Amnesia I have no memory of eating Cevapcici as a child. Wait, I’m moving too fast. For those who do not know, Cevapcici (also called Cevapci and Cevapi–Croatians sometimes like to add the ‘ci’ in the hopes of sounding more Italian) finds its history, as …
Hear me out. When I say “love” stinks, I mean the manufactured love that breathes down our necks each February 14th, forcing us into having a hard look at ourselves, our choices, our loneliness, and our ability to cram the idea of true love into …
A rich, moist Guinness chocolate cake made extra special by “blooming” the coca in the Guinness stout. In between the chocolate layers is a thin spread of raspberry preserves and piles of luscious cream cheese frosting. An Irish inspired cake with a berry twist! Black, …
Queen of Tarts I should have known I would fall in love with my tart pan. Being an anglophile, I always loved the term “tart” rather than other, less colorful and more hardcore words describing a vivacious lady. Like many things, the term’s meaning varies, …
A Journey Into Time As I crack open the window in the pentagon shaped living room, the room that feels like a cabin on a ship perched high in the trees above the street, I feel cold, but no wind. There is a soft, periwinkle …
A Christmas Eve Tradition Christmas Eve in Westchester, 1985. It was our last Christmas in the only home I had ever known in life and childhood, the big California style house on the hill, the one with modern additions thanks to my Croatian born father’s …
A Christmas Failure The Christmas Season came too quickly for me. We lost our 17 year old feline child (grandmother), and, through loved ones and workplaces, I got sick the weekend before Christmas. It was all happening too fast–missing connections with friends, buying gifts last …
The Irish inspired, Spiced Rum Carrot Cake makes a two or three layer cake full of fresh grated carrots made incredibly moist by the addition of applesauce. A little rum and spice add another layer of flavor, while the spiced cream cheese frosting flows like …
Croatian American Holiday Baking I did not grow up with Medenjaci. My mother, an avid baker, who filled full notebooks of ONLY Christmas recipes, often made gingerbread cookies, ginger spice biscuits, and homemade gingerbread houses, with the help of my brother and me. She was …
Mysterious Origins I never understood where it came from. My maternal grandfather was Croatian, from Sinj, on the Dalmatian coast. I’ve written plenty about him, recently in the Inquisitive Eater here. He was, at least on many levels, not typically American, even though he came …