Nockerl

"Nockerl" are small dumplings similar to German Spätzle. They go well with Goulash. You can form them by hand by pushing bits of dough off a board with a knife or spoon, but it's much easier to use a metal colander with large holes.

Marie was a reference librarian, and as with most of her recipes, this is typewritten on the back of an old card catalog card.

There are two variations of this recipe. Original:

1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold water
1 egg

Penciled in next to it (this is the one I used, since it seems to be a later variation):
2 1/2 c flour
2 tsp salt
1 c milk
2 tbsp margarine (I melted to make it blend)
1 egg

Beat egg well, add salt and water and stir this into the flour until you have a smooth batter. Drop by teaspoonfuls into boiling salted water, or push through colander into water. Let cook approx 15 minutes, depending on size, until dumplings are firm and springy. Drain in colander. Pour cold water, or a little oil, over dumplings to keep them from sticking together. Reheat in any desired sauce.

Gulasch

This is a recipe from our paternal grandmother Marie. We lived in the same town while Cielle and I were growing up and would eat over at her house once a week. Some kind of stew was often on the menu, and even when she branched out into other cuisines, it usually tasted to us like Goulash.

Marie's family was Hungarian, but she lived in Austria until the German occupation when she was nine years old. The family fled to Hungary, taking only a few possessions so that they could claim to be going for a visit. From Hungary they settled in southern France, then escaped German invasion again two years later on one of the last boats to leave. She liked to cook some traditional Hungarian dishes, and also had a number of recipes that she translated from old German cookbooks. She spoke at least four languages by the time she was 18, but in my lifetime she refused to use German out loud.

When Cielle walked into the house while I had this on the stove, she said, "it smells like Marie's house." Tastes and smells have such powerful associations.

This is a "plain" Goulash of only meat and vegetables. It's good served over egg noodles or dumplings.

2 onions, chopped in large pieces
2 lbs stew beef, cut in 1" pieces, or 2 lbs bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks
2 tomatoes, diced, or 1 can diced tomatoes
1 or 2 green bell peppers, cut into large pieces
2 medium potatoes, cut into 3/4" or smaller pieces
1 tablespoon paprika [at least, more if you like]
Cooking oil
Salt to taste

Brown onions in 2 tablespoons oil. Add meat and brown, then add paprika. Cook covered for 1 1/2 hours. Uncover and cook for another 30-45 minutes, then add salt, tomatoes, green peppers and potatoes. Cook uncovered for another 15-20 minutes until potatoes are cooked through.

Welcome!

A few years ago, Cielle and I made copies of recipes from our grandmothers' and mother's files. Some of them are memories of growing up for us, some for our parents, and some we never remember having tasted. We're going through the scrapbook with the goal of trying everything once and sharing our recipes and stories.