Polish Sweet-Sour Red Cabbage (Czerwona Kapusta Zasmażana)

1 (3-pound) head red cabbage (washed, dried, cored, and shredded)
1 medium onion (shredded)
2 tablespoons butter (or canola oil)
1 cup water
4 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
4 tablespoons brown sugar (firmly packed)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt

• In a large pot or Dutch oven, cook cabbage and onion in butter or oil on medium heat until it collapses, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together water, vinegar, brown sugar, pepper, and salt until sugar is dissolved.
• Add to cabbage mixture, combining well.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and cover tightly.
• Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is tender but still a little al dente, about 15 minutes.
• Refrigerate overnight to improve flavor.

NOTES:

• I made this for Wigilia in 2018 and liked it's mild flavor
• MAKE IT AHEAD OF TIME.  S/B SERVED COLD.
• I didn't have red wine vinegar but used some Trader Joe's pomegranate vinegar instead
• The recipe says to shred the cabbage and onion, but clearly that's not what is pictured.  I chopped the cabbage into roughly 1/2" sized pieces.
• I did try to shred the onion, but what a mess!  Just chop it into reasonably small pieces.

SOURCE:

https://www.thespruceeats.com/polish-braised-red-cabbage-recipe-1137527

(Says it can be frozen for 6 months.)

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.

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.
• Source

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.
• Source

Clam Chowder

1/2 lb bacon, minced

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 onion, diced

2 lg. potatoes, peeled and diced

1 tsp. thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

Chicken broth and clam juice, combined to make 2 cups

1 cup milk

1 cup half-and-half

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup butter

2(6 1/2 oz) cans chopped clams, juice reserved

Fry Bacon until crisp, remove and set aside.  Cook the celery, onions and potato in bacon fat until the onions soften.  Add seasonings, milk, half-and-half, and broth.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, stirring frequently.  Make a roux by melting 1/2 cup butter in a skillet over medium-low heat, stir in flour.  Cook, stirring continuously for 2 to 3 minutes.  Slowly add 1 to 2 cups hot liquid to the roux, stirring to incorporate and remove lumps.  Immediately add roux mixture to chowder, stir to blend. Add clams and bacon.

Makes 4 servings.

Double for Christmas.