Esther Feske. The result is a lovely calligraphic title balanced by a Czech border design in red.

In addition to wonderful recipes, Cherished Czech Recipes also includes information on Czech-American culture. Included are a listing of Czech festivals, tourist sites, and information on where Czech Americans are found in the United States. Also included are popular proverbs and the Czechoslovak National Anthems.

The recipes included in this book are wonderful individually or to create a full Czechoslovak meal! Included are a variety of soups and gravies such as Mushroom and Barley Soup and Tomato Gravy. No soup would be complete without delicious breads to accompany it! Cherished Czech Recipes tells you step-by-step how to serve up piping hot loaves of Bohemian Rye Bread and Crescent Rolls. For a complete dinner, try the Roast Goose accompanied by the Wild Rice Casserole. For dessert, a warm Poppy Seed Coffee Cake will have your guests making room for more!

Cherished Czech Recipes is excellent for personal collections and as a memento of Czech American culture.

There are many variations for cooking Czech and Slovak dishes. This brief flip-chart bookelt has about 100 recipes. It is weak in the soup department but strong in bakery and main courses. Included are meat dishes like Chicken Paprika and one version of Marinated Beef (Svckova).

Other favorites include liver dumplings, nut cake, poppy seed pastries, and of course, Kolacki (Kolaches). The last section of the book includes the words for the Czech and Slovak anthems and proverbial sayings from the region. It is not a complete Czech and Slovak cookbook, but contains good tried and true recipes.

I grew up eating Czech food,which is why nobody has ever called me "skinny". But seriously, this is the food I grew up with prepared by my Grandma and all her friends. When you are Czech on both sides of the family you get a pretty good idea what's good Czech food and what isn't. This book is all about the "good stuff!" Don't judge this book by it's size. When it comes to good and genuine Czech food, it's huge!

I've raved about Penfield Books' spiral-bound cookbooks before and they have done it again with "Cherished Czech Recipes." I recommend these tiny treasures of culinary joy for two main reasons: They're affordable (at $6.95, you just cannot beat the price) and the recipes look and certainly taste authentic (even if you've never tasted that country's cuisine before in your life). As an added plus, the books aren't padded with extraneous culinary terminology that is more geared for experts and hardcore foodies.

From this volume, I made the Bohemian Rye Bread (but I took the chump's way out and substituted butter in place of the lard), the white bread, and the goulash. I've actually made the goulash twice and it turned out better the second time and is now one of my favorite dishes to make and eat (note: if you don't want to use catsup, try tomato sauce).

The most interesting part of the book for me was the cultural notes in the beginning, especially where the Czech settlements are in the U.S. that can be found on page 5. It was *very* interesting to know that any St. John Nepomuk churches are primarily Czech congregations, as there is such a church located in Philadelphia right around the corner from where my maternal grandfather used to live.

A very minor gripe I have with this offering is the twenty-plus pages of filler material in the back of the book. There were many blank pages labelled "Notes" as well as the lyrics to the Czech and Slovak national anthems and pages of Czech proverbs. Surely there must be more interesting and tasty recipes to have included here.

But, in all, Penfield's cookbooks are among the best around. Very rarely will they miss the boat on a particular cuisine. Their books are definitely worth the investment and this volume is no exception. - Donna Di Giacomo

This is a neat little volume that contains several of the old recipes which had been alluding me for years.
Easy to understand and follow directions. Small enough to keep handy in a kitchen drawer.
Provides a window into the kitchen culture of eastern Europe.

Thank you. A great cookbook, I wish it was bigger and had more recipes. Thank you again.

Why, make hash, of course!! A lot of interesting recipes in this little book, and many of them, including Christmas recipes look pretty tasty. I probably won't make anything with Pig Snouts, Brains, or Cheeks, but you never know!!

This waas not as good as expected for recipes. My mother's book had better ones in it