Recent Posts: Page 46 of 59
Mulled Wine (Glühwein)
September 18th, 2010 in Beverages, With Alcohol by Julia Volhina
I was unfortunate to catch a cold another day, and somewhere in between sneezing and sweating I reminded myself of mulled wine – probably the best drink to warm you up and clear your sinuses.
Mulled wine, or gluehwein (how it is called in Austria and Germany) or glintvein (how it is called in Russia) is a drink prepared by heating red dry wine with various spices and citruses.
This popular in Europe drink is often sold during cold season around Christmas time on open air markets and fairs – it really helps to warm up.
Glühwein is very easy to prepare, if you prefer – use whole spices instead of ground ones, that will make straining part much easier, however ground spices work just fine. Enjoy responsible!
Chicken Liver Pate
September 11th, 2010 in Appetizers & Snacks by Julia Volhina
I find dishes from any kind of liver not very popular on this side of the globe. However I can’t see anybody not liking this one: chicken liver pâté or “pashtet” like it is called in Russia.
Pate in russian cousine is prepared mostly from liver cooked, ground and mixed with butter and few additions to taste. For chicken liver pate I add onions, carrots, a dash of nutmeg and a spoon of cognac, see the instruction below.
Chicken liver pate can be served as appetizer or snack, on bread, toasts, crackers or flat breads. You can also exercise a pastry chief inner self and arrange pate flowers using pastry bag.
Meatballs with Carrot-Tomato Sauce
September 4th, 2010 in Beef, Main Dishes by Julia Volhina
Russian meatballs (or “tefteli” how they are called in Russia) are prepared from ground beef and rice mix and cooked under some kind of sauce. They usually have big size (1 or 2 meatballs is enough for a serving).
This is a recipe for “tefteli” my mom uses: big meatballs, dipped into flour, then fried over in some oil and cooked with vegetable sauce (carrots, tomatoes, onions and dill) until ready.
I’ve modified recipe a bit to use freshly pureed tomatoes instead of tomato paste. However, if you don’t have fresh tomatoes under your hands, you can use canned tomatoes or tomato paste diluted with water.
Boiled potatoes or mashed potatoes are usually the first choice of side dish for tefteli for me, boiled buckwheat or pasta work good too.
Russian Kefir Pancakes (Oladi)
August 28th, 2010 in Main Dishes, No-meat by Julia Volhina
Oladi, or thick pancakes prepared from kefir based batter, is traditional russian breakfast food. Batter is easy to assemble and whole dish doesn’t take much time to cook.
Kefir gives a distinguishing taste to oladi, but it probably can be replaced with buttermilk in case you are having troubles finding kefir.
Oladi can be served plain or with some kind of a topping: jam, syrop or honey, as well as fresh fruits. I love oladi with sour cream.
Fried Cauliflower Florets
August 21st, 2010 in Sides by Julia Volhina
According to Wikipedia, cauliflower is low in fat, high in dietary fiber, folate and vitamin C. And I think that positions cauliflower as a nutritional vegetable and important part of the daily diet.
My mom boils florets first and then fries with flour and eggs. I like taste of cauliflower fried this way more than just boiled, it is less watery, also eggs and flour bring up a nice addition to taste.
By the way, flour can be replaced with finely ground breadcrumbs, tastes good this way as well. I prefer using bread breading I prepare myself, rather than breading mixtures.
French Onion Soup
August 14th, 2010 in Hot Soups, Soups by Julia Volhina
I absolutely love this tender onion and cheese soup with a light hint of spices and dry white wine. It is very good choice for home dinner party or romantic dinner just for you two.
You can prepare most of the steps in advance (from step 1 to step 9), then pour soup to the bowls, add bread and cheese and put them to the oven right before serving. That will save you a bit of time and ensure every meal comes fresh and warm at the right time.
My advice would be to use home prepared broth, cooked with good quality beef, carrots, onions, parsley and celery for this soup. If you need some hints on how to prepare beef broth, follow these instructions.
Chicken Salad with Celery and Grapes
August 7th, 2010 in Salads by Julia Volhina
I never tried fresh celery stems before we got to US. I was more familiar with celery root – it is largely used to prepare soups and stew or even salads of European cousines, but I can’t say eating stem parts of it is as popular in Europe as in US.
According to wikipedia, celery is a source of good low-calorie dietary fibre, which makes it not only tasty (btw I found taste of it fascinating) and also healthy.
Saying all of that, here comes the nice salad recipe for fresh celery stems and boiled white chicken meat; grapes give it a little kick in flavor, as well as almonds. Hope you will like it.