A few recipes from my Czernowitzer grandmother....

From: Alison Cordero <hn4534_at_earthlink.net>
Date: Sun, 03 Dec 2006 01:56:07 -0500
To: Miriam Taylor <mirtaylo_at_indiana.edu>, Czernowitz List <czernowitz-l_at_cornell.edu>
Reply-to: Alison Cordero <hn4534_at_earthlink.net>

My maternal grandmother Erna Engel was born Erna Weisselberg in Birlad in 1901, moved to Czernowitz in 1905, and lived there until 1914, when her family fled to Vienna; between the wars she frequently returned to Rumania, where her father retained both family and business connections, and her husband's parents lived in Constanza, where my great grandfather was the Czech consul. (His wife (b Bella Goldenberg) was from Braila, where her mother Kunigunde and her youngest sister Bienchen continued to live until the early 30's. ) This is by way of preface to a few of the recipes which she gathered into a typed "cookbook" in the 1960's.

Some of them clearly have origins in her childhood in the Bukovina: I know from both her stories and my great aunt's that her baking, in particular, was influenced by her mother-in-law, who's baking was widely admired (one of my cousins has Bella's handwritten recipes in very hard to read script; someday I hope to tackle transcribing them!.) Many bear witness to the degree to which family, food and cultural influences traveled throughout the old Austro-Hungarian empire, particularly I suspect in assimillated, cosmopolitan Jewish merchant families like mine. (My grandfather and his brothers traveled to gymnasium in Vienna from Costanza before the first World War.)

As per Mimi's request here is my grandmother's recipe for Patlazele, slightly edited by me to make it a bit clearer but leaving out none of her descriptive language.
Patlazele
Pierce eggplant with fork about 8 times (for about a 2 lb. fruit,,) put into very hot over wih bottom lined with foil (middle rack.) Bake in at least 450 degree until the part with the stem is very soft. (about 1/2 hour if eggplant is at room temperature ) Then put into cold water. Pour off the water and peel fruit. Let stand for cooling; pour off most ofthe liquid that has collected. Beat with electric beater, first using it like a hammer at highest speed, then beating [at lower speed] until there is a rather smooth mush. Then add olive oil + 2 to 3 tablespoons for such quantity, beating all the time at lower speed. The mass should get lighter in color and heavier in consistency and should taste nutty. Then add salt, a litle finel1y chopped onion and a tablespoon of lemon juice [or white vinegar.] Chill.

Flat Plum Cake (Zwetchken kuchen)
[Cut about 2 lbs. Italian (prune) plums in quarters and set aside]
Use 1 cup of flour, not sifted, 1/3 cup [vegetable] shortening, 1 package dry yeast.
Pour yeast onto a litle warm water in a cup. add a sprinkler [sic] if sugar, tablespon flour, stir and let rise in warm place. [note; I put it on a plate over a pot filled with very hot tap water.]
In the meantime, crumble shortening and flour together [in a large mixing bowl] ; add [and stir in] a teaspoonful of sugar, 1 egg, the yeast mixture; [then] add warm milk, very little at a time, stirring until mixture is medium firm.
Beat [with a wooden spoon or stiffish plastic scraper] from one side of the bowl to the other until dough detaches itself from the wall of the bowl. Then scrape down [dough from the ] walls [of the bowl,] and let rise in a warm place, for instance on top of a pot on the pilot light [for half an hour.]
After half hour grease and flour a large baking pan [I use (only for this cake!) my grandmother's old iron pan which measures 17 3/4 by 10 inches and has one inch high straight sides; what you want is something of a similar size with a good heavy botttom and sides at least 3/4 inch or so.., like a sponge cake pan.]
Pull and pat unti it covers the [baking] sheet [ The dough will be pretty thin when stretched; if you make a hole when stretching it, just patch it a bit; ;if your pan is smalller than mine you can just leave an empty strip at the end.. ]
Then cover the dough with quartered plums, placed closely together, cut side up [in rows.]
Bake in a very hot (375 degree Farenheit) oven on the top shelf for about half an hour.
Cut in squares to serve. Tastes best warm, but can also be stored and transported by placing two squares with the plums face to face (we used to take it on hikes for a picnic that way!)
t

Alison Cordero
32 S. Oxford St.
Brooklyn NY 11211
hn4534_at_earthlink.net
718 858 2137
646 852 1432
Received on 2006-12-03 05:20:38

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