Preserving Our Polish Christmas Heritage

Wesołych Świąt 

*  Thanks to Polart for this Christmas Card image

Christmas in Poland was simpler back in the day.  Carols were not sung for weeks ahead. There was no Black Friday or Cyber Monday, and the holiday in general was not as commercial as here, today.  Oh sure, the stores in big cities like Warsaw were crowded and decorated for the holiday.  Vendors on the town squares sold shiny baubles and other decorations.  Folks everywhere rushed to finish their last minute shopping.  All over there was excitement in the air – the anticipation of sacred Christmas traditions and the biggest celebration of the year.  

As the late afternoon turned to dusk, the shoppers headed for home and the busy streets grew empty and quiet.  The feast received its final touches, everyone was dressed up in their finest.   The kids were scanning the sky looking for the first star, which meant that Wigilia was about to begin.

As Peter was growing up, his family always made a significant effort to preserve as much of the heritage as possible.  Nothing began until he saw the first star.  They started by sharing the blessed wafer.  As the family gathered round the table, everyone shared a piece of blessed wafer with everyone else.  The wafer is a symbol of love, friendship and forgiveness, allowing everyone to extend their best wishes for the coming year.

There always was an extra place setting at the table for the lost traveler who might come to the door, and there are small boughs of greens or hay, representing the Mary and Joseph’s stable lodgings for the night.  The supper was meatless and in the olden days consisted of twelve courses, one for each of the apostles.  Poppy seeds were always included as a symbol of peaceful sleep and honey for sweetness and contentment.  

Menus have always varied a bit, according to each family’s customs, but the menu that Peter’s  family followed when he was a boy, included:  

• Herring in Sour Cream
• Clear red barszcz,

• Crepes with a wild mushroom and sauerkraut filling
• White fish in a light butter sauce, served with hard boiled eggs and
        boiled potatoes
• Dried fruit compote
• Poppy seed rolls, nut rolls, honey cake and honey cookies.

After the feasting has ended, and the belt buckles loosened a notch or two,  the family adjourned to the Christmas tree to sing Christmas carols, and open gifts.  The evening was topped off by a visit to the local church for Midnight Mass.

Today, we’ve dropped the herring, swapped the white fish for salmon, and lately given up on the dried fruit compote because it takes a while to prepare.  But those are concessions made to changing food preferences and the practicalities of our modern lives.  The core traditions remain in place. 

When Laura prepares Christmas Eve supper (Wigilia), following these traditions that Peter grew up with, these stuffed crepes are everybody’s favorite part of the meal.  They go really well with a cup of Classic Barszcz, which is a classic way to serve them.  The blend of savory sauerkraut mixed with earthy mushrooms is an amazing combination.  This dish is an ideal starter, whether for Christmas Eve or any other festive meal.  


Yields 8 to 10 crepes

Crepes
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 cup flour
½ cup water
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Mix the milk with the eggs, flour, water and salt in a blender or hand mixer at low speed.  Heat a small non-stick skillet which measures 6 to 7 inches across the base (crepe pans are great) and brush or lightly spray the bottom with cooking oil.  Pour a small amount of batter into the medium hot skillet. (For a 6 inch pan use a just under 1/3 cup of batter per crepe.)  Immediately start swirling the pan around so the batter will evenly cover the bottom and put back on the burner.  When the crepe becomes firm on top, maybe 50 to 60 seconds, and just starts to lightly brown on the bottom, flip it over and cook the other side for another 15 seconds or so.   Remove the crepe from the pan and stack on a plate with a sheet of wax paper between crepes to prevent sticking.  Continue this process until all the batter is used – you should get 8 to10 crepes from one batch.

Filling
½ pound sauerkraut
2 tablespoons butter or rendered bacon fat  
1 onion, chopped 
4 ounces mushrooms, sliced
salt and pepper
1 hard boiled egg, chopped
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 egg beaten
½ cup bread crumbs
3 tablespoons butter

Rinse the sauerkraut thoroughly in a colander.  Squeeze the sauerkraut to remove the excess water.  Place the sauerkraut in a small amount of boiling water.  Cook for 20 minutes and drain.  Heat the butter or bacon fat in a skillet, add the onions and fry until golden.  Add the mushrooms and fry an additional 3 minutes.  Add the sauerkraut and fry until golden.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Remove from the heat and add the egg and sour cream.  Mix well.

Spoon a small amount of the filling into the center of a crepe.  Fold the crepe in envelope fashion to completely encase the filling.  Roll the stuffed crepe in egg and then in bread crumbs.  Gently sauté the crepes in butter until golden on both sides.  Serve either warm.
Smacznego!

Comforting Pork Chops - Polish Style

Witamy!

Pork has been the meat of first choice in Poland for decades and is the basis for a great many comfort food recipes.  We love our pork, grilled, baked, braised, stewed in sour kraut, or almost any way possible.  One of the favorite cuts for serving pork is the common chop.  

In recent years the pork we see in the U.S. is specially bred for leanness so some cuts are definitely less flavorful than the farm-bred pigs to which Babcia was accustomed.  Back in her day, Polish pigs on a pre-WWII farm were fed a diet of potatoes, sour milk, old cabbage, corn, etc., and that’s why the milder Polish hams became so popular all over the world. 

Today, pork is big business everywhere and pigs are specially bred to be disease resistant, leaner and to yield more usable pounds per pig.  So the product we see in our grocery stores is generally leaner.  That’s also why the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) now says that pork roasts and thick chops can be safely cooked to medium rare at a final internal cooked temperature of 145 F° , followed by a three-minute rest time.

All this means that today’s pork is healthier but also has less intense flavor, in our opinion.  So we like to buy bone-in center-cut chops to get the best taste, such as this photo from J Vrola Meat Company. .  




Today’s recipe is one of our favorite ways to prepare chops, especially if there’s too much snow or rain outside to fire up the grill.  Look for the bone in style, maybe with a little fat on the edges, and don’t trim all that goodness away too soon. 

Serves 6
6 medium bone-in, center cut loin chops ½ to ¾ inches thick 
6 tablespoons flour
2 large eggs, lightly whisked
Salt & pepper to taste
1 cup unseasoned bread crumbs  (Panko style are even better)
1 teaspoon fresh marjoram or ½ teaspoon dried
½ cup bacon drippings, shortening, or cooking oil .

Season the flour with salt and pepper to taste.  Season the breadcrumbs with more salt and pepper plus the marjoram.  .

Trim most of the fat off the chops, leaving some for flavor.  Mix the salt and pepper into the flour and the dredge the chops.  Shake off the excess flour and dip chops in the egg mixture.  Roll in breadcrumbs and lightly press the crumbs into the surface of each chop.

Brown the chops well on both sides in the hot fat.  Place chops in one layer in a large baking dish and finish in a pre-heated oven at 325 F ° for 15 to 20 minutes.  Using your instant-read meat thermometer, the chops will be done at 150 to 155F °.  

Serve these chops with red cabbage on the side, or boiled or mashed potatoes, or on a bed of stewed sauerkraut that has been flavored with bits of bacon and caraway seeds.

Smacznego!

Metro Cooking Show Hits Foodie Home Run

The Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show was in DC this weekend.  Celebrity Chefs Guy Fieri and Bobby Flay, local chefs Cathal Armstrong and Todd English, an army of culinary experts and a huge convention hall filled with gourmet vendors all landed at the DC Convention Center this weekend to present a culinary event that was nothing short of foodie heaven!

The show felt somehow re-energized this year…there seemed to be more interesting vendors,  the main halls were laid out better,  there was less pushing and shoving and there were more smiles on the faces of all the foodies who attended.   Amongst the jaw-dropping array of olive oils,  balsamic vinegars,  hot sauces,  spice blends,  razor-sharp knives,  miracle-slick cooking pans,  home remodelers,  bakers,  authors,  choclatiers,  wineries, breweries, etc.,  we saw many truly outstanding products worthy of any foodie’s pantry.

These saucers in foil bags were among the more uniquely packaged products in the show.

 

This Greek dipping sauce was beautifully prepared and a bottle fell into our bag very quickly.

One of our favorite stops was the Anastesia Vodka table with samples of this lovely Oregon-based vodka that was so smooth that it truly gives challenge to our favorite Polish vodkas.

The Taste of Turkey space was a consortium of purveyors of sweets, cook book and all things Turkish.

Lilly’s Gourmet Maple Butter and Artisan Caramels from Choquette were two decedent yummies that we couldn’t pass by for holiday gift giving.

Don’t tell anyone but we made several sneaky passes by Alexian’s Pate table with their three varieties of goose, truffle and duck goodness…sooo good!

And the crowds loved the ingenious tool for perfectly cracking raw eggs.

Local restaurant owner and Chef Cathal Armstrong showed us his grandma’s recipe for the perfect turkey & stuffing.  Everyone learned something new from Chef, including the fact that a turkey can stay warm for almost four hours without drying out.

Only Guy Fieri, the star attraction of this day, could charm the audience into beating up a pork chop with humor and a hammer.  Guy’s show was almost stolen by his “emcee” - local ABC news anchor Leon Harris, as the two traded one-liners better than any open-mike night at a comedy club.

This was truly a fun show.  There were hundreds of samples available for tasting and sipping…in fact more than any sane person should attempt.  But that why this show is a foodie’s best dream.  Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining shows take place in several cities around the U.S. so watch the papers for a date near you – it’s worth it!

Home Made Farmer's Cheese

Farmer’s Cheese is a delicious cheese used quite frequently in Polish cuisine, 

especially in baked goods such as the sweet pierogi,  cheese cakes or the sweet crepes found in our books.


During our visits to Polish heritage festivals and during our many programs, we’re often asked what is Farmer’s Cheese and where can it be purchased.  The answers are simple…Farmer’s Cheese is a white cheese, (in Polish called Twaróg) with a very unique, mild, somewhat salty flavor.  Reminiscent of Feta cheese, it is essentially a pressed cheese since the curds are often squeezed into a brick or ball to remove the excess liquid. 

Farmer’s Cheese can be purchased in many upscale grocery stores, especially around the holidays, and in most Eastern European deli’s.  But more importantly it can be made at home very easily.  It’s delicious, easy and it can be a fun project to do with the kids.

Here’s a recipe for making your own farmers cheese adapted from one of our favorite resources for Eastern European food: 

http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/cheeses/ss/Step-By-Step-Instructions-For-Making-Farmers-Cheese.htm

• 2 quarts pasteurized whole milk (do not use ultra-
         pasteurized milk)
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1½ teaspoons salt, or less to taste
• Butter muslin or fine cheesecloth
• Butcher's twine

1. Heat the Milk to 180 degrees - In a heavy pot, over low heat, slowly heat up the milk, stirring often, until it is just about to simmer (180 degrees)

2. Stir buttermilk into heated milk. Then stir in the vinegar.

3. Turn off the heat and very slowly stir until the milk begins   to separate into curds (solids) and whey (liquid).  Let sit        undisturbed for 10 minutes. 

4. Meanwhile, wet the butter muslin  or two layers of fine cheesecloth that is large enough to line a colander and hang over the sides. Place the muslin-lined colander over a bowl to catch any whey.

5. After the mixture has sat undisturbed for 10 minutes, use a skimmer or slotted spoon to ladle the curds into the cheesecloth. Allow the curds to drain for 10 minutes.

6. Gather the cheesecloth around the cheese curds into a ball and tie off at the top with the butcher’s twine, leaving two or three extra inches of twine at the ends of the knot. 

7. Tie the ends of the string to a wooden spoon or dowel, and hang the cheese curds over a pot or container to collect any remaining whey and continue draining for 30 minutes.  Squeeze the ball to remove any remaining liquid. 

8. Open the bundle and transfer the cheese curds into a bowl.  Break up the curds slightly and stir in the salt.  The stirring action will break up the cheese into dry curds.  Use your hands to then mold the cheese into a ball or brick shape, or just leave it crumbled.   Transfer to a nonmetallic storage container, cover and refrigerate. Use within 5 days.

Here is how Laura’s cheese looked when she finished – it did not take her long and it was quite easy. 

Smacznego!

Duck Blood Soup (Czarnina) …One More Time!

Witamy!  This Blog has been on the web for almost four years and this is our 100^th post.  During that time, and during all of the visits we have made to Polish Heritage Festivals, the most frequently asked questions revolve around Czarnina – the classic Polish Duck Blood Soup.  So many folks remember it from their childhood and this is one dish that you either love or hate – there’s no in between.   Over the years Czarnina has become one of legendary memories that grows with age (just like that huge fish that got away) but I suspect the legend has overshadowed the actual taste…duck’s blood??  Really? 

Even though I can’t get my head (or taste buds) comfortable with the notion of sipping the blood of a duck, even cooked, we would have included it in our book, if the ingredients were easier to find.  I called our favorite butcher and was told that fresh ducks were readily available, but only cleaned and dressed.  I checked in the local international grocery stores, and found frozen cow’s blood but no duck blood.  With all the regulations on commercial food handling, I’m guessing that no one will guarantee the freshness and safety of the blood.  I suppose one could get fresh blood directly from a farmer...if one knew a farmer…but I don’t. 

A couple of years ago we posted this recipe for “mock” Czarnina which was adapted from a very old traditional recipe and it generated a lot of hits on this website.  So we’re posting it again for your pleasure and culinary enjoyment.  The recipe avoids real duck blood but it still gets a lot of flavor from prunes and from fresh or smoked neck bones, either pork or some variety of fowl – whatever you can get.  Try it and let us know how it worked. 

Ślepo Czarnina – Bloodless (or Blind) Duck Blood Soup

Serves 8

·        3 pounds meaty fresh or smoked neck bones, pork, turkey, duck, etc.

·        1 pound dried prunes, pitted

·        1 stalk celery

·        1 sprig parsley

·        1 bay leaf

·        5 whole allspice

·        2 whole cloves

·        ¼ cup raisins

·        1 small tart apple, chopped

·        1/4 cup vinegar or lemon juice

·        ½ to 1 tablespoon sugar

·        2 cups light cream

·        4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

·        Salt and pepper to taste

1.     If using fresh neck bones, blanch, drain and rinse them.  Place blanched or smoked neck bones in a large pot or Dutch oven. Cover with water. Bring to a boil, skimming off any foam that rises to the top.

2.   While the bones are coming to a boil, make a small bag from cheese cloth (or a clean cotton hankie) and place in it the celery, parsley, allspice and cloves.  Add it to the soup pot, reduce heat, add vinegar and bay leaf and simmer, partially covered, for 1 hour.

3.   Add prunes and season slowly with sugar, salt and pepper (go easy on the salt if using smoked neck bones).  Bring back to a boil, reduce heat and simmer slowly, partially covered, for 1 hour or until meat falls off the bone.  Remove the neck bones from the pot.

4.   Taste again and adjust the seasonings, plus vinegar or lemon juice, to your own palate.  Add the seasonings slowly, and keep tasting.  The broth should have a slightly sweet note from the plums and sugar, but with a soft contrasting tartness from the vinegar or lemon juice.  Remove meat from bones and return the meat to the pot.

5.   Turn off the heat, cool soup and then refrigerate until fat is congealed on top for easy skimming and removal. 

6.   Just before serving, in a medium bowl, “cream” the cold soup by adding a few ladles of cold soup and slowly whisking in the flour and cream; and whisking (or blending) until very smooth and all the flour lumps are gone.  Pour this mixture back into the soup pot and heat gently until soup is thickened and any raw flour taste is cooked out.

  Serve over noodles, if desired.   Smacznego!

PS: there are several regional versions that make great use of fruit in the soup.  Pictured is one such version with pears and fresh plums.

Classic Apple Raisin Cake

Witamy!  Many classic Polish baked goods trace their roots to the country and farms where the harvest bounty and seasons often dictated what landed in the kitchen and on the table every week.  In our modern world of upscale grocery stores, most recipes can be prepared the year round.  Ingredients are transported from wherever on our planet they are plentiful to wherever they are scarce.  So, seasonality has become less of an issue.  Of course if you wish to “buy local,” farmers’ markets are the way to go for freshly harvested and locally grown items.  And yes they often do taste better – at least to this writer. 

There are few better combinations of flavors than apples, cinnamon and walnuts.  This is one of our absolutely favorite desserts and one that we often prepare for sampling at book signing events. Then, Laura makes it in a mini-cupcake size and it works beautifully.  It’s very easy to prepare and the recipe is almost goof proof.  And it doesn’t hurt that it’s super popular with all our friends.

½ pound butter

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 cups sifted flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

¾ cups raisins

4 cups cooking apples, peeled & coarsely shredded

1 cup walnuts, finely chopped

Beat the butter with the sugar until creamy. A standing mixer is perfect for this job but a hand mixer will work just as well.  Add the eggs one at a time and beat five more minutes (less if using a standing mixer).  Add the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and beat three more minutes.  Fold in the fruit and walnuts. 

Butter and flour a high 10-inch round spring form cake pan.  Pour in the finished batter and shake it around for even distribution.  Bake at 350 degrees for an hour to an hour and a half (60 to 90 minutes).  Test at 60 minutes for doneness with a toothpick.  The cake is done when the toothpick comes out dry.  Remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes before releasing the pan.

Yields 12 to 16 portions, depending on size of slices and how hungry your guests are.  Smacznego!

Mama's Favorite Summer Salads -- Totally Polish & Totally Awesome

Witamy!
Peter's Mother loved the fresh salads of summer because they were so light, refreshing, and paired well with almost any meal.  She would make enough to last several days and we all loved it.  

Now that the hot weather is here, there’s not much better than a chilled salad to accompany lunch or supper. We get our vegetables fresh off the farm from a nearby  farmers' market, and they are always bright, crunchy, and delicious.  These salads are healthy, and with a slight tang of the sour cream, they are totally Polish.  The sour cream is a theme running through these recipes because sour cream is a very popular element of classic Polish cuisine. Used in moderation, sour cream is a great flavor enhancer and a very popular ingredient in Polish preparations - especially when topped with fresh chopped dill or parsley.   Smacznego!

Radishes With Sour Cream  (Serves 5)

3 bunches fresh radishes, sliced thinly

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup sour cream

Lettuce leaves

1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill

Sprinkle salt over the radishes and combine with sour

 cream.  Spread artfully over lettuce leaves and sprinkle

dill on top.

Carrot, Apple & Horseradish Salad  (Serves 4)

6 medium carrots, peeled and shredded

2 apples, peeled, cored and shredded

2 tablespoons prepared horseradish

Salt and sugar

2/3 cup sour cream

Green parsley, chopped

Combine the carrots, apple and horseradish.  Season with both salt and sugar, fold in the sour cream.  Chill for 15 minutes, garnish with parsley for color.

Carrot & Rhubarb Salad  (Serves 4)

4 medium carrots, peeled and shredded

2 stalks of rhubarb, finely sliced

1 tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons sour cream

Lettuce leaves

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Sprinkle the sugar on the rhubarb.  Mix with the carrots. Season with salt to taste, mix in the Sour cream.  Arrange on the lettuce leaves.  Sprinkle parsley over the top for garnish.

Fresh Fruit Tart - Polish Style

Witamy!

Summer is here for most of us and fresh fruit is available everywhere.  Peter just came in with bags of beautiful peaches, aromatic plums and sweet nectarines.  These were shipped up from South America but that’s the beauty of a global markets...we can enjoy the harvests year round. 

A stunning way to enjoy the bounty of these harvests is in a delicious fruit tart.  The main stream grocery stores and commercial bakeries sell their versions for big bucks, but they’re usually very sweet, and often full of artificial ingredients.  Those store-baked tarts are often made with a cheap, lard-laden crust, they often contain a gooey pastry cream under the fruit, and the fruit itself has been drenched in some sort of heavy syrup. They are stunning to look at but maybe not the healthiest dessert around. 

Our way is to make a delicious yeasty shell and just fill it with sliced fruit – nothing more and nothing less.  Pure and simple.  Fresh and delicious.   All natural and better for you.  It’s the way to go!

Batter

• 1 packet dry yeast
• ½ cup milk, tepid
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 cups flour
• ¾ stick sweet butter
• 2 eggs, separated
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch salt
• 1/3 cup breadcrumbs

Fruit Topping

4 cups sliced fruit (peaches, nectarines, apricots, Italian plums, apples, all berries, or mix & match)

¾ cups confectioners’ sugar

To prepare the shell, combine the yeast with milk and 1 tablespoon of sugar.  Let stand for 5 minutes.  Mix in ½ cup of flour and place the mixture in 150°F oven until it doubles in size.

Cream the butter and the remaining sugar until pale and creamy.  Add the egg yolks and vanilla, and beat for 5 minutes.  Add in the yeast mixture.  Add in the remaining flour in small portions, while beating.  Beat for 5 more minutes.  Whip the egg whites and salt until stiff.  Fold into the dough.

Butter (or use baking spray) a 9 inch x 12 inch baking pan and sprinkle with the bread crumbs.  Spread the dough evenly in the prepared pan and cover with a light cloth or dish towel; place in 150°F oven until the dough doubles in size.

Distribute all the fruit slices evenly on top of the dough.  Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.  Let cool.  Cut into serving portions while still in the pan.   Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving.

Smacznego!

PS  We have plenty of outstanding fruit-based desserts that aren’t so sweet, in our Polish Classic Desserts book.   For a personally dedicated and autographed copy, just click on the blue book cover at the top of this page. 

Getting Saucy - Polish Style

Witamy!   In the best classic cuisines, sauces are the “icing on the cake” that can make or break a great dish.  Classic Polish sauces are delicious, distinctive and fairly simple to prepare.  The key to success is in the proper proportions of fat, flour, liquid, plus a little patience and a lot of love. 

Here are some tips: 

*  Always cook your hot sauces low and slow and always keep stirring - a good wooden spoon will be your friend.

*  Instantized flour, such as Wondra, can be a big help because it yields a smoother and less lumpy texture with less mixing.  It's not always easy to find, but worth a spot in your pantry.

*  Never add flour to the sauce – rather, add sauce to the flour – a spoonful at a time.  Add sauce to sour cream the same way until it doubles in volume – never sour cream to the sauce.

*  Never boil a sauce containing sour cream because it will separate.  However, a separated sauce can still be rescued by adding a more sour cream – the right way. 

*  Using chicken or beef stock generally gives more flavor to sauces, but vegetable stock is better for a fish dish because it is milder and allows the other flavors to shine.

Here are some of our favorite classic Polish sauces for you to try:

Dill Sauce  (3 cups)

1 cup chicken or beef broth

3 tablespoons flour

2 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Salt to taste

½ cup sour cream

Gradually stir the cold broth into the flour.  Bring to a low boil stirring constantly.  Stir in the dill.  Remove pan from heat and season with salt.  Stir in the sour cream gradually..   Serve over roast beef, pork roast, even grilled fish. 

Dried Mushroom Sauce  (1 ½ cups)

1 ounce dried mushrooms

1 cup water

3 ½ tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons cold water

Salt & pepper to taste

½ cup sour cream

Clean the mushrooms well with a brush and rinse several times.  Place mushrooms in water and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes or until somewhat soft.  Remove the rehydrated mushrooms from hot water (now broth) and slice.  But DO NOT THROW AWAY the hot mushroom water.  Combine the four tablespoons water to the flour and mix in the hot mushroom water slowly, while stirring.  Add the mushrooms and bring to ma slow boil while stirring.  Remove from heat.  Season and let cool a bit.  Add in the sour cream slowly.  Perfect with meatloaf, meatballs, Polish hamburgers, pork roast, or any braised meats.

Cold Apple-Horseradish Sauce  (2 cups)

5 ounces prepared horseradish

1 large tart apple, peeled and shredded

1 cup sour cream

Salt to taste

¼ teaspoon sugar

Mix the horseradish with apple.  Add the sour cream.  Season with salt and sugar.  Chill well.  Serve with cold meats, hard boiled eggs, fish.

Cold Mustard Sauce  (1 cup)

2 tablespoons prepared mustard

1 cup sour cream

Salt to taste

¼ teaspoon sugar

Mix all ingredients well. Chill thoroughly.  Serve with cold meats such as pork roast, ham, kielbasa.

Cold Green Onion Sauce  (1 ½ cups)

1 cup sour cream

2 hard boiled eggs, chopped

4 tablespoon chopped green onions

¼ teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Salt to taste

Mix all the ingredients.  Chill well.  Serve with cold meats such as pork roast, ham, kielbasa.

Hot Horseradish Sauce  (2 cups)

1 cup chicken or beef broth

2 ½ tablespoons flour

3 ounces prepared horseradish

½ cup table cream

Salt to taste

¼ teaspoon sugar

Gradually stir the broth into the flour.  Bring to a low boil stirring constantly.  Slowly stir in the horseradish and cream. Keep stirring.  Season to taste with salt and sugar.  Serve on the side with roast beef, pork roast, even grilled fish. 

Smacznego!