Christmas Dinner & New Year's Eve Dinner 2023
What was our winter holiday dinner in 2023? Czech Beef Goulash was for the New Year's Eve. Czech Beef Goulach was a dish that we wanted to try while we were in Prague, but we didn't have a chance to do so. Therefore I thought I should make it by myself. We enjoyed Svíčková, or Braised beef with creamy sauce made from root vegetables and heavy cream in Prague, by the way.
I found a recipe of Czech Beef Goulash which looked like authentic. We went to a local grocery store and looked for beef chuck but they didn't have the particular cut. A lady at the butcher section showed us a different block of meat that looked much leaner than chuck. We didn't know what cut it was exactly but we bought it anyway. After about 3 hour simmering, the beef was tender and tasted good. The sauce was interestingly aromatic. The spices and herbs that the recipe called for were only a few. The flavor must have resulted from sweet paprika or dried marjoram, or the combination of both.
I also made Knedlíky, Czech bread dumpling from scratch. The dough was prepared just like a usual bread dough with yeast, but it was boiled to be done, instead of being baked. The result was very similar to what we had along with Svíčková in Prague. Fluffy, spongy and chewy. I loved it! I made more than we needed for the Goulach and enjoyed the leftover with jam for breakfast.
