RECIPES:

UHORKOVY SALAT   Cucumber Salad         Cucumbers- as many as needed (about 1 per person) ~ Salt a sprinkle ~ 1 Tb. Sugar ~ 3 Tb. White Vinegar ~ Paprika a sprinkle (optional).

Peel cucumbers, and rinse them. Use a grater / slicer to slice the cucumbers into thin slices(circles only 2mm thick). Put the cucumbers in a bowl and add vinegar, sugar, and salt. Mix together well. It should have a sweet/sour taste. Add more salt, sugar ,or vinegar to get the taste you like. Sprinkle the paprika on the top and serve as a side dish for almost any meal.

Ukrainian Borscht                   1.5 - 2 Lb. of Beef with bone or Chicken or Sausages ~ 1/2 cup dry Beans ~ 1 medium Beet Root ~ 1/2 medium Cabbage ~ 5 medium Potatoes ~ 3 medium Carrots ~ 2 medium Onions ~ 2 medium Parsley Roots ~ 2 - 3 Bay Leaves ~ 2 - 3 Tb. Tomato Paste ~ 2 green Peppers ~ 5 - 6 Black Peppercorns ~ 1 medium Garlic ~ 1/4 Lb. Bacon or salted Salo (pig fat) ~ Salt ~ Sour Cream (to serve with).  

You can follow the borscht recipe exactly or experiment on your own. Soak dry beans for 2-3 hours. Cut the meat on pieces (they have to stick out your soup bowl while you eat borscht), place them in a pot filled with the cold water. Bring to a boil, skim off any fat on the surface. In 30 minutes add soaked beans, cover and cook for about 1 hour. While meat is cooking, chop the beet as thin as you can, put it in a frying pan, add sunflower or vegetable oil, and fry until soft (don't make it too soft!). You can add 1 tea spoon of vinegar to save beet color. Chop cabbage (try to make the slices thinner!), peel and chop potatoes and set aside for now. Chop 3 carrots, 2 onions, 2 parsley roots, fry them until the onion is going golden. When the meat is ready, add some salt, 2-3 bay leaves, peppercorns, potatoes. In 5-10 minutes add fried carrots, onions, parsley roots, and beets. Add chopped cabbage. Slow cook about 10 minutes. Add 2-3 table spoons of tomato paste, wait until it boils. Add a little bit sugar if it is too sour for you. Turn off the stove. Cut Bacon (salted salo) into the tiny cubes. Chop 1/2 head of garlic and the dill. Grind them together in a deep bowl with a wooden spoon. Throw it in cooked borscht. Serve with sour cream.

SLAVIC SARMA    Cabbage Roll           1 lg. cabbage head ~ 1 lb. ground beef ~ 1 lb. ground pork ~ 1 lb. ground smoked ham ~ 2 cans tomato soup ~ 2 sm. cans tomato sauce ~ 1 med. onion ~ 1 lg. jar sauerkraut ~ 1 bottle vinegar ~ 1 1/2 cup. uncooked minute rice ~ 1 ts. salt.

Half fill a soup pot with water and vinegar. Bring water to a boil. Cut core out of the cabbage. Put cabbage into boiling water, core side down. About 15 minutes later try to peel some leaves off. (Do this in a roasting pan.) Cut more core out and return to pot. To finish leaves cut heavy backbone thin, for easy rolling. Mix together; meat and salt, 1 can tomato soup and onion. Add rice. Scoop meat mixture into cabbage leaves. Roll and tuck ends. In large soup pot, cut extra cabbage up and layer on bottom of pot. Next one layer of cabbage rolls then one layer of sauerkraut. Alternate layers of rolls and kraut. Every 2 layers of rolls add soup mixture. This consists of 1 can tomato soup, 1 can tomato sauce and 1 can water. Pour sauerkraut juice on top. Top with extra cabbage leaves. Bring pot to boil. Turn down to simmer for 2 1/2 hours.

PIROGHI     makes 20 large or 48 medium sizes Piroghi's            3 cups flour sifted ~ melted Butter ~ 1 egg ~ chopped Bacon and sliced Onions ( Onions and Bacon fried in Oil) ~ salt pinch ~ 1 glass water (8oz).

Mix water and flour to make nice firm dough. If using machine to roll, roll to # 3. Hand roll out, not too thin. Cut into circles. Place 1 ts. - 1 Tb. filling into center. Wet edges with water. Fold over pinch or fold & pinch or use fork to make nice edge. Place on well floured wax paper. let dry 2 hours. Cook in boiling water. Serve with melted butter & fried onion. Fillings: Sauerkraut: fried with onion & bacon chopped up finely : Potatoes: mashed with farmers cheese, or cheddar or onion & garlic

SLOVAK GULASH        400g beef leg ~ 60g oil ~ 80g onion ~ 600g potatoes ~ Caraway seeds a pinch ~ Salt to taste ~ 2 Garlic cloves ~ 1/2 ts. Paprika ~ 1 1/2 cup water (depends on how much you want to make since its a soup-like dish) ~ 3/4 ts. Seasoning Mix (ex. Mrs. Dash Original Blend).

Cut meat into squares (3cm). Chop onion. Press garlic. Cut potatoes into cubes Brown meat in oil, then add onion. Then add caraway, salt, garlic, paprika, and seasoning mix. Mix in water and slowly boil until meat is slightly soft. Then add the potatoes and continue to boil on low heat until potatoes and meat are soft.

POLISH SAUSAGES with SAUERKRAUT ("kapusta")          6 smoked bacon slices, cut into 2-inch-wide strips or (1/2 Lb. smoked pork hocks or regular pork hocks) ~ Oil ~ 1 carrot, grated (optional) ~ 1x 2-Lb. jar sauerkraut, rinsed, drained well ~ 1 cup chopped celery (optional) ~ 1 large onion, chopped ~ 1 bay leaf ~ 1 ts. dried oregano (optional) ~ 4 Granny Smith Apples chopped (optional ) ~ 1/4 ts. pepper ~ Potato, peeled and grated ~ 2 cups dry white wine OR 12 oz can of beer (optional) ~ 1 1/2 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt broth ~ 1 Tb. caraway seeds ~ 4 juniper berries, crushed, or 1 Tb. gin ~ 1 1/2 Lb. kielbasa sausage, cut into 3-inch lengths

Preheat oven to 300°F. Place bacon, onion and carrot in heavy large ovenproof Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sauté until onion is tender but not brown, about 5 minutes. Squeeze as much liquid as possible from sauerkraut. Add sauerkraut to Dutch oven. Add wine, apples, stock, celery, bay leaf, oregano, caraway seeds and juniper berries. Bring to simmer. Cover tightly, place in oven and bake 1 hour. Add kielbasa to Dutch oven, pushing into sauerkraut. Cover and bake 1 hour. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Re-warm over medium heat, stirring frequently.)

CHICKEN KIEV           Chicken breasts boneless, I Tb. butter, Chives and other herbs of choice to taste, Lemon juice to taste, Flour, beaten Egg, Bread crumbs. Place the breast between two sheets of plastic wrap, add some vegetable oil to it so that the plastic wrap doesn't stick, then pound out the breasts from the center outward. Mix together the butter, chives and other herbs and lemon juice to taste. Roll into a log-like shape. Place about half of one of a seasoned butter log (or more if you prefer) in the middle of the pounded-out chicken. Roll up the breast to seal the butter inside. Dredge breast in flour, egg and bread crumbs, then brown on both sides in a skillet--about two to three minutes. Transfer into a 375-degree oven for about 15 minutes. Continue the same process with each remaining breast. If you make too much, freeze some.

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU       Chicken breasts boneless, Ham of choice, Cheese of choice, Mornay or Béchamel sauce (see recipe below) optional, Flour, beaten Egg, Bread crumbs. Place the breast between two sheets of plastic wrap, add some vegetable oil to it so that the plastic wrap doesn't stick, then pound out the breasts from the center outward. Place a piece of ham, cheese and a dollop of béchamel sauce inside. Roll up the chicken breast, dip it into the flour, then the egg, and finally the bread crumbs. Brown on both sides in a skillet--about two to three minutes--then transfer into a 375-degree oven for about 15 minutes.

MORNAY  (Béchamel with Cheese) Sauce             2 Tb. Flour ~ 2 Tb. Butter ~ 1-1/2 cup Milk ~ Cheese of choice ( Mozzarella or Swiss etc.)   

Melt flour and butter, then add a cup and a half of milk slowly, in thirds, then whisk in your favourite cheese until melted.

SERBIAN CEVAPCICI   (Chevaps, Cevapi or Cevapcici )      24 / 12 Servings                         "A delicious little sausage-like meat. Great served as a sandwich."             9 Lb ground Pork 4.5 lb ~    9 Lb lean ground Beef or (6 lb beef and 3 Lb ground lamb) 4.5 lb ( 3 + 1.5 lb )    ~ 6 Eggs or (egg white only) 3    ~  24 cloves Garlic, minced 12    ~ 1 large Yellow Onion, peeled and grated 1 /2     ~ 2 Tb. Salt 1 Tb    ~ 2 Tb. Baking Soda 1 ts      ~ 1/4 cup ground Black Pepper 3 Tb    ~ 2 Tb. Cayenne Pepper 1 Tb     ~ 1 Tb. Paprika 1 ts.

 Preheat a grill for medium-low heat. In a large bowl, combine the ground pork, ground beef, (ground lamb) and egg (white). Add the garlic, onion, salt, baking soda, black pepper, cayenne pepper and paprika. Mix well using your hands, and form into finger length sausages about 3/4 inch thick. Lightly oil the grilling surface. Grill sausages until cooked through, turning as needed, about 30 minutes.

Slavic Square Dancers              2 Egg ~ 2 cup Brown sugar ~ 1 ts Vanilla ~ 1 cup Flour ~ 1 ts Salt ~ 1/4 ts Baking soda ~ 2 cup Walnuts chopped    

Beat egg until foamy. Beat in brown sugar and vanilla. Add dry ingredients. Mix in walnuts. Bake in 2 X 8-inch greased square pan at 325~ f 30 minutes. Cut into squares. Serve warm.

Plum Dumplings        600 grammes of potatoes ~ 200 grammes of flour ~ 1 egg ~ salt ~ plums ~ cinnamon sugar ~ melted butter ~ coco pwder ~ poppy seed ~ breadcrumbs

Grind boiled and peeled potatoes, add flour, a little bit salt and an egg and make dough. Roll out the dough, cut it to squares to a thickness of 7 millimetres. Cut it into squares of about 7 times 7 centimetres. Wrap each plum into its own piece of dough. Place cinnamon sugar in the centre of plum and close the dough wedges and shape into a ball. Put the balls into boiling, salted water for 10 minutes. Than drain the balls and ice them with melted butter, dredge them with cocoa powder with sugar, poppy seeds and sugar or frighted breadcrumbs and sugar.    

UKRAINIAN CRUELLERS          4 cup. flour ~ 4 ts. baking powder ~ 1/2 ts. salt ~ 1/2 tsp. cinnamon ~ 2 Tb. melted margarine ~ 1 cup. ~ sugar ~ 2 eggs ~ 1 ts. vanilla ~ 1 cup. milk.  

Mix together all dry ingredients. Mix sugar, eggs, vanilla and melted margarine. Add to the dry ingredients, alternating with milk, making a soft dough. Do not knead. Roll out a little at a time and pinch off and deep fry. Drain with paper towel and roll in powdered sugar.