Beef Stew

2 pounds stew meat (chuck roast cut into 1/2 inch cubes)
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion,chopped
4 cups water
2 beef bouillon cubes
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons salt
6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
5 medium carrots,peeled and cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup of celery (halved and sliced into 1/4 pieces)
1/3 cup of flour
1 cup cold water
2 teaspoons Kitchen Bouquet or Gravy Master

In a Dutch oven place the oil and heat over medium-high heat.
Add the meat and brown. After meat is browned, add onions, water, bouillon cubes, pepper and salt.
Bring it to a boil...then reduce heat: cover and simmer 2 hours. Stir occasionally.

***While the meat mixture is simmering start preparing vegetables.
I prepare the potatoes and cover them with cold water until ready to use.
You can put carrots, rutabaga, and celery in a bowl and set aside until ready to use.

After 2 hours...add the vegetables (drain the water off the potatoes.)
Bring back to a boil and the cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Until vegetables are tender.
After 30 minutes,In a jar or a shaker, combine flour, water and Kitchen Bouquet/or Gravy Master. Shake well.
Stir into stew; bringing it back to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 2 minutes.
Serve with homemade bread and butter. Be careful...this is a yummy hot dish. Perfect for a winter feast.

Enjoy! Élvez! Piacere! Gustirati! Radosť!

Zuppa Toscano the Hungarian/Czech Way

ZUPPA TOSCANO

64 ounces chicken broth
16 ounces whipping cream
1 tsp. salt
1/2  tsp. pepper
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 pound bacon (I use 1 package of 100% Real Bacon Bits (2.5 oz. bag)
10 ounce frozen, chopped spinach
1 lb Jimmy Dean's Original or Italian Pork Sausage Roll
2 large russet potatoes scrubbed and cut in half lengthwise, and then into 1/4 inch slices
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on when served.

 
      Cook and crumble the bacon, set aside. (or have Real Bacon Bits on hand).

      In a Dutch Oven, heat the chicken broth to boiling. Turn off the heat and add the spinach. Place a lid on the pot and let the spinach thaw in the chicken broth.

      Meanwhile, crumble and brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium high heat.

*(Prep potatoes and onion while sausage is browning.)
 After the sausage is browned, place it into the hot chicken broth. Also add the bacon bits to this mixture. Cook over medium low, with out the lid, while you prepare the potatoes.

      In the same skillet you browned the sausage, add the Tablespoon of olive oil . Heat oil over medium heat, add the potatoes and diced onion. Cook potatoes and onions until slightly browned and softened, turning periodically. Halfway through browning, sprinkle potatoes and onions with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Continue cooking until potatoes are cooked almost through.

Add cooked potato/onion mixture to the chicken broth, sausage/bacon and

spinach. Stir thoroughly, replace lid and turn off heat. Let it set until almost ready to serve.

When ready to serve, add whipping cream in very slowly, with no heat on.

When thoroughly incorporated turn heat to medium/low and heat to serving temperature. (without a lid on.)

Have the fresh grated Parmesan cheese available to be sprinkled by each person to their liking.
I also serve this with homemade bread or pepperoni rolls...oh so yummy!

Enjoy! Élvez! Piacere! Gustirati! Radosť!  

Czechoslovakian/Hungarian RAW POTATO Dumplings

Halušky

2 large Russet Potatoes
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. onion powder (or 1/4 of a real onion processed with the potatoes)
1 c. flour (This is an approximation---you should start with 1 cup and add more until you get the right consistency). I cup is usually all I need.

Place a large pot of water with 1 Tablespoon of salt added, on the stove to boil. Meanwhile start the dumpling mixture. Wash and peel potatoes well. Cube potatoes and add to a food processor. Process for about 30 seconds until lumps are gone. Place in a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl and let drain for 5 minutes or longer. Slowly and carefully pour off the drained liquid but keep the white starch that’s settled on the bottom. To the starch, add the drained potato, egg, flour, salt, pepper and onion powder.
I wet a flat plate with cold water and place dough on the plate. With a wet teaspoon, cut off kidney bean size pieces of dough and drop into the boiling salted water. Cook dumplings until  they float to top. (not too long). Immediately drain in colander, running cold water over to stop cooking process. Drain well and store in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours before using for Halushki  or Bryndzové Halušky (Slovakian Potato Dumplings with Bryndza Cheese). I use cottage cheese to cover the potato spaetzle.

Halušky s Tvarohom

Enjoy! Élvez! Piacere! Gustirati! Radosť!

Bev’s Classic Potato Salad

 

6 red potatoes

3 hard boiled eggs

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tsp vinegar

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

1/8 tsp pepper

1 stalk celery

1/4 cup onion

Rinse and clean 6 whole potatoes and place the potatoes in a large pot just the way they are, with the potato skins still on the potatoes. Add 3 eggs to the pot with the potatoes and fill the pot with enough water to cover the potatoes and eggs.

Bring the pot of potatoes and eggs to a boil and continue boiling for 15-20 minutes.

After 15 to 20 minutes, carefully remove the eggs and set them in a bowl of cold water.

Continue boiling the potatoes until they are fairly tender, yet still slightly firm.

Remove the potatoes from the heat and carefully drain the potatoes in a colander. Let them cool for awhile. Meanwhile, peel and rinse the hard-boiled eggs. Cut and dice the hard-boiled eggs and place the eggs in a large mixing bowl. If the potatoes are now cool enough to touch, remove the potato skins and dice the potatoes into small chunks. Add the potatoes to the eggs in the large mixing bowl. Add remaining 7 ingredients. Cover and chill.

 

Enjoy! Élvez! Piacere! Gustirati! Radosť!