I'm a Certified Lithuanian Cook!

The magic pierogi machine

For the whole story about my Christmas break, check here.

Many of the Lithuanian dishes for Christmas were similar to what I'm used to from celebrating Wigilia.  There were some interesting differences, like deep-fried pierogi filled with poppy seeds.  Poppy seeds are used for a lot of different dishes here, even more than what mom does at home.  One of my favorite foods they made for Christmas was little poppy seed cookies.

Pierogi making started on Sunday because Rita's mom worked on Christmas Eve.  I thought it was going to be a huge production because in my house, pierogi making takes at several hours because you have to fill each one and make sure they're tightly sealed.   Nope...Leovakidas had this AMAZING contraption that made fourteen pierogi at a time!

Since she didn't need any help with the pierogi, I didn't know what I could help with so I went in and played with Armandas for a little while.  I really wanted to help make Christmas dinner though so on Christmas Eve, I went in and offered to help...right when a big bowl full of onions needed to be chopped.  So I set to work crying and chopping about six onions.

Since Rugile and Radvile (my cousin's daughters) were also staying with us.  On Wednesday, Rita promised to make them a traditional Lithuanian dish, cepelinai.  I hadn't remembered trying it during my last visits, but when I told dad about them he knew exactly what I was talking about.

Rita and me making cepelinai

It's quite an interesting dish.  First, you have to grind up a bunch of potatoes, much finer than one would for something like potato pancakes.  After squeezing out as much liquid as possible through a cheesecloth, we added eggs and flour to the potato mush.  Then we flattened some of the mixture on one hand and placed meat into the middle and enclosed it with the potatoes.  The best part was next, throwing the ball of food back in forth between my hands to make it into a nice shape.

After boiling for about 20 minutes, they were ready to eat.  We served it with fried onions and pork on top.  It was absolutely delicious!  And so easy to make that I'll be bringing this dish home with me :)