The BEST Guide to POLAND
Unanswered  |  Archives [3] 
  
Account: Guest

Posts by annab  

Joined: 13 Nov 2005 / Female ♀ 		Last Post: 1 Jul 2006
Threads: Total: 6 / Live: 1 / Archived: 5
Posts: Total: 23 / Live: 5 / Archived: 18 		From: Chicago, USA
Interests: Don't have enough time for that ;)

Displayed posts: 6
sort: Latest first   Oldest first   |
annab   
1 Jul 2006
Food / Bigos Recipe [183]

There really is no definition what cut to use for bigos even though people can have different preferences.

Most people would save the nice cuts like center loin, tenderloin, and cutlet for other dishes, for instance, kotlety schabowe, or roasts, which much better show the quality of cut than bigos. I usually use for bigos the parts from the blade area that contain more fat and are more suitable for stewing without getting too dry.
annab   
29 Jun 2006
Food / Bigos Recipe [183]

Bigos Recipe

1/2 medium green cabbage
1 liter jar of sauerkraut
1 medium can of tomato paste
1/2 lbs bacon
1 lbs pork
1 lbs (Polish) kielbasa
1 large onion
2 cloves of fresh garlic
pimento
bay leaf
salt
pepper

Wash cabbage and chop very finely. Boil in a pot with a gal water until cooked and drain. Boil sauerkraut in a separate pot with 2 cups of water until cooked, drain to a clean container and save the sour water.

Wash pork meat and chop in about 1'' squares or so. Heat some vegetable oil on a saucepan and fry the meat until cooked.

Cut bacon and kielbasa also in small squares (about 1/3 of the meat chunks size since they won't shrink as much). Peal and finely chop the onion and garlic cloves. Fry bacon, kielbasa, onion and garlic together in a separate pan until golden brown.

Combine in a tall pot all precooked ingredients. Add tomato paste, spices, and saved earlier sour water to taste. Some people like it sourer, or some people like it more watery, so feel free to add more fresh or sour water if needed. Mix well and leave to stew for about 1 hour.

Taste it... you're good to go. Best served with fresh bread.

Bigos Picture
annab   
6 Apr 2006
Law / Hiring a Polish Worker - Pros and Cons [107]

I'm glad you wrote that from your own experience, Guest #5. I think you are right - Poles in general as workers are more mature, stable, and value their job more than their American peers. You made a point that it might be because they are here temporarily only, but I personally don't believe in this theory :). In Poland there's about 19% unemployment rate so that may be one of the reasons Poles value their jobs. All in all, when I take a contractor to do a job in my home and find out he's got Polish roots, I'm sure the job will be done well and on time.
annab   
24 Nov 2005
Food / Polish polskie pierogi recipe (prepared at home) [74]

PIEROGI RECIPE (WITH POTATO AND CHEESE)

Ingredients (serves 4-6)
3 lbs potatoes
2 lbs farmer cheese
1 med. onion
3 lbs flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 gal water for boiling
2 cups lukewarm water for dough
some bacon or sour cream

Filling
Peal and boil potatoes until cooked, drain water, make mashed potatoes, and cool down. In the meantime, finely chop the onion and fry with oil until golden, cool down. In a sizeable bowl, combine mashed potatoes, farmer cheese, onion, salt and pepper to taste. Mix all ingredients well until evenly creamy.

Dough
Pour flour on molding board, make a cone with a hole in the center, pour lukewarm water in the hole and knead until smooth and elastic. It should feel sticky, but not too thin and not sticking to hands. Some water or flour may be added if necessary. Once dough is ready take a quarter of it at the time to work with and place the rest of it in a sealed container to prevent from drying.

Sprinkle the molding board with a very thin layer of flour; roll the dough with rolling-pin until about 1/8' thick. Cut out circles with a cup or glass. Put a tablespoon of filling in each circle and fold the circle over the filling. Seal the edges by pressing them together to keep the filling inside. Place sealed pierogi in boiling water and stir gently to prevent from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Boil for about 5-10 minutes - until the pierogi surface then drain and sprinkle with vegetable oil to prevent from sticking.

Serve with sour cream or finely chopped and fried bacon.

----------

Enjoy!

Anna


  • pierogi.jpg