Wednesday, 6 February 2013

Nestor's First Sailboat and Sam

"Coming about!"  . . .   "Cleat that!"  

1970s:  Lake of the Woods: 

Good times and wonderful food, often prepared by Nestor on a tiny barbecue.   


1976: sailors on dock: Nestor, Bryan, and Sam

Charting a course  

Bryan, on the lookout for rocks or shallows

Nestor, at the helm

Bryan and Sam, taking their turn

An island break

Not much of a sailor

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2012:  Barbecue Master 

Happy Birthday, Nestor!  

   Here are those big dill buns you asked for at Christmas:

MARY STADNYK’S Ukrainian Dill Buns  (Veh-lih-kee  Pih-ro-hih z  Kropoo)
            For dinner at 6:00 p.m., start preparing the buns at 4:00 p.m.

Ingredients for Dough    
                            
1 cup milk                                                      
1 ½ tablespoons butter                                
1 package or 2 ½ teaspoons yeast              
¼ cup warm water                                         
½ teaspoon sugar                                           
3 eggs                                                               
1 teaspoon salt                                               
¼ cup vegetable oil                                      
2 tablespoons sour cream or plain yogurt
2 tablespoons sugar 
4 ¼ cups flour  to 5 cups

 Ingredients for Filling                                          1 ½  pounds potatoes
 1 cup chopped onion (a 6 ounce onion)
 2 teaspoons butter
 ¾ cup chopped fresh dill
 1 cup dry cottage cheese
 1 teaspoon salt
 ½ teaspoon pepper
 1 egg

 First prepare the dough:

1.      Bring milk almost to a boil and set aside to cool.  Add to it one and a half tablespoons butter.
2.      Put yeast and ½ teaspoon sugar in a small bowl with ¼ cup warm (not hot) water. 
3.      Separate the eggs; the whites in a medium-sized bowl and the yolks in a large bowl. 
4.      Beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks.
5.      Add salt, oil, sour cream, oil, and 2 tablespoons sugar to the egg yolks.  Beat together.
6.      Mix in yeast and milk.
7.      Lightly fold egg whites into the other liquid ingredients.
8.      Add 4 cups of flour, one cup at a time, and stir.
9.      Turn dough onto floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic.  Work in extra flour as needed – you will use about up to another cup.
10.  Generously flour the working surface again.  Set the dough on top and turn the large mixing bowl over to cover the dough.
11.  Let the dough rise 45 minutes or more.  Meanwhile, you have lots of time now to prepare the filling.

Preparing the filling:


1.      Cook the potatoes in lightly salted water.  Then drain and mash the potatoes.
2.      Finely chop the onion.
3.      Over medium heat, melt 2 teaspoons butter in a non-stick saucepan.
4.      Add the onions to the saucepan, turn the heat down to very low, cover the saucepan, and sweat the onions for 10 minutes, until tender.
5.      Finely chop the dill.
6.      Mix the onions, cottage cheese, dill, salt, and pepper into the mashed potatoes.
7.      Beat the egg and mix into the potatoes.

Preparing the dill buns:

1.      Grease a large cooking sheet.
2.      Punch down the dough and knead it to remove air bubbles.
3.      Divide the dough in half.  Divide each half into 8 sections, (16 sections in all).   
4.      With your fingers, shape each section into a circle 3 – 4 inches wide. 


5.      Put slighltly less than one-third of a cup of filling into the center.


6.      Pinch the dough together around the filling and set the bun, seam-side down, on the cooking sheet.


7.      Leaving just a little space between each bun, make the rest of the buns.  There is enough dough and filling for 16 buns.
8.      Cover the buns with a tea towel and let rise for 10 minutes.
9.      Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


10.  Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown.
11.  For a nice, shiny look to the buns, melt 2 teaspoons butter and brush the top of the buns lightly.
12.  Serve hot with sweet or sour cream.

***They are even better reheated!

To Reheat:

            Chop an onion finely and brown it in 2 tablespoons butter.  Add 1/3 cup cream (or milk) to the pan.  Put buns in and cover.  


Heat on low for 10 minutes. 

Before serving, cut into one to make sure it’s nice and hot.

When serving, spoon some of the thickened cream on top.

These are so much easier to make than perogies!  And so delicious!

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