For a typical Kūčios supper

CRANBERRY PUDDING
Spanguolių kisielius

4 cups cranberries
2 cups sugar
1 cup potato starch, dissolved in 1½ cups cold water
5 cups water
¼ cup lemon juice
Cinnamon, cloves, orange peel
Rinse cranberries, removing any stems or brown berries. Place in large pot and fill with cold water, covering the berries by about 1 inch. Bring cranberries to a boil and simmer, covered, until they soften and burst. Remove from heat. Strain cooked berries and liquid into another large pot, forcing them through a sieve, or use a food mill. Simmer spices in water, separately. Strain, add to cranberries, together with the sugar. Slowly simmer until mixture begins to boil, gradually adding lemon juice and potato starch and stirring constantly. Simmer until pudding begins to thicken. Adjust sweetness to taste. Pour into large serving bowl or individual bowls; cover with plastic wrap, placing it directly on the surface of the pud- ding so that a “skin” does not form. Chill in refrigerator.
Please note:
Some Lithuanians prefer a more liquid kisielius, which can be drunk from a glass. Adjust the amount of potato starch, water and berries depending on how thick or thin you wish the pudding to be.

CHRISTMAS COMPOTE
Vaisių kompotas

6 cups water
1 (8-ounce) package mixed dried fruit. (If fruit are large, cut them into bite-size pieces)
1 cup sugar (adjust sweetness to taste)
½ cup golden raisins
4 cloves
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cinnamon stick, orange peel
In large saucepan, combine water, sugar, mixed fruit, raisins, lemon juice, orange peel, cloves and cinnamon. Bring to a bowl. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until fruit is soft. Remove from heat. Remove cinnamon stick and cloves. Refrigerate overnight and serve chilled.
Please note:
If there are no dried apples in the fruit mixture, you can add some. You can also add dried figs or other dried fruit, if desired. It’s up to you.

CHRISTMAS EVE BISCUITS
žližikai / preskučiai

¼ cup warm water
1 package dry yeast (about 1 oz.)
¾ cup milk
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
¼ cup butter or margarine, melted
3½ to 4 cups flour
Dissolve yeast in warm water in large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Add milk, egg and butter or margarine to yeast mixture. Combine flour, sugar and salt; stir well. Gradually stir flour mixture into yeast mixture. Add more flour if needed to make a stiff dough. Turn dough onto floured board, divide into balls and roll the balls into finger-width coils. Cut coils into ¼- inch pieces. Place on a slightly greased cookie sheet and bake at 350F degrees until golden brown. Serve with

POPPY SEED MILK
Aguonpienis
½ pound poppy seeds
2 cups boiling water
½ tsp. almond extract
1 Tbsp. honey or sugar to taste
Pour boiling water over poppy seeds and let steep for about 1 hour. Trans- fer poppy seeds and liquid to a blender; add remaining ingredients. Blend at high speed until liquid is milky white. Let cool and serve over biscuits. If you prefer softer biscuits, let it stand for half an hour or so.

MARINATED HERRING
Marinuota silkė

1 large salted herring
1 onion
1 bay leaf
10 peppercorns
1 thinly sliced carrot
2 small pieces of lemon rind (no white part)
1 Tbsp. vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup oil
5 whole cloves
Soak herring overnight; change water twice. Clean herring and peel the skin; remove all the bones. Cut herring into 1 inch pieces. Slice onion thin; separate circles. Add onion, bay leaf, peppercorns, cloves, carrot, lemon rind, sugar, and salt into the oil. Cook until the onions are transparent. Add vinegar and cook 5 minutes more. Cool. Arrange herring in a serving dish, pour marinade over and let stand overnight.

MUSHROOMS WITH SOUR CREAM
Grybai su grietine

8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
2 Tsp. butter or margarine
1 tsp. flour
½ cup sour cream
¼ tsp. salt
Dash pepper, dill weed for garnish Cook and stir mushrooms in butter or margarine 5 minutes. Stir in flour. Cook and stir 1 minute. Stir in sour cream, salt and pepper. Heat, stirring occasionally, just until hot. Sprinkle with dill weed.