Taste Test

Suburban Chicago, Spring 1973. We're baking cookies again.

Enjoy a Bowl

Verona, Wisconsin, July 2016. It's the season for Šaltibarščiai.

After we pick, we pit.

Door County, Wisconsin, July 1980. It's the second part of the job.

Ha! I remember how much I loved those curtains when Mom sewed them in the 1970s. The fabric featured a Japanese-inspired motif.

It's grilling season.

Pompeii, Italy, May 1984. Don't worry about the fire, but beware of the ashes.

Babos Receptai (Part 15)

Here's a recipe Tatjana got from her daughter—my Dad's twin sister—Jonė.

 Here's how I translated the recipe:

Streusel Kuchen

Streusel Topping:
1 to 1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 stick unsalted butter (not specified in the recipe, but I would add)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Cake:
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 to 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder (Tatjana probably used one of these)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 sticks margarine
1 stick butter
1 "cup" granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk 

Marmalade or jam 


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and adjust the rack to the center position.

For the Streusel: Mix together the flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Stir in the vanilla. Chill the streusel while you prepare the cake batter.

For the Cake: Sift together the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon. Set aside.

Cream the margarine, butter, and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla.

Alternately fold in the sifted dry ingredients and the milk, beginning and ending with the sifted dry ingredients. 

Spread the dough on a greased, flat baking pan (size not specified). Spread some marmalade or jam over the top.

Scatter the streusel over the top of the cake. Bake for about 40 minutes. If the cake is not ready after 40 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for another 10 minutes.

We like them crispy.

One of our cherished memories of Mr. Irene's Dad was his skill at cooking potato pancakes.  He sometimes made potato pancakes when Mr. Irene, my Mom, and I visited with Mr. Irene's Parents on Sunday afternoons. Potato pancakes therefore spark happy memories.

Lithuanian* potato pancakes ("bulviniai blynai") are unlike latkes: the texture of the potatoes used in the batter must resemble a dense pulp, not shreds of potato. Most people prepare the potatoes for bulviniai blynai by processing them in a potato-grating machine (see also here and here) or, less favorably, in a juicer. A food processor does not achieve the correct texture. Mr. Irene's Dad did not have a potato-grating machine, so he laboriously processed the potatoes by hand on the small holes of a hand grater.

We have a potato-grating machine, and we most often use it to make Kugelis. I've been tweaking a recipe for potato pancakes for over ten years, but I never quite achieved the result we wanted. Last night, we were successful. 

Here is my recipe:

 Potato Pancakes ("Bulviniai Blynai")

3 pounds Idaho or Yukon Gold potatoes (if you don't own a kitchen scale, then get one)

2 egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

2 egg yolks

2 tablespoons sour cream

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

about 1 teaspoon "Fruit Fresh" or citric acid (optional; prevents potatoes from oxidizing)

1 medium yellow onion

1 cup peanut oil (for frying)

Sour Cream (for serving)

Fill a large bowl with cold water. Add part of the "Fruit Fresh" and allow to dissolve. Peel potatoes and cut into quarters. Drop potato quarters into the cold water; set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl using a hand mixer, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until frothy. Gradually increase the speed to high and mix until the egg whites are stiff. Set aside.

In another mixing bowl, using the same hand mixer, beat the egg yolks, sour cream, baking powder, flour, salt, and pepper until the egg yolks are pale in color and the mixture is thick. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Adjust the oven rack to the center positions. Line two cookies sheets with foil. Lightly spray the foil with vegetable spray. Place a brown grocery bag near the stove top. Cover the bag with a thick layer of paper towels.

Set a fine mesh colander into a large mixing bowl and place the colander/bowl assembly under the spout of a potato-grating machine. Process the potatoes and onions together in the potato-grating machine (people suggest processing the onions with the potato keeps the potatoes from oxidizing). Occasionally sprinkle the grated potatoes with "Fruit Fresh" to prevent oxidizing.

Using a spatula, press the potato pulp against the side of the colander to squeeze out as much liquid as possible (do not drain the liquid yet). Let the liquid stand for about 5 minutes, and save the starch that accumulates at the bottom. Stir the potato pulp into the egg yolk mixture; then add the accumulated potato starch. Fold in the egg whites: incorporate the  whites, but don't deflate them. 

Heat 1/4- to 1/2-inch depth of peanut oil in a large, nonstick, sauté pan over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Ladle 1/4 cup of the batter into the oil for each blynas. Lightly press down on the batter so the blynai are round and the tops are flat, position the blynai so they are not touching. Make about four blynai at a time. Fry until the bottom is golden brown, about 3-1/2 to 4 minutes. Fry the other side until golden; about 2 to 3 minutes. 

Remove the blynai from the oil and set on the paper-towel lined grocery bag. Allow both sides to exude some of the oil. Transfer the cooked blynai to the prepared cookie sheet(s) and place in the 425 degree oven, uncovered, while you finish frying the rest of the blynai.

Serve immediately with sour cream.

Makes 12 pancakes, serves 3 to 4.

*Yes, Poles, Russians, and Ukrainians follow a similar method for making potato pancakes.

Tested

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Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, April 2, 2016. Our friend Tom reported that he tried my paternal Grandmother's recipe for Devil's Food Cake. He made the cake shortly after I posted the recipe, and the result was a success.

Thanks to Tom for sharing photos of the cake.

Babos Receptai (Part 14)

My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, baked only a few signature items. She often made (and I still bake) "Babos Pyragas." She also (over)baked Banana Cake. Occasionally, she made Devil's Food cupcakes from scratch. She never frosted the cupcakes, so they were quite dry. (I dislike cupcakes, by the way, because who wants to eat all that hard crust? Isn't it better to eat the soft, moist inside of a cake?)

Here's Tatjana's recipe for the Devil's Food Cupcakes (notice again the chemical formulas):

Here's how I wrote up the recipe:

Devil's Food Cake

(1) First, cream together:
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 whole eggs

(2) Second, sift together:
 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

 (3) Third, stir together:
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon vanilla

And now add to the (1) sugar/shortening/egg mixture the (2) sifted dry ingredients and (3) the liquid ingredients. Add the dry ingredients in three additions and the liquid ingredients in two additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

Bake cupcakes for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F.

A cake (Tatjana used a 10-inch tube pan) bakes for about 45 to 55 minutes* at 350 degrees F.

ADDED: A reader tests this recipe.

*Baking time adjusted from the duration I originally had posted.

It's Lithuania Week ...

... all week at the University Club in Madison. We enjoyed our meals there last year, and we'll be there tonight for a Madison Vilnius Sister Cities, Inc. dinner.

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Madison, Wisconsin, March 2015. Don't miss the Cepelinai (the star of the show).

"Niente altro. Non ci sono tanti segreti."

"Nothing else. There aren't many secrets" ... to making cannoli:

"Ah ... mi sento un uccello in un giardino." ("Ah ... I hear a bird in a garden.")

Ready for Errands

Suburban Chicago, January 1962. Ha! I see the Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook on the shelf.

It's "World Cepelinas Day"

Are you cooking Cepelinai today? We're not, but it's a nice day to revisit the recipe:

The last time Mr. Irene and I had Cepelinai was when we visited Grand Duke's Restaurant:

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A Sous Chef

Happy Call

Suburban Chicago, January 1977. Mom does not seem to be engaged here in a work-related call. The throw pillow features Lithuanian motifs; the mother of my friend Ron made it for Mom (Ron's Mom also made the best Cepelinai I've tasted). The watercolor is by Murinas.

Here's the pillow today:

If you don't like it, then consider a Russian proverb: "In taste and colors, there are no friends." That's what I tell a friend each time I start (another) beige sweater.

Related by Marriage: Too young for cake.

Suburban Chicago, January 1960. Mr. Irene's maternal Grandfather Stanley, his maternal Aunt Martha, and his Mom celebrate Mr. Irene's first birthday. There's a plate of Košeliena on the table: icky! That's one of the few foods I won't eat (the others are: poppy seed roll, grapefruit, and coconut. I also hate gin.)

National Cheese Lovers Day

It's "National Cheese Lovers Day:" another made-up "holiday." Every day is cheese-lovers day around here.  Coincidentally, we're having Macaroni and Cheese for dinner.

Here's our favorite recipe for Macaroni and Cheese. We like the recipe because it doesn't call for precooking the pasta or making a white sauce. It's a recipe we adapted from this one.

Easy Macaroni and Cheese 

1 tablespoon butter

6 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese (do not used aged Cheddar because it is too oily, and it will separate)

3 ounces Colby cheese

1 ounce Gruyère cheese

1 ounce Emmentaler or Swiss cheese

1 ounce Grand Cru® cheese (here, too)

2 cups whole milk

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1/16 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/16 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1/16 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon salt (use more or less, depending on how salty the cheese is)

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 cup full-fat cottage cheese

4 ounces Velvetta cheese, diced into chunks

8 ounces elbow pasta or medium shells pasta, uncooked

4 ounces reserved cheese mixture (see below)

Additional 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Use the 1 tablespoon butter to grease an 8 x 8 x 2-inch glass baking dish.

In the workbowl of a food processor with the grating disk in place, grate the Cheddar, Colby, Gruyère, Emmentaler, and Grand Cru® cheeses. Transfer grated cheeses to a large bowl. Mix cheeses together and set aside 4 ounces (1 cup) for the topping. (There is no need to wash the workbowl yet.)

In another large bowl, combine the milk, mustard, cayenne, nutmeg, paprika, salt, and pepper.

In the food processor, with the metal blade in place, purée the cottage cheese and the Velvetta cheese cubes. Transfer the puréed mixture to the bowl with the milk and seasonings. Using a wire whisk, stir the mixture well until the cottage cheese and Velvetta are thoroughly incorporated into the milk. 

Add the grated cheeses to the milk mixture and whisk again. Stir the uncooked pasta into the mixture. (Can be prepared ahead to this point; cover and refrigerate.)

Transfer mixture to the prepared baking dish. Cover the dish with foil. Bake for 35 minutes.

Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees. Uncover the baking dish and stir the mixture. Sprinkle the mixture with the remaining 4 ounces (1 cup) grated cheeses. Drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter evenly over the cheese. Return the baking dish, now uncovered, to the oven and bake 30 to 35 minutes, until bubbly. Remove from oven and let casserole rest at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

ADDED: Do not use packaged, pre-shredded cheeses. Pre-shredded cheeses contain coatings (stabilizers and starches) that affect the texture and taste of this dish.

An Interruption

Suburban Chicago, December 1964. Mom takes a call while she and I bake Christmas cookies.

Happy Thanksgiving

Verona, Wisconsin, November 2014. We all remember a happy time.

Babos Receptai (Part 13)

My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, prepared simple, daily meals. The food usually was somewhat bland because Lithuanians avoid assertively seasoned dishes. We rarely, for example, had garlic in the house, and my family shunned green bell peppers because the adults found them "spicy." Mr. Irene and I sometimes joke that Lithuanians season their food with bacon and dill.

Sicilian immigrants populated the suburb in which we lived, and I grew to love Italian food. My Best Friend's father, Dolfo, was from Genoa, and he taught me to appreciate northern Italian preparations like pesto and Genoese pizza (foccacia). I often ate dinner at my Best Friend's house and then went home to pick at the dull plate Tatjana had prepared.

Tatjana sought to please my adventurous palate by preparing Spaghetti and Meatballs. I don't think she made the dish more than once each year.

Here is the recipe Tatjana used; she likely adapted it from the 1956 edition of Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook:

Here is how I translated the recipe:

Meatballs (Italian)

To make the meatballs:

one pound mixed ground meats
a little bit of garlic
3 eggs
fine, dry breadcrumbs
parsley
Italian cheese

Fry the meatballs in a pan. When the meatballs brown, pour them into the sauce.

For the Sauce:

1 large can tomato puree
1 large can tomato paste
some bay leaves or a leaf of basil
parlsey
1/2 clove garlic
a pinch of allspice
1-1/2 cans water

Cook until the sauce thickens.

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There! You can see how bold this recipe was for our household: Tatjana used garlic and even suggested adding a basil leaf.

"It's like fish with purple mayonnaise on top."

Tasting Russian food.

That "Meat Gelatin" ("Košeliena" in Lithuanian) is something my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, prepared. She used pig's feet to make it. I hated that dish. But here's a recipe (and here, in Lithuanian) if want to try it.