"Golubtsy" ("Golubtsi") or Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs beef (~60% of all meat)
• 1.5 lbs pork (~40% of all meat)
• 1/3 cup uncooked white rice
• 1 medium onion
• 1-2 medium cabbages
• Salt, pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Grind beef and pork (in a meat grinder) together twice. (You can use purchased ground beef and pork if you don't have a meat grinder. However, the taste is much better if you grind it yourself).
2. Chop onion very finely and cook in a skillet in vegetable oil, stirring, until golden; then add the onion to the ground meat.
3. Cook the rice according to package directions and add it to the ground meat.
4. Add salt and pepper and mix everything.
5. Cut the cabbage stump out and discard; boil the cabbage(s) in salted water for about 10 minutes.
6. Separate the cabbage leaves, cut the hard stem out from each leaf, and use a meat mallet to tenderize any hard leaves.
7. Take a piece of the ground meat with a tablespoon, wrap it in a cabbage leaf, and cook in a large skillet in vegetable oil about 15-20 minutes (until no longer pink inside and the cabbage is golden-brown), turning once half-way through cooking. In the last 5 minutes of cooking, add a teaspoon of sour cream on each "golubets".

Cream Puffs

Ingredients:
Dough:

• 1 cup flour
• 0.45 lb butter or margarine
• 4-5 eggs
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Cream:

• 0.5 liter (~0.5 quart) milk (cold)
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoon flour
• 2-3 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:
Dough:

1. Pour out one cup of water into a large saucepan, add butter, salt, and cook on the stove top until boiling.
2. Just after the water starts boiling, add the flour all at once, mix, and simmer 2-3 minutes, stirring.
3. Remove the saucepan from heat and add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each one.
4. When the dough becomes "stretchy," stop adding the eggs.
5. Cover a large baking pan with foil and grease it.
6. Take dough with a tablespoon and drop it onto the baking sheet, leaving about 1.5 inches between them (this will make about 14-15 pastries), and bake at 375 F about 20 minutes until golden brown. DO NOT open the oven door while baking - otherwise, the pastries will sink and will not be able to rise. The pastries will rise and become hollow in the center.
7. When the pastries are cool enough, make a small incision in each (with a knife) and spoon the cream until filled.

Cream:

1. In a saucepan, beat the eggs and sugar.
2. Add flour and the cold milk; mix well and start heating on low.
3. Stir constantly until the mixture boils (this step takes a while).
4. Remove from heat and add vanilla extract.
5. Cool well.