Friday, January 1, 2010

New Year's Eve, 2009

About a week ago, in my study of Deuteronomy, I came across chapter 25, verses 5-10, which contain instructions regarding the marriage duties of a surviving brother (with regard to his now-widowed sister-in-law).  The widow, it says, is allowed to remove his sandal and spit in his face if he does not carry out his duty to her.  A sidebar note in my Bible mentions that sandals were, at that time, symbolically dirty, which is why Moses was commanded to remove his sandals at the burning bush, and Joshua to remove his when the Commander of the Lord's Army visited him.


Then yesterday, New Year's Eve, I read in Matthew 3 how John declared that One greater than he was coming; One Whose sandals he, John, was not worthy to untie.  I could be stretching here, but having just read what I did about the symbolism of the dirty shoe, I thought John's statement had even more punch in telling his audience just how much greater the One to come was!  I love it when one portion of the Bible sheds light or amplifies something I read in another part of it...it always feels like a little present from God!






We had a very quiet New Year's Eve here, but I have to say, it was wonderful. I made two particularly delicious treats and they are both from my Dutch heritage.  The first, oliebollen, I have made pretty much every year since we got married.  Literally translated, oliebollen means oil balls and they are basically a version of fried dough.   The batter is slightly thick and is spooned into the hot oil with two soup spoons, and can have additions like chopped apples or raisins.  They are best when liberally dipped/rolled/coated with powdered sugar.  When Jessica and Steve arrived, I had just started frying them, and Jessica said, "I've been waiting for this for 365 days!"





The second popular item I made is called Saucijzenbroodje.  I can't really tell you what the translation is, but it's sort of a Dutch version of Pigs in a Blanket, although that doesn't really do it justice. Here is what I did:


Saucijzenbroodjes


Dough:
3 c flour
3/4 t salt
1 1/2 c butter
1/2-2/3 c ice water


Combine flour and salt.  Cut in butter till mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in ice water, 1 T at a time, till dough forms a ball.  Knead very slightly and let sit, covered, for 30 minutes.


Meat mixture:
1 pound ground beef or pork
1 t salt
1 t pepper
1 t maggi aroma (this is a liquid that comes in a bottle; leave it out if it is not available in your area or substitute Worcestershire sauce.  It's nothing like the same thing but it will give a nice flavor to your meat).
1 t nutmet
1 egg
1/2 c Dutch rusk crumbs; if you don't have access to Dutch rusks (beschuit), use very fine bread crumbs.


Combine all ingredients in  bowl, using your hands to get it well mixed.


Cut off a piece of dough, say about one sixth of it (I'm guessing) and make a roll about ten inches long.  Then use a rolling pin to flatten it.  You want it to be considerably longer than wide - as long as your longest cookie sheet and about 4 1/2" wide, and a little more than an 1/8" thick - about like a pie crust. Then shape some meat into a roll and place on the dough (you can do this in sections, it doesn't have to be one long piece of meat!)  


Wrap the dough around the meat  - it should overlap a bit - and pinch the edges together.  Place the roll, seam side down, on a greased cookie sheet.  You can also shape the log into a letter - your initial, say - this is very traditional in the Netherlands and it would make a great gift for that hard-to-buy-for person on your list!  Brush with an egg that has been whisked with about a teaspoon of water and bake at 400 for about 25 minutes, till golden brown.  Cut into 2" segments and serve either hot or cold.  It's delicious both ways!


You will most likely have more dough than meat - I put two recipes from two different books together here.  If you have dough left over, it will make a really good pie!  And if you have meat left over, you could use it as the base for a great spaghetti sauce.  Or make more dough!





Happy New Year!





Abigail did not make it to midnight.

3 comments:

  1. Alas, we did not bother with "fat balls" at my sister's. She had already made more food than was humanly possible to eat. All very delicious. I am extremely disappointed we missed the "pigs". They remind me of Jack's precious Uncle John. Thanks for the recipe!

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  2. I'm trying to see if this will save as a comment now. Maybe, maybe I have it figured out.

    Sorry - next time I'll try to be more pertinent to what you have posted!

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  3. I didn't have any problems posting a comment on your site... sometimes it can be finicky though! Happy New Year!

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