Dining in--Minneapolis/St. Paul cookbook

ea F / : ‘ F soTye A ™ day : mM ri aa, Oe t ie ie ion "y 4 SI Eaten ay] - = ‘ ; a ed Mert SOT Onl s Gs eRe iis site 4, tates tayo 00 a, Le f he a ifn JA GEOR = (: Te eae: pirntiehe pois ke ne erent big yay, 7 ia WOU? 134 beep Pipe AP aes) spend f =. ool nics Le is ow ‘cs = uf Is : ie Fi pat 7 | Tied er gea on hod s Bee ides sly Nii? Sl WweO re ee) a ee ret nin area Sean aie ieetrg vhotl aa ‘ 7 e te af he ine a < a3 AP h = creer vas. 7 ' Dinner for Six Goulash Soup Chicken with Mushrooms in Cream Gravy Potato Dumplings Sautéed Red Cabbage Creamed Green Peas Smoked Herring Salad Fruit Cream Dessert Beverages: A dry white wine or Pilsner Urquell Czechoslovakian beer John Schumacher, Proprietor and Chef SCHUMACHER’S NEW PRAGUE HOTEL was a Tuesday, John Schumacher remembers, eight years ago, It when he and his wife Nancy discovered a gracious, turn-of-the- century red brick hotel. They had travelled 40 miles south of the Twin Cities to the Czech and German community of New Prague, and returned Wednesday morning to sign purchase papers. Restoration of Schumacher’s New Prague Hotel began soon after. Several trips to Europe for antiques, as well as for menu ideas, established the theme, and the hotel was furnished like a middle-European inn. From the lobby to the tiny barroom to the guest apartments above, each room was decorated with impeccable attention to detail—hand-painted leaded windows, for example, or wooden settees, Salzburg linen wallpaper, and Bavarian floral folk art. In this magnificent setting, a restaurant planned with as much care boasts a cuisine which features some fifty authentic Czech and German dishes. The menu is both outstanding and authentic in its style. “Everything is made from scratch, from local products,” proprietor-chef John ad- vises. “We cut our own veal, make our own cucumber pickles, season our own sausages, get flour from the local mill, and butter from the creamery.” The dedication is apparent in the excellence of the food, as well as on the guests’ faces: no one leaves the New Prague Hotel hungry. Generous servings of homemade soups and the salad platter’s mari- nated vegetables awaken the appetite, to be then pleased by schnitzels, rouladen, and well-seasoned Czech sausages. Many game dishes can then further delight, entrées such as quail stuffed with plums and wrapped in bacon, pheasant with mushrooms and shallots, or rabbit roasted with caraway and sauced in heavy cream. The accompani- ments are Old World—knedliky dumplings, fresh spatzle noodles, sauerkraut, red cabbage, fresh rye rolls, and sweet poppyseed kolacky buns. The sauces are rich in cream and butter and aromatically sea- soned with wine and caraway. Ifa diner is not sated by all this, a choice like Czech-style cheesecake, apple strudel, or Honza’s Torte—a moun- tainous dessert of meringue, chopped nuts, whipped cream, and chocolate—could surely change that. 212 West Main Street New Prague pa SCHUMACHER’S NEW PRAGUE HOTEL GOULASH SOUP 2 onions, chopped Y2 cup coarsely chopped Ya cup plus 2 tablespoons parsnip butter Y2 cup coarsely chopped Y%4 teaspoon paprika celery 1 pound chuck or shank Salt to taste ; beef, cut in 1” cubes 1 pound potatoes, peeled Y4 cup flour and coarsely chopped Y2 cupcoarsely chopped Y4 teaspoon caraway seeds carrot Dash of pepper . Ina heavy stockpot, fry the onions in the 2 tablespoons butter until limp. Add the paprika and beef. Cook slowly until brown, about 30 minutes. . Melt the remaining % cup butter; blend in the flour and fry until golden, stirring constantly. Add to the stockpot with 1/2 quarts boil- ing water. Add the carrot, parsnip, celery, and salt, stirring to mix. Simmer for 20 minutes. . Add the potatoes, caraway seeds, and pepper. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 to 30 minutes. Serve hot.