Holiday Recipes Old and New

some are my own concoctions, others were given to me or sent in
feel free to print them out, but they are not to be posted online

My cornbread and other southern and holiday recipes are on this site:
www.visitcharleston.org

Polish/Slavic holiday recipes this way-->

Gingersnaps

makes about 1 -1/2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons dark molasses
1 egg

Combine flour, soda, spices and salt.
Beat shortening for 30 seconds, add sugar and beat until fluffy.
Add molasses and egg. Beat til combined.
Add dry mix and beat on low until combined.
Shape into 1 1/2 inch balls, roll in granulated sugar, place about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until light-brown. Cool on racks.

Honey Balls - these are not the italian version
got this one from a passover gathering over 25 years ago in Brooklyn

1/2 C. honey
1/3 C. sugar
1 1/4 C. chopped walnuts
1/4 C. matzoh farfel
2 1/2 tsp. grated lemon rind
finely minced walnut and some finely grated coconut for rolling

In a saucepan over low heat, heat the honey and sugar to boiling. Stir constantly so as not to burn the sugars.
Add the chopped nuts and matzoh farfel and continue to stir until thick.
Add the grated rind and stir.
Remove from heat and drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper, form into small balls.
Roll the balls in finely grated walnuts and coconut and cool.

My Rum Ball Recipe is on this site-->

Molasses Cookies
-from a cookie exchange

3/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
12 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves or allspice, whichever you have handy

Cream together shortening and sugar

Add egg and 1/4 cup molasses and stir it well.
In a large bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger, cloves or allspice
Stir into the molasses mixture and blend well. refrigerate an hour - or overnight if you're making the dough ahead of time.

Form the dough into 1-inch balls and roll them in granulated sugar.
Place on greased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart to allow for spreading. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes, till browned

Coconut Cookies

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and coconut.
Stir in flour and baking powder.
Roll pieces about the size of a quarter and place on a cookie sheet, flatten with a fork.
Bake at 350 degrees until a light golden brown.

NYC Orange Roast Duck

Note: get a "larger than you think you need duck" - it has way less meat than other poultry

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

place a pan of water about 2 inches deep on the bottom rack of the oven (this will steam the duck and keep it moist while cooking.

Insert a meat thermometer and roast the duck -  check the bird when it reaches an internal temp. of 190 degrees for doneness. Pour out the fat from the bottom of the pan occasionally, but don't scrape out any bits.

Duck Glaze

Cut the zest from 2 oranges and one of the lemons into very thin strips or slivers.
Squeeze the juice from the oranges and set aside.
Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil and add the zest. Steep for 5 minutes, drain the water and set aside the zest.

Cut the fruit into pieces and place into a pan. Add the honey, vinegar, juices, and simmer to reduce to half the amount of liquid.

Stir in the broth and simmer for 5 mins.

In a bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in 2 tbs. water.
Add to the sauce with the jam, whisk it until sauce is clear and thick. Add salt and pepper to taste.

When the duck is ready, place on a platter.
Scrape out the roasted bits from the bottom of the pan and place in a pan with the sauce.
Add the wine and the fruit and heat for about 2 mins.

Sprinkle the duck with the zest strips, decorate around the duck with the fruit pieces, and pour the glaze over it.

Baked Glazed Ham
Serve with a cornbread dish, recipes are here--->
and fresh cranberry sauce, recipe below

1  12 lb. Krakus cooked ham (that's the one our family has always used)
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 tblsp. mustard
1/4 cup pineapple juice
cloves
6 or more whole slices pineapple for the top - fresh or canned, i liked canned, it's sweeter
6 or more maraschino cherries

poke a lot of cloves into the top of your ham
Arrange pineapple slices over the ham, use toothpicks to keep them from sliding off the ham. place a maraschino cherry into each of the pineapple slice holes.
Combine sugar, mustard and pineapple juice.
Place ham on rack in open roasting pan.
brush and pour about a third of your glaze ingredients onto the ham
Insert a meat thermometer

Bake in 325 degree oven until the thermometer reads the temp. for "cooked pork" or cooked ham.
Baste occasionally with the remaining glaze ingredients until done.

Fresh Cranberry Sauce

Place cleaned berries in a large saucepan, and orange peels, if you're using them. Add 2 cups water and bring to a high boil.
Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.
Push the berries through a strainer and discard the bits of skin and and stems.

Pour into a blender and puree

Bring the pureed mixture to a boil in an uncovered pot and cook for about 3 minutes.
Add sugar and salt, then boil for another 2 or three minutes.

Pour into a bowl or mold, and refrigerateuntil firm and gelled.

A few recipes from my heritage, especially holiday meals
interesting note: we put sour cream in or on just about anything

Potato Pancakes
a traditional christmas eve side dish at our house, adapted from my grandma's recipe
amounts are approximate, i tend to do a lot of cooking by "eyeball" and taste

4 large potatoes
1 large onion
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup flour
2-3 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp.pepper or to taste
combination butter and oil for frying - note: if you have leftover bacon grease, use some of this to fry with and use less salt in the potato mixture. My grandmother cooked them in butter only, but i prefer half butter and half peanut or canola oil to keep the butter from burning at the high temperatures used for frying, and for less fat. You can fry in just oil, but it just don't taste the same!
lots of sour cream to dip them into

optional - i usually add minced or chopped garlic (jarred and packed in olive oil)

Grate and drain potatoes, squeeze and mash down through a colander or sieve to get the liquid out.
Grate onion and combine with potatoes in large bowl.
Add beaten eggs to the potatoes and onion.
Add salt and pepper.
Stir in flour.
Using a big tablespoon, drop down the mixture into your hot frying pan and flatten like pancakes. Fry in a hot pan Fry til one side is done and flip them over and brown the other side. Serve with sour cream. Some people like them dipped in applesauce.

Homemade Pierogies
These are great if you have the time...

Grandma used to make huge batches of these for Christmas Eve
and to freeze for later use. If there were ever any leftovers. 
note: our traditional recipe DOES NOT contain cheddar or other blends of cheeses in 
the filling, as in some of the modern frozen varieties. We use small curd cottage or "pot" cheese

I'm not sure how many this makes, i can't find that on my recipe card

14 ozs. flour
1 large egg
pinch of salt
warm water
onions - sliced thin

On a pastry board mix flour, egg and salt, slowly adding water until the dough looks like bread dough. Knead. 
The dough is ready when it pulls away cleanly from the board and your hands and the dough isn't sticky anymore. 
Divide dough into four parts, and roll each one out thinly. 
With a drinking glass cut out circles that are about three inches in diameter. You can make "mini's" if you like for snack sizes or buffet use.
Place a pile of the filling on each circle, wet the edges with water, fold over to make a crescent shaped pillow, and press the edges tightly closed. 
fry in butter or butter and bacon drippings, along with the onions. Serve dipped or covered in sour cream

Fillings
Grandma did the potato cheese or saurkraut fillings

Saurkraut filling:

2 cups of sauerkraut, cooked, chopped into small pieces
1 cup mushrooms, chopped finely
1 onion chopped finely
butter for sauteeing
salt, pepper to taste

Fry onion and chopped mushrooms in butter, add sauerkraut, season to taste and fry until flavors are blended. Cool and then fill your pierogies, then fry.

Potato/cheese filling

1 lb. mashed potatoes and 6oz. cottage or pot cheese, blended well.
Saute a medium, finely chopped onion, in butter until golden brown. Add salt and pepper.
Add 1 raw egg, and blend well. fill the pierogies with the mixture and fry

Cabbage and Noodles

Boil medium wide egg noodles until al dente and set aside
Melt 1/4 pound of sweet (unsalted) butter in a large frying pan and sautee 5 cloves finely chopped garlic,  or a few tablespoons of jarred chopped garlic, 1 lg. chopped onion along with 1 large head of cabbage cut into narrow shreds.
When the mixture is about three quarters of the way cooked, add a tablespoon of caraway seed, and salt and pepper to taste. Add the noodles to the pan and saute lightly to blend all the flavors. Place the hot mixture into a big bowl, and stir in 1-2 pints sour cream, serve right away.

Cucumbers and Sour Cream

Peel and thinly slice cucumbers.

Sprinkle with a little salt, let stand for a few minutes and squeeze or blot up most of the liquid. Place in a bowl.
Thinly slice (as thin as possible) half of a  small onion and add to the cucumbers.
Add pepper to taste.
Dressing:  
1/2 cup of sour cream
juice of 1/2 a small lemon
1/2 tsp sugar
1- 1/2 teaspoons dill
Toss cucumbers and dressing and refrigerate an hour before serving to blend the flavors.

Stuffed Cabbage

1 large head of cabbage, cored and leaves pulled apart
3 lbs ground beef
2 cups cooked white rice
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped salt pork (optional but very tasty)
1 cup ketchup
1 can tomato paste, 1 tomato paste can full of water
1 T. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. each celery salt, basil, nutmeg
1/2 stick of butter

Boil cabbage leaves in a large pot, until just tender, about fifteen minutes. they'll eventually shrink down

While cabbage is cooking, saute onion in butter until lightly browned. Place the chopped beef into a large mixing bowl and add the sauted onions. In the same pan, brown the salt pork. Add drained salt pork to meat mixture.
Add the dry ingredients, tomato paste and ketchup, along with the cooked rice. Mix together thoroughly 

Place in colander or leave in pot and pour cold water over the leaves. Drain the water

Cut the thick white "backbone" from each leaf. 
Lay out leaves and depending upon their size, place meat mixture by tablespoonfuls on the wide side of the leaf. Roll leaf up and over meat, tucking in the sides of the leaf as you go along (like rolling a burrito) Place rolls seam down into a greased roasting pan that has a lid. Mix together the tomato paste, water and brown sugar. Pour evenly over the rolls. Bake covered at 325 degrees for 2 or more hours. check after an hour or so to make sure there's enough liquid. you can add water if you need to. To serve, spoon sauce over rolls and serve hot

more recipes coming soon, as time allows - like maccaroons and other favorites

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