DRAUGAS NEWS Lithuanian World Wide News in English
LET’S COOK LITHUANIAN
with Dana SiliUnas
GREAT RECIPES FOF YOUR EASTER TABLE
COTTAGE CHEESE CHEESE CAKE
Varškinis pyragas
2 lbs. cottage cheese
1 cup sugar
4 eggs, separated
2 tsps. grated lemon rind
4 Tbsps. flour
2 tsp. salt 1 cup milk Pastry for 2-crust pie crust
If cottage cheese is coarse, force through sieve. Add flour and 1/2 cup sugar, salt, and well beaten egg yolks. Beat egg whites until frothy. Gradually add remaining sugar. Beat until very stiff. Fold in cottage cheese mixture and turn into pastry lined 9” x 13” pan. Bake at 450° for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 325° and bake 45 minutes. Makes 12 to 15 servings. Serve warm or cold.
Note: The above recipe was sent by Kathy Hazlewood of Overland Park, Kansas, who writes: uMy grandmother and mother traditionally served this dessert on Good Friday, at the end of dinner. Although in the Catholic Church, Good Friday is a day to fast, somehow in my family’s traditions, having cheesecake at the end of dinner did not break any Catholic regulations. In the early church, people could not eat eggs during the 40 days of Lent. Since Good Friday is not technically part of Lent, this could explain the acceptability of cheesecake on Good Friday. ”
RASPBERRY WINE GLAZED HAM
Kumpis su vyno ir avieciu glajum
8-10 lb. ham, boneless fully cooked
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsps. cornstarch
1/3 cup seedless raspberry jam
1 Tbsp. butter
Score ham in diamond pattern if desired. Place ham on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Insert meat thermometer. Bake in a 325° oven until thermometer registers 140° (2 hours). Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, blend wine and lemon juice into cornstarch. Add about half of the jam. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Stir in the remaining jam and butter. Heat and stir until butter is melted. Brush ham with the raspberry glaze. Bake ham 10 minutes more. Spoon any remaining glaze over ham.
EASTER BREAD
Velykinis pyragas
3 pkgs. dry yeast
3/4 cup & 1 1/2 tsp. sugar
3/4 cup lukewarm water
8 cups flour, or more if needed
1 1/2 cup lukewarm milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt (optional)
3 eggs, slightly beaten
6 Tbsps. butter, room temp., very soft
1 cup raisins
Combine yeast, 1 1/2 tsp. sugar, water and 1/2 cup flour. Set in warm draftfree spot to rise and become spongy. Combine vanilla, milk, salt and sugar. When above yeast mixture has doubled, add it to the milk mixture. Place 5 cups flour in large mixing bowl. Slowly add in the yeast-milk mixture and mix until well blended. Add the beaten eggs and the softened butter. Continue to beat until dough is very
smooth. Add remaining flour while continuously stirring. Continue until flour is used up and dough forms a ball. Remove from pan and knead dough until smooth and free of lumps and not sticking (12-15 mins.) Do not over add flour. When smooth, flatten dough and add raisins. Form dough into ball and place into buttered pan and allow to rise until doubled in size (1 -1 1/2 hrs.) Cover pan with towel while dough is rising. Punch down dough. Remove from pan and shape into loaves as desired. Place shaped loaves into well buttered baking pan and allow to rise a second time almost double in size. Place risen loaves in a cold oven and set heat up to 400° and bake 12-15 mins. (Do not open oven door). Lower oven temperature to 350° to finish baking. Total baking time about 35-40 mins. When loaves test done, remove from oven; cool on rack and remove from pans. Makes 3 supersize loaves or 4 regular ones.
GOOSE OR DUCK WITH APPLES
Žasis ar antis su obuoliais
Rub the goose or duck, inside and outside, with salt and onion the night before roasting. Wash and dry before roasting. Wash medium sweet-sour apples, dry, core. Stuff goose or duck with prepared apples, sew up cavity. Cut off wings and legs. Roast until browned. Then add 1 to 1 1/2 cup water and roast in a covered pan basting constantly. If more apples are desired, they should be baked separately. To give them a better taste, baste the apples with pan juices of the roast fowl. Roasting time for a goose is about two hours. It is eaten either hot or cold. Carve just before serving; place into serving dish, put apples around the meat, pour pan gravy over the meat.