HELP IN THE KITCHEN- FAQ

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F.A.Q.

  • Q: Is there any way I can adjust the portions of your recipe?
  • A: Absolutely!  After you click on the link to the recipe you will notice a little window under the ingredients section that indicates serving portions. You can manually change the number of servings you desire.  It will automatically adjust the recipe ingredients for you, before you print.
  • Q: Why are my Fruit dumpling so shriveled?
  • A: There could be few different problems. First after you wrap the fruit into the dumpling, let them sit for little longer then that you have been. Especially if you are using cold or frozen fruit. Sometimes after removing  dumplings out of the water, they have not been properly ripped for the steam to escape and that could make the dumpling also look shriveled.  Also don’t over cook them them. Only 4 minutes on each side.  And lastly don’t have the window opened while you are removing the dumplings.  Any sudden change of temperature can also play a big role in the outcome.
  • Q: Do you have any advice on how to remove burned odor from my sauce?
  • A: I will share this only if you won’t laugh. This is my own invention, but it works great. I’m sorry to tell you, there is of course little you can do if the bottom of your pot turned into charcoal . But if you just have some sauce stuck to the bottom that causes  the  burned taste, there is hope for you :).  For this you are going to need a box of backing soda,  clean plain sock (that you cant find a match to), and one rubber band.  Make sure you immediately remove the sauce from the pan that caused the odor into a clean pot.  Pour the whole box of backing soda into the sock and secure the end with a rubber band. Turn the heat on very low and submerge the whole sock in your pot.  Cover with lid and let simmer. Stir occasionally. It could take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour to get the taste out. Don’t give up! Occasionally taste it in between to check it.
  • Q: What would be a good desert to take to a party?
  • A: You can’t go wrong with The Svatební Koláčky the Miniature Wedding Cheesecakes. They are a great serving size and something unique to share, and show off your Czech cooking skills. They are always the hit of my parties. Also “Vanilla crescents are great. Those you can make a day  or two in advance, store them in a air tight container and you are good to go. They are also easy cookies to make, and again the size is great for serving.
  • Q: What kind of Beef Bouillon do you use?
  • A: I use “Knorr” . It’s the same brand we use in Czech.  You can find it in any Grocery store, in the aisle with soups.IMG_5594 I prefer this kind because it is soft, and it is easily crumbled. Each cube is 12 grams.
  • Q: I came across some recipes where they are asking for Polohrubá mouka/ more course flour than All purpose. Where can I get some of this flour, or do you have any substitutes that would have the same outcome in texture.
  • A: In the Czech Republic flour comes in 5 types of coarseness.
    1) Hladká – our All purpose flour
    2) Polohrubá
    3) Hrubá
    4) Dětská krupička – Farina hot cereal
    5) Krupice – Cream of wheat

    Many traditional cakes and deserts use the Polohrubá-more course flour.  It makes the dough heavier and moist. So how do we substitute this flour? Don’t worry solution is simple. Take 2 cups of Farina hot cereal (cream of wheat) pour it in a blender, turn the blender on high and set your timer for 40 seconds to get the Hrubá flour, and 1minute and 40 seconds to get the Polohrubá flour. You can buy farina (hot cereals) in bulk in any Health food store, or you can get Cream of wheat in a box (28 oz) in any grocery store. Buy the “10 minute cook time”, not the “2 1/2 minutes”. If your blender is older take couple breaks to let the motor cool down.

 

 

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2 comments

  1. George Gral says:

    My dumplings were not airy but were hard.
    What did I do wrong?

    • Marketa says:

      Hello,
      Hard after you took them out of water? Did you poke the dumpling immediately with a fork several times(throught the whole dumpling/every 2 inches or 5 cm?) to release the steam? This is the most important step that most forget.The dumpling will shrivel and gets hard.

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