I got this cookbook from my grandmother. I’m not sure how many recipes she ever made out of it, but there’s one page that has pen marks on it and bits of dough smushed between the pages that I know got a lot of use — Hungarian Dumplings. I’m Czech-Hungarian on Dad’s side, so that makes sense.
Did I make the dumplings? No, I did not. I would have, but they require the use of a Spaetzle maker, one of which I had but got rid of not knowing what it was. Go figure.
Every recipe I made out of this cookbook was really, really good. If you remember my last foray into the land of The Frugal Gourmet, you’ll remember that some of the recipes were more successful than others. These all knocked it out of the park, though.
When I told Dennis, who speaks Spanish, what we were having for dinner, he looked confused and said, “We’re having old clothes for dinner?” That’s what the name of this dish translates into, I guess because the meat is shredded?
I cooked the meat in the Crock Pot, because I made it during the week and didn’t have two hours to let it cook, but I’ll include directions for either way. It’s a little labor intensive, but so worth it.
Also, since I made this, Dennis has been making burritos with this meat and the red rice from a couple weeks ago, and apparently, they’re really good. You’ll also recognize the rice in the pictures. These two things were part of the same meal.
I kind of get the impression that if this were the only thing I made for the rest of our lives, Dennis would be OK with that, just as a point of reference.
Cuban Ropa Vieja
Serves 8
From The Frugal Gourmet: On Our Immigrant Ancestors
