Kolaches

What exactly is a kolache (or kolachky)? It is a slightly sweet, yeasted roll with filling. It has Czech/Croatian roots, and if it wasn't for my in-laws (and my husband), I would have never known these sweet treats existed. The most popular filling (I'm told) is poppyseed filling, but other favorite fillings are apricot and cottage-cheese filling. I did try to make "faux-laches" last year, but they do not compare to these delightful breads. The poppy seed filling was purchased from the bakery in Lonsdale, Minnesota, but I've seen poppy seed filling cans available at specialty stores, like Sur la Table and I think you may find it at Michael's, too. Anyhoo, my mother-in-law made these kolaches and all I did was take pictures. Your house will smell wonderful once you get these gems baking. Oh, and this recipe makes about a gazillion, so I recommend you try different fillings.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 2 Packages of yeast
• 1/2 Cup warm water (105 - 115 degrees)
• 2 Cups milk
• 1/2 Cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening
• 2 Teaspoons salt
• 2 Egg yolks
• 1/2 Cup sugar
• 6 1/4 Cups flour, sifted (preferable bread flour)
• 1 1/2 Sticks of melted butter
• Poppy seed, apricot or cottage cheese filling (or all three!)

DIRECTIONS

Sprinkle 1 tablespoon sugar over the yeast and dissolve in lukewarm water. Set aside to rise.

Heat the milk in a small saucepan; add the shortening to dissolve. Allow to cool to lukewarm; then add salt, slightly-beaten egg yolks, and sugar. It is only necessary to heat the milk until the shortening melts.

Combine milk-egg mixture and yeast mixture. Add flour gradually and work dough by hand or with a mixer until glossy. Keep it a little sticky, if at all possible.

About the first three cups of flour can be added in the beginning. Stir with a wooden spoon until too heavy to handle. Gather dough together with clean, floured hands, and knead. If the dough sticks to your hands or the surface, a little more flour is needed. Add flour by putting a slightly thicker coat on hands and surface. Continue to knead until the dough acquires a sheen.

Cover, place in a warm, draft-free place, and let rise until double in bulk, about 45 minutes to an hour.

After the dough has risen, punch down the dough, and lightly knead. Divide into 4 parts. Roll out one part to about 12"x6" rectangle and cut into 3"x3" pieces. Place about a heaping tablespoon of filling into each square and gather each corner in the middle, pinching well (see picture below).

Place kolaches in buttered pans, then place pans of kolache in a warm, draft free place, and allow to double in bulk again, about 45 minutes to one hour.

Place in an oven preheated to 375 degrees. Bake until golden brown, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Remove the kolaches from the oven and slather with melted butter (optional). Cool slightly, remove from pans, and cool on wire racks. Recipe makes 3 to 4 dozen.

Chicken Paprikash

Now that Matthew is back on a ship, he tends to do a lot of online shopping during his free time. During the last month I've gotten a few cooking books that he's ordered for me--all of them, of course, are Czech cooking recipe books. Although I'm still testing out the dumpling recipes, this chicken paprika recipe came out pretty good on my first try. It is absolutely essential that you use sweet Hungarian paprika and stay away from smoked paprika for this recipe. And yes, I know chicken paprika is a Hungarian dish, but it is immensely popular in the Czech Republic as well.

INGREDIENTS (serves 4)

• 6 chicken pieces, thighs and legs, on the bone, with skin on
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 large yellow or white onion, very thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup sweet Hungarian paprika (absolute must. Whole Foods market or Trader Joe's has it available) .
• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock (I used Wolfgang Pucks free-range chicken natural broth)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 large bay leaf
• 1 to 1-1/2 cup creme fraiche or Mexican crema (use sour cream if creme fraiche not available)
• Kosher salt & pepper
• Fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Rinse and pat dry the chicken. Season generously with salt & ground black pepper.

In a wide heavy skillet with high sides, heat the butter and olive oil over a medium high heat. Add a few of the chicken pieces, skin side down first, to the skillet and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Cook remaining chicken this way then remove from pan and set aside.

Add the onions to the pan and reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring often, until the onions just begin to color, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle the paprika, flour, bay leaf and garlic over the onions.

Cook, stirring continuously, for one minute. Add in the chicken stock to the mixture and bring to a boil, stirring continuously. Return the chicken with all accumulated juices to the pan.

Reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover the pan and cook, turning the chicken once or twice, until the juices run clear, about 30 to 35 minutes.

Remove the chicken to a new clean plate and pick out the bay leaf and toss it away.

Bring sauce to a boil for 10 minutes while stirring from time to time. Turn off heat and let the sauce settle for about 5 to 10 minutes more, then skim the fat off the surface with a spoon, if any. Stir in the creme fraiche. Then return the chicken into the pan. Heat on medium-low and bring to a simmer until chicken is heated thoroughly.

Serve chicken paprika with dumplings, or buttered noodles or spaetzle.

Czech Beef Goulash

One of my dreams is to open a Czech style pub here in San Diego that serves authentic Czech food and beers, but before anything, I need to learn to cook Czech foods--and I know nothing about bohemian foods. So, I've been searching for recipes and I found this one in one of my cookbooks. Although goulash is actually more Hungarian, the Czech do have their own version. What I'm missing in this recipe are the dumplings, which I still have to learn how to make them (I did make them but they didn't turn out so good). If you have a good Czech dumpling recipe, please send it my way.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 lb stew beef or boneless bottom round steaks, cut in 1-inch cubes
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour + more for dredging
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 4-5 small new potatoes, cut in 1/2-inch rounds
• 2 2/3 cups beef broth
• 1 ½ cups low-sodium chicken stock or water
• 1 cup tomato puree
• sour cream (for garnish)

DIRECTIONS

Season beef with salt and pepper, then dredge the beef in flour and shake off any excess.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, brown the beef on all sides, making sure not to crowd the pan and set aside.

Add more oil to the skillet (if needed) and heat. Add the onion and bell pepper, reduce the heat to medium, and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining flour, garlic, paprika, and caraway and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Place the potato rounds in the bottom of a 3 ½-quart slow cooker. Add the beef and vegetables. Pour in the broth, chicken stock or water and tomato puree. Cover and cook on low until the beef is tender, 6-7 hours. Serve with sour cream and don't forget the authentic Czech piva!

Faux-laches

My husband has been craving poppy-seed kolaches lately, but when I looked up the recipe, it was a bit too much for me. I'm not a big baker, so I shy away from anything that I have to "proof." Anyhoo, I found a simple recipe for a buttery crust and I figured if I fill it with the poppy-seed mixture he likes so much, it'll be a little bit like a kolache. Oh, who am I kidding, but these faux-laches were pretty good.

INGREDIENTS (makes 1 dozen)

Dough

• 3 oz. Cream Cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup flour

Poppy Seed Filling

• 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 3/4 cups poppy seeds
• 3 oz. whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

DIRECTIONS

For the dough: cream together cream cheese and butter. Slowly add in flour. Blend and shape into a ball. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.

For the filling: Stir together the sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Set the bowl aside. Grind the poppy seeds in a food processor or blender with about half the milk. Place the poppy seed mixture and the remaining milk in a small, heavy saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer and stir in the reserved sugar-and-cornstarch mixture and the almond extract. Simmer, stirring often, until very thick, a matter of 3 - 4 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Assembly: Roll dough out 1/8 inch thick on a floured pastry board. Cut into 2 1/2 inch squares and place 1/2 tsp (approx) of poppy-seed filling. Overlap opposite corners and pinch together. Place on ungreased cookie sheets and refrigerate about 10 - 15 minutes.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool. Sprinkle lightly with confectioner's sugar and enjoy.