Mrs. Powell’s Dumplings & Chicken

Mrs. Powell rented rooms from my Grandmother in Chicago when I was a little kid. Grandma Bess lived in what had previously been the home of the Mayor of Morgan Park, before the city of Chicago absorbed the once posh suburb. It was a big house with front and back parlors, a huge dining room and several floors of enormous bedrooms with sitting rooms. It had to be big; it was the house in which my dad and his four brothers, in ages spanning over twenty years, grew up. It was also the house in which she lived until she died. After my grandfather died and all of the boys left home, Grandma Bess took in boarders and Mrs. Powell, who I think was in her nineties then, was there as far back as I can remember.

Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels

These are incredibly easy to make for a party buffet. Pinwheels are everywhere! You will surely see them on just about every catering menu, but why buy someone else’s creation when you can make your own in just minutes?  Start with some of the treats you already enjoy in another form and just transfer them to a pinwheel arrangement.

Braised Chicken Paprikash

This has been a favorite around our house for decades. I’m not sayin’ how many decades, but just using that word should be enough to tell you that it’s been a long, long time.

Roasted Pork

On the near west side of Chicago, every Czech-Bohemian restaurant has their own version of this dish. They’re all based on some mom’s Sunday Dinner recipe. This kicked up version offers similar tastes to satisfy the “comfort food” region of our brains, while entertaining the other definition of Bohemian – the different thinker in us all.

Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage

We don’t eat enough purple food! Just seeing this side dish is enough to make you smile – it’s just so… so purple! This isn’t a kind of Kraut, sour or otherwise. Of course you could make Sour Kraut with Red Cabbage, but then it would be Red Sour Kraut. While Kraut has a snap or least a bit of a crunch, all of the vegetables and fruit in this dish are just barely recognizable. I like to layer flavors here; just pay attention to any cooking show on television – it’s a big deal, and really works to add dimension to foods, but there’s no layering here. All of the individual ingredients have given up their distinctive tastes for the good of the dish.

Houskove Knedliky (Bohemian Dumplings)

This is a traditional accompaniment to Roast Pork served every day at most Czechoslovakian restaurants in Chicago. Frankly, the quality of the dumpling is how we determine whether or not we’ll be returning to the restaurant! 

They’re not fluffy like the dumplings Grandma made in her Chicken & Dumplings, but they’re not like Spaetzel, those little chunks of Bavarian dough noodles. In fact, when you see these for the first time your impression will likely be that someone put slices of bread and gravy on your plate.

Gringo Coquito

Coquito is a coconut flavored drink that originated in Puerto Rico. It’s similar to Egg Nog and is most often served during the Christmas holiday season. I offer many thanks to my long-time friend Jeff Harpell, a world traveler and fellow food lover now living in Spain, for sharing this holiday tradition. What a wonderful basis for a twenty-year friendship – food!