Another Family Favorite....Pierogis & Kielbasa!

Tonight I needed to make something quick so I boiled up some frozen Pierogis and added some Kielbasa.  I have so many fond memories of making Pierogis with my Grandma Up-The-Hill and my Mom.  We used to make up the dough and prepare the fillings....potato, potato-cheese, sauerkraut, and MY least favorite...PRUNES!  Blech!

In 2002, I got together with my Aunt Sharon, my cousins, Kathy & Deanna, my sister and my Aunt Helen to make tons of pierogis, and to get the family recipe from the last of the original Krawiec siblings.  There was lots of wine involved and my Aunt Helen was VERY entertaining as usual!  There we all sat at the kitchen table, pen and paper in hand waiting for the famous pierogi recipe, and as luck would have it, Aunt Helen, like all the rest of the Krawiec women, rarely measured anything out!  So, as Aunt Helen would add a "dash" of this, or a "cup" of that, we would have to break out the REAL measuring utensils to try to get the correct measurements!  Many laughs and glasses of wine later, we all managed to go home with plenty of pierogi's to freeze. 

Since I usually cook for just me, I rely on good old Mrs. T's frozen Pierogis.  I still made sauteed onions to top them off as well as a cheese sauce.  But, truth be told, I yearn for those "olden" days!

Valentine's Day Meatball Lasagna

When pondering what to make for Valentine's Day Dinner, my Italiano friend, Kathleen suggested Meatball Lasagna.  Apparently, she had seen it on a cooking show, so, with only my own ideas in mind, I decided to give it a try!

Lasagna is one of those home-made, baked, gooey, indulgent and ta-die-for main dish meals that everyone loves.  My brother Bobby used to always request that I make it for his Birthday Dinner each year, and although he is no longer with us, I am sure he would've loved this new version.  So, try it out and see for yourself...you will not be sorry...Bon Appetito!

My "Meatbawls"

1/2 cup Italian Breadcrumbs
1 1/2 lbs. Ground Beef
2 eggs

3-4 cloves minced garlic
1 medium onion, finely minced
1 T ground oregano
2 T finely chopped Italian parsley
2 T chopped fresh basil

1 T onion powder
¼ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup finely grated Romano cheese
Salt and pepper (to taste)

 Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well.
• Shape meat mixture into large meatballs (approximately 2-3" across as you will need to slice them later)
• Place them on a foil-lined cookie sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes or until done.
• Remove from oven and let cool.  Once cool, place in fridge until ready to assemble the lasagna. 

Da Sawce:

2 T olive oil

1 medium onion, minced

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

3 26 oz.cans of Hunt's Tomato Sauce

(whatever flavor you choose)

1 T dried Oregano

1 Bay leaf

6-8 Lg Basil leaves, rolled up and cut into thin strips

2 T sugar

4 T Grated Parmesan Cheese

1/2 Cup Red Wine (optional)

Salt & pepper (to taste)

Directions:

• In a large sauce pot, saute onions and garlic in olive oil until translucent.
• Add remaining ingredients and let simmer for up to an hour.

Ricotta Filling:

1 32 oz. container of Ricotta Cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan / Romano Cheese

1 egg, beaten

4 Basil leaves, minced

4 cups of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1 box of Lasagana Noodles, cooked according to package directions

It's time to assemble! 

• Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
• In a baking dish (I prefer to use a disposable aluminum lasagna pan just to make it easy-breezy with clean-up!), ladel enough sauce on the bottom of the pan and then lay four lasagna noodles side-by-side.
• Spoon some more sauce on top of the noodles and then drop tablespoonsfuls of the Ricotta mixture along the noodles. (I usually space them out so there are 4 "globs" of the cheese on each noodle.)
• Slice the meatballs into about 1/4" rounds and place one on each "glob" of cheese.  (I also dipped each slice in the sauce before laying it on each layer)
• Sprinkle shredded mozzarella on top of everything.
• Lay four more noodles on top and continue layering the sauce, ricotta, meatballs and cheese until it is all used up.  
• Spoon more sauce on the top layer and then add the remaining shredded mozzarella.
• Take a sheet of aluminum foil and spray it with PAM cooking spray to prevent the cheese from sticking, then cover and bake the lasagna for 30 minutes.
• Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes. 

A Valentine's Day Dinner would not be complete without dessert!  Kathleen baked her Italian Nanny's prized Cheesecake that is none other like I have ever tasted before! I always bragged about my Mom's and "Grandma-Up-The-Hill's" recipe, but I have to admit, this "recipt" as her Nanny had hand-written for her, is so decadent, yet not as sugary sweet as others I have tasted...thanks, Kathleen (AND Nanny Philemona!) for sharing!

Nanny Philemona Ramiccio's Italian Cheesecake "Recipt"

Crust:

2 packages of Graham Crackers, crushed

1/3 Cup Melted Butter

1/4 C Sugar

Mix all ingredients together and press into a springform pan.

Bottom Layer Filling:

1 Lb. Cream Cheese

3/4 Cup Sugar

2 Egg Whites

Beat the above ingredients together. Add the cream cheese mixture to the crust and bake in a 375 degree oven for 35 minutes. Let cool. 

Meanwhile, mix 1 pound of Sour Cream with 1/2 cup of sugar and two teaspoons of vanilla.  Once the cake is totally cooled, pour the sour cream mixture on top of the other layer and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Cool and refrigerate before serving.

Serve with frozen thawed strawberries on top, along with the juice.  Mama Mia...this cake is unique and the BEST!

 

 

 

 

Stuffed Cabbage....Halupki!

Today was such a beautiful day in the Ancient City...morning lows in the 40's and 65 by mid afternoon...PERFECT weather for me!  Whenever cooler temperatures are abound, I love to make some good old Stuffed Cabbage, or Halupki as my family calls it.  So many memories linger while I am in the midst of preparing it....I remember spending many hours cooking with my mom, grandma or even great grandma.  The smells eminating from the kitchen were heavenly! 

Stuffed cabbage, Halupki, Golumpki, gwumpki - depending on what part of Central and Eastern Europe your family hails from, are all very similar stick-to-your-ribs, fill your belly G-O-O-D!  Most traditional Polish foods you will encounter today are flavorful, hearty and complex, but they also have a lighter side, too.  My Mother's family came here from Czechoslovakia and the Ukraine, and the foods are so traditional, yet scrumptious!

Mom's Recipe card (along with my "little kid" doodling and coffee mug rings!)

Halupki

* 1 lb. Ground Beef

* 1 Cup of Rice, cooked

*1/2 Cup Chopped, cooked onion, minced

* 1 egg

* 1 Lg. can diced tomatoes

* 1 head of cabbage

* Salt & Pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

1) Place whole head of cabbage in a large pot of boiling water and cook for 5 minutes.

2) Remove from water and place in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool to room temperature. (Just recently, I saw an old re-run of Julia Child's show and she placed the whole head of washed cabbage in the freezer instead of boiling it and she said that the cabbage leaves are equally pliable! Who knew?  I haven't tried it that way yet!)

3) Saute onion, let cool.

4) In a large bowl, combine ground beef, egg and rice, salt and pepper, onion and mix well.

5) Take a cabbage leaf and pare off the thick end.  Form the meat mixture into an oval shape and roll up into the cabbage leaf.  Continue until all the meat is used up.

6) Place a few spoonfuls of tomatoes in bottom of baking dish.  Lay the stuffed cabbage rolls on top and then spoon some tomatoes on top.  Add salt and pepper and cover with foil. Bake for one hour or until hot and bubbly. (My mom used to cook these in her pressure cooker for 25 minutes, but I prefer to bake them.)

I served the Halupki with a bottle of Ravenswood Red Zinfindel and it sure hit the spot with plenty leftovers to freeze for another meal!  Pure comfort!!!!



A Tropical Breakfast....

This morning, I needed a boost to get me going, so I made one of my all-time favorites...waffles with syrup and some fresh Plant City, Florida Strawberries, as well as a juicy just-picked Honeybell orange from my tree...A cup of Irish Breakfast tea and now I am ready to start my day!

Soups On!

It is a chilly wintry day here in the Ancient City, and what better way to soothe the soul on a night like tonight, than to serve up some home made hot and hearty turkey vegetable soup!  I put a large turkey thigh (skinned) along with 6 cups of water into my soup pot, then came the chopped onions, carrots, red potatoes, yellow squash, Italian Pole Beans, and turnips cut into bite-size chunks.  For seasoning, I added 2 tsps of Bell's Poultry Seasoning, parsley flakes, 2 large fresh sage leaves, 1 bay leaf, 3 cloves of garlic (smashed), salt and pepper to taste at the end of the cooking time if needed.  I let it simmer on low for 3 hours.  The aroma was heavenly and filled the cottage with lots of warm memories from my Mom's home made soups when we were growing up.  Now I am all set -  A slice of crusty artisan bread and a glass of Reisling and I am going to call it a night!