How to Find Polish Holiday Recipes

Recipes for Polish special-occasion foods such as pierogi, poppy seed rolls or honey cakes aren't difficult to find. Most Polish cookbooks include a section on holiday foods.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Recipe Cards
• Cooking Magazines
• File Folders
• Index Cards

1. Research Polish holiday customs, and learn what foods are traditionally served. The main Christmas meal is a 12-course meatless feast served on Christmas Eve (see 'How to Prepare a Traditional Polish Christmas Eve Dinner'); for Easter, you'll want to know how to make the rich cakes called babas and the hunter's cabbage-and-sausage stew known as bigos.

2. Ask Polish-Americans you know to share their family recipes.

3. Search the Internet for international recipe sites.

4. Look for Polish cookbooks in the international cookbook section of your local library and bookstores.

5. Scour flea markets, antique malls, garage sales and used bookstores for older, out-of-print Polish cookbooks.

6. Compile a folder with favorite recipes you have tried along with your notes about making the various dishes. This information will come in handy when it's time to prepare holiday menus.