Month: August 2010
-
Beef Stroganoff
Bœuf Stroganoff (Beef Stroganoff, or just Befstroganov) is one of Russian traditional and loved meat dishes. I remember my mother’s kitchen and wonderful aroma of cooking meat, and sauce, and fried potatoes. It was an all-time favourite and never failed to be well prepared. The dish of finely cut beef in sour cream sauce was…
Written by
·
-
Soup with Puff Klezki
A soup with klezki, one of the simplest Russian dishes, must have been handy during the time of empty shelves in the Soviet supermarkets. I barely remember those times, they left in me no bitter sediment, and this soup has left me nothing but warmth. There are other variations on klezki, most notably the German kößchen, but the klezki I…
Written by
·
-
Poor Man's Caprese
Most people who’ve paid a few visits to Italian restaurants know caprese, a traditional Italian salad composed of just 5 ingredients: tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. It is lovely, satisfying, complete, but as a history of restaurant-going has proved, caprese is not the surest item on the menu. It leaves nothing…
Written by
·
-
What Is This?..
What do you think you are seeing? Raw pork? No. Pink peach wedges? No! Unripe watermelon? No!! If somebody showed it to me some time ago and said it’s potatoes, I wouldn’t believe it. But the truth is it is potatoes. Freshly dug out and almost young potatoes was my last weekend happy find at one of…
Written by
·
-
Bigos
Many consider bigos to be a Polish traditional dish, though its origin could be probably traced to Germany. Those who happened to visit Germany might remember something like Berlin Platto dish served as sour kraut and different meats, accompanied by a pint of beer. Maybe that’s why it sneaked into our family’s list of recipes –…
Written by
·
-
Squash Pancakes
Now when vegetables are growing in excess in nearby farms, I cannot help but create various dishes (and their variations) with them. Squash pancakes being one of our favourites evokes the time when Alex and I were dating. I cooked squash pancakes at our friend’s dacha (a small country hut) where we had a very romantic weekend. Since then Alex ate squash only…
Written by
·
-
Goulash
Goulash as I knew it back in Russia was a pretty simple dish cooked of beef with onions and tomato and usually served with pasta. There was a meat dish in Russian diners that also carried a proud name goulash, but was very far from its original Hungarian recipe. There are two forms of goulash: one is a soup and another a…
Written by
·
-
Classic Borsch
A staple of East European kitchen, this bright beet soup is healthy, delicious, and worth every bit of trouble… If you know of Russian food, you’ve heard of Borsch. It is popular not only in Russia, but also in Ukraine – its motherland – and in a number of East European republics. Naturally, this dish…
Written by
·
-
One Very Nutty Coffee Cake
Finally I have broken my hiatus from cooking, which had begun to extend dangerously. It’s fascinating what a staggering effect failure has on motivation (and I did have a few cooking failures recently, mostly gelatin-related). But when is it ever easy? Nothing will come out right, if you quit after the first few stumbles. It…
Written by
·
-
Zucchini with Wasabi Cream
Among squashes like pumpkin or butternut squash zucchini has a rather bland taste when used alone. So very often it is mixed with other vegetables in stir fries or used as a side dish. Zucchini of a bigger size has better more distinctive taste, but for some reason growers do not allow this vegetable to mature…
Written by
·
-
Heavenly Chicken Noodles
Some consider chicken soup a winter meal, especially if one has a cold. Luckily, I don’t have this association, and, due to the fact that at my favourite farm fresh chickens are cut some time in mid summer, that’s when I have the opportunity to prepare my best chicken noodles. Chicken is certainly fresh-not-frozen and organic, and noodles are homemade by yours…
Written by
·
RecipeStudio 