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Mom served the same seven dishes, prepared the same way, every Christmas Eve: Wafers with religious scenes and drizzled with honey, boiled potatoes, a variation on baked lima beans, peas, mushrooms in a roux, store-bought sauerkraut and &ldquo;bobalki,&rdquo; a Slovak baked puff with honey and poppy seeds. Dad made the Boilo.
				As a kid I hated almost everything on the plate except the wafers (no taste other than the honey), potatoes and bobalki (which I likely would have hated if it held only poppy seeds). Yet family law said everyone had to take &mdash; and eat &mdash; a &ldquo;little of everything.&rdquo; So I did, usually finishing the mushrooms and sauerkraut last.
				When I started cooking Christmas Eve dinner I looked for variations with the same ingredients. Boiled potatoes became pierogies (Mom&rsquo;s recipe). Sauerkraut became MT&rsquo;s tasty doctored version. The rest had multiple mutations as I tried different recipes each year. Aside from the wafers, only the bobalki remains as Mom served it.
				So this week I offer three dishes from the Guydish Christmas Eve traditional dinner, which &mdash; mom once explained &mdash; was what our peasant ancestors in Slovakia would have deemed a winter feast, pulling everything that could survive to December out of the cellar to celebrate as though they were rich. Preserving and updating such traditions makes us all very rich &mdash; in family bonds.
				Merry Christmas, and Dobru Chut!
				Spiced Shiitake Mushrooms (Gourmet Magazine via Food Network)
				I&rsquo;ve made mushrooms as soup, mac and cheese, crab-stuffed, sausage-stuffed, marinated, grilled with truffle oil and rolled into a strudel. This recipe remains a personal favorite. It can be made in advance and refrigerated, letting the flavors meld. I like to be generous with the liquid ingredients to make more sauce.
				&#8226; 1 pound small fresh shiitake mushrooms
				&#8226; &#189; cup olive oil
				&#8226; 3 garlic cloves minced
				&#8226; 1 tablespoon Asian Sesame oil
				&#8226; 1 tablespoon soy sauce
				&#8226; 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
				&#8226; 2 scallions, white part only chopped
				&#8226; Salt and pepper
				Remove stems from mushrooms and wipe caps with a damp cloth or paper towel. If large, cut into halves. Heat oil in large skillet or wok, add garlic and cook over high heat stirring until golden (2-3 minutes). Add mushrooms and sesame oil. Stir well, cover and continue cooking over high heat 3-5 minutes, or until mushrooms are tender. Add soy sauce, lemon juice, scallions and salt and pepper. Cook 1 minute, remove from heat, serve warm or at room temperature.
				Bobalki (family recipe)
				Mom made this even simpler than recipes you&rsquo;ll find online by using Bisquick mixed with milk instead of homemade dough. Recipes I checked use honey only; mom whisked honey into melted butter. The dish stands on its own, but melds well with sauerkraut.
				&#8226; Bisquick
				&#8226; Milk
				&#8226; Butter
				&#8226; Honey
				&#8226; Poppy seed.
				Mix the Bisquick and milk as per basic directions on the box until you have a dough easily rolled into long pieces. Thickness determines how big the bobalki will be. Cut the rolled piece into equal-slices about the width of the rolled dough. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet until they start to brown. Melt butter (amount to taste) and whisk in honey to taste. Toss baked puffs with butter/honey until coated, add poppy seeds and toss a bit.
				Roasted Lima Beans (Food Network)
				Like mushrooms, I&rsquo;ve tried a lot of lima bean recipes. This one usually gets mixed reviews (mostly favorable), but I offer it because it&rsquo;s unusual to me. Guests may not even recognize the final product as a lima bean. Increase the salt, cayenne or lime juice to give them more punch. I could only find baby beans this time; giant beans hold up better during the process.
				&#8226; 1 cup giant, dry lima beans
				&#8226; 4 cups water
				&#8226; 1/4 cup olive oil
				&#8226; 1 teaspoon salt
				&#8226; Juice of 1 lime, 
				&#8226; 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
				Place the beans and water in a large sauce pan over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until the beans are just soft , about 1 hour. Remove from heat, drain and cool the beans under running water. Drain thoroughly and spread on paper towels to dry.
				Heat oven to 425&#176;. Toss beans with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, lime juice and cayenne. Spread on a baking sheet and place in oven, roasting until they begin to brown slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Updating a Christmas Eve tradition