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Post by suzanne on Nov 19, 2005 14:16:33 GMT -7
Anyone who cooks knows that some recipes just don't "travel" well, that is, they taste great and authentic in their country of origin, but if you try to make them in a different country, due to some ingredients just being different, they taste funny.
Even if you can find all the same ingredients, they still sometimes just taste funny, for some reason. When I was living in Germany, I made chocolate-chip cookies for some German friends who wanted me to make something typically American, and the cookies were...OK, I guess, but they tasted nothing like they do here, because the shortening was different, the vanilla extract was different, the flour was different, etc. But then, another time I made a pound cake there and it was great.
So, those of you who make Polish foods in the US, can you recommend to me some recipes that you've made that do "travel" well without needing hard-to-find ingredients?
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Post by jimpres on Nov 19, 2005 14:30:06 GMT -7
Suzanne,
Nalesniki, kielbasa, golabki, potato pancakes, potato salad with oil and vinegar, many salads (that don't need celery root can't find it here in sunny SD), rosol, just a few off the top of my head.
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nancy
European
Posts: 2,144
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Post by nancy on Nov 19, 2005 14:34:47 GMT -7
Jim, You make your own kielbasa? Wow, my grandfather Jacob would be proud of you! (He was listed as "sausage maker" on one of the federal censuses.)
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Post by suzanne on Nov 19, 2005 14:48:03 GMT -7
Jim, Thanks for the suggestions. I'll look around on Jaga's food page for some recipes. Nalesniki are pancakes/crepes, right?
I'm not sure you can get celery root here, either. The only unusual fruits and vegetables around here are tropical ones stocked for the large local Brazilian community.
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Post by jimpres on Nov 19, 2005 14:57:13 GMT -7
Suzanne,
I usually make sausage, fruitcake, poteca ( sweet bread with a walnut filling) for the Christmas season. I stopped making blood sausage, can't get blood with FDA around.
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nancy
European
Posts: 2,144
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Post by nancy on Nov 19, 2005 16:08:08 GMT -7
I stopped making blood sausage, can't get blood with FDA around. Not even if you provide your own (ugh)?
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Post by jimpres on Nov 19, 2005 16:11:20 GMT -7
Nancy,
Mine is AB+ and rare so I don't donate. ;-)))
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Post by gardenmoma on Nov 19, 2005 16:16:21 GMT -7
Hey, Jim... Your ancestors must have swooped in an arc out from Russia slowly over generations, of course. I am also AB+ and have begun checking with cousins as well. A genetist friend of mine, who is Polish-American, told me about the arc...
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Post by gardenmoma on Nov 19, 2005 16:34:04 GMT -7
Suzanne, Most recipes, except the sausages, are not difficult to make...merely time-consuming because most of them are "from scratch." And I agree about recipes sometimes tasting diffrently using a different country's ingredients. However, I have not found that too much of a problem with Polish cooking. I thought that when I traveled in Poland, the food would definitely taste different to what I was accustomed. I, mistakenly as it turned out, believed that Polish-American cooking was just "dumbed-down" Polish cooking. I found that, yes there was variation among small restraurants, but it all tasted pretty much like what my friends and family cook. (Except for one cafe on the square in Krakow... Nalesniki were rubbery and fruit so-so. We were paying, as expected, for the location.) Most American cooks who pay attention wll turn out dishes very tasty and very much like what is served in Poland. As for ingredients...since you are from MA I can suggest Stop and Shop for vegetables like celeariac and one close to you might also stock soup mixes (can use as soup bases), barley and other grains, different mushrooms, farmers' cheese... There are also sources on the WWW whre you can purchase seasonings (in bulk), soup bases, etc. reasonably priced for what they are. I'd suggest you start with something like a [/i]Bigos[/i] a Hunter's Stew that can be made in a crock pot (slo-cooker) or what we use to call a "Dutch oven," a large heavy-duty pan for soup, stews and fricassee. I'd be glad to point you in the direction of specific ingredients...if I don't know, perhaps there are others who do. One way or another, we can help find most things you need...think of it as the thrill of the hunt.GM
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Post by gardenmoma on Nov 19, 2005 16:38:29 GMT -7
BTW, Jim, Nancy and others...my Mom always made fresh Kielbasa...not smoked, but dried. She did use marjoram - loved that smell - which is open to debate; some Polish cooks do, others don't. I, also, have made it...use to do a lot of that sort of thing when the kids were young and I was at home more. And yes, in the thrill of the hunt, a cook can even find appropriate, good-quality casing GM
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Post by suzanne on Nov 19, 2005 18:10:02 GMT -7
Jim and Gardenmoma, Wow, I'm impressed that you both have made sausage! That's something I've never attempted, since it seems to be an all-day affair, I would assume, but eventually I'd like to try to make some.
But for now, with the Christmas season coming up, I'd like to try making some of the cakes and baked goods.
GM, nice to hear, in your experience, that the taste of the food doesn't change too much! Thanks for the Stop and Shop tip - I forgot about them, since I don't get there too often (nearest one is about 10 mi. away).
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Post by jimpres on Nov 19, 2005 18:13:05 GMT -7
GM,
I don't us marjoram in my sausage. Lots of garlic, salt, a little sugar and mustard seed, you know the kind that sticks in you teeth. and no beef. And like you say the same ground pork can be used to make Italian and German sausage just different spices. AB+ sounds like a new folder. My parents came from the Russian and Prussion occupied parts of POland. The arc ?? I buy the mushroom buillon from PolishArtCenter.com comes from Poland.
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nancy
European
Posts: 2,144
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Post by nancy on Nov 19, 2005 18:50:26 GMT -7
AB+ sounds like a new folder. My parents came from the Russian and Prussion occupied parts of POland. The arc ?? I started a new thread in the genealogy section. We are waiting to hear from you there, GM!
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Post by Jaga on Nov 19, 2005 21:49:02 GMT -7
Anyone who cooks knows that some recipes just don't "travel" well, that is, they taste great and authentic in their country of origin, but if you try to make them in a different country, due to some ingredients just being different, they taste funny. So, those of you who make Polish foods in the US, can you recommend to me some recipes that you've made that do "travel" well without needing hard-to-find ingredients? Susan, very interesting remarks, although some foods can be moved and modified. For instance famous Polish faworki (chrust) are modified here in the USA and they are made not on smalec (larch) but on vegetable oil and they are still delicious! Chrust ( Chrusciki ) or Faworki - Polish Culture culture.polishsite.us/articles/art165.html
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Post by jimpres on Nov 19, 2005 21:51:53 GMT -7
Jaga,
How about the solid Crisco. It's close to smalec..... That is what I use.
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