W
whipappeal
Guest
Mom's long shelf with the Time-Life "Cuisines of the World" series smileys/smile.gif
http://smetanas-glasses.blogspot.com
http://smetanas-glasses.blogspot.com
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a fun read over on SmittenKitchen: what was your first cookbook?
- Thread starter angak
- Start date
Erin...every time I see your name, I get a little wistfull for Prague....
I was there many years ago on a whirlwind trip through Europe. It was in Prague where I hit my first wall as a traveler...you know, that fatigue from going all the time and culture overload. I have fond memories of days sitting in an elegant cafe and writing in my journal. And the farmer's market just off the main square....Okay, and the four crazy Columbians I was traveling with, who I met on the train from Germany....LOL!
What are you doing in Prague?
I was there many years ago on a whirlwind trip through Europe. It was in Prague where I hit my first wall as a traveler...you know, that fatigue from going all the time and culture overload. I have fond memories of days sitting in an elegant cafe and writing in my journal. And the farmer's market just off the main square....Okay, and the four crazy Columbians I was traveling with, who I met on the train from Germany....LOL!
What are you doing in Prague?
sarah-in-charleston
Well-known member
My own first one was Cutco Cuttery Cookbook from the 60s.
I still love to pull it out and look at the illustrations.
I still love to pull it out and look at the illustrations.
W
whipappeal
Guest
Come visit; we have room for guests. smileys/smile.gif >>>
Ah, I spent some of last year sitting in Prague's cafes, writing... Then I stopped teaching and am now in a 9-5 publishing job! Darn! There went the cafe life! smileys/wink.gif But I now get paid to read all day, so that's not too bad, in my book.
It truly is a beautiful place, but, I agree, it's easy to get overwhelmed and hit a wall; I've done it as an expat...on a monthly basis...
My husband is Czech; we met in the U.S. while doing graduate work and fell in love, were married here, did two years in Israel while he was doing a postdoc... Now we're here for a while. I'm enjoying it tremendously--every time I cross the river and see the castle, I have to pinch myself...
If you're ever passing through Central Europe, do let me know and we will go live la vie Boheme in the cafes! My favorite is Cafe Slavia, the one overlooking the river...
The link is to the long (sometimes whiny) saga (aka my blog) of living here as an expat. smileys/smile.gif
Best wishes -- "z pozdrav," as the locals say--
Erin
http://smetanas-glasses.blogspot.com
Ah, I spent some of last year sitting in Prague's cafes, writing... Then I stopped teaching and am now in a 9-5 publishing job! Darn! There went the cafe life! smileys/wink.gif But I now get paid to read all day, so that's not too bad, in my book.
It truly is a beautiful place, but, I agree, it's easy to get overwhelmed and hit a wall; I've done it as an expat...on a monthly basis...
My husband is Czech; we met in the U.S. while doing graduate work and fell in love, were married here, did two years in Israel while he was doing a postdoc... Now we're here for a while. I'm enjoying it tremendously--every time I cross the river and see the castle, I have to pinch myself...
If you're ever passing through Central Europe, do let me know and we will go live la vie Boheme in the cafes! My favorite is Cafe Slavia, the one overlooking the river...
The link is to the long (sometimes whiny) saga (aka my blog) of living here as an expat. smileys/smile.gif
Best wishes -- "z pozdrav," as the locals say--
Erin
http://smetanas-glasses.blogspot.com
NFRC...I'm planning a round the world trip right now...so be carefull...I just might take you up!
In fact, the guy I've been seeing has been in Prague already this year, and he'll be there again in September.
I could kick myself now. I wasn't a food lover when I was in Prague the last time, and now I don't remember any of the food. (I do know German and Polish food quite well though. I'm assuming Czech food is similar?) In fact, I hate to say it, but for some reason, I remember the Columbians being fascinated by the Pizza Hut just off the square. Ugh. My memory has blocked it out, but there's a good chance I ate there. But the coffee, I do remember. Dark and fabulous!
Hey, I'm working for a publishing company too! What are you working on? I'm at a real estate trade magazine...we've won a bunch of national awards but it's not that exciting...unless you're into American financing. (My BF is from Germany and paid cash for his houses...so he doesn't get the thousands of loan products available in the US).
Thanks for the blog link. I'll check it out. Here's a link to my blog.
I'd love to hear more about the food in Czech and if you're cooking any of it. A good friend of mine is Polish so we regularly get together to make pierogi. smileys/smile.gif
www.seattletallpoppy.blogspot.com
In fact, the guy I've been seeing has been in Prague already this year, and he'll be there again in September.
I could kick myself now. I wasn't a food lover when I was in Prague the last time, and now I don't remember any of the food. (I do know German and Polish food quite well though. I'm assuming Czech food is similar?) In fact, I hate to say it, but for some reason, I remember the Columbians being fascinated by the Pizza Hut just off the square. Ugh. My memory has blocked it out, but there's a good chance I ate there. But the coffee, I do remember. Dark and fabulous!
Hey, I'm working for a publishing company too! What are you working on? I'm at a real estate trade magazine...we've won a bunch of national awards but it's not that exciting...unless you're into American financing. (My BF is from Germany and paid cash for his houses...so he doesn't get the thousands of loan products available in the US).
Thanks for the blog link. I'll check it out. Here's a link to my blog.
I'd love to hear more about the food in Czech and if you're cooking any of it. A good friend of mine is Polish so we regularly get together to make pierogi. smileys/smile.gif
www.seattletallpoppy.blogspot.com
W
whipappeal
Guest
No problem; we're small but hospitable smileys/smile.gif
Hi, Traca--
I like your blog; great food pics! And congrats on the awards for the magazine. Do you enjoy the real-estate aspect or the publishing aspect more?
If you come in September, defintely let me know!
Czech food is pretty similar to German and Polish food; I guess it all stems from the Austro-Hungarian Empire--at least, all those traditional dishes probably do... The Czechs are famous for using caraway seed (called "kmin" in Czech) and creating virtual symphonies to pork...
I haven't really tried my hand at many Czech dishes while I've been here, because my husband's aunt (Czech-born, but who now lives in Austria) is the grande dame of Czech cuisine in the family, so she always cooks whenever she visits. (If I cook, it's usually something Italian--or roast chicken; there are about five recipes I can't screw up, so I use those when she's here.) smileys/wink.gif
I like Czech food in small doses and in the winter; the goulashes and braised meats, with all those rich, dark sauces, absolutely hit the spot when it's cold... There are some seemingly-weird things--one of the national dishes is pork with whipped cream and a lemon twist on top. Um, maybe I'll just have the bruschetta, thanks... But another national dish, pork knuckle with sides--vepro, knedlo, zelo (pork, dumplings, sauerkraut)--is great nearly anywhere in town. Fried cheese is another national dish, and is a local taste for about 1/8th the price of the pork-fest... It's like a giant mozzarella stick. A meal? Not exactly, but tasty!
To be honest, I get a bit burned out on Czech food; it's dumpling-heavy and the people never met a potato they didn't like. This spells disaster for someone like me, whose metabolism is slow, to begin with... smileys/wink.gif However, when my aunt-in-law makes dumplings with fresh apricots in them, I go nuts. (This might be Austrian, though.) I did make one or two Czech things when we were living in Israel, because I knew my husband missed them, but now that we're here, I find myself making things I miss--Mexican and Southwestern food, and Italian dishes I grew up with.
I **love** my publishing job, so far. (Only been at it for about a week.) The house cranks out 500 titles, along with its sister company in the Netherlands, on all sorts of non-fiction stuff: gardening, cooking, art, history, etc. Mainly, very gorgeous coffee-table books.
Oh--pierogi! I'd love to learn how to make them. For the moment, I make a monthly pilgrimage to an off-the-beaten-path bakery that makes amazing ones... Their dough is so light and flaky--truly melt-in-your mouth--unbelievably good. smileys/smile.gif
It's great fun hearing from you!
Cheers,
Erin
Hi, Traca--
I like your blog; great food pics! And congrats on the awards for the magazine. Do you enjoy the real-estate aspect or the publishing aspect more?
If you come in September, defintely let me know!
Czech food is pretty similar to German and Polish food; I guess it all stems from the Austro-Hungarian Empire--at least, all those traditional dishes probably do... The Czechs are famous for using caraway seed (called "kmin" in Czech) and creating virtual symphonies to pork...
I haven't really tried my hand at many Czech dishes while I've been here, because my husband's aunt (Czech-born, but who now lives in Austria) is the grande dame of Czech cuisine in the family, so she always cooks whenever she visits. (If I cook, it's usually something Italian--or roast chicken; there are about five recipes I can't screw up, so I use those when she's here.) smileys/wink.gif
I like Czech food in small doses and in the winter; the goulashes and braised meats, with all those rich, dark sauces, absolutely hit the spot when it's cold... There are some seemingly-weird things--one of the national dishes is pork with whipped cream and a lemon twist on top. Um, maybe I'll just have the bruschetta, thanks... But another national dish, pork knuckle with sides--vepro, knedlo, zelo (pork, dumplings, sauerkraut)--is great nearly anywhere in town. Fried cheese is another national dish, and is a local taste for about 1/8th the price of the pork-fest... It's like a giant mozzarella stick. A meal? Not exactly, but tasty!
To be honest, I get a bit burned out on Czech food; it's dumpling-heavy and the people never met a potato they didn't like. This spells disaster for someone like me, whose metabolism is slow, to begin with... smileys/wink.gif However, when my aunt-in-law makes dumplings with fresh apricots in them, I go nuts. (This might be Austrian, though.) I did make one or two Czech things when we were living in Israel, because I knew my husband missed them, but now that we're here, I find myself making things I miss--Mexican and Southwestern food, and Italian dishes I grew up with.
I **love** my publishing job, so far. (Only been at it for about a week.) The house cranks out 500 titles, along with its sister company in the Netherlands, on all sorts of non-fiction stuff: gardening, cooking, art, history, etc. Mainly, very gorgeous coffee-table books.
Oh--pierogi! I'd love to learn how to make them. For the moment, I make a monthly pilgrimage to an off-the-beaten-path bakery that makes amazing ones... Their dough is so light and flaky--truly melt-in-your mouth--unbelievably good. smileys/smile.gif
It's great fun hearing from you!
Cheers,
Erin
Good old Betty Crocker, 1955 edition. When first married, two disasters from it. One was the
liver loaf. I know, sounds awful doesn't it? I was always interested in food and recipes, but never had the opportunity to experiment until I was married. So...I bought pork liver, which was strong anyway, over cooked it and made that loaf. We had to throw it out.
I also made a meatloaf recipe that had chopped stuffed olives in it, then proceeded to cook it in an electric skillet instead of baking it. Basically, I guess I boiled it! It was horrid, all in the first couple of weeks of marriage. Perhaps that's why I follow recipes now. My husband still teases me about those two things, but I've never had quite such disasters since.
In my first month of marriage, my mom and my aunt came for lunch (I was 70 miles away) and I made them tuna stuffed tomatoes and strawberry Bavarian for dessert from the book. It was good, I was so proud, lol. And that was 47 years ago come September.
liver loaf. I know, sounds awful doesn't it? I was always interested in food and recipes, but never had the opportunity to experiment until I was married. So...I bought pork liver, which was strong anyway, over cooked it and made that loaf. We had to throw it out.
I also made a meatloaf recipe that had chopped stuffed olives in it, then proceeded to cook it in an electric skillet instead of baking it. Basically, I guess I boiled it! It was horrid, all in the first couple of weeks of marriage. Perhaps that's why I follow recipes now. My husband still teases me about those two things, but I've never had quite such disasters since.
In my first month of marriage, my mom and my aunt came for lunch (I was 70 miles away) and I made them tuna stuffed tomatoes and strawberry Bavarian for dessert from the book. It was good, I was so proud, lol. And that was 47 years ago come September.
richard-in-cincy
Well-known member
832 cookbooks later....Betty Crocker, 1969, 4th Ed. Still have it!
Very well used, pages ripped out (it's a 3-ring binder type), stained, spotted, dripped on, smudged, splotted, and splatted upon.
http://www.cookbkjj.com/college/sets/betty/bettys2.jpg
Very well used, pages ripped out (it's a 3-ring binder type), stained, spotted, dripped on, smudged, splotted, and splatted upon.
http://www.cookbkjj.com/college/sets/betty/bettys2.jpg
Pierogi or Pieroshki? And chat...
Okay, I'm thinking we'll need to take this chat off line soon...but I've got some food questions...so...
Dumplings with apricots? Boggling my mind. Are they boiled? Filled with apricots (like pot stickers)? Are they served with a sauce?
When you mentioned flaky goodness...I think we're talking about the Russian pieroski. We have a shop here in Seattle that sells them. They're really rich, but very tasty!
But my Polish friend and I make pierogi together...and those are totally different. They're dough, filled with fruit or savory things (mashed potatoes, meats, etc.) and then boiled. (The dough reminds me of a stiff pasta) Sometimes, after boiling, we also fry them to get a crispy outside. They're very time consuming to make but it's a good time to hang out with my friend and chat...while we attempt to make hundereds of pierogi. For her wedding, for three weeks, the Polish women came out and made pieroi. We made well over 1500 of those things...
In the summer, we make pierogi filled with cherries. Boil them, and then serve with a slurry of sour cream, lemon, & sugar. It's Alison's favorite. smileys/smile.gif
The Czech food you mention sounds very similar to the Polish food I'm familiar with. Lots of meats (bigos is my favorite) and "never met a potato they didn't like"...I can totally relate. How is it that I can be Irish and have an aversion to potatoes? Hmmm...
Oh, no, I won't be going to Prague in September with the BF. He's going for a nuclear physicist conference...and I suspect that's going to be more fun than I can handle. LOL!
Publishing...wow. What company are you working with? And do they publish in English? I've been working with friends who have several books in the works. All the houses I've worked with are state side. I've also been working closely with some lifestyle and food magazines. It's all very interesting to me and totally funny that I would land a job at a real estate publishing company. (It ties in my back ground from a former life...as a loan analyst...) In fact, our proofing schedule starts next week for the September edition. I can't tell you how much fun that is...pooring over hundereds of pages looking for errors. I proof two magazines over two days and it takes hours. Luckily there's a team of us doing it...and we all catch different things. I imagine the book world is very similar.
I'm an analyst with the company I work for...and am moving into tracking, web analytics, developing new features, etc. What are you doing at the publishing house?
Oh, and I totally relate about cooking the foods you miss. My friend is a chef and moved to Italy about 8 months ago. She's missing Asian food terribly...and anyone who comes visit, must bring fish sauce! I posted some photos of a big Chinese meal on my flickr account and I got a scalding e-mail about it. LOL!
Thanks for your kind words about my blog. I'm still working on it, and playing with my camera still. I'm super excited though...I just learned last week that one of my photos was actually published in a paper. I just received a copy of it, and it's a pull out section of the paper. My photo takes up almost half the page on the cover. It was a total random, fluke shot. But now it's got me really excited to improve my skills. smileys/smile.gif
Okay, gotta run. Drop me a line...I'd love to chat more. tsavadogo@yahoo.com
Cheers!
Okay, I'm thinking we'll need to take this chat off line soon...but I've got some food questions...so...
Dumplings with apricots? Boggling my mind. Are they boiled? Filled with apricots (like pot stickers)? Are they served with a sauce?
When you mentioned flaky goodness...I think we're talking about the Russian pieroski. We have a shop here in Seattle that sells them. They're really rich, but very tasty!
But my Polish friend and I make pierogi together...and those are totally different. They're dough, filled with fruit or savory things (mashed potatoes, meats, etc.) and then boiled. (The dough reminds me of a stiff pasta) Sometimes, after boiling, we also fry them to get a crispy outside. They're very time consuming to make but it's a good time to hang out with my friend and chat...while we attempt to make hundereds of pierogi. For her wedding, for three weeks, the Polish women came out and made pieroi. We made well over 1500 of those things...
In the summer, we make pierogi filled with cherries. Boil them, and then serve with a slurry of sour cream, lemon, & sugar. It's Alison's favorite. smileys/smile.gif
The Czech food you mention sounds very similar to the Polish food I'm familiar with. Lots of meats (bigos is my favorite) and "never met a potato they didn't like"...I can totally relate. How is it that I can be Irish and have an aversion to potatoes? Hmmm...
Oh, no, I won't be going to Prague in September with the BF. He's going for a nuclear physicist conference...and I suspect that's going to be more fun than I can handle. LOL!
Publishing...wow. What company are you working with? And do they publish in English? I've been working with friends who have several books in the works. All the houses I've worked with are state side. I've also been working closely with some lifestyle and food magazines. It's all very interesting to me and totally funny that I would land a job at a real estate publishing company. (It ties in my back ground from a former life...as a loan analyst...) In fact, our proofing schedule starts next week for the September edition. I can't tell you how much fun that is...pooring over hundereds of pages looking for errors. I proof two magazines over two days and it takes hours. Luckily there's a team of us doing it...and we all catch different things. I imagine the book world is very similar.
I'm an analyst with the company I work for...and am moving into tracking, web analytics, developing new features, etc. What are you doing at the publishing house?
Oh, and I totally relate about cooking the foods you miss. My friend is a chef and moved to Italy about 8 months ago. She's missing Asian food terribly...and anyone who comes visit, must bring fish sauce! I posted some photos of a big Chinese meal on my flickr account and I got a scalding e-mail about it. LOL!
Thanks for your kind words about my blog. I'm still working on it, and playing with my camera still. I'm super excited though...I just learned last week that one of my photos was actually published in a paper. I just received a copy of it, and it's a pull out section of the paper. My photo takes up almost half the page on the cover. It was a total random, fluke shot. But now it's got me really excited to improve my skills. smileys/smile.gif
Okay, gotta run. Drop me a line...I'd love to chat more. tsavadogo@yahoo.com
Cheers!