Stuffed Cabbage (Polish - gołąbki)

Maybe not a recipe that will especially entice a lot of people, but...I had 1/2 a cabbage leftover from another recipe, and I'm always interested in trying something new (especially something that combines more vegetables with the meat), I figured I'd give it a shot. After perusing a variety of recipes and noting consistently common ingredients in all, this is an amalgamation of two different recipes, choosing the ingredients based on flavors I know I like personally. I really don't know how 'traditional' it may be.

Sauce Ingredients
1 15-oz can crushed tomatoes, with juice
1 C mire poix (1/2 C onion, 1/4 C carrot, 1/4 C celery - all finely diced*)
½ C brown sugar
¼ C red wine vinegar
¼ C lemon juice
2 T cornstarch, dissolved in ¼ C water

* I'm not a fan of celery, so I tend to go light on the celery and throw in a little extra onion and/or carrot.

Stuffed Cabbage Ingredients
½ large (or 1 small) head cabbage
1 lb ground beef (or combination beef & pork)
1½ C cooked rice (cook in chicken stock for extra flavor; I used a whole grain, wild rice blend)
2 eggs
½ C bread crumbs
½ C caramelized onions
¼ C brown sugar
½ tsp thyme
¼ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp each salt & pepper

Directions
Prepare cabbage...  Use a pairing knife to remove core. For the most tender leaves, freeze the cabbage the day ahead. With or without freezing, bring a large pot of water to boil; boil cabbage until leaves are tender and pull apart easily (approx. 5 minutes, or slightly more if not frozen). If ribs are still too tough, trim thickest parts.

Mix sauce...  In saute pan, cook mire poix with a little oil until onions are translucent and carrots have softened. Dissolve cornstarch in water; combine mire poix, cornstarch and remaining ingredients in saucepan, bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for ½ hour.

Prepare filling... stir together ground beef, cooked rice, bread crumbs, caramelized onions, brown sugar, thyme, garlic powder, salt & pepper. (Add a little extra bread crumbs or a little of the sauce if mixture is too soggy or too dry...should be a relatively firm meatloaf consistency.)

Assemble...
Pre-heat oven to 375˚.
Pour a thin layer of sauce to cover the bottom of 9x13 baking dish. Place generous ½ cup of meat filling near the rib end of a cabbage leaf; roll toward the outer leaf, tucking in sides as you go. Place seam side down in baking dish. Continue until all meat mixture is rolled in leaves and placed in baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over rolls. To retain moisture during cooking, spread remaining cabbage leaves over top of rolls. Cook 1 hour. 

Stuffed Cabbage rolls -- and the extra sauce -- can be served with mashed potatoes, rice or pasta.

Smoky Mushroom Stroganoff

This doesn't satisfy my craving for a traditional stroganoff; the sour cream flavor is less pronounced. But the smoky, mushroom combo is a nice switch. I'd love it with pappardelle, I'm sure, but I had spinach linguine on hand...delicious and nice colorful presentation too!

Ingredients
1 8-10 oz pkg dried pappardelle (or other pasta noodles)
1½ lb mushrooms, sliced (button, cremini, shitake, etc)
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbls olive oil
1 8-oz carton sour cream
2 Tbls flour
1½ tsp smoked paprika
1 C vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste
chopped parsley to garnish, if desired

Directions
Cook noodles according to pkg directions; drain and keep warm.

In large skillet, cook mushrooms and garlic in olive oil 6-8 minutes over medium heat, until tender. Remove from skillet; keep warm.

In skillet, combine sour cream, flour, and paprika. Slowly add broth, stirring until smooth and creamy. Cook over medium-low heat until thickened and bubbly. 

Serve mushroom mixture and sauce over noodles; garnish with parsley if desired.

Russian Tea Cookies

1 C butter, softened
½ C powdered sugar
additional for rolling/dusting
1 tsp vanilla
2½ C flour
¼ tsp salt
optional: finely chopped nuts

Cream butter, powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix in flour, salt and nuts (if desired). Chill dough. Roll into 1" balls. Bake 10-12 minutes at 400°.

While still warm (not hot), roll in additional powdered sugar. Cool. Roll again in powdered sugar.