Episode #13
A Lithuanian Dumpling Wearing Someone Else's Name
There's something truly special about recipes that get passed down with a made-up name attached. This week we talk about Lithuanian meat dumplings. The story starts with a recipe name that doesn't quite match the dish. Our guest, Tiffany Yepsen, grew up eating what her family calls "bon-dukies." It sounds like a real Lithuanian word, and it almost is. Bandukės is a traditional Lithuanian dish. But when we dug into what Tiffany's family actually makes, the dish itself is closer to koldūnai, a dumpling made with a thin sealed dough and a seasoned meat filling. The name stuck from one dish, and the technique came from another. Sometimes this happens when a recipe travels through generations and is adapted to what ingredients are available to the family. Tiffany is the Executive Assistant at VisitSI, one of our local tourism bureaus. She told us about her grandmother's dumplings on a road trip to the Midwest Travel Network annual conference. We had such fun talking about this that we knew she had to be on the podcast. In this episode, Tiffany walks us through the dough and the meatball-style filling. She tells us how her grandmother taught her to roll, shape, and seal each dumpling, and how the family serves them at the table. If you've got a dish in your family with a made-up name or a name that doesn't quite match what's on the plate, we want to hear about it! Connect with VisitSI Website: https://visitsi.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VisitSI Special Thanks Production: Benjy Jeffords, SIU School of Journalism and Advertising Marketing: Salukis AdLab Music: MisunderStudios www.misunderstudios.com The Recipe Box on Facebook: www.facebook.com/RecipeBoxPodcast The Recipe Box on Instagram: @TheRecipeBoxPodcast
