Polish off three P's for a practically perfect performance: Pirogies, a potato and cheese-stuffed pastry garnished with onions and bacon; Potica, a pastry lined with walnuts and raisins; or a Polka, a night of high-stepping with the Rocky Mountain Polka Express.
Put the pieces together and you have Utah-Slavia, the 10th anniversary edition, Friday and Saturday, June 19 and 20. Events kick off at 7 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m. on Saturday. Admission is $3 for adults and $2 for senior citizens and children.The celebration of Slavic traditions will be at the historic Old Mill, 6900 Big Cottonwood Canyon Road (take 6200 South exit on I-215).
Continued political unrest in the homelands contributes to the vitality of the local celebration, according to longtime organizer Ann Bero.
"The uncertain conditions in Yugoslavia, in particular, only increase our desire to cultivate and preserve the traditions passed down from our parents and grandparents," Bero explains.
Bero and Rose Connors, both second-generation Americans, and Chris Kontgis, of Greek descent, will prepare pounds of sarma, or stuffed cabbage leaves, as well as seasoned pork shish-kabobs. The trio offer their tastes of Slavic cuisine in behalf of the hungry and homeless at St. Vincent de Paul Center.
Pirogy portions will be prepared by executive chef Gary Pankow of Helen's Garden Restaurant.
Pirogies are an economy statement in Russia and Poland, according to Helen Petras of the restaurant.
"The village people eat pirogies every day," Petras says, "but each geographic territory has its own favorite filling. Most use a potato/cheese filling, but some stuff the pastries with chicken, beef, pork, sauerkraut or other vegetable combinations."
Utah-Slavia not only showcases traditional foods but provides a display of Eastern European arts like intricately painted Ukrainian eggs or Balkan folkcrafts or underscores a star-lit evening of native musical performances.
Zivio Ethnic Arts Ensemble will perform folk dances of Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, accompanied by tamburitzas, a double-stringed instrument similar to a mandolin. Both the Zivio bitov band (a collection of Balkan instruments) and the Zivio choir will add to the cultural reminiscence of the homelands.
Special guest artists include the Rocky Mountain Polka Express, who will play from 9 p.m. until midnight both evenings, Russian puppeteer Demetri Raschkin, and Dunov, a kolo band from San Francisco.
For further information, call 521-5444.
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(Recipes)
Apple Strudel
3/4 cup salad oil
1 cup water
1 egg, beaten
4 cups flour
Filling:
7-8 large apples
1/2 cup butter
1-1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Raisins, optional
Mix oil, water, egg and flour; knead about 10 minutes. Place dough in warm oven while preparing filling.
To prepare filling, put warm dough on center of floured cloth. Roll into a 12-inch circle. Place hands underneath dough; start stretching. Pull dough until paper-thin. Be careful. If dough tears, it cannot be mended.
Grate apples on top of dough; dot with butter and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Top with raisins, if desired. Trim thick edges of dough or fold in.
Take edge of cloth and begin rolling like jelly roll. Shape in horseshoe shape; place on greased jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 11/2 hours or until golden brown. Baste during baking with juices that cook out. Makes 16 servings.
Each serving contains 420 calories; 18 gm fat; 7 mg sodium; 29 mg cholesterol.
From Ann Bero
Potica
2 cups milk
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
4 eggs, slightly whipped
2 packages yeast
11/2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup hot water
1 teaspoon salt
6 cups flour
Filling:
3 pounds walnuts
1 cup white raisins
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup evaporated milk
5 eggs, separated
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Combine all of the dough ingredients; keep adding flour until dough is smooth. Let rise in greased bowl until doubled, about 2 hours. Punch down and let rise again, about 20 minutes.
While dough is rising, prepare filling.
Grind walnuts in a food processor. Soak raisins in hot water, then grind in meat grinder. Put ground nuts in a large pan. Add raisins, sugar, honey, cinnamon, evaporated milk and egg yolks. Heat mixture until warm, just before spreading on the dough.
Divide dough into 4 pieces for large loaves or 5 pieces for small loaves. Weigh dough to get loaves even. Roll dough so it is not much more than width of pan and about 30 inches long.
When dough is rolled out thin, fold 5 whipped egg whites and baking powder; spread evenly over rolled dough.
Filling will be very soft. Spread on dough leaving about 1 inch of one end without filling. Roll the dough tightly like a jelly roll. Place in greased and warmed 10-by-15-inch pans; let rise 45 minutes or until almost double.
Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Cover loaves with foil and continue baking at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove pans from oven, brush top loaves with unbeaten egg white. Let loaves sit in pans approximately 10 minutes; remove to wire racks and cool completely. Each loaf makes about 15 servings.
Each serving contains 277 calories; 18 gm fat; 55 mg sodium; 42 mg cholesterol.
From Mary Cima, Lynna Topolovec and Tillie Yelenich