Not only a great quilter, but sounds like a good cook too! cabbage and noodles was always a Friday meal (without meat for my grandmother) We had pork and dumplings and saurquart on Sundays! or maybe Veal Paprikash and dumplings

Ooh yeah pork and homemade potato dumplings. Burning the fingers trying to shape the dumplings!!! Just hoping and hope they don't turn into potato water!!! And fresh sauerkraut, a jar of applesauce and some brown sugar. MMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wigilia -- This is the first time I have ever heard that word. I googled it and it means or stands for Christmas Eve Fasting Dinner. Even tho I never heard the word before, I certainly do remember my mother's Christmas Eve meatless dinners. For example, stuffed cabbage without the meat and all the other fabulous polish meatless foods like pierogies, etc. I have never myself prepared a Wigilia Christmas Eve dinner for my family. I wish now I had. The memories of sitting down at that dinner table with our large family (7 children) will never be forgotten. Thanks for the reminder.

Made your recipe last night and they raved about it. Thanks so much. Marilyn :)

Thanks for the compliments Qbird. I was taught at a very young age and really enjoyed cooking. I worked for a caterer for over 15 yrs-- did alot of prep work at one of the local restaurants besides private house parties. I learned alot. The great thing about recipes is you can experiment with them- make them your own by just changing some of the ingredients. Look at the many different variations on Cabbage and Noodles !! my sister keeps on telling me "That's not the way Mommy made it" I like to play with flavors and textures in food and when I try something for the first time I tell my family "This is a new experiment don't complain just tell me not to make it again". Just to let you all know My hubby and Son prefer Kraft Dinner in the box to my mac and cheese.! What a bummer that is to my ego. Happy cooking all!! Anne

Trisha, My Mom cooked more Hungarian then polish--similar-more spicy- but she made potato dumplings and never taught me or wrote down the recipe--She never wrote anything down- all in her head! Do you have a recipe for Potato Dumplings that you are willing to share? Anne

My mom taught me to make this, but we used a couple pieces of bacon in the skillet first and then used the bacon fat to cook the cabbage in.

Had fried cabbage yest & used small amt of bacon. Bacon makes everything better.....except my hips :lol:

Trish, how do you burn your fingers shaping the dumplings? You must make them differently than I do. Anyway, if your dumpling recipe calls for flour, they won't fall apart in the boiling water if they have enough flour in them. Cook a test dumpling first. If it disintegrates, add more flour to the dough and test again. This works for any dumpling recipe I know of.

I don't know how your mom made her potato dumplings, but this is how our family does it:

1 cup cold, unseasoned mashed potatoes made without milk
3/4 - 1 cup flour
1 egg, beaten
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all until well mixed and a stiff dough forms. It may be a little sticky. Add more flour if necessary. Cook a test dumpling by pinching off a spoonful of dough and dropping it into boiling salted water. It should hold its shape and not fall apart. If it disintegrates, add more flour and test again.

When satisfied with the dough, shape one of 2 ways:

1) shape into balls about 3/4" -1" in diameter; or,
2) roll into rod shapes about the diameter of your finger or a pretzel rod, then cut into 1" lengths.

Drop into boiling salted water. When water returns to a boil, reduce heat slightly and boil the dumplings gently for 10-12 minutes. They will rise to the surface. To test for doneness, cut one in half. There should not be any raw dough in the center. If necessary, cook a little longer.

At this point, you may use them however you like, mixed with another dish or served with gravy from a post roast, a fricasee or a paprikash.

One good old German way is to mix them wth buttered bread crumbs sauteed until browned. They are a wonderful accompaniment to any meat dish that does not have a gravy.

I'm sorry this recipe is not very exact, but it came from mom, who got it from her mom, who learned it from her mom in Germany. It was never written down either.

I'll be anxious to see if Tricia posts her recipe and see if it's different from mine.