It's a wrap!

Witamy!  The manuscript for our beautiful cookbook was just delivered to the publisher. We’re done…at least with this phase! Hurray!

The release date has been announced as March 2011 so we have the winter to work with the publisher on marketing the book. They will be setting up book signings, media interviews, etc. We’ve already had some inquiries close to home about book signing events. There will be some travel involved to visit cities where lots of Polish-Americans live…maybe Chicago, Detroit, etc. Great fun!

It’s cold and snowy today, so the recipe of the day is my Mom’s hearty Pea Soup with Barley. It’ll warm your bones!

Pea Soup with Barley
Grochowka z peczakiem
Serves 8

Ingredients:
1/2 cup barley
2 cups salted water
1/4 lb. bacon, diced
1 medium can of green peas
4 cups beef broth

Add the barley to cold water, bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer until tender. Fry the bacon until golden. Add with the drippings to the cooking barley. Rub the peas through a fine sieve. Combine the peas and their liquid with the barley. Add the broth and bring to a boil.


Laura’s Hint: This recipe is a classic and appeared in The Art of Polish Cooking more than 40 years ago, before the days of many kitchen aids we use today. Instead of rubbing the peas through a sieve, consider using a blender. Also, a fist full of ham chunks or kielbasa slices would add power to the soup – go for it!

© Copyright 1968 Alina Zeranska. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, or redistributed without written permission from LoraPeet Ventures LLC

The Polish phase of the day  is: Ale zimno – czy mamy zupe? (Pronounced:;  Ah-le zhimno - chyh mahmyh zoo-peh?) meaning – Wow, it’s cold – do we have any soup?

Domku Café and Cauliflower with Ham Au Gratin

Witamy!  Laura and I had a very nice Sunday supper last night at Domku Café in the Petworth section of Washington DC.  They feature Slavic and Scandinavian comfort foods, which needless to say is an eclectic combination.  But it works…the food was great, the service was friendly, and the proprietor was excited that we enjoyed her excellent Polish recipes.  In fact, she volunteered to host a book signing event in the spring.  We sampled two different pierogi,  potato pancakes, cabbage rolls, stuffed crepes, and had no room for the beet cake – their spin take on carrot cake.  That’s not one I had heard of before and now wish I had tried it.  YUM!

We’re working hard on last minute changes to the manuscript - no matter how many times we proof the text, we always find something new to fix.  But we’re almost done!!

The recipe for today, from The Art of Polish Cooking is Cauliflower with Ham, Au Gratin. I’ve not always been a fan of cauliflower, in fact I really prefer to “enhance” its flavor with other flavors, in this case ham and a sauce.  This is quite good and not hard to prepare.

Cauliflower with Ham Au Gratin
Kalafior zapiekany z szynkq
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 medium cauliflower
1/2 lb. ham, diced
3 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. flour
3/4 cup milk
3 eggs, separated
Salt
1 tbsp. dill leaves

Cook the cauliflower in salted water until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and divide into small parts. Arrange in a buttered baking dish and add the diced ham.

Heat the butter, stir in the flour and blend. Stir in the milk. Cook over moderate heat, stirring until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Remove from the heat, add egg yolks, salt and mix. Beat egg whites until stiff and then add to sauce. Pour the sauce into the baking dish. Sprinkle with dill. Bake in a hot 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.

© Copyright 1968 Alina Zeranska. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, or redistributed without written permission from LoraPeet Ventures LLC

The Polish phrase of the day is Ale Smaczne – loosely translated to mean: “wow – this tastes great.”  (Pronounce phonetically:  all-leh smach-neh).

Editing, proofing and a feast of leftovers - Polish Sausage with Savoy Cabbage

Witamy!  We’re working hard on final revisions to the manuscript before turning it over to the publisher.  Our food photographer, Matthew Aron Roth has taken over 1000 images and we need to find the most dramatic photographs for the book.  We’re also proofing the text again and still catching a few typos. Laura is reviewing all the recipes one more time just to make sure some key ingredient or instruction didn’t get dropped off. We’re still a few pages over the maximum page count, but hopefully we can make that up by consolidating a couple of the recipes. The book must be 96 pages…no more and no less!

We didn’t have much time for preparing dinner yesterday and I found in the fridge some ingredients left over from the last photo shoot – half a head of cabbage and some hunks of really nice smoky, garlicky Kielbasa from New York that we bought at a local Russian deli. This so much more flavorful than the mass-produced sausage from big grocery stores.  So I grabbed a big pot, the old scarred cutting board, and a big knife, rough-chopped it all, threw in a bunch of caraway seeds for the tang, and it was done in 20 minutes.  A great one-pot meal when you’re on the run - fast food, Polish style!  And this dish reheats really well, so today’s lunch is taken care of. Here is a recipe for a similar version.

Polish Sausage with Savoy Cabbage 
Kielbasa z kapustq wtoskq
Serves 3

Ingredients:
1 small head savoy cabbage, coarsely sliced (any variety of green cabbage will do)
1 tsp. caraway seeds
1 large onion, sliced
2 tbsp. bacon drippings
10 oz. Polish suasage, sliced
2 1/2 tbsp. flour
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tbsp. lemon juice

Place the cabbage in a saucepan with a small amount of boiling water. Bring to a boil. Add caraway seeds, cook for a few minutes. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Fry the onions in half the drippings till golden. Add the rest of the drippings and the sausage, fry for a few more minutes. Add the sausage, leaving the drippings in the pan, to the cabbage, simmer for 10 more minutes.

Add flour to the drippings. Fry for a few minutes. Dilute with some liquid from the cabbage and then add the flour mixture to the cabbage. Bring to a boil. Add salt, sugar and lemon juice. Serve with boiled potatoes.

© Copyright 1968 Alina Zeranska. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, or redistributed without written permission from LoraPeet Ventures LLC

The Polish phrase of the day is:  “Dzienkuje, to jest pyszne!”   meaning Thank you, that’s delicious!  Pronounce like this:  jenkoojeh, toh yiest pyhshneh.