Food for Christmas

They're celebrating Christmas, so why not join in the festivities.  As it happens, a few friends and I will be sharing a Polish meal tomorrow, and I've been asked to prepare the feast.  What does one serve at a Polish banquet (for all meals and acts of welcome are generous to a fault, as I've learned, in the Polish culture)?

On Friday of this week, Ukrainians and others who follow the Julian calendar would have been sitting for a twelve-course meatless feast, so in the spirit of this celebration of Christ's birth, tomorrow is shaping up to be filled with gastronomical delights.

Thanks to a combination of sources, the menu will look like this:

• 'Christmas Eve' Barszcz (the traditional beet soup which begins the feast)
• Nalesniki filled with seafood (crêpes to continue the festive tradition)
• Tenderloin brazed with sauerkraut (an adaptation of sorts)
• A potato loaf flavored with bacon and sour cream
• An assortment of roasted vegetables
• Galactaburicco (I think that's how it's spelled.  Actually this is a Greek dessert, but we're adapting it for the sake of this feast).

Smacznego!