As the days continue to grow shorter and the weather turns chilly, we turn on our ovens to get the 2-for-1 benefit of a warm house and a hearty meal. Right now we are concentrating on cabbage rolls, requested by Joey, who wants to freeze some.

Pat Morrison of La Crescent, Minn., grew up in “a full Polish family in Pennsylvania” where cabbage rolls, also known as “gwompki,” were “a big part of my Polish heritage.” She has provided us with a brief history of cabbage rolls, at least in her family. Her grandmother could “whip them out in no time,” but Pat thinks they are a lot of work, so when she makes them she freezes some to have a couple more dinners on hand. Her recipe is kind of a best guess because she has made them often enough that she does it without measuring. “I cook like my grandmother, by taste and visual,” she said.
Pat cautions against skimping on garlic and seasoning and says to use a ratio of one cup cooked rice to one pound of meat and always cook the rice before adding to the recipe. Her grandmother frowned on people who skipped that important step because the flavor was not as good.

An anonymous friend supplied us with a recipe at the other end of the spectrum. It seems that cooking the cabbage and then the filled rolls in the microwave speeds things up considerably. These days, blenders and food processors also serve to speed things up, like chopping and/or mincing various ingredients.

Pumpkin is plentiful at this time of year and Betty Barstad of Westby hopes someone will share a recipe for pumpkin nut muffins. She particularly likes the muffins from the bakery at Franciscan Skemp Medical Center.

After splurging on a bottle of Grand Marnier recently, Bonnie Meinzer discovered that she had misplaced the cake recipe in which she had planned to use it. And she says it was an “excellent recipe.” She hopes someone has a similar recipe to share.

In our continuing quest for “all recipes New Villa,” Bob Kious of Lansing, Iowa, would like to be able to replicate “the great codfish” that they served on Friday nights.

Four days left in the countdown to this year’s Taste of Home Magazine’s Home Cooking School. Host Mary Janice Reisdorf will need to proceed at breakneck speed in order to present 11 recipes in a two-hour span that includes breaks for door prize drawings. The Thursday show starts at

7 p.m., but go early. The doors open at 5 p.m., and this year’s vendors’ fair should be bigger and better than ever. Tickets are $12 and are available at the La Crosse Center box office.

Send requests, recipes and/or cooking tips to Alice P. Clark at: Reader Exchange, c/o

La Crosse Tribune, 401 N. Third St., La Crosse, WI 54601; e-mail: exchange@lacrossetribune.com or send a fax to (608) 782-9723.

Cabbage Rolls

1 large head (2 pounds or more) green cabbage, cored — Napa also can be used

3 tablespoons butter

1 medium yellow onion, diced

2 stalks celery, minced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 pound ground pork (can use sausage)

1 pound ground beef

1 tablespoon powdered poultry seasoning

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon Heinz ketchup (We only use Heinz being from Pittsburgh)

2 cups cooked white rice

6 fresh 1 (12-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 (14-ounce) can tomato sauce

1/4 cup water

1 cup beef broth or 1 can condensed tomato soup (if additional liquid is needed)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Core cabbage and place whole in big pot of water. Boil until leaves can be peeled off easily (I usually peel off a few at a time and let it keep simmering); but do not overcook — leaves need some firmness to roll and will finish cooking in the oven. Remove from pot and pull off leaves. Trim thick vein from each leaf. Melt the butter in frying pan and brown onion, garlic and celery. Add meat; stir and cook until no longer pink. In large bowl, mix meat mixture with rice, poultry seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and ketchup. Place a heaping amount of the meat/rice mixture into a cabbage leaf, depending on the size of the leaf. Have enough room to enclose the meat within the leaf. Fold up each side of the leaf and roll it up. Roll up as many cabbage leaves as you wish to make (I’d make at least 10 per batch). At this point the rolls can be wrapped tightly in several layers of aluminum foil and frozen to use later. When ready to cook rolls: Place cabbage rolls in Dutch oven; slice tomatoes over rolls. Mix water with tomato sauce and pour over all. Cover and bake 2 1/2 hours (longer if you wish) in the oven at 350 degrees. I have baked these in roaster pans for hours when I make big amounts for parties. Do not let the cabbage rolls dry out; pour beef broth or condensed tomato soup over rolls if more liquid is needed.

(Shared by Pat Morrison, La Crescent)

Stuffed Cabbage

1 head (about 1-1/2 pounds)

1/4 cup water

1 pound ground beef

1 pound ground pork

3/4 cup cooked rice

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt, to taste

1/4 teaspoon pepper, to taste

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine

1 (16-ounce) can tomato sauce

Remove core and blemished leaves from cabbage; place cabbage in 3-quart microwavable casserole dish. Add water; cover with casserole cover or plastic wrap and microwave on high (maximum power) 6 minutes. Cool slightly and separate leaves. Combine beef, pork, rice, egg, thyme, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Divide mixture into 6 or 8 large cabbage leaves; wrap leaves tightly around mixture. Place extra leaves in bottom of 3-quart microwavable casserole; top with cabbage rolls. Cover with remaining leaves; dot with butter and pour tomato sauce over all. Cover and cook on “reheat” temperature of microwave about 30 minutes or until rolls are fork-tender, basting after 15 minutes. Let stand, covered 5 minutes before serving.

(Shared by an anonymous friend)

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