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Get your Kugelis on! (with recipes and potato grater)

Get your Kugelis on! (with recipes and potato grater)
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  • Get your Kugelis on! (with recipes and potato grater)

    Post #1 - May 24th, 2012, 2:18 pm
    Post #1 - May 24th, 2012, 2:18 pm Post #1 - May 24th, 2012, 2:18 pm
    Hi,

    A friend sent me a link to this blog: Grandma Ann's.

    It isn't just a blog, it features a new product out in August for grating potatoes for Kugelis. Not only that, it includes recipes for kugelis, Kukuliai (potato balls with meat inside.

    Now you can watch the last days of Healthy Foods with the idea to make some Kugelis yourself.

    Mike G wrote:Sky Full of Bacon #14: The Last Days of Kugelis



    The history of Lithuanians in Chicago is the history of the twentieth century— from immigration in the early years of the century to the racial tensions of the 1960s. One of the last examples of Lithuanian Chicago closed in late 2009: Healthy Food, a 71-year-old restaurant serving good hearty Eastern European food in the Bridgeport neighborhood. I was at Healthy Food during its last few days, talking to owner Gina Santoski about her life in the restaurant (which her parents bought in 1960) and to the staff and customers who made it one of Chicago’s classic old neighborhood spots.

    And, for the first and only time, I captured on video the complete making of Healthy Food’s signature dish, kugelis— according to Gina, she never let other journalists shoot the full process, because she was concerned that the traditional ways of making it would attract unwanted Health Department attention; but since she was closing anyway, she let me shoot it all. (15:31)
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways, Road Food 2012: Podcast
  • Post #2 - May 24th, 2012, 3:41 pm
    Post #2 - May 24th, 2012, 3:41 pm Post #2 - May 24th, 2012, 3:41 pm
    You don't have to wait for August. You can buy one now from Kunigaiksčiu Užeiga (aka Duke's) website:

    http://www.lietuvele.com/osc/index.php?cPath=17
  • Post #3 - May 24th, 2012, 7:55 pm
    Post #3 - May 24th, 2012, 7:55 pm Post #3 - May 24th, 2012, 7:55 pm
    That is a wonderful film clip. Kudos to Mike for capturing part of chicago history. I am only so sad that I never went there before it closed. I worked with quite a few Lithuanians and they lived out in Lemont. They told me that there are bingo games out there at some Lithuanian center and they serve Lith food too. I wonder if there are any Lith. restaurants left.
    Toria

    "I like this place and willingly could waste my time in it" - As You Like It,
    W. Shakespeare
  • Post #4 - May 24th, 2012, 8:16 pm
    Post #4 - May 24th, 2012, 8:16 pm Post #4 - May 24th, 2012, 8:16 pm
    I wonder if there are any Lith. restaurants left.


    If you pop in for the child-free brunch at Sprout, you can have Lasineciai, AKA Lithuanian bacon buns. Fabulous. Chef Dale Levitski is of Lithuanian descent, and is a very chatty and friendly fellow; you might ask if anything else on the menu is of Lithuanian origin (I'm thinking the poppyseed/blackberry turnover might be, for one).
  • Post #5 - May 24th, 2012, 8:52 pm
    Post #5 - May 24th, 2012, 8:52 pm Post #5 - May 24th, 2012, 8:52 pm
    Sure there are Lithuanian restaurants. Here's one:

    viewtopic.php?f=14&t=7444&p=67164&hilit=Kunigaiksciu#p67164

    And another

    viewtopic.php?f=14&t=5670&hilit=Smilga
  • Post #6 - May 25th, 2012, 4:36 am
    Post #6 - May 25th, 2012, 4:36 am Post #6 - May 25th, 2012, 4:36 am
    I will have to try that. Maybe in the fall. Seems like too heavy food now.
    Toria

    "I like this place and willingly could waste my time in it" - As You Like It,
    W. Shakespeare
  • Post #7 - May 25th, 2012, 8:23 am
    Post #7 - May 25th, 2012, 8:23 am Post #7 - May 25th, 2012, 8:23 am
    toria wrote:I will have to try that. Maybe in the fall. Seems like too heavy food now.


    We were just at Grand Duke's a couple of weeks ago (and had our wedding rehearsal dinner, there, too, in November.) Love the place. Food is great, but it is very stick-to-the-ribs hearty fare, so bring an appetite. If you like potatoes, this is the place for you. Their Lithuanian combination plate has the most varied applications of potato on a single platter I have ever seen. However, you can certainly pick out a lighter, more summery meal if you want. Their cold beet soup is one of my favorite dishes, and they do have a selection of grilled meats (like steaks and kebabs, neither of which I have tried.)

    But, yeah, the type of food I go there for is better associated with fall and winter eating.

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