Cut any hard white cheese, or Gouda, Gruyere, or cheddar, into cubes. Roll cubes in flour. Fry cheese cubes in very hot oil or butter. Serve with a squeeze of lemon on top, and with bread.
Variation: Fried eggs and cheese
Dip 1 thick slice of cheese in flour. Fry in hot butter or oil. When it begins to bubble, break 1 egg over it and continue to cook until white is set. Season with salt and pepper.
Recipe from Az Ìnyesmester Szakácskônyve (The Expert’s Cookbook)
Fry bacon and onion. Sprinkle with paprika. If desired, add a little sour cream. Stir in cubed bread rolls, 2 well beaten eggs, and cubed boiled potato.
Easy refrigerator garlic or shallot pickles can keep in the fridge for up to one month.
Peel garlic or shallots. Cut big ones in half. Mix vinegar, sugar and salt. Boil. Drop in the garlic/shallots. Cook over high heat for 1 minutes. Cool. Store in tightly sealed container in fridge. Can keep up to one month.
If desired, pickling spices such as mustard seed, celery seed, and red pepper flakes may be added to brine.
Always wonderful at Christmas in the north. When we moved to Mexico we were surprised to find how similar the traditional Mexican Rompope is to our northern eggnog.
With an electric beater at high speed, beat egg yolks until pale. Beat in sugar gradually unyil thickened and smooth. At low speed beat milk and cream. Beat egg whites stiff in a small bowl. Fold into eggnog. Sprinkle with nutmeg and cinnamon. If desired cold, use cold milk and chill well. Add rum or brandy if desired.
A Ukrainian dish
Cut meat into 4 oz pieces, season with salt and brown in oil. Saute the onions and place in a casserole with the meat, cinnamon and tomato puree. Pour in a bit of the stock and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.
Heat 1 T oil and add flour to brown, then add the rest of the stock and pour into casserole with meat. Add the prunes and simmer till soft. Add vinegar, cloves, sugar and cook for another 10 minutes. Serve beef and prunes with gravy.
Saged pork breakfast sausage is really not that difficult to make.
Mix all ingredients well and shape as desired. Can be stuffed into casings or fashioned into small patties for frying. Separate patties with parchment or waxed paper and freeze in small batches for later use.
Spice this sausage up with 1/2 tsp or more of powdered cayenne or hot pepper flakes, if desired.
Pico de Gallo is a uncooked Mexican salsa made with coarsely chopped tomatoes, onion, chiles, and sometimes fresh coriander. This version has a little vegetable oil and a hint of garlic added.
This salsa will be as hot as the chiles you put into it. An excellent addition to Pico de Gallo is small cubes of avocado
Pico de Gallo literally means “rooster’s beak”–
Combine all ingredients and let stand for awhile before using. The salt will help bring out the pungency of the chiles, and adding oil and/or lime juices makes for a juicier sauce.
If you don’t like fresh coriander, simply leave it out, and the salsa will still work.
This recipe, Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage 2, comes from an old Hungarian cookbook that’s almost falling apart. Dad made rudimentary translations of some of the entries that were particularly evocative of his childhood years in Hungary.
Recipe from Az Ìnyesmester Szakácskônyve (The Expert’s Cookbook)
Wrap mixture of pork, bacon, raw rice, and 1 egg in pickled cabbage leaves. Place in large pot with sauerkraut between layers. Cover with water. Cover and cook. Thicken sauce with brown flour roux before serving.
Variation. Layer all of the cabbage roll ingredients with the sauerkraut and leaves.
Potato Dumplings are easy to make, and they can be plopped into clear soups or served smothered in savory gravies and sauces.
Dumplings in general are pieces of dough, usually small and variously shaped, sometimes filled with sweet or savory fillings, that are boiled, simmered, steamed, or fried. Dumplings are traditional in cuisines all over the world, but our family’s dumplings tend toward the heavier Eastern European styles.
Mix ingredients together.
Form into a roll and cut into 2″ lengths. Form each piece into a ball. Drop into rapidly boiling water or broth and cook for 15 minutes.
The scent of spices wafting through our kitchen when I was a child many times heralded the emergence of sheets of fragrant Hermit cookies from the oven. Though usually crisp around the edges right after baking, they later soften up to a satisfying chewiness.
Ingredients for Hermits:
Mix dry ingredients together. Mix egg, sugar and milk. Add oil and raisins. Mix with dry ingredients.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased baking sheet and bake at 425F for 10 minutes.
* Chopped nuts may also be added
