Christmas and Holiday Meals

Bobalky (Opekance)

Ingredients: leavened dough or few days old bread rolls, ground poppy seeds, sugar, milk, butter Prep Time: 5 minutes if you use old bread, about 2 hours otherwise Integral part of the Christmas table in many Slovak families are little pieces of sweet bread known as bobaľky, opekance or pupáčky. They are typically topped with poppies (s makom), but some people eat them with farmer’s cheese (tvaroh) or even cabbage (kapusta). In this recipe I show you how to prepare this delicious desert. Opekance are typically eaten as the third “course”. First, there is the prípitok, a shot of liquor. Read the Rest…

Bear Paws (Medvedie Labky)

Ingredients: 1 yolk, 280g flour (about 2 cups), 220g margarine, 100g ground walnuts, 100g powdered sugar, 1 packet of vanilla sugar (about 20g), chocolate for cover (optional) Prep Time: 1 hour Bear paws (medvedie labky) is a cookie that is an integral part of any Christmas table in Slovakia. Although Slovakia is known for its kolache (koláče), elaborate sweet deserts found in cukráreň, the pastry shop, this type of a sweet is called krehké pečivo, meaning fragile baked good. It’s quite simple to make, however you’ll need baking molds. The form most commonly used is in the shape of a Read the Rest…

Lokshe (Lokše)

Ingredients: 6 potatoes, cup of flour, oil, salt, sauerkraut or jam with poppy seeds Prep Time: 30 minutes An indispensable part of the Slovak kitchen are lokshe (lokše, lokša singular). They are thin pancakes made out of potato dough that are baked on a hot plate or an ungreased frying pan. They are kind of like Slovak tortillas. These will be found on any Christmas table! You will also find them offered at Christmas markets held in just about every town during the holidays. Today I am again at my grandma, so I watched as she prepared a batch. Follow Read the Rest…

Rum Balls (Rumové Guľky)

Ingredients: 2 cups powdered sugar, 2 cups ground walnuts, 1 yolk, shot of rum, chocolate shavings, crystal sugar, coconut shavings Prep time: 20 minutes Rumové Guľky (small rum balls) is a very popular Christmas desert. These treats will be included on any holiday table along with a wide assortment of other pastries. The great thing about this particular sweet is that it is extremely easy to make. It requires no baking and you can make it literally in under 20 minutes. This was another dish I brought in to the Sv. Mikuláš party, along with the 100-person sauerkraut soup. Combine Read the Rest…

Sauerkraut Soup for Hundred (Kapustnica pre Sto)

For one 4-gallon batch (~50 servings) Ingredients: 8 lb sauerkraut, 1 gallon water, 3 lb of pork neck, 16 peppercorns, 4 spoons caraway, 8 cloves garlic, 8 whole cloves, tablespoon crushed nutmeg, handful dried mushrooms, 7 onions, 7 apples, 3 lbs sausage and bacon, 4 tablespoons paprika, 4 tablespoons red pepper, 1.5lb tub of sour cream, few tablespoons flour Prep Time: 4 hours Regular Size (~12 servings) Ingredients: 2 lb sauerkraut, 1 quart water, 0.8 lb of pork neck, 4 peppercorns, 1 spoons caraway, 2 cloves garlic, 2 whole cloves, bit of crushed nutmeg, smaller handful dried mushrooms, 2 onions, Read the Rest…