Remembering My Family's Cooking

I remember growing up that I used to watch both parents and my maternal grandmother cooking for the family. I became interested at a young age, 6 to be exact, and since both parents worked, I was left to start dinner after school. My kitchen tasks were mainly prep work, cleaning and peeling different vegetables, taking meat out of the freezer or refrigerator to thaw, put water on to boil, mashing potatoes, etc. When my parents came home, they completed the cooking. As I got older, mom and dad taught me more and I often made simple meals and salads. My interest in cooking was peaked. My father Milos (Miloš) Gryak was a Staff Sergeant in the Army during WWII and was in charge of the officer's mess and galley. He was an excellent baker and did everything from scratch without a cookbook! His dinner rolls, donuts, sticky buns, and cinnamon buns were the best. I also include in this collection his version of S.O.S. (no translation needed!) which was an army staple. Although not Serbian, it is very good. I have also included his personal recipe for stuffed mushrooms and oil peppers as well which were a big hit at family dinners and celebrations. Mom, Anna (Anka) Bekich-Gryak cooked and baked traditional Serbian fare thanks to both grandmothers teaching her, Dorothy (Dragica) Ratković-Bekich, mom's mother and dad's mother, Julka (Julia) Tomasević-Grijak. 

My interest in cooking extended to junior and senior high school when boys were required to take Home Economics classes while girls had to take Woodshop and Drafting. During college, I lived with 5 fraternity brothers and I was elected "chef" which got me out of cleanup detail. My frat brothers loved my stuffed pork chops, chili, and some Serbian dishes I would slip in occasionally like palačinke, burek, sarma,  rezance, chicken soup, etc. I often called mom up and asked: "How do you make this? How much of whatever do I use?" She was a wealth of knowledge for my cooking endeavors. Since I lived in a traditional Serbian home, measuring was unheard of. Instead, it was this much and I would be shown a handful or a fist indicating the amount of an ingredient. Eyeballing and tasting were used a lot in the kitchen. The recipes I have found and translated are converted to indicate within reason exact measurements, cupful, spoonful, etc. My  junior-senior years in college afforded me the opportunity to go to Paris, France for 2 years to the renowned Sorbonne to finish my studies of the French language as an exchange student. Since then, I have received my doctorate in French Language & Literature. While in Paris as part of my studies, I enrolled in the famous Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute. There, I learned proper techniques for slicing, dicing, food preparation and selection, as well as some French dishes and sauces. I graduated with a Diplôme from there and still use some techniques today.

My housemate is from Great Britain and he loves our Serbian music and culture (especially the food) and is always delighted when I cook Serbian meals for us. 

I hope you enjoy these as much as I have fun converting them for you. I even included shortcuts such as using prepared store-bought ingredients as well as a crock pot or slow cooker instructions for you. I have found notebooks, card files, tablets, scraps of paper through the house loaded with recipes from my parents and grandparents and I have translated the ones in Serbian to English. As we say in Serbian: "PRIATNO!) Enjoy!

Miloš 1920-2005 & Anka (Bekich) 1924-2015 Gryak

Dorothy (Dragica) Ratkovic-Bekich 1901-1977