Polish Duck Soup (Czarnina) with Raw Potato Dumplings

Polish Duck Soup with raw potato dumplings. So good!

Polish Duck Soup (Czarnina) with
Raw Potato Dumplings (Kartoflane Kluski)  

Since it is almost impossible today to get duck’s blood and it is a turn off for most people (even though it just adds flavor and richness), this recipe does not include duck’s blood.

1 duck, cut up

1 pound pork loin back ribs

3 quarts water

2 teaspoons salt

1 stalk celery

1/2 onion

1 sprig parsley

8 whole allspice

4 whole cloves

2 Tablespoons vinegar

1 tablespoon Kitchen Bouquet Gravy Maker

1 tablespoon condensed veal stock if you can find it (Optional). I make my own by browning veal neck bones in some oil. Add ½ cup water and simmer until water is reduced to about 2 tablespoons. Use a gravy separator to pour off fat, or chill overnight and remove fat.

12 dried prunes

4 carrots

2 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup sour cream

Cover duck and pork ribs in a large sauce pan. Add salt and bring to a boil. Skim off foam. Add celery, onion, parsley, allspice, cloves, vinegar, and 1 tablespoon Kitchen Bouquet Gravy Maker. Cover and cook over low heat until meat is tender, about 1 and 1/2 hours.

Strain, discard vegetables and reserve pork for another use.

Remove duck meat from bones. Reserve meat. 

Allow soup to chill overnight. The next day remove fat. Bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat and add veal stock if available. 

Add prunes and carrots. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until carrots are tender. 

Blend flour, sugar and sour cream until smooth. Add about 1/2 cup hot soup to flour mixture. Pour mixture into soup and bring soup just to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer gently for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Add reserved duck meat. Continue to simmer for an additional 5 minutes, again stirring until meat is heated through. 

Season to taste with salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve with raw potato dumplings.

Raw Potato Dumplings (Kartoflane Kluski)

These are not really "raw". Raw potatoes are used as the basis for this recipe, but are cooked. These dumplings are meant to go with my recipe for Polish Duck Soup You can also use the dumplings in chicken soup, or fry them up with butter and onions to create a side dish.

INGREDIENTS

 8-12 servings

2 cups raw potatoes, peeled and cut into large dice

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 and 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cups bread crumbs (preferably Japanese panko which have been rolled smooth)

DIRECTIONS

Process potatoes in food processor until smooth. If lots of water, drain excess water.

In a bowl, combine potatoes with beaten eggs, salt, crumbs and flour to make dough.

Drop about a good teaspoonful of dough into boiling, salted water.

Cook until dumplings float. Allow to cook for a couple of minutes, then remove to colander. Rinse lightly with cool water. Drain.

Aunt Mil's Apple Cake

A few years ago, my friend, Jack, from church gave me this recipe for Apple Cake that his Aunt Mil always made. As soon the weather turns to fall, I have a yearning to make this cake. It always tastes delicious and is very easy to make. Thank you, Jack, for sharing your aunt’s recipe with me. It has brought joy to me and to all those who have tasted this Fall treat!

Aunt Mil's Apple Cake

Aunt Mil’s Apple Cake

INGREDIENTS

2 cups sifted flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 cup vegetable oil

1 and 3/4 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 medium apples, peeled and coarsely chopped (I like Golden Delicious)

Optional: 1/2 teaspoon Apple Pie spice (I add this to the apples. It is not in Aunt Mil’s recipe).

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

DIRECTIONS

Set oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a 9x13 baking pan with baking spray.

Sift together flour, baking soda and cinnamon. Stir to be sure that it is thoroughly mixed. Set aside.

Combine vegetable oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture.

Add optional Apple Pie Spice to apples. Stir gently.

Gently add apples and walnuts to the batter. Stir to combine. Don’t over mix.

Pour into baking pan and spread so that batter is evenly dispersed.

Bake for 50 minutes. Check for doneness with a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake.

(Note: This is a good snacking cake as is, but you could up it a notch by topping it with a cream cheese icing and sprinkling some toasted chopped walnuts on top).

Chicken Soup with Italian Sausage, Fennel and Tortellini

A couple of weeks ago we went to Bucks, a marvelous restaurant in downtown Louisville, KY before going to the Fountain Court Art Festival. We had been to Bucks before and had a wonderful meal with superb service, and beautiful atmosphere--dozens of vases full of white flowers, and an excellent musician on the piano. The lunch was great and I had a cup of marvelous chicken soup with Italian sausage and Tortellini. You will find my interpreted version below. Bucks soup had more bite to it, maybe hot Italian sausage or red pepper flakes. I like mine on mild side. Let me know if you make the soup. Always open to suggestions!

Chicken Soup with Italian Sausage, Fennel and Tortellini

Chicken Soup with Italian Sausage, Fennel and Tortellini

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Italian sausage, mild

4 boneless chicken thighs

2 teaspoons Italian herbs, divided

1 teaspoon Montreal Steak seasoning

1 teaspoon Montreal Chicken seasoning

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 cup onion, coarsely chopped

1 stalk of celery, coarsely chopped

1 medium carrot, coarsely chopped

1 fennel head, coarsely chopped, reserve some of the fronds for garnish

1/2 cup roasted red pepper, coarsely chopped

72 ounces lower sodium chicken stock

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

DIRECTIONS

In a large frying pan, sauté Italian sausage in 1 tablespoon olive oil. When browned remove sausage and set aside in a bowl lined with paper towel. Do don’t discard frying pan.

Cut chicken thighs into 1-inch pieces, removing any excess fat or tendons and place in mixing bowl. Season chicken thighs with 1 teaspoon Italian herbs, 1 teaspoon Montreal Steak seasoning, 1 teaspoon Montreal Chicken seasoning and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder. Stir to be sure all chicken pieces are coated with seasoning.  Sauté in frying pan until chicken is cooked through.  Remove chicken and add to reserved sausage. Reserve frying pan.

In the frying pan, add onion, celery, carrots, and fennel. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil if necessary. Sauté until vegetables wilt, about 5 minutes.

In a soup pot, bring chicken stock to a boil. Add vegetables, chicken and sausage. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes. Add about 32 chicken and garlic refrigerated tortellini. (Note: I used Buitoni, but you could use another brand, or even a different type of tortellini). Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer covered for about 5 minutes. Taste and add seasoning as desired.

Remove from heat and let sit for about 10 minutes.

Serve with reserved fennel fronds and grated parmesan cheese.

Sliced Almond Sugar Cookies

These cookies are so good that I think I am going to add them to my Christmas cookie collection. I can see adding a half teaspoon of marzipan into the center of each cookie dough ball. Yum!

Sliced Almond Sugar Cookies

INGREDIENTS

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup white sugar, plus 1/4 cup for rolling

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature

1 large egg, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

1/4 cup sliced almonds, not toasted

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the egg and mix until well combined.

Add the vanilla and almond extract, mixing on low speed until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter and egg mixture and mix on low speed for about 20 to 30 seconds just until the dough begins to come together. Do not over mix. Mix in toasted almonds.

Refrigerate dough for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Scoop 2 tablespoon portions of the cookie dough and roll the dough into balls. Roll the dough balls in a small bowl filled with the 1/4 cup granulated sugar.

Place the cookie dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet. Dip a glass with sugar. Press down balls gently. Sprinkle untoasted almonds on top. Press down lightly so that almonds adhere to dough.

Bake for 11 to 12 minutes or until the edges are set and begin to turn a very light brown. The tops of the cookies should by puffy and cracked. Do not overbake.

Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before using a spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack.

Hint: Sometimes my cookies come out to crispy. Here is an easy solution to turn crispy cookies into chew cookies. Put your cookies in a sealable container. Put a slice of white bread on top. Let stand overnight. Remove the slice of bread, and you will now have chewy cookies!!