Chefs, Holiday, Family, Cultural Traditions
THE HOLIDAY SEASON, steeped in treasured traditions and heartwarming memories, transforms the kitchen into a place where the scents and flavors of past generations come to life. Around the table, our gathering goes beyond the mere partaking of delicious meals; we also share the stories and customs lovingly handed down through the years.
Three Southeast Michigan chefs—Erica Pietrzyk, Carlos Parisi and Amanda Saab—extend a warm invitation to share in their families’ cherished holiday recipes while making them in their home kitchens. In the midst of their culinary traditions, you’ll experience a profound connection to the heritage that defines the holiday season, offering the best of both flavors and memories.
Erica Pietrzyk’s Kiflies
ERICA PIETRZYK, the owner of Pietrzyk Pierogi, is deeply inspired by her love for Polish cuisine. In her cozy yellow kitchen in North Detroit, she delicately prepares kiflies (also known as kolaczki, roszke, kolacky or kolache), cherished Polish cookies that are often made by the hundreds around the holidays, dusted with powdered sugar reminiscent of the falling snow—though Pietrzyk insists the best ones are the diamond-shaped ones.
These Eastern European crescent cookies feature flaky yeastless dough and a heavenly walnut or fruit filling, typically jam but occasionally mixed with dried fruit. Having made them by the hundreds since she was a child, Pietrzyk crafts both these recipes simultaneously from muscle memory, as opposed to a traditional recipe.
The ingredients used to make kiflies are common pantry staples: all-purpose flour, unsalted butter, egg yolks, cream cheese, jam (for filling) and powdered sugar.
Pietrzyk says to use cold dough (she placed hers in the fridge after mixing the ingredients together) so it doesn’t stick to your fingers. Another trick she shares is to moisten one corner of the cookie before punching it into the other. This is so it doesn’t open when baking.
To achieve the sought-after diamond shape, she cuts the dough into squares, adds the filling, and folds and pinches the two opposing corners. As Pietrzyk methodically folds and pinches the dough around a teaspoon drop of raspberry jam, she’s transported to her grandmother’s kitchen, where she used to balance on a stool, eager to assist with holiday preparations.
As she adds the cookies to the oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees, a pot of hearty mushroom barley soup simmers on the stove—another family tradition she learned from her loved ones.
Pietrzyk and her family, like many Polish Catholics, abstain from eating meat during Advent, so this vegetarian soup served during Wigilia (pronounced ve-GEEL-ya) honors this Polish Christmas Eve tradition. It’s a time for families to gather, partake in customs like breaking and sharing the oplatek [ceremonial wafer] and set an extra place for an unexpected guest or in memory of loved ones.
Carlos Parisi’s Sopa De Fideo
CARLOS PARISI, a local food enthusiast and owner of Aunt Nee’s, a local company specializing in a line of salsas, guacamole and chips, demonstrates a talent for crafting authentic Mexican flavors rooted in his early childhood experiences.
In his vibrant red kitchen in Southwest Detroit, complete with a window above the sink that offers a view of the garden he and his partner tend to during the warmer months, Parisi meticulously prepares sopa de fideo, also known as Mexican noodle soup. His proud declaration reveals the dish’s status in many Mexican households: It graces every family gathering.
“What I love the most about this soup is that it’s the most traditional family meal you’ll find in Mexico,” he says. “But no one knows about it unless they’re Mexican.”
Boasting a deceptively simple list of ingredients—tomatoes, onions, garlic, cilantro and seasoning of salt, pepper and Knorr’s caldo con sabor de pollo (chicken flavor bouillon)—the recipe is nonexistent. Instead, he relies on memory, flavor and countless repetitions. It has become a routine, a celebration of flavors rather than a strict science.
What makes his sopa de fideo come to life is the careful toasting of fideo noodles. Parisi occasionally stirs the dry noodles in a pot while he chops and blends the other ingredients in his Vitamix. When the kitchen fills with a rich, nutty flavor, he removes them from the heat. The fideo noodles take on a delicate brown on one side.
He then adds the blended tomatoes, onions, garlic and a small handful of cilantro to the pot, bringing it to a low rolling boil. He notes here that this is when the noodles really cook. As the soup gently simmers, Parisi extends a spoonful to his partner, Paige, who sips it thoughtfully, discerning the impeccable balance between the soup’s acidity and warmth. Once he receives the nod of approval, he dishes out generous helpings. The tomato-based broth attains a harmonious blend of zesty brightness and subtle, gratifying spiciness when topped with sliced avocado and fresh jalapeños.
“How many tomatoes do you use?” he says a friend asked him once. His reply is as free-spirited as his approach: “Uh, depending on the size, maybe five or six. There’s no right or wrong amount of anything; do it all to taste.”
Amanda Saab’s Pumpkin Cheesecake
AMANDA SAAB, a local celebrity baker known for her innovative culinary creations and historic role as the first Muslim woman to grace the screens of the popular television series “MasterChef,” has proven that her culinary prowess extends far beyond the confines of the small screen. Her creative spirit is a common thread that weaves together different generations in the kitchen.
In her warmly lit kitchen in Dearborn, Saab diligently crafts a delectable pumpkin cheesecake that delights the senses. As she prepares the cheesecake, she fondly reflects on her enduring passion for baking, a love that had its humble origins at a Scholastic Book Fair, where she discovered an unassuming cookbook, possibly by Kraft (the exact title eludes her memory). She vividly recalls the joy that ignited within her as she embarked on her first cheesecake-making journey, and the subsequent shock and surprise that both she and her family experienced when she proudly presented the finished creation.
It’s now a cherished tradition she’s passing down to her daughter, Hannah, who is eager to absorb the years of shared culinary experience.
As she lays out her ingredients, Saab takes a moment to emphasize the importance of using Philadelphia cream cheese. It’s the brand she’s trusted for as long as she can remember, and she hasn’t found any other that brings about the texture she loves in this pumpkin cheesecake.
While repetition guides Saab’s instincts in the kitchen, her “graveyard of mixers”—as she jokingly calls the discarded stack of appliances with blown motors—nods to the sheer number of desserts she’s whipped up. She underlines the importance of sticking to a recipe you’ve perfected and always writing notes in the margins.
“I write down what worked, what went wrong, or maybe what went really right,” she beams. “Like these candied pecans I made and added to the top one day. They add a beautiful crunch of texture.”
Saab’s meticulously written recipe reflects the generations of love and dedication infused into this treasured family delicacy.
Aunt Nee’s:
auntnees.com
Pietrzyk Pierogi:
pietrzykpierogi.com
Amanda Saab:
amandasplate.com
Courtney Burk is a writer whose work primarily focuses on the hospitality industry across Metro Detroit. Being a restaurant kid, she found her love of storytelling through food and the narratives of those within the industry. When she’s not writing, she can be found in the garden, working on new projects with her husband and enjoying the Great Lakes with her rescue mutts. Visit yeahnoforsure.co to check out her work.
