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. :-)

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. :-)  

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