Mrs Kostyras Babkas Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place beets on a piece of parchment paper -- lined aluminum foil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fold up edges of foil and parchment to enclose beets. Place on a small baking sheet, and bake until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 1 hour. Let stand until cool enough to handle. Peel, and coarsely grate; set aside.
• Soak mushrooms in hot water for 30 minutes. Drain through a fine-mesh sieve, reserving liquid. Coarsely chop mushrooms; set aside.
• In a medium stockpot, combine stock, beets, mushrooms, mushroom liquid, celery leaves, parsley, garlic, sugar, a large pinch of salt, and a large pinch of pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 20 minutes.
• Add lemon juice or citric acid. Taste, and adjust for seasoning. In a small bowl, combine sour cream and flour, stirring until no lumps remain. Whisk in a ladleful of soup, then whisk the sour-cream mixture into the soup. Cook until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in dill just before serving.

Steps:

• Butter three kugelhopf molds (each 1 1/2 quarts and 8 inches in diameter); set aside. Butter a large bowl; set aside. Heat milk and butter in a saucepan over medium-low, stirring, until butter is melted.
• Sprinkle yeast and a pinch of sugar over the warm water in a small bowl. Let stand until foamy, 7 to 10 minutes.
• Whisk together 4 eggs, the egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a large bowl until thick, about 3 minutes. Add vanilla, liqueur, zests, yeast mixture, and milk mixture; whisk 1 minute more. With a wooden spoon, gradually stir in up to 10 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, until a sticky dough forms. Stir in dried fruits and almonds.
• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface; knead, dusting with flour if it seems sticky, until smooth and soft, about 10 minutes. Transfer to buttered bowl. Loosely cover with buttered plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours. Punch down dough. Loosely cover with buttered wrap; let rise until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours more.
• Punch down dough, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface; knead 1 minute. Divide dough into 3 equal pieces. With lightly floured hands, roll each piece into an 18-inch-long rope. Fit each rope into a buttered mold; press end of rope into dough to seal. Loosely cover with buttered wrap. Let rise until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together remaining egg and the cream in a small bowl. Brush dough with egg wash. Bake until golden, about 35 minutes. Let cool slightly in molds on a wire rack, about 10 minutes. Unmold onto rack, and let cool completely, larger sides down.

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, scald milk. Add butter and stir until melted. Remove pan from heat and let mixture cool to lukewarm.
• In a small bowl, stir yeast into warm water; let sit for 5 to 10 minutes, or until foamy.
• In a large bowl, beat eggs, yolks, and sugar until thick. Add salt, zests, vanilla, and liqueur. Stir to combine. Stir in milk mixture, then yeast.
• Add flour, a cupful at a time, until dough is moist but not sticky, mixing with a wooden spoon or your hands. Stir in almonds and raisins.
• Knead dough on a floured board, adding more flour if dough is too sticky, until dough comes away from your hands, about 6 minutes. Place dough in a very large buttered bowl.
• Cover dough with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down and let rise again until doubled, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter three 9- or 10-inch kugelhopf or angel-food cake pans. Sprinkle pans with a tablespoon of confectioners' sugar, if desired. Divide dough into 3 portions; arrange in pans and cover loosely. Let dough rise to tops of pans, about 30 minutes.
• Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until cakes are golden brown and tops make a hollow sound when tapped with knuckles. Cool for 5 minutes in pans; turn out onto racks and cool for 20 minutes more.
• Spoon glaze onto babka, allowing it to drip over sides.

Steps:

• Heat the milk; stir in the butter until melted; cool to lukewarm. Proof the yeast in the warm water.
• Beat the eggs, egg yolks, and sugar until thick. Add the salt, grated rinds, vanilla, and Grand Marnier. Add the milk-butter mixture to the egg mixture. Stir in the yeast.
• Add the flour, a cupful at a time, mixing with a wooden spoon. The dough should not be dry, but it should not be sticky. Too much flour will make a dry, crumbly cake. Add the almonds and raisins.
• Turn the dough onto a floured board and knead for about 5 minutes, until dough comes away from your hand. Butter a very large bowl and put dough in bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk. Punch down and let rise a second time until almost doubled.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the pans generously. (You can sprinkle pans with a tablespoon of sugar if you wish.) Divide the dough into 3 portions. Arrange evenly on the pans and cover loosely. Let rise to top of pans.
• Bake cakes in oven for 30 to 45 minutes, until golden brown. There should be a hollow sound when you tap the top with your knuckles. Cool for 5 minutes in the pans, then turn out onto racks to cool.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a pot of simmering water, poach kielbasa for 20 minutes. Remove from pot, and transfer to a roasting pan with about 1 cup of the poaching water. Using a fork, poke the skin of the kielbasa to prevent it from cracking. Roast until brown and crispy, about 20 minutes.
• Slice kielbasa on the diagonal into 1/2-inch slices. Serve with rye bread, horseradish, and mustard.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 2 1/2-quart casserole dish; set aside.
• Warm the milk and tomato paste in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, cheddar cheese, and 1/2 cup Swiss cheese; set the cheese sauce aside.
• Cover a large pot of salted water, and bring to a boil. Cook until pasta is al dente, about 7 minutes. Drain well in a colander. Stir macaroni into reserved cheese sauce.
• Pour mixture into prepared dish. Top with remaining 1/2 cup Swiss cheese, and dot with butter. Bake until golden brown and bubbling, about 45 minutes. Serve hot with sour cream, if desired.