Recipes

[violann]

Invite me, please!

[Allegheny]

Hi Cater sorry I didn't see your post earlier.

Good to hear more about your family traditions. I make hudruka, we just always called it egg cheese. MY SIL, who is Slovak makes hers a little sweeter then mine and is ball shaped. Our family makes it look like a wheel of cheese, after draining we put in on a plate, shape and place another plate over it and weigh it down with a brick.

Horseradish and beets, oh yes. There is nothing like fresh grated horseradish. My dad used to grow it on the farm. My brother still grates his own. Really cleans out your sinus. In addition to beets, my Mom made a batch mixed with a little sour cream. It was always much stronger then with the beets.

My husband is Slovak and at Easter they have a dish call babalki (sp). Small balls of baked bread. They put it in a colander, pour boiling water over, drain and then mix in sauerkraut.

My maternal grandparents were Polish and Slavic, so I am sure there were a lot of cross over recipes they used. My grandmother would do simple psyanky egg designs. On the other hand my SIL's psyanky eggs are outstandingly detailed. She gives us an egg every year and they are dearly cherished. She is 85 now and has hundreds of eggs stored, and still does a few new ones each year. I wish I had her steady hand.

Oh have you ever made the braided bread at Easter? My grandmother would braid six strands, absolutely beautiful. Another task I failed to learn.

I need a recipe for poppyseed roll, or shall I say how to make the filling using real poppyseed. My uncle loves poppyseed roll and I don't want to use the jarred filling. But I haven't figured out what kind of grinder I need to use.

[doglover3]

I sauté the cabbage with onions, sliced or chunked carrots and some garlic cloves in a lot of butter(Smart Balance, Promise or Country Crock actually) than add the cooked to al dente wide egg noodles. For a whole meal I add sliced or chunked smoked sausage when sautéing the cabbage and veggies.

[Poodlepet2]

Allegheny, could you please share your recipe for hudruka? (I never knew what it was called!) You are describing it to a t-heavenly! I think I love it so much because I'm a huge fan of simple custard....I so regret not being able to learn how to make it....

Thanks,

Poodlepet

[Allegheny]

On 3/8/2014 Poodlepet said:

Allegheny, could you please share your recipe for hudruka? (I never knew what it was called!) You are describing it to a t-heavenly! I think I love it so much because I'm a huge fan of simple custard....I so regret not being able to learn how to make it....

Thanks,

Poodlepet

Hi Poodlepet. Glad to share. I think you may like my SIL's recipe better than mine. Her's is sweeter as she adds sugar and vanilla. I called her and will post recipes after she calls me back. While looking thru my Solvak-American Cook Book, I see they also refer to Easter Cheese as Cirak. In another cookbook of Hungarian-American foods, it is called Sargaturo.

[Poodlepet2]

Thank you so much-I'll be watching for your post! Until then, I'm going to try to google some of these alternative names for the cheese. These are all transliterations, so I don't know what I will find, but I can't wait to see your recipe!

Thanks,

Poodlepet

[Allegheny]

Poodlepet. Haven't heard back from my SIL, but I did find her recipe. You will need cheesecloth. I am able to buy in our grocery store. I don't whether its available in grocery stores in FL. If not, you might be able to get at a fabric,craft, or hardware store. I cut a piece around 2'X2' and there are at least 3 layers. Drape this over a colander or large pot. Some people actually make a bag out of the cheese cloth by sewing the ends together.

1 dozen eggs

1 quart whole milk

1 t vanilla

4 T sugar

1 t salt

Add milk to large pot, stir in slightly beaten eggs, vanilla, sugar and salt. Cook over low heat, stirring slowly until it forms into a consistency of scrambled eggs and liquid from milk separates to the top. Pour mixture into cheese cloth to drain. As it drains, pull ends of cheese cloth together and squeeze into a ball shape. (It will be hot.) Tie tightly. Hang and let drain into a pan for 2 hours (or more if needed). Remove cheese cloth; cover with dampened cloth and refrigerate. Once totally cold can cover with plastic wrap.

Note, stir constantly, cause once it starts to set up it goes fast and people have been known leave it on the heat too long and scorch the eggs in the bottom of the pot.

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Enjoy!

I've looked at several different recipes and they all somewhat vary the ratios. One recipe used much more sugar. You may wish to add more sugar/vanilla to the above recipe since you remember it being more like a vanilla custard taste. A lot of times many recipes are trial and error and people customize to their own taste.

My mom's original recipe called for 3 dozen eggs, but she was making it for sometimes 10 people at breakfast and we always had plenty left over. Hers was so large that is probably why after draining she shaped into the cheese wheel shape and weighted it.

[Poodlepet2]

Allegheny, thank you so much....I teared up just reading the recipe: I miss Baba so much: she was like a mother to me. I never learned to make this cheese because my husband was working and I was home alone with a baby and for some reason, she always made this cheese at night! Actually, I know why: there was so much to cook during the day, this was one of the last things she made and it was a production because she was making cheese for 8 people. Everybody got a substantial ball. What amazes me is that at the time, we were living in a suburb of Philadelphia and I don't remember it being particularly cool at night except for one Easter when we still had snow-but she would tie up the cheeses and let them drain overnight-outside-hung from the door awning!

I'm going to try this recipe this week, but I'm going to try halving it. I hate waste-and something tells me I may have a few false starts with this because I'm not sure exactly how much milk should evaporate. Should I use a double boiler perhaps to avoid scorching? I remember the cheese being incredibly smooth in texture, but firm.

When you are cooking the mixture, can you tell me if it coats the spoon or whisk? Should it be a thin or thick coating? I can't wait to try this-I'm just walking down memmory lane this week! Tonight, I'm making Baba's Hulushki-and since Cater brought it up, that jogged my memmory: I'm making the real deal with spaetzle-another delicacy that Baba taught me how to make! Have a great day,

Hugs,

Poodlepet

[Allegheny]

Hi Poodlepet. Just saw your post today. I was writing my reply and then lost it so I'll start again.

First off, I wouldn't bother using a double boiler. You will be at the stove forever. Regarding hanging. Since my mom made hers in a wheel shape (3-4 inches high), she did not hang as long/drain as long as people making a ball. She would let drain/squeeze until it still was somewhat pliable then place on a rimmed cookie sheet still in the cheese clothe, then place a flat plate on top and weight it down with a foil wrapped brick.

You will know when it starts to set up. It will start thickening, this is when stirring is very important. The hotter it gets, curds start forming. It will continue to thicken and whey from milk will come to the surface. It will look like a pot of wet scrambled eggs. If you cook too long what you will end up will be sweet scrambled eggs that probably won't form well.

There is a YouTube video titled The Making of Easter Cheese (Hrudka). I just watched it. You can see it setting up in the pot and get an idea what it will look like. I didn't have the volume on when I watched. It looked to me that they may have cooked it a little too much, but everyone does things differently.

Don't worry, you will do fine. The first time I made it it turned out fine and I tend not to be good at cooking. The only thing you find you might want to experiment with on future batches is sweetening to your liking. Since Mom didn't put sugar in hers that was never an issue for me.

My SIL has figured out how to make hers in the microwave. I'm not that brave yet.

Hugs back to you. It is a pleasure meeting conversing with such nice people here.

[pepes mom]

My Mom never made halushki, but she did make Easter Cheese. The recipe posted is the exact recipe she used. I'll take this as a sign that I'll have to make the Easter Cheese this year. My Mom has been deceased 17 years and I miss her so much. Thanks for making me smile tonight.