A pot-pourri of Lithuanian delicacies

CHEESE DUMPLINGS
Varškėčiai

3 eggs
1 pound firm cottage cheese (farmers cheese)
1/3 cup farina or cream of wheat
¼ cup flour
1 tsp. sugar
Pinch of salt
Sour cream or butter for serving In a large bowl, lightly beat eggs, add remaining ingredients and mix well. Set aside in refrigerator for about 30 minutes. On floured board, roll out dough to about ½-inch thickness. Cut into strips  about 1 inch wide, and then on a slant into diamond shapes of about 1½ inches long. Boil dumplings in 2 quarts of boiling salted water for about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain well. Serve with sour cream or melted butter. These dump- lings may be served as a pasta course or as a dessert with berry sauce or syrup.

BEEF BIRDS
Zrazai, vyniotiniai
2-3 lbs. sliced beef
½ cup chopped onion
1 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
2 cups hot water
2 Tbsps. butter
3 onions, sliced
Salt, pepper
Have beef cut in thin slices. Pound thin. Sprinkle with salt. Sauté chopped onions in butter, add to bread crumbs; beat in egg,  add a dash of pepper. Mix well. Spread on beef slices which have been cut in rectangles. Roll up and fasten with toothpicks. Place in dutch oven or roaster. Pour in water, melted butter, and add sliced onions. Cover tightly. Bake in hot oven about 1½ hours. Serve with boiled or mashed potatoes. Please note: There are several ways to make this dish. Some cooks add a small piece of bacon, black bread, mushroom slices, or a spear of pickle before they roll up the beef. It’s up to you.

MUSHROOM BAKE
Grybų apkepas
1 pound medium size fresh mushrooms
2 Tbsps. butter
1/3 cup minced onion
1 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp. flour
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
½ cup bread crumbs
Butter
Wipe mushrooms with damp cloth.
Leave them whole. If very large, slice in half lengthwise, through head and stem. Melt butter in skillet. Add onions and mushrooms. Simmer, covered, until onions are transparent, about 10 minutes. Blend sour cream with flour and seasonings. Pour over mushrooms in shallow oven-proof dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs, dot with butter. Bake in preheated 375 ° F oven 10 to 15 minutes, until top is brown. Serve hot. Makes 4 servings.

HONEY CAKE
Medaunykas
1 cup honey
½ cup butter
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
4 eggs, separated
3 cups flour
2 tsps. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup sour cream
½ cup raisins
½ cup chopped walnuts
Powdered sugar (for decorating) Preheat oven to 325 ° F. Bring honey to a boil; cool. Cream butter and sugar; add egg yolks one at a time. Add cooled honey and beat well. Combine dry in- gredients and add to egg mixture, alter- nating with sour cream. Stir in raisins and nuts. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold beat- en egg whites into batter. Pour mixture into 10-inch tube pan and bake for 1 hour. Cool in pan for 20 minutes be- fore inverting. Decorate cake by sifting powdered sugar on the top. This is a very popular everyday Lithuanian coffee cake.

POPPY SEED CAKE
Aguoninis pyragas

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1½ cups oil
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. salt
1½ tsp. baking soda
1 (13-ounce can) evaporated milk
1 (12-ounce) can poppy seed filling
1 cup chopped nuts
In large mixer bowl, sift dry ingredients; add eggs, milk and vanilla. Beat well; add oil, mix until smooth. Add poppy seed filling and nuts, combine thoroughly. Pour into ungreased tube pan. Bake at 350 ° F for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Cool cake before removing from pan. Drizzle chocolate glaze over cake.
Chocolate glaze
1 cup chocolate chips (morsels)
2 Tbsps. vanilla extract or rum
Melt chocolate morsels and flavoring in double boiler or microwave oven. Drizzle over cooled cake. Poppy seed cake is an Eastern European specialty.