CONTENDS

POLISH STEW

POLISH PYROGY

UKRAINIAN GOLUBTZI (cabbage rolls)

FOOD, COOKING TIPS

POLISH STEW

8 slices of bacon, finely chopped

1 pound boneless, lean pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch chunks

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped, or 1-teaspoon garlic powder

3 onions, quartered

½ pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 cup canned beef broth

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 bay leaves

2 cups canned sauerkraut rinsed under water and drained well

2 medium apples, cored and sliced

2 cups Italian-style whole tomatoes with juice

1 cup cooked ham, diced

1½ cups cooked Polish sausage, coarsely sliced

Fry bacon pieces in large saucepan over high heat for about 3 minutes.

Carefully drain off some of the fat, leaving just enough to coat the bottom of the pot.

Add pork, garlic, onions, and mushrooms, and, stirring constantly, fry until meat is browned on all sides, about 5 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium. Add beef broth, sugar, bay leaves, drained sauerkraut, apples, and tomatoes with juice. Bring the mixture to a boil, increasing heat if necessary.

Reduce heat, cover, and simmer stew for about 1½ hours, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

Add cooked ham and sausage, and stir.

Cover and continue to simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes more to blend flavours.

Remove bay leaves and discard before serving.

Serves 8 to 10.

POLISH PYROGY Everyone enjoys this dish. It’s one I could eat every day.

Dough

5 cups flour

2 cups warm water

1 tablespoon salt

4 tablespoons oil

3 eggs

1 tablespoon vinegar Mix flour and salt together.

Mix eggs, oil and water to make 2 cups.

Make well in flour add water mixture.

Mix well then knead. (the more you knead the better).

Roll dough flat, thin and cut into 2-3 inch squares Put filling (below) in each, seal edge, and use flour to pinch seal shut.

FILLING

Mashed potatoes.

Course cottage cheese.

Salt and pepper.

Mix together until course.

Drop into boiling water and boil for 5 minutes. Do not place to many in boiling water at one time as they all should have enough room to float to top.

After cooking place in different pot and add butter, or place in frying pan, add butter, and (onions) if you prefer. Fry for a few minutes until they start turning a light brown. Can then be served with or without sour cream.

UKRAINIAN Golubtzi, (cabbage rolls)

1 large head of cabbage ½ pound hamburger

1 cup rice, cooked

1 onion

2 tablespoons fat

1 teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon pepper

1 10½-ounce can tomato soup ½ cup sour cream Remove leafs from cabbage head. Cook in salt water for 5 Minutes, or until leaves are flexible. Drain and cool.

Add ground meat, cooked rice, and seasoning. Put a tablespoon of the mixture on each leaf. Roll and place each in a baking pan, pour undiluted tomato soup over them. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until tender.

Serves 6. Option: Add sour cream 5 minutes before serving.

FOOD INFORMATION, COOKING TIPS

General Roasting Guide for Turkey

Allow enough time in the refrigerator for complete thawing — one day for every five pounds, not counting the day you cook it. A defrosted turkey will keep a day or two under refrigeration.

Ready To Cook Weight, Stuffed Turkeys:
Cook turkey at 325 degrees F.
8 – 12 lb 3 – 3.5 hrs
12 – 14 lb 3.5- 4 hrs
14 – 18 lb 4 – 5 hrs
18 – 20 lb 4.5 – 5 hrs
20 – 24 lb 4.5 – 5.5 hrs

For unstuffed turkeys of the same weight, reduce total cooking time by 15 to 45 minutes. Turkey is done when the thigh temperature reaches 180 degrees F and stuffing reaches 165 degrees F.

OTHER COOKING TIMES

Ground Meat & Meat Mixtures.  Beef, Pork, Veal, lamb=160

                                                                   Turkey, Chicken= 165

Fresh Beef, Veal, Lamb Steaks, roasts, chops=145

Poultry: Chicken & Turkey, whole, Poultry breasts, roasts,

Duck & Goose, Stuffing (cooked alone or in bird)=165

Pork and Ham, Fresh pork, Fresh ham (raw)=160

Precooked ham (to reheat)=140

Eggs & Egg Dishes=Eggs, cook until yolk and white are firm

Egg dishes=160.

It’s not safe to cook a turkey all night at 200 °F. The minimum oven temperature is 325 °F to ensure any bacteria are destroyed.

Prepare wet and dry stuffing ingredients ahead of time and refrigerate them separately. Don’t combine the ingredients until just before cooking the stuffing – inside or outside the turkey.

All turkey meat, including any that remains pink, is safe to eat as soon as all parts reach at least 165 °F. When turkey is removed from the oven, let it stand 20 minutes before removing the stuffing and carving the turkey.

After dinner, cut the leftover turkey into small pieces; refrigerate stuffing and turkey separately in shallow containers within 2 hours of cooking. Use leftover turkey and stuffing within 3-4 days or freeze these foods. Reheat thoroughly to a temperature of 165 °F or until hot and steaming.

The refrigerator will keep food safely cold for about 4 hours if it is unopened. A full freezer will hold the temperature for approximately 48 hours (24 hours if it is half full) and the door remains closed.

Discard refrigerated perishable food such as meat, poultry, fish, soft cheeses, milk, eggs, leftovers and deli items after 4 hours without power.

Food may be safely refrozen if it still contains ice crystals or is at 40°F or below when checked with a food thermometer.

Never taste a food to determine its safety!

Obtain dry or block ice to keep your refrigerator and freezer as cold as possible if the power is going to be out for a prolonged period of time. Fifty pounds of dry ice should hold an 18-cubic-foot full freezer for 2 days.

If the power has been out for several days, check the temperature of the freezer with an appliance thermometer. If the appliance thermometer reads 40°F or below, the food is safe to refreeze.

If a thermometer has not been kept in the freezer, check each package of food to determine its safety. If the food still contains ice crystals, the food is safe.

Discard any food that is not in a waterproof container if there is any chance that it has come into contact with flood water. Discard wooden cutting boards, plastic utensils, baby bottle nipples and pacifiers.

Thoroughly wash all metal pans, ceramic dishes and utensils that came in contact with flood water with hot soapy water and sanitize by boiling them in clean water or by immersing them for 15 minutes in a solution of 1 tablespoon of unscented, liquid chlorine bleach per gallon of drinking water.

Of course, a “single hamburger” can include meat from hundreds of animals. Hamburger meat is often composed of various grades of meat from different parts of cows and even from different slaughterhouses. These cuts of meat are particularly vulnerable to E. coli contamination, but there is no federal requirement for grinders to test their ingredients for the pathogen.

In fact, American Foodservice, which grinds 365 million pounds of hamburger a year, had to stop testing trimmings 10 years ago because slaughterhouses did not want to sell to them!

One retailer that does test their trimmings for E. coli before grinding is Costco, and according to The New York Times, Tyson will not supply them because they don’t want their product tested.

SANITIZE CUTTING BOARDS

An effective way to sanitize cutting boards and other kitchen surfaces, is with a diluted bleach and water solution — just 1 tablespoon unscented liquid chlorine bleach (not more) to 1 gallon of water.

To clean your cutting board, first wash it with hot water and soap. After rinsing it off with clean water, sanitize by letting the diluted chlorine bleach solution stand on the cutting board surface for about a minute. Rinse and blot dry with clean paper towels. It is important to clean and sanitize – just because a surface looks clean, does not mean it is free of disease-causing bacteria!