'Twas the night before Christmas...

...and all through the house not a creature was stirring, because they were all passed out in food comas after dinner.

Happy Holidays everyone!!  From the carols we all know and love, to the great holiday sales, to the stockings being hung and the tree lit, it is safe to say that this time of year gets us pretty excited.  Growing up, holiday tradition in my house translated to celebrating Christmas Eve Lithuanian-Polish style.  Although I knew consuming the deliciousness called "kucios" in Lithuanian and "wigilia" in Polish also meant that I would be swept away to a never-ending Christmas mass, it was *always* well worth it.  For the handful of you who are not half-Lithuanian, half-Polish like me and may not be familiar with these traditions (LoL), here's the scoop: on Christmas Eve, we have a gargantuan feast consisting of twelve meatless dishes (for you excited vegetarians, fish is *not* considered to be meat by these cultures, so fish >}}}}}}'> typically makes multiple appearances).  Alongside the fish, fruit, breads, potato-based dishes, soup, and vegetables decorate the table.

Although it has been a handful of years since my family last followed these traditions (and essentially never since I last participated in the preparation), I was inspired this Christmas to take a stab at it myself.  Recipe-less and in the company of two very non-half-Lithuanian-half-Polish (but--to their gastronomical credit--very receptive and adventurous) guests, I created my version of kucios and wigilia.

First thing's always first: a little “tradition”.

The tradition: break holy bread with each other and share best wishes for the coming year.

Our new tradition: break crackers from the grocery store and share best wishes for the coming year.

Then, the feast commences by prepping the palate:

The dish: Mushroom Potato Soup

The recipe:

1 Lb white button mushrooms

1 large onion

3 medium potatoes

8 cups water

4 dried bay leaves

1 Tsp whole black peppercorns*

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 stick unsalted butter, split into 2 Tbsp and 6 Tbsp pieces**

1/2 cup sour cream***

*Tsp=teaspoon; most of the plastic pepper grinders can be unscrewed, opened up, and re-filled

**Tbsp=tablespoon; butter comes salted and unsalted. A lot of recipes out there specify unsalted butter (particularly baking recipes) so I like to buy unsalted and just add salt myself when necessary.  One stick=8 Tbsp, and most butter wrappers are marked with Tbsp’s for easy cutting

***Please, please, please! buy regular sour cream (none of this low or non-fat junk).  I promise you will be disappointed in both flavor and consistency (as in thickness, not sour cream producers' ability to make the same reduced fat junk over and over again) otherwise

1) Chop the onion into small pieces (1/4-inch pieces will do)

2) If your mushrooms are dirty, use a damp kitchen towel or paper towel to wipe off the dirt.  NEVER wash mushrooms under running water or submerge them.  Mushrooms are sponge-like and they will soak up the water and become chewy.  This is also why mushrooms should be stored in a cool, dry place (like wrapped in paper towels, in a paper bag in the fridge).  Once clean, chop the mushrooms into slightly less than bite-sized pieces.  Depending on the size of your mushrooms, that may mean quartering them (chopping in half, then in half again), or sixth’ing them (chopping in half and then chopping each half into three pieces).

3) Peel the skin off the potatoes and then chop them into bite-sized cubes.

4) Put the water into a large pot that can hold all of the ingredients. Add the bay leaves, potatoes, and peppercorns, and then turn on the heat to high.  Cover the pot and bring up to a rapid boil (bubbles going crazy and the surface is rolling).  Always add potatoes to cool water and then bring up the temperature.  If you add potatoes to hot water, the outside will cook too quickly, leaving the inside raw.

5) While the potatoes are cooking, in a large sauté pan, melt the 2 Tbsp of butter over medium heat.  When the butter is bubbling, add the onions.  Using a wooden spoon (my tool of choice), sauté the onion until they are starting to look glossy and become translucent (slightly see-through).  At this point, add the mushrooms and sauté until they become tender, shrink some, and the juices are starting to come out.  Take them off the heat.

6) Check your soup and see if the potatoes are tender (a fork goes into it pretty easily).  When tender, turn down the heat to a simmer (low) and add the onion-mushroom mixture and the 6 Tbsp remaining butter.  When the butter has melted, stir it into the soup and then add ground pepper and salt to your taste preferences.

7) Take the soup off the heat and cool to room temperature.  Then add the sour cream to finish the soup and any more salt and pepper to your taste. (If you add the sour cream when the soup is hot, the dairy will curdle and spot your soup will little white chunks)

8) Re-heat on medium-low when ready to serve.  Bay leaves are for flavor alone, not to be eaten.

Now that everyone is warm and cozy both inside and out, it's time for Round Two!

The dish: Pierogies

The side dishes: Beet salad with carrots and golden raisins; pickled herring; homemade pickles; and sautéed beet greens

Pierogies

Frozen potato-cheddar and/or potato-onion pierogies, 3-5 per person

1 large onion

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

Sour cream

Salt & Pepper

1) Pre-heat the oven to 400'F

2) Grease a 9x13x2-inch baking dish with butter.

3) Chop the onion into wedges by halving the onion lengthwise from root to top and then into 1/2-inch wedges

4) Scatter some onions on the bottom of the dish

5) Rub a little butter on each side of each pierogi and place on top of the onions in one layer

6) Scatter the rest of the onions throughout the dish

7) Season with a sprinkle of salt and a couple of pepper grindings throughout

8) Bake covered for 20 minutes.  Uncover and flip the pierogies every 5 minutes until they are starting to brown

9) Serve with sour cream

Beet Salad

1 bunch of beets (approximately 5 beets) with greens attached

3 carrots

1/4 cup walnuts

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/8 cup balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp honey

1 Tsp Dijon mustard

1 clove garlic

Salt & Pepper

1) Cut beet greens off beets, wash the greens, and reserve

2) Steam the beets in a steam basket until fork-tender, approximately 25-30 minutes*

3) While the beets are steaming, peel and grate the carrots using the large holes on a grater

4) Mince the clove of garlic finely

5) In a bowl large enough to hold all of the ingredients, add the balsamic vinegar, honey, Dijon, garlic, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and whisk together.  Add the raisins to give them time to plump, and the carrots

6) Chop the walnuts and add to the bowl

7) When the beets are done, cool them until they can be handled.  Rub the skin off the beets with your fingers and discard.  Slice the rough ends off the beets and discard.  Halve the beets, slice them thinly, and add to the bowl.  Be careful with your clothes: beets absolutely DO stain

8) Toss the mixture together, adding a handful of chopped beet green leaves for color, if desired

9) Season to taste, adding more salt, pepper, balsamic, and/or honey as desired

*If you don't have a steam basket, the beets can be roasted in the oven in aluminum foil, or boiled in water until tender

Pickled Herring

Pickled herring with onions, found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store by the jarred pickled

1) Buy herring (pickled and creamed are both great!)

2) Open jar

3) Enjoy

Homemade Pickles

10 pickling cucumbers (the short, bumpy cucumbers)

½ cup kosher salt

1 bunch fresh dill

10 garlic cloves

White vinegar

½ cup sugar

1 quart water (4 cups)

1) Wash the cucumbers well and slice into spears

2) Make the pickling brine: add 1 cup of water, vinegar, sugar, and salt to a pot, heating the pot while covered over medium, and stirring occasionally until the sugar and salt are dissolved.  When dissolved, take off the heat and add the remaining 3 cups of water.  Cool completely

3) Wash the dill well and slice the garlic

4) Add the spears to a large jar, ripping off pieces of diller and placing garlic and dill throughout, stuffing them between the spears

5) When the jar is full. pour the brine over the spears to completely cover them

6) Seal the jar and refrigerate for 24-hours or longer until the pickles taste as you like

Beet Greens

1 bunch beet greens reserved from the beet salad

5 dried chilies

3 cloves garlic

1/2 lemon

1 Tbsp oil

Salt and pepper

1) Wash the greens very well and dry.  Chop the stalks into 1-inch pieces and the leaves into bite-sized pieces

2) Chop the garlic coarsely

3) Heat the oil over medium heat, then add the chilies

4) Sauté the chilies until they darken and become fragrant

5) Add the garlic, stirring constantly to avoid burning the garlic, and cook for 30 seconds

6) Add the stalks and sauté for a minute.  Then add the greens, stirring all together.

7) Squeeze the lemon juice into the greens, stirring to mix.

8) Add salt and pepper to taste, and cook the greens until the stalks are tender but still crunchy, approximately 5 minutes

And of course, dessert.

The dish: Prosciutto e melone (OK, so I cheated on the "no meat" rule, and on Lithuania and Poland, with this very Italian dish)

The drink: Champagne with St. Germaine (and very French drink)

1 Cantaloupe

2 slices Parma prosciutto per person, sliced very thin*

Brut Champagne (a nice blanc-du-blanc would be excellent, but so would many other bottles under $10)

St. Germaine (an elderflower liquor. Can't afford a bottle or just want to try it?  Look for a nip/mini at your liquor store)

*There are many types of prosciutto out there.  Buyer beware of brands that have a lot of white fat as the slices will be chewy.  Also make sure your deli person really slices it thin. Ask them to show you a slice before completing the whole order so you can try it out for taste, texture, and thickness.  I love Parma because of its beautiful color, tenderness, and cured flavor.

1) Halve the cantaloupe and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds

2) Slice the cantaloupe into crescent moon shaped slices with the rind on (2 slices per person)

3) With the slices placed flesh side up, run a knife just above the green flesh near the rind, tracing the shape of the slice with the knife and simultaneously cutting off the rind

4) Carefully separate a slice of prosciutto from the rest, trying not to rip it too much.  Start near one end of the melon wrapping the slice of prosciutto around the melon moving down the length of the slice, overlapping the wraps (think candy canes and how the red stripe wraps the length of the candy, although not overlapping in that case)

5) Pour 1 ounce of St. Germaine into a champagne flute or wine glass, adding 5-6 ounces of champagne (more or less depending on how much you like the taste of the St. Germaine)

6) Serve the melon and champagne together as they compliment each other nicely, and finish out this Christmas Eve deliciousness perfectly!!

All in all, it was a very successful meal!  Sharing my culinary adventures with the people I love certainly sweetened the evening (or made it salty, tart, bitter, or savory, whichever your palate is currently craving).    :^)

The take-home message: whatever your holiday traditions are, it is never to late to create a new one, bring back an old one, or just borrow mine.

Merry Christmas!