By One week to Thanksgiving. I did my Aldi run on Saturday with the list Patty and I built together, which is a three-page document with a column for who is buying what and how much of it. Sweet potatoes: bought, seven pounds, $3.99. Pecans for the topping: bought, one bag, $5.99. Cranberries: two bags, $2.50 each, enough for my sauce and a spare. Butter: four pounds on sale, $2.99 each. The math is satisfying in the way math is satisfying when it comes out to something you can afford and that will feed twenty people and that will taste exactly like what it is supposed to taste like.
I also did Babcia Rose Wednesday cooking day prep: bought a ten-pound bag of potatoes and enough cheese for the pierogi filling and extra butter for frying because there is no such thing as enough butter for pierogi frying, there is only butter and the absence of sufficient butter. She is coming Wednesday at 10 AM and she will be there until the evening and I will not be in charge in my own kitchen and this is correct and I am grateful for it.
Kristin called to confirm she is bringing something "new this year" for Thanksgiving, which she said with a tone that suggests David helped her decide on it and that it is elaborate. David, I have now been informed, is a serious home cook who spent two months in France one summer and who has opinions about French cooking that Kristin did not know she was interested in until he started making them for her. I said what are you bringing. She said it is a surprise. I said the food spreadsheet does not have surprises. She said this one does. I said fine. I look forward to it.
November 22 is next week. I am twenty-six and in my fourth year of teaching and married to a firefighter and baking my own kolaczki and learning from my grandmother who has been making them longer than I have been alive. This is the life. I mean that with everything.
With Babcia Rose arriving Wednesday and the Thanksgiving spreadsheet already three pages long, I wanted to share the recipe that is quietly at the center of every big cooking day in our family — golombki. She has been making these longer than I have been alive, just like the kolaczki, and watching her in the kitchen is the closest thing I know to a masterclass. This is my version, shaped by years of standing next to her and paying attention, and it is exactly the kind of recipe you make the day before so the flavors settle into something that tastes like it was supposed to be there all along.
Golombki (Polish Stuffed Cabbage Rolls)
Prep Time: 45 min | Cook Time: 1 hr 30 min | Total Time: 2 hr 15 min | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 large head green cabbage
- 1 lb ground beef (80/20)
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 1 cup cooked white rice
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp marjoram
- 2 cans (15 oz each) crushed tomatoes
- 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup beef broth
Instructions
- Prepare the cabbage. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Core the cabbage from the bottom using a sharp knife. Lower the whole head into the boiling water and cook for 3–4 minutes, peeling off the softened outer leaves as they loosen. Repeat until you have 16 pliable leaves. Pat dry and set aside. Trim any thick center ribs so they’re easier to roll.
- Make the filling. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, ground pork, cooked rice, onion, garlic, egg, salt, pepper, and marjoram. Mix gently with your hands until just combined — do not overwork the meat or the filling will be dense.
- Build the sauce. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth, brown sugar, and apple cider vinegar. Stir to combine and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Roll the golombki. Place about 1/3 cup of filling in the center of each cabbage leaf. Fold in the sides, then roll from the bottom up, tucking snugly. Arrange rolls seam-side down in a single layer in a large Dutch oven or deep baking dish.
- Assemble and bake. Pour the tomato sauce evenly over the rolls, making sure each one is well coated. Cover tightly with a lid or foil. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour 30 minutes, until the meat is cooked through and the rolls are tender.
- Rest before serving. Let stand covered for 10 minutes before serving. Golombki are even better the next day after the flavors have had time to settle.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 320 | Protein: 22g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 22g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 580mg