Friday, January 1, 2010

NEW YEAR'S FEAST PENNSYLVANIA STYLE

What do you serve for New Year's?  Well, my family always had pork and sauerkraut.  No one knows why really, but most folks in Western PA (and I know for a fact Ohio), have a pork and sauerkraut feast either on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day.  If you don't, you are doomed to have bad luck all year, or something like that.  I think it is a German tradition, but I'll have to Google that for the actual facts.

When I moved to Wisconsin, I was puzzled as to why the week before New Year's, there was no sauerkraut in the easy-to-find display case, and no pork on sale.  I mean, I had to actually ask where I could find the sauerkraut!  I was told "where it usually is".  WHAT???  So, I went home and described this "incident" do my husband, and he acted like the grocery lady had.  "Why WOULD they have the sauerkraut in the display case and pork on sale this week?"  He asked!  Oh my!   When I told him our tradition, he looked at me like I was from Mars, and quite frankly, that is the way I felt!  So, just to reassure myself that I was not crazy, I called several family members and friends and asked them what they were serving and if in fact that WAS the tradition.  After being reassured that they all had served that all their lives on New Year's, I felt better. I later learned that no one here has ever heard of that tradition.  They don't eat anything special on New Year's!   Can you imagine?!

Well, I am not superstitious, but just in case my German ancestors knew something I did not, I still serve pork and sauerkraut on New Year's Day.  Please note:  I hate sauerkraut and always have, but on this one day a year, I fix it!




Tonight, I made the dish Polish Spaghetti.  Now, I'm not Polish, I'm German, but this dish has all the required ingredients for a guaranteed great year.


I really have no recipe for this - I kinda just throw it all together.  But here it is:
3/4 of a box of rotini
1 can sauerkraut, rinsed and drained
1 small onion, sauteed
1-2 packages of keilbasi
2 cans cream of mushroom soup 





Cook rotini, saute onion in oil, and toss in sauerkraut and "stir fry" all together.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Cut keilbasi in bite sized chunks and throw in with the onions and kraut.  Place all ingredients in a 9x13 pan, and mix in the cream of mushroom soup.  Cover and cook for 20-30 minutes until heated through. 


It is pretty good, even if you don't like kraut!  If you don't eat something special on New Year's - start a tradition!





3 comments:

  1. We had our pork and kielbasa and saurekraut and mashed potatoes last night at Sheila's. It was really good. And now I could eat more after seeing your pics-but I don't have any. Wahhhh!!!

    I've never had Polish spaghetti before, but it sounds really good and maybe my daughter would even like it. She loves sauerkraut. I may have to try this sometime.

    Happy New Year!

    PS-the Wisconsinites don't know what they are missing.

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  2. we had our pork and saurkraut nyeve and nyday. this looks interesting and low fat/easy/tasty. i will try this.........ohh and happy birthday noah!!!! be a good boy for mommy.

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