Melba's Jammin' wrote:

> In article .net>,
> "Gregory Morrow" > wrote:
>
> > Melba's Jammin; wrote:
> >
> > > Last week I cut up a boneless chuck roast and pressure cooked it
> > > for stew and. The 'and' went into the soup kettle tonight. I
> > > cooked a few handsful of barley, rehydrated a package of dried
> > > Slovak mushrooms,
> >
> > What kind of mushrooms are they? Did you get them when you went over
> > there?
>
> Dunno, Greg. :-( AFAIK, my folks there don't refer to them with a
> botanical name. There's a kind that's called sosnyak--the one that
> grows under the pine trees. They're from the very NE part of Slovakia.
> The kind I picked as a kid here were, I believe, boletus, though my mom
> never knew them by that name. She knew them as "these are the good
> ones." 8*0) I have some dried mushrooms that are about 10 years old
> in the cupboard. When The Cousins came three years ago, Cousin Michal
> brought a big sack of dried mushrooms -- he'd spent the spring and
> summer gathering and drying them for his American cousins -- they're
> more precious than gold because of it. Considering that they're mostly
> water, his was truly a labor of love for a bunch of people he'd not yet
> met. I decided it's time to start using these things. When I make them
> with kraut juice for Christmas, I use some fresh button mushrooms, too.
> It works.


When I went to Czechoslovakia years ago friends in Prague had a lovely
weekend place in the Giant (Krkonose) Mountains (near the Polish border).
They had strings of dried mushrooms in the kitchen. Happy memories :-)

I had a chance to visit Slovakia (Zilina, a friend went to the "Railroad"
school there) at the time but unfortunately I made other plans...

Ob Czech food: someone on the Chicago chowhound board said that they saw
some Czech - produced Hellman's mayonnaise in an Eastern European deli here
and that it said on the label it was "Grandma style"...interesting!


> > I too am diggin' winter food. I just made some chicken stock and now
> > will start on the cranberry - dried cherry conserve for Thanksgiving.
> > Bought a crockpot at Linens 'n Things today, too....
>
> Could you post the recipe, please, if it's not inconvenient? It sounds
> really tasty. I made a cherry-plum conserve that is really good -- I've
> a dozen small jars to give to my Church Women in Exile group, along with
> a pound of frozen ground pork and a small jar of Penzeys Breakfast
> Sausage Seasoning in each gift bag.


I posted this here on 11/23/2001 (coincidence, eh?):

My "classic" cranberry sauce is taken from a cranberry conserve recipe
I found in one of my canning books:

- two bags cranberries

- one seedless orange chopped (peel and all)

- a bunch of chopped pecans or other some such nuts (I've also used
walnuts and almonds)

- about a cup or so of sugar to taste

- one can add some likker -- brandy, or whatever (be IMAGINATIVE!!)

- Put on a high burner initially, then simmer for an hour or so...you
can add OJ or water if the sauce gets too "dry"

This year I added some dried cherries and golden raisins to the mix.
The result was a winner -- even the guests that normally disdain
cranberry "sauce" were won over. One of the cranberry sauce haters
said "Wow, Greg, this is great -- it's not like that wiggly stuff that
'Mom used to make', and there's none of those bottom - of - the - can
indentations, either!".


> Give that crockpot a test with spiced cider -- that's all it's good for,
> IMNSHO. <8^0)


Now *that's* an idea ;---)

--
Best
Greg