The Czech Republic & A New Home!

Last night was a night for celebration. The offer we put in was accepted, and if all goes well we will be homeowners in the suburbs (gasp!) at the end of March. Our little world is about to change dramatically, but everything seems to be falling into place, and we couldn't be happier with what life has dealt us. We could have been eating Pepper Pot Soup with extra pig feet last night, and still felt on top of the world. But lucky for me, we weren't!

The Czech Republic is nestled between Germany, Austria, Poland and Slovakia. So I knew our meal would be a hearty one. The website www.countryreports.com claims that Czechs drink more beer than any other people in the world. Their national dish is actually a pork roast cooked in beer, and I knew I could not go wrong with this on the menu! My original intent was to fix the complete national dish: roasted pork, dumplings and sauerkraut. Unfortunately a very needy Henry kept me so busy last night that my prep time was limited, so the dumplings were skipped and substituted with white rice.

The pork roast was rubbed with a mustard, oil, and caraway seed mixture and put in a deep casserole dish. I placed chopped onions all around the roast and then covered the bottom of the dish with beer. It baked at 350 degrees for thirty minutes covered, then an additional hour and a half uncovered. (My pork roast was only two pounds, versus the five pound roast that the recipe calls for). I made a nice sauce from the pan juices with some cornstarch and butter.

The sauerkraut recipe I used actually called for canned sauerkraut, which I never knew existed. But there it was, smack between the canned green beans and canned beets! The sauerkraut simmered in water with sauteed bacon and onions and a sprinkle of caraway seeds. Cornstarch thickened it up at the end.

This meal was right up Ted's alley. He could eat this way every night of the week. I do agree that it was a filling meal, with some flavors that I find untraditional and appealing. We settled on a 3.5. It was a wonderful celebratory dinner.