I have had this recipe for many years. It is a typical Carpatho-Russian recipe given to me by a parishioner in the early 50's. I like to make it because the dough is easy to work with and once you make the pastries they freeze well. You may like the pastry enough to make it with different fillings.           CARPATHIAN COFFEE CRESCENTS                     3 cups all-purpose flour                     3 Tbls. sugar                     1 cup (2 sticks) well-chilled unsalted butter                     3 egg yolks, beaten                     2 pkgs. dry yeast dissolved in 1/2 cup lukewarm milk                     1 1/2 teas. vanilla           FILLING                     3 egg whites, room temperature                     1 cup sugar                     2 teas. cinnamon                     1/2 cup ground nut meats                     1 egg, beaten with 2 teas. water                     powdered sugar (optional) Combine dry ingredients for dough. Cut in butter until mixture resembles corn meal. Add egg yolks, yeast mixture and vanilla. Blend until combined. Wrap tightly and refrigerate overnight. Divide into 6 equal parts. Make filling. Beat egg whites until stiff. Gradually beat in 2/3 cup sugar. Combine remaining sugar with cinnamon and nuts. Grease baking sheets. On lightly floured surface, roll out one piece of dough until very thin. Brush with egg white and then sprinkle with some of the nut mixture. Using sharp knife, cut into eight equal wedges. Starting at large end, roll wedges up. Shape gently into crescent shape. Transfer to greased baking sheet, placing about two inches apart. Repeat with remaining dough pieces. Let stand at room temperature about 30 minutes to rise. Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly brush each crescent with beaten egg. Bake about 20 minutes, until crisp and pale gold. Let cool on wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.

December 2001

October 2001

The Food Marketing Institute did a survey of 1000 supermarket consumers. They found that of those who prepare at least 3 home-cooked meals a week, fewer than half of them prepare them primarily from scratch. They used mixes, frozen or canned foods and bagged salads to help them speed the process. With this information in mind, I selected this month's recipe from a beautiful cookbook, Food For The Soul, published by: All Saints Orthodox Church Altar Sisterhood 205 Scarborough Street Hartford, CT  06105 The book has traditional and Lenten recipes interspersed throughout the book, as well as a section devoted to traditional Russian Orthodox Easter and Lenten recipes. The book is unusually sturdy and easy to use. It can be ordered for $15 plus $3 for postage from the address above. Anna Davis shared a recipe for Pagach using bread dough, which can be purchased frozen at your supermarket. Mary Karpey uses Pillsbury hot roll mix. Both are delicious.           PAGACH (Russian Pizza)                     3 med. potatoes                     1 med. onion                     1/4 lb. (1 stick) oleo                     salt and pepper to taste                     1 T. milk                     5 oz. Longhorn milk cheddar cheese                     bread dough enough for one good sized loaf Roll out bread dough 1/4 inch thick and cut in half. Place 1/2 on cookie sheet about 11 1/2 x 15 1/2 inches. Cook potatoes in 2-quart pot of salted water until done. Drain. Fry onions in oleo until golden. Cut up the cheese. Add fried onions, oleo and cheese to drained potatoes. Add milk and salt and pepper. Mash everything well. Place filling on bottom of half of dough, spreading it evenly. Cover with the other 1/2 of dough for top. Pinch edges together all around. With a fork, punch air holes on top. Bake 20-30 minutes at 350° or until light brown.           POTATO PAGATCH                     1 box Pillsbury hot roll mix                     3 med. potatoes                     1/4 lb. American cheese                     7 stalks chives                     3/4 tsp. Salt Peel and cut potatoes. Cook and drain. Add the cheese, chives and salt. Mash well. Let stand until cold. Prepare hot roll mix as directed. Knead for 1 minute on floured board. Roll out to about a 15-inch square. Pile cold potatoes mixture in center. Pull edges of dough around the potato mixture. Roll out to fit 18x18-inch piece of aluminum foil. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and brush top with butter.

Kitchen Corner Archive 2001

I have had some interesting conversations with friends about skvarke (cracklings). It brought much laughter as we reminisced about how our mothers used them in cooking and baking. They were used to flavor many meals as meat was in short supply. Some told me that they craved cookies made with skvarke. I don't have a recipe for them but I do have one for biscuits with skvarke. I have been enjoying them again as I received a gift of skvarke from Steve Warbel. If you are not fortunate enough to have access to any, you can use bacon in these Skvarke Korzhyky or Crackling Biscuits. Our Carpathian ancestors had a saying: "Poverty has taught us to be thankful even for crackling korzhyky."           CRACKLING BISCUITS                     2 cups flour                     3 teas. baking powder                     1 teas. sugar                     1/2 teas. salt                     1/2 cup chopped cracklings or crisp                     chopped bacon                     2 Tbls. melted crackling or bacon fat                     2 eggs                     1/3 cup cream                     caraway seed Sift the flour with the baking powder, sugar and salt. Mix in the cracklings or bacon and the melted fat. Beat the eggs, reserving 2 Tbls. for glazing. To the remaining eggs add the cream and stir into the flour mixture with a few swift strokes. Handle the dough as little as possible. Place on a slightly floured surface and pat to about 3/4 inch thickness. Either cut into diamonds with a knife, or use a cookie cutter to make rounds. Place on a greased baking sheet, brush with reserved egg, and sprinkle lightly with the caraway seed. Bake in 450° oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Enjoy with coffee or a light lunch.

This page contains recipes from all of the Year 2001 issues of The Orthodox Herald.

August 2001

It's your turn to make something for a coffee hour or you are tired of boxed sweet cakes and want something a little different, which is easy to make and bears a resemblance of a traditional dessert your old dear aunt made - try this recipe for Cheesecake Squares or Tvorazniky.           CHEESECAKE SQUARES                     2 pkgs. crescent rolls                     3/4 cup sugar                     2 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese                     1 teas. vanilla                     1 teas. lemon juice                     cinnamon sugar Remove cream cheese from refrigerator so that it can soften. Press one package of crescent rolls into a 9x12 pan. Make sure there are no open seams. With blender, mix softened cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and lemon juice. Spread cheese mixture over dough in the pan. Unroll other package of rolls and cover the pan over the cheese mixture. Sprinkle top with cinnamon sugar. Bake for 25-35 minutes in 350° oven.

September 2001

Recipe lovers since August 2001

It's hard not to nibble on food while the aroma of the main meal baking in the oven gets more and more irresistible. Many housewives put out a tray of fresh vegetables or a dip with chips. These help, but try adding a dish of kolbasie with wine sauce. These will disappear very fast.           KOLBASA IN WINE SAUCE                     1 lb. Kolbasa                     1/2 teas. salt                     1/2 cup red wine                     1 Tbls. scallions                     1/4 cup prepared mustard Cook kolbasa in water to cover according to directions on package. Then cool. Remove skin, if desired. Cut into identical bite-sized pieces. Combine wine, mustard, salt and scallions or onion, chopped fine, in a saucepan. Add the kolbasa. Bring to boil. Simmer for two to three minutes. Arrange on platter. Provide toothpicks. Serve with thin slices of toasted bread squares or crackers.

November 2001