The Czechoslovak Cookbook: Czechoslovakia's best-selling cookbook adapted for American kitchens. Includes recipes for authentic dishes like Goulash, ... Torte. (The Crown Classic Cookbook Series)

This cookbook was excellent. I found several of my grandmother's recipes in here and because many of her recipes did not get passed down to other members of the family, I can now use this great cookbook and think of all the wonderful meals she prepared for us.

If you like Czech food this is the best cook book. My sister-in-law is from the Czech Republic and I purchased one for her also. She has been trying to convert the measurements she used in the Czech Republic for years and her food taste great but not exact. She is so happy to have this cook book with USA measurements. She uses it everyday and I use it at least twice a week. Just reading the recipes makes my mouth water. I have purchased two and will be purchasing three more.

I'm an old Czech man, and most of my mom's and grandmom's recipes have been lost over time. This book is a breath of fresh air for my Bohemian roots. There are many recipes that I remember from my childhood, and many more that I hadn't heard of before. It lacks a recipe for utopenci, but I could make that in my sleep. Still, for only 12 bucks, it's worth every penny of it.

The original Brizova publication features simple, solid cooking and uses ingredients most kitchens readily have on hand. I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary in the cookbook, save to say if you don't like tongue and tripe and liver and heart, then simply take a pass at the recipes that use it. The real trick to honest Czech cooking is to make a tasty dish out of a few simple ingredients and to prepare it well. As in America, Czechs cook to their own taste (thus the arguments regarding spices) creating personalized specialties from standbys such as dumplings, strudel, kolache and breads, fixing it to suit the tastes of those they cook for. Certain foods are a staple ~ dumplings, potatoes, rye bread; root vegetables such rutabaga, parsnips, celery root, turnips. Kale, cabbage, cauliflower, and celery are also frequently used. Horseradish and vinegar are common condiments, often sweetened to taste with a little sugar. Czechs aren't afraid of butter, lard, chicken fat, goose greese, sausage, cured meats, cheese (farmer's cheese, cottage cheese .. not the hard cheese) and sour cream. Perhaps not food to eat while on a diet because it will stick to your ribs and fill you up and keep you going and going. All in all, I treasure my taped up, spotted, tattered copy of Ms Brizova's original book and browse it frequently, each time revisiting my childhood. Here's timeless old-country cooking that will never go out of style.

These are the recipies that were usually not written down, at least in english, in my husband's family, because they were handed down from mother to daughter. Everything from the traditional knedlicky (dumplings) and pork roast, to the various Christmas cookies is in here. My copy is so spattered, I'm buying a new copy to save for the next generation.