Food and Crafts for All Occasions

Belyashi

Belyashi (singular: belyash) are pan fried yeast dough pies stuffed with raw ground meat and onions seasoned with garlic, black pepper and salt. Despite their seeming simplicity, belyashi are probably the tastiest pies I’ve ever eaten. They have an extremely juicy, very flavorful filling which is surrounded by delicious dough that is crispy outside and light and fluffy inside.  

Vanilla, Lemon and Honey Semifreddo

Semifreddo is an Italian dessert that literally translates as half(semi) cold(freddo). What it really is, is ice cream without ice cream machine. It is frozen and it has the same smooth, creamy, airy texture, though it’s done using absolutely different technique than ice cream.

In fact, the method* of making semifreddo is very much the same as for mousse. So, you may say that semifreddo is frozen mousse. Whereas in ice cream light airy texture comes from ice cream being churned, in semifreddo it comes from the ingredients being whipped before combined together. In my recipe, I separately whip all three major ingredients – cream, egg yolks, and egg whites. The result is a super light semifreddo.

Paella, My Thoughts on Successful Paella Making

From the vast variety of one-pot meals, paella is one of the world’s most famous and most delicious. It can be colorful and complex, containing all sorts of seafood, meats and vegetables, or simple and unpretentious, consisting only of a few ingredients, as it, most likely, traditionally was.

Brined Mackerel (or Herring if you're lucky to get it!)

This is not exactly a summer dish for me (it was 90 in Seattle this afternoon!), but I was asked to post this recipe, so here it is. Elli, thank you for reading my blog!

Salted herring, especially salted in brine, is a popular Russian dish. Skinned, filleted, thoroughly deboned, then sliced into bite-size pieces, layered with sliced sweet onions and drizzled with aromatic unrefined sunflower oil and several drops of table vinegar or lemon juice, it makes a nice dinner along with boiled potatoes and some vegetable salad. 

Pirozhki

The other day, I decided to treat Ilya and myself to homemade borsch and pirozhki. Interlaced with a couple of shots of ice cold vodka, of course. (Sort of Russian MSG - makes everything tastier and give you a headache if you overdo it).

This whole combination has a great warming up quality and so is best served when it’s chilly outside. Judging by the weather forecasts, this could've been the last borsch and pirozhki this season. Till October, perhaps. Though, occasionally, June in Seattle feels more like "Junuary," as my neighbor Jean calls it, and then this hearty meal can be quite useful.  

Golubtsy or Meat and Rice Stuffed Cabbage rolls

Golubtsy (gah-loob-tsEE) are stuffed cabbage leaves. Large, flat and tender cabbage leaves make a perfect natural wrap. In Russian, they are usually stuffed with ground meat/poultry/fish and grains like rice or millet and then braised in a sauce.  

I’ll give you my favorite recipe of meat and rice golubtsy, cooked in tomato and cream sauce with onions and carrots. This is one of my favorite winter time comfort foods. A bit time and effort consuming – no lying here! – but so tremendously delicious!

Nokedli or Spaetzle, Super Simple Homemade Pasta

Nokedli (Hungarian) or Spaetzle (German) is a free-form pasta made from a thick batter that is grated into boiling water through a special nokedli/spaetzle maker or pressed through a colander.

Tomato Based BBQ Sauce

This delicious sauce takes mere minutes to make.  It goes great with Smoked Pork Baby Back Ribs as well as other meat and poultry dishes.

Green Egg Smoked Pork Baby Back Ribs

Have you watched So I Married an Axe Murderer? If you have, you should remember how Charlie’s mom got herself a Juice Tiger and announced that she juices everything now. Well, the same happened to us after we'd bought a Green Egg grill. We grill and smoke everything we can put our hands on. For the smoking purposes we also got a special blower/fan called BBQ Guru that lets the Green Egg maintain the same low temperature for a long time. We also bought a plate setter for indirect heat.

Pizza, Part III: the Toppings

Besides a good dough, the success of pizza depends on its toppings. A tasty topping means a tasty pizza, right?  And to make a tasty topping is quite easy – all we need is quality components and a balanced combination of them.

Pizza, Part II: the Tomato Sauce

While the dough is rising, we have enough time to make the tomato sauce and prep the toppings.

Traditionally, the sauce would be made with fresh skinned and seeded tomatoes, but I haven’t yet come across the tomatoes in Seattle that would inspire me to make sauce out of them. Even during the tomato season, I find local tomatoes either not meaty and sweet enough for the sauce or super expensive to use for it. The latter I would better eat fresh!

Pizza, Part I: the Dough

I’m a big fan of pizza and have been perfecting my recipe for a long time. Still haven’t reached the ideal, but getting close with practice.  

Khmeli-suneli, a spice blend

In the lazy dolma recipe I mentioned a spice blend called khmeli-suneli and promised to give my recipe of it.

Khmeli-Suneli is a dry herb blend that consists of dried basil, parsley, coriander, fenugreek, dill weed, bay leaves, marjoram and some others. It belongs to the cuisine of Georgia, the one that is located in Southwestern Asia and once was a part of the Soviet Union. Because of latter khmeli-suneli became (and still is) very popular in Russia and other former Soviet republics.

Do Chua, Vietnamese Sweet Pickled Daikon and Carrots

To continue the tasty theme of Asian style pickles, here’s another great recipe for you. Do chua is Vietnamese daikon and carrot pickles that are served alongside a variety of dishes, in salads and in famous Banh Mi sandwiches.

Rau Ram Pesto

By pesto many mean only basil pesto, a paste-like sauce made of basil, pine nuts and parmesan cheese. But, in fact, any edible herb can be turned into a pesto. Like, for instance, my favorite Asian herb rau ram. So far, it can be found only in Asian supermarkets like HT Market and Ranch 99. Though, there is a hope that it will appear in regular supermarkets in the nearest future as the interest towards Asian and other world cuisines in Seattle keeps on growing.

In the late spring, you can buy a rau ram seedling in Swansons Nursery and grow your own plant.