I have that cookbook. It is available on amazon.com in the United States. It is an excellent book. I have made many things and they have all been very good. (But I might be a bad judge as I usually change the recipe to use what I have on hand.) As for the carp, my father used to make smoked carp here in the States. It was very good -- tasted like smoked salmon.
I cooked mackerel yesterday, I baked it not fried it as I'm on a diet, and absolutely stank my flat out. Had the incense sticks going all day today :lol: That's the only downside of cooking fish - the smell lingers. Haddock is worse, trouble is cooking it in an apartment stinks out other people's homes too - I often smell other people's cooking so they must smell mine. and though I do open the windows, fish smells linger the next day - it is really difficult to shift. I have tried a few recipes from that book myself, although it was over Christmas. Some of the recipes, I adapted myself, due to my diet, but I think I did pretty well.
Ooo! Fish smell :shock: --nothing is worse than that! After you cook fish, try boiling 2 cups of water with 1/4 cup of white vinegar and 1 t. whole cloves (or part of a cinnamon stick). It cleans the cooking smells out of the air. If you just want to add a nice smell to your home, try microwaving 1 1/2 cups of water with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract for 4 minutes.
Thanks for the tip Susie _ I'll definitely try it. I find with incense sticks and oil burners that I have to remember to put them out if I'm going out. I'll have a go at your suggestion in the week when I get fish in. Processed fish in batter or breadcrumbs doesn't smell as bad, but fresh reeks. One day I cooked fish and had to leave the cooking tray to soak overnight, I woke up about 4 am, and the smell annoyed me so much I had to get up and scrub the tray. It had wafted through from the kitchen, and I couldn't go back to sleep with that pong. BTW. no stranger to doing unusual things in the early hours. I once was lying awake because I couldn't sleep, this was about 3 am, and the biggest spider ran across my carpet. There was no way I would get back to sleep knowing that was in the room, so I pulled out all the furniture, upended the bed, basically trashed the flat till I caught it and put it outside. (no I don't kill them) I knocked on everyone's door the next morning to apologise for the noise. Luckily everyone was ok about it! :wink:
In France, some people still know how to prepare carp. They stuff it with a mixture of bread mixed with cream and herbs (a lot of sorel), and cook it in an oven with white wine, salt, pepper etc. It's delicious. It is served with steamed potatoes. I haven't had any opportunity to taste it again for a long time. Do the Czechs have a comparable recipe?
