FILET MIGNON IN SOUR CHERRY SAUCE - LUNGIC/BIFTEK U UMAKU S VISNJAMA

Place of origin: Our recipe

Every autumn I end up with a lot of sour cherries that were used for making our own homemade cherry brandy. They're usually used in different cakes that I like to call "drunken cakes" as cherries contain some amount of alcohol. :-) This year I wanted to try something new so I thought of a sour cherry sauce. I've looked up a recipe on the internet, found several ones but none was exactly to my liking so I combined them all and adjusted the taste along the way as I didn't like the original result. It turned out pretty well and we liked it a lot. Have made it later with "normal" cherries from the can so using "drunken" cherries is not necessary. ;-) :-D

AUTUMN DELIGHT - JESENJE VELICANSTVO

CHESTNUT & BUTTERNUT SQUASH CAKE - TORTA OD KESTENA I BUTTERNUT BUNDEVE

Place of origin: Our recipe

For last year's Halloween party I made chestnut & pumpkin crostata and our friends loved it. So, at the first, I wanted to make it again for this year's party but then I thought - why should I repeat the cake we've already tasted, I can make something new and different out of the same autumn ingredients. And then this fluffy cake was "born". :-)

BLUE CHEESE, PEAR & WALNUT BALLS (SPREAD) - KUGLICE (NAMAZ) OD PLAVOG SIRA, KRUSKE I ORAHA

Place of origin: Our recipe

For this year's Halloween (Autumn) party I was thinking about making something simple as an appetizer but it had to contain at least one "autumn" ingredient. The first thing that came in mind was a pear. Then I though about combining it with some sort of cheese or with walnuts. And all that contemplating resulted in combining all three in these interesting little balls. And, as I've had some extra that I didn't make into balls, I realized the next day that it's also great as a spread over a toasted bread. :-)

STRAWBERRY & PASTRY CREAM CROSTATA (PIE) - CROSTATA S JAGODAMA I SLASTICARSKOM KREMOM

Place of origin: Italy

I'm totally crazy about Italian Crostata, that wonderful pie with various fillings and a crust so simple and yet so rich in taste. Being 1/4 Italian and having relatives in Italy, every time we would go to visit while I was still a kid, I had to have at least one piece of Crostata. My mum has never ever made it at home. When I grew up I got this recipe from my Italian cousin who is a great cook. Really great cook. The pie crust is a base and the filling.... it's up to your imagination. As the first Crostata recipe on our blog, I'm presenting you this mouthwatering summer strawberry & pastry cream crostata. :-)

BUTTERNUT SQUASH & CHICKEN SOUP - JUHA S BUTTERNUT BUNDEVOM I PILETINOM

Place of origin: Our recipe

Simple, quick and tasty autumn-style soup that can be enjoyed throughout the year ;-)

BUNS WITH POTATO, CARROT & MEAT FILLING - PECIVA PUNJENA KRUMPIROM, MRKVOM I MESOM

Place of origin: Our recipe

I've made these tasty little buns for one hiking trip. I was thinking what to make that will be easy to carry around and will not require cutlery. We were also craving for bread but standard sandwiches were not the option - too boring. ;-) So I thought of making stuffed buns, just like steamed buns, but baked and with ingredients I've had in the fridge. Turned out delicious. :-D 

MEAT IN SAUCE - MESO U SAFTU

Place of origin: Croatia (mum's recipe)

One simple dish that my mum used to make very often. It doesn’t have any special name and she has always referred to it as “meat in sauce”. You need just a few simple ingredients to have a tasty meal.

PEAS WITH DUMPLINGS - GRASAK S NOKLICAMA

Place of origin: Croatia

Very simple and quick-to-make soup-like dish. This is the first dish I’ve learned how to make. Mum used to make this a lot when she didn’t have enough time for cooking or was out of ideas. Many many people make this simple dish, it's very popular and everybody's favorite. I always eat the soup and peas first and then enjoy dumplings with some extra salt on top. :-D 

DOUBLE CHOCO BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE - DVOSTRUKA CHOKO CHEESECAKE S BOROVNICAMA

Place of origin: Our recipe

The second cake I made for Katarina and his B-day party this July, together with Choco coco raspberry cake. I wanted to make an easy, no bake cake that I can "put together" in no time or while the other cake was baking. Of course, it had to contain the chocolate as I'm surrounded by choco lovers. :-D Blueberries came in the picture as a seasonal fruit that goes well with chocolate and mascarpone. Unfortunately, unlike raspberry cake, not one single piece of the cake survived till the next day so I wasn't able to take a picture of a cut. But I guess it can all be seen even without it. ;-) And when you think about 7 people (out of which 4 were women) eating two normal sized cakes all by themselves in one night (and I ate probably least of all) after the four-course meal (five if you count cakes) with rather big portions .... I suppose it wouldn't be over the top to say they were delicious :-D :-)

CHOCO-COCO RASPBERRY CAKE - COKO-KOKOS MALINA TORTA

Place of origin: Our recipe based on chocolate strawberry cake recipe I found few years ago somewhere on the internet and printed it out but forgot to make a note where I have found it.

For one B-day party this summer I wanted to make choco strawberry cake. But strawberries were already gone (you can't find fresh strawberries all-year-round in Croatia) so using the recipe for a strawberry cake I wanted to make, and making some changes to my taste, I came up with this lovely cake. :-)
I suppose it was very good as the cut pictured below was the only remaining piece I've found in the fridge the next morning! The other cake from the same party, Double choco blueberry cake, was not so lucky. In the morning, when I asked where is the other cake, I was just told - well, we ate it. :-D Bad people, they should have left at least a small piece for the cook. :-P

RAFFAELLO MUFFINS

Place of origin: Our recipe, based on Ferrero Raffaello pralines

One day I was eating Raffaello while looking at some muffins recipes. And it crossed my mind - I could make Raffaello muffins. And so I did the very next day for my friend’s B-day. She didn’t have a party, we just had a drink in a bar. So muffins were a surprise. :-D

STUFFED HORSESHOE BREAD - PUNJENA POTKOVA

Place of origin: Our recipe based on some similar European recipe 

I've once seen a recipe for something similar somewhere, but couldn't remember where, was it a cookbook or the internet. I've only remembered it was a European dish. I liked the idea so I made one on my own combining milk and butter bread dough with a filling to my liking. :-)  

MIXED NUTS TRUFFLES - ORASASTE KUGLICE

Place of origin: Our recipe

Just another simple no bake recipe I came up with some time ago. Based on traditional Dalmatian sweet made from dried figs - Smokvenjak (smokva = fig) :-) 

CHOCOLATE WALNUT TRUFFLES - ORAHOVE KUGLICE

Place of origin: Croatia

An old truffle recipe (from Dalmatia) that I found in my granny Elisabeta's (mum's side) cookbook from mid 20th century. Easy and delicious :-)

QUICK MILLET CURRY PILAF - BRZI PILAV OD PROSA S CURRYJEM

Place of Origin: Our recipe 

I made this for the first time when I had nothing for next day's lunch at the office. In the fridge I found only one carrot, 1/2 zucchini and few onions while in the freezer only peas were left. I was also too tired for anything complicated (as it was almost midnight when I remembered I should make myself something for lunch)... so I put it all together and got wonderful pilaf that can be served either as a main dish for a light meal or as a side dish with any meat (roasted, cooked, grilled....). This dish can also be made with bulgur wheat, rice or couscous.

TURKEY IN RED MUSHROOM SAUCE - PURETINA U CRVENOM UMAKU OD GLJIVA

Place of Origin: Our recipe
   
Simple, quick and tasty :-)

NUTTY CAKE WITH APPLE AND VANILLA CREAMS - ORASASTI KOLAC S KREMAMA OD JABUKE I VANILIJE

Place of Origin: Our recipe

A somewhat healthy cake (not much sugar and flour) that we have created while working on excavations in Slavonia few years ago. Long winter days, locked inside the house with tons of pottery laying around.... we were baking something almost every day. And making experiments, too. Some turned out pretty well, like this one :-)

BRITTLE (GRILLAGE) CAKE - GRILAZ TORTA

Place of Origin: Croatia 

Found the recipe for this cake in my great granny’s Lilian old cookbook from 1926. I have adjusted it a bit as the original recipe called for much more sugar. Old cakes were waaaay to sweet. ;-)

HONEY COOKIES & PEPPER COOKIES - MEDENJACI I PAPRENJACI

Place of Origin: Croatia

Honeycookies and Peppercookies are old and traditional cookies that can be found in practically all parts of Croatia in many different variations. They're usually eaten during the winter and especially for Christmas and New Year holidays or at many festivals throughout the year. They’re almost similar to Gingerbread or Ginger biscuits, but they don’t contain ginger and they’re usually shaped as a small ball or disk. I'm sharing with you this old recipe from my grandma's who comes from a village between towns Novska and Jasenovac, near the Sava river.

COLORFUL AUTUMN POT - SARENI JESENSKI LONAC

Place of Origin: Our recipe 

Another dish that was created in "what I have in fridge" style - very delicious. And healthy ;-)

CHICKEN IN ALMOND & APRICOT SAUCE - PILETINA U UMAKU S BADEMIMA I MARELICAMA

Place of Origin: Our recipe; based on French cuisine 

A simple but very tasty dish that I came up with when combining what I had on hand. :-)

GORANSKI NADJEV

Place of Origin: Croatia 

In the heart of Gorski Kotar, mountain part of Croatia between Karlovac and Rijeka, at the very border of N.P. Risnjak, there is a village called Crni Lug (lit. Black Bosk(et)) – it got the name from conifer woods of the area). It is the home village of  my dad's mum. Among many local specialties, there is a very old one that was once called Crnoluski zeludac (Crni Lug's stomach) – a traditional festive Easter dish made from eggs, cooked ham, bacon, spring onions and bread stuffed into a pig's stomach that was cooked or baked and, at the end, smoked. Later on, it became more common to stuff it into beef's intestine instead of pork's stomach. And nowadays, while some still make it like that, others use artificial intestines that can be found in supermarkets or bake it in a bread mold which is the easiest way as bread molds are practically available everywhere. And I will show you here how to make that version but using my great-grandma's old recipe from the end of 19th ct. Nowadays this dish is called Goranski nadjev. I'm not very sure how to translate this - it would be something like Mountainous stuffing. :-D

MUM'S APPLE PIE - MAMINA PITA OD JABUKA

Place of Origin: Croatia

Very easy recipe that my mum used to make very often. I think she learned it from my dad's mum, aka from my granny, aka from her mother-in-law. :-) It's different from typical apple pies as you don't have to roll out the dough, actually it doesn't have a dough. It's made of batter and you just have to pour it into a mold. So simple, isn't it? :-)

HUSSARS' FRITTERS - HUSARSKI USTIPCI

Place of Origin: Croatia

Another traditional Dalmatian cookie, one of my favorites. It's so simple and easy and yet so delicious and full of flavor. Among the first cookies I've learned how to make while looking at my mum who made them very often and she learned it from her mum long, long time ago while she was still in a high school.

QUICK HEALTHY BREAD - BRZI ZDRAVI KRUH

Place of Origin: Our recipe

We run out of bread. Had to make some as I was too lazy to go out and, in the pantry, there was only a little bit left of every possible flour type. So I combined all of it. OK, I left out the bad white flour :-)