Polish Cooking

My dad used to make the best potato pancakes but my recipe has a secret he never knew – it’s in how you drain the potatoes. Also, his method took some work but that was before food processors were invented. I used to help him grate the potatoes on a box grater but now, thanks to my food processor,  I have an easy way to make fantastic Polish placki kartoflane and mine are healthy, never greasy, and super easy. If you don’t have a food processor, you can prep the potatoes old school style, grating by hand, and you’ll still get the best potato pancakes ever.

I’ve given up ordering these at a deli because they’re practically deep fried! Mine use very little oil because you don’t need it. To me, they’re best with a little (reduced fat) sour cream, and when you have leftovers, save them for breakfast. My mother used to slice up the  leftovers and cook them into scrambled eggs for an awesome breakfast, which is what I’m having right now! Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

 It only takes three ingredients to make soft and tender potato gnocchi. My Polish dad was the cook in our family and he used to make them and called them kluski which I later learned are the same as Italian gnocchi. In Poland they are called kopytka and the Polish way to serve them is with fried bacon and onions but nobody needs to do that any more! I prefer gnocchi Italian style as a side dish with red sauce or as a main dish topped with my homemade bolognese sauce. Anything you can do with pasta, you can do with gnocchi and it’s a pretty simple recipe. Plus they freeze beautifully. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

I’ve decided to make my fantastic cabbage rolls for my next video. It’s one of my best dinner recipes which I learned from my dad who made this traditional Polish dish all the time. My favorite way to serve them is browned in a little olive oil with a dollop of sour cream on the side. My Polish cabbage rolls video should be up in the next couple of weeks. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

I grew up with eastern european parents who made things like Galaretka, also known as Zimne Nogi (translated: cold legs) This is basically jellied pig’s feet. It was a mixture of meat & things that sat in a giant pot and my dad loved it! Polish food includes things like pork knuckles in beer sauce with sauerkraut, and carp in aspic with raisins. We ate things like, “Śledzie,” (pickled herring), beetroot soup, lots of kielbasa and pickled anything. They like to pickle things in Poland –  there’s even pickle soup! I still love some Polish dishes like Gołąbki and Pierogi, both of which I make often. My parents cooked with sticks of butter and no meal was complete without sour cream but I make things my own way now. I still crave the things I ate growing up and although pig’s feet is not one of them, I found a recipe online for anyone curious enough to try:

http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/polishmaincourses/r/Jellied-Pigs-Feet-Recipe.htm

With a background like mine, I was bound to forge my own unique food trail and the things I eat seem normal to me, but maybe not to everyone.  For example, here are some of my favorite treats:

~Sauerkraut straight out of the jar

~Sardines, straight out of the can

~Pickled beets

~Pickled herring with onions

~A wedge of raw cabbage eaten like an apple

~Cold boiled potatoes with mayonnaise

~I could still eat some pigs feet but only after a beaker of czysta wodka, no ice.

If anybody has a more unique favorite snack, maybe I can add it to my repertoire. There’s nothing you people out there are eating that can scare me.  Bring it. – Jenny Jones