Cooking

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 pinch of salt
• 3 tbs of brown sugar
• 30g of butter
• 200g of all purpose flower
• 0.5L of whole milk
• 1 generous splash of Amaretto (alt: vanilla extract, Rhum, any other flavorful booze)

Method

Batter

1. Beat the eggs
2. Add the sugar and salt, and stir well
3. Add the melted butter, and stir well
4. Add some flour until the batter gets more uniform and then add some milk to make it smooth, continue until all flour rand milk have been added
5. Add Amaretto
6. Let the batter rest for an hour

Cooking

1. You will need a ladle, some melted butter in a small container and a brush to oil the pan
2. Set the pan on a medium heat
3. Brush the pan with a little bit of melted butter (repeat every 5-6 crêpes)
4. Using the ladle, pour some batter onto the pan while tilting and turning it to cover the entire surface of the pan with batter
5. Take care not to make it too thick, these are not pancakes!
6. Once the edges of the batter start to lift and the crêpe does not stick to the pan anymore, turn it over
7. Let the crêpe cook for a minute more, then slide it to a warm plate and optionally brush some butter on it

This is my favorite recipe for pancakes. I made it a dozen times in the last few months and they inevitable turn out delicious.

These recipe is gluten-free, but not vegan. And I’m not sure how I would adopt it. Also be warned, your kids are probably not gonna love you anymore after you betray their trust by serving them these on a beautiful Sunday morning.

Please note that all the ratios in this recipe are by weight.

My dad’s borscht recipe that he has been cooking for 50 years.

Ingredients

• 500g of beef with bones
• 3L of water
• 200g of root vegetables (e.g., onion, carrot, parsley root, radish)
• 200g of shredded cabbage
• 200g of beets
• 100g of tomates
• 300g of potatoes
• bay leaf, pepper, salt, herbs to taste

Method

• put the beef in the pot and add water
• simmer for a minimum of 2 hours, add salt after about 1h30m
• cut the root vegetables into 10mm cubes and sauté in vegetable oil
• separately sauté shredded cabbage until soft
• coarsely grate the beets and sauté for 15-20 minutes, until fully cooked
• blanche the tomatoes, cut them into pieces, and sauté in vegetable oil for 10-15 minutes on low heat
• remove the beef from the pot and filter the broth
• then add the sauteed root vegetables and cabbage to the broth and set on medium heat
• when it starts to boil again, reduce the heat to simmer
• add the potatoes cut into 15mm cubes and cook for 10-15 min
• add the sauteed beets and cook for another 10 min
• cut or shred the beef into small-ish pieces and add back to the soup
• finally add the sauteed tomatoes, bay leaf, pepper, herbs and the borscht is ready!
• serve with sour cream

I made this recipe a number of times and the results are always excellent!

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup crushed dark chocolate
• 1/2 cup fresh cherries

Method

1. Place the crushed chocolate (tiny solid chunks taste better than shaved flakes which tend to soften or even dissolve) and the pitted and halved cherries (you can use canned cherries, but make sure to drain and dry them first) in separate bowls and refrigerate for a few hours.
2. Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Pour in the cream and milk and whisk to blend.
3. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and stir until almost ready.
4. About 5 minutes before the ice cream is ready, add the chocolate and the cherries, then continue stirring until the ice cream becomes stiff.
5. Transfer into a storage container and place in the freezer for a few hours.

Yield

This recipe make just over 1 quart of delicious ice cream depending on the size of the eggs and the amount of chocolate and cherries. I always get too greedy with the fillings, but can you blame me?

Ingredients

• 1 package of fresh salmon from Costco (approx. $11) sans 5 ’tail’ inches
• 1 jar of kosher flake salt from Trader Joe’s (about 75 grams)
• 2 tbsp assorted whole pepper (black, white, whatever)
• bay leaf ad libitum

Method

1. Cut the pieces of salmon in half, wash them and dry with paper towels.
2. Rub some salt into salmon.
3. Sprinkle some salt and peppers on the bottom of the pot, and lay the first piece of salmon flat in the pot. Take some peppers and press them into the salmon, then sprinkle some salt as well.
4. Place the remaining pieces on top of each other, repeating the procedure with pepper and salt. You should use up all the salt and pepper by the end.
5. Place a saucer or a small plate on top of the salmon stack, and put some weight on it (half a gallon of water in a container will do just fine).
6. Let the pot stand uncovered on the kitchen counter for half a day at room temperature and then move it still uncovered to the fridge.
7. In another 36 hours the salmon is ready to be served and enjoyed with your favorite brand of Czech beer!