Kremówka Papieska

Try this for Wigilia
https://www.thespruceeats.com/polish-papal-cream-cake-recipe-1136954

This Polish cream cake dessert was renamed papal cream cake or kremówka papieska (kreh-MOOF-kah pah-PYESS-kah) when it was learned St. Pope John Paul II loved it.

Karol Hagenhuber attended Marcin Wadowita high school in Wadowice, Poland (Wadowice is in southern Poland, about 50 km from Krakow), with none other than Karol Wojtyła, who later became the cardinal of Kraków and then Pope John Paul II and now St. Pope John Paul II. As school chums, they would often stop at Hagenhuber's father's bakery where the future pope would invariably purchase one or two cream cakes and a love affair with the dessert began.

If push came to shove, you could say that kremówka is similar to a French napoléon only in the latter case, the dessert is cut into rectangles, not squares.

A very similar Polish dessert is karpatka or Polish Carpathian Mountain cream cakewhose uneven top layer dusted with confectioners' sugar looks like the rugged mountainous terrain of the Polish Highlands.

Two Eastern European desserts similar to kremówka are Serbian krempita and sampita which, in the latter case, is filled with meringue.

Use the leftover egg whites in another recipe like a meringue torte.

• 2 sheets puff pastry dough (1.1 pound package, thawed)
• For the Pastry Cream:
• 2 cups milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Pinch salt
• 5 tablespoons cornstarch
• 6 large egg yolks (beaten)
• Garnish: confectioners' sugar

Steps to Make It

1. Heat oven to 400 F.

Bake the Puff Pastry

1. Roll out each piece of puff pastry slightly to blend the seam lines, keeping it 1/4-inch thick (try not to warp the shape when rolling).
2. Without cutting all the way through, lightly score each pastry sheet into 9 even sections. This is just a guide to be used when cutting and serving.
3. Sandwich each puff pastry sheet between two pieces of parchment paper and two cooling racks. This will keep the pastry flat but still flaky. If you want to bake both pastry sheets at the same time, you will need four cooling racks. Otherwise, bake them separately, using two cooling racks.
4. Bake 15 minutes, remove top rack and top sheet of parchment paper.
5. Replace rack and continue to bake until golden and crispy throughout, about 15 more minutes. Cool completely.

Make the Pastry Cream

1. While the puff pastry is baking, make the pastry cream. If you like a thick layer of filling, make a double batch.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring milk, sugar, vanilla, salt, cornstarch, and egg yolks to a boil, stirring constantly with a wire whisk.
3. Reduce heat slightly and continue to boil 1 minute, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to get in the corners.
4. Take the pan off the heat and plunge it into an ice-water bath or, if you have lumps, strain it through a sieve into a pan or heatproof bowl set in ice water.
5. Do not chill the pastry cream. It will be poured hot over the baked puff pastry.

Assemble the Kremówka

1. Using a 13x9-inch pan as a mold, place one layer of cooked puff pastry in the bottom of the pan.
2. Pour hot pastry cream over it, and place the second layer of cooked puff pastry with the cutting-guide marks on top.
3. Refrigerate until set. When ready to serve, using the prescored marks as guides, cut into 9 pieces. Dust each piece with confectioners' sugar. Refrigerate the leftovers.

Superior Corn Bread

The only cornbread that's still any good the next day.  Who could've guessed - the extra cup of fat helps!

From Taste of Home

1 c all-purpose flour
1 c cornmeal
1/4 c sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 c (8 oz) sour cream
1/3 c milk
1/4 c butter, melted

In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Whisk together the egg, sour cream, milk, and butter; stir into dry ingredients until just moistened.

Pour into a greased 8-in. square pan.  Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Serve warm.

Lemon Orzo Salad

• 1 lb. whole wheat orzo 
• 2/3 cup Panera® Mediterranean Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries 
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds 
• 1 tbsp. lemon zest 
• 3/4 cup feta, crumbled 
• 3 cups mixed greens (like arugula, baby kale and baby spinach) 
• to taste salt and black pepper
• Instructions:

1. Cook pasta to al dente, drain and rinse 
2. Mix everything together 

My Notes:

• Use half the pasta called for
• Instead of the fancy (and I'm sure delicious) dressing, I just juiced the lemon and mixed it with cheap-o Aldi Italian dressing. It's really good!
• My greens are all spinach
• Would be better thoroughly chilled with the greens added just before serving.

Source:

https://www.paneraathome.com/meal-ideas/types/salads/lemon-orzo-salad

Crock Pot Breakfast Bake

This is a perfect method for Sunday brunch!

Cooking spray, for slow cooker
12 eggs
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. finely chopped chives
salt
pepper
2 c. shredded Cheddar
1 lb. baby potatoes, thinly sliced 1/8" thick
10 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
1/2 c. thinly sliced red onion
1 c. chopped red bell pepper
Chopped parsley, for garnish

DIRECTIONS

• Whisk together eggs, milk, and chives; season with salt and pepper. Stir in cheese.
• Lightly grease a 5- or 6-quart crock pot. Layer half the potatoes, bacon, red onion, and red peppers, then the rest of the potatoes. Pour in the egg mixture.
• Cover and cook on low for 4 to 4 1/2 hours. Garnish with parsley.

My Notes:

• I cut the potatoes and onion pretty thin with my Pampered Chef mandoline - quick, easy and consistent.
• I was concerned that both chives and onion would be overwhelming, but it was fine.
• Used pre-cooked bacon pieces from Costco.
• Just used regular potatoes that I had around.
• I  was a little afraid that all the potatoes would clump together so I did more layering - one layer of potatoes, a little onion/bacon/peppers, repeat.
• It would be very easy to change out the breakfast meat and seasonings.
• I did the egg/cheese prep the night before and just put it together on Sunday morning.  It was done and perfect in time for after-Mass brunch.  
• Source

Sheetpan Italian Chicken

Fast, easy, and everyone liked.  The chicken made great leftovers.  Veggies are somewhat flexible; I added some cherry tomatoes that were getting wrinkly.  Based on this recipe.

Marinade:

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil 
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme 
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper 
• 3 cloves crushed garlic 
• 3 tablespoons olive oil 
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 

• 8 (4 oz each) boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt 
• 12 ounces zucchini, diced into 1-inch pieces 
• 3 carrots, peeled and diced into 1-inch pieces 
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces 
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces 
• 1 sweet onion, cut into 1-inch pieces 

DIRECTIONS:  Spray 2 large nonstick sheetpans or use parchment or foil.  Combine themarinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add the chicken and all veggies to the bowl and toss well to coat. Marinate 30 minutes or as long as overnight.

Preheat oven to 450F degrees.  Arrange everything in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheets. The vegetables and chicken should not touch (to avoid steaming the veggies). Bake about 20 minutes, turn chicken and vegetables and bake an additional 10 minutes, until roasted and tender. Top with fresh parsley and serve with rice (homemade rice-a-roni was a good choice).

Maple Ginger Salmon

1/4c maple syrup - best grade available
2Tb soy sauce
2tsp fresh ginger minced
2tsp fresh garlic minced
4 green onions divided
1 lb salmon
pepper

• Preheat oven to 400
• In a 9×13 baking dish, lightly pepper the salmon on both sides. If using low sodium soy sauce, salt the salmon to taste.
• In a non-reactive bowl or measuring cup, combine the first four ingredients and the thinly sliced green onions
• Pour the mixture over the salmon and let marinate for 20min. You may marinate for up to 30min.
• Bake salmon at 400 for 20min

NOTES: 

• I've made this the past two years for Wigilia.  It's delicious and easy.
• Garnish with a sprig of herb like thyme or rosemary.  The visual effect is totally worth the $$ you're going to pay to get fresh herbs in the middle of winter, even if that part gets thrown away before eating.  It's just pretty.  I'll add a photo someday when I find it.  Until then, just take my word for it.  ;-)
• Do not make one piece per person for Wigilia.  Lots of us ended up having only half when there is so much other food to consume.
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Mouth Watering Stuffed Mushrooms

• 12 whole fresh mushrooms 
  
• 1tablespoon vegetable oil 
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened 
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Fry until any moisture has disappeared, taking care not to burn garlic. Set aside to cool.

When garlic and mushroom mixture is no longer hot, stir in cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Mixture should be very thick. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps.

NOTES:

• We've had these the past two years for Wigilia.  Tradition?
• Costco's mushrooms are especially nice.
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