Food and Crafts for All Occasions

Roasted Cornish Game Hens with Double Rub

When it comes to roasted chicken, for me nothing beats Cornish game hens. These little meaty and succulent birdies have much better flavor and texture than a regular chicken. And because of their smaller size, they cook much faster as well which make them suitable for a weeknight dinner. Especially, if you make some preparations in advance.

Romancing the Potato: Roasted Potato Wedges

I’ve already posted one roasted potato recipe here. This time, it’s different potatoes, different cut and different presentation.

Roasted potato wedges can be served as a finger food which together with a great bold flavor makes them an ultimate crowd pleaser. And given that they are no hassle to make, they please a cook no less. Just get nice long and relatively thin potatoes - Yukon or, which is even better, small Russets - and you’re good to go.

I love my potato wedges spicy and herby, served with a cooling sauce like tartar. On the other hand, you can go light on spicing potatoes and put some hot pepper into the accompanying sauce instead, your call. Either way, it’s a winner.

One Potato, Two Potato: Smashed Potatoes 2 Ways

One:

And two:

My husband is a huge – huuuuuge - fan of potatoes. Loves ’em spuds. All types. All ways of cooking. Well, some more than others, but ultimately – any. Fried, sautéed, boiled, roasted. Mashed and smashed. Grated in latkes. Grilled on skewers. As a side dish as well as in soups and salads. The more the better.

So, I cook potatoes quite often. And if you’re crazy about them too, I have some good recipes for you. Today it is smashed potatoes. Two ways. A traditional one, where you roughly mash skin-on boiled potatoes. And a relatively recent one, where you boil whole small potatoes, smash them by pressing each one flat and then roast of fry them till the crispy exterior.

Roasted Potatoes

This is such an easy and super simple recipe that I never actually thought of putting it on my blog. But then everybody who tried these potatoes at my house loved them a lot and asked me for the recipe, so I decided to finally post it here.

Borsch (or Sweet and Sour Soup, Russian Style)

What is your favorite Russian dish? Questions of the kind “what is your favorite something” have always puzzled me. Are you kidding? In my forties (just like in my thirties, twenties, but unlike in my teens, however) I cannot single out any particular writer, book, band, movie, restaurant or food that I would call my favorite. I do enjoy variety.

Surprisingly though, in Russian cuisine, with all its diversity and complexity, I can name one dish as my all-time number one favorite. Yes, it’s in the title of this post; it is borsch.

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.  

Baby Octopus, Potatoes and Chard Stew with Paprika and Saffron

Whenever I happen to be in an Asian supermarket like Ranch 99 or HT Market, I go to a frozen seafood isle and get a package of baby octopus. They are very delicious and can be braised in a variety of sauces and served with pasta, couscous, beans or potatoes. If you love seafood, you should definitely give these guys a try.

Skordalia, a Garlicky Greek Dip

Skordalia (with the stress on the last syllable) is a garlicky Greek dip that goes fabulous with warm pita or deep fried seafood and fish. It can be made either with potatoes or white bread. I prefer the former since, to my taste, it gives lighter and smoother consistency. The other day, I served it with the deep fried smelt and the pairing of the two was surprisingly good. Like they were meant for each other, really.

Puff Pastry Turnovers with Lamb and Curried Potato Fillings

Despite all my proclaimed love to cooking from scratch, I have no problem with occasional semi-homemade cooking, i.e. using some commercial foods like cooked beans, frozen puff pastry or fresh pasta when I don’t have time to make them myself.

For these turnovers, I used good quality store bought puff pastry from Aussie Bakery, which saved at least a couple of hours of my time while giving very satisfying results. For the fillings, I used ground lamb, sautéed with fenugreek and mashed potatoes with curry powder and green peas.

My Perfect Mashed Potatoes

I mentioned mashed potatoes in my previous post, so here they are in case you're interested how I make them. In the kitchen, I am one hell of a perfectionist, so when I cook something and am not 105% satisfied with the results, I will spend tons of time and effort until I get exactly what I have in mind. It can feel quite pain-in-the-assy, but the results are usually well worth the pain.

My Favorite Dried Porcini Soup

 

When I lived in Russia, wild mushroom hunting was (and, perhaps, still is) a popular late summer and early fall activity. We would go to the woods and armed with small folding knives and long sticks to move aside fallen leaves and grass would walk for hours looking for mushrooms. If we were lucky, we would come home with several full baskets of these one-legged forest goodies - several varieties of boletes, including birch bolete, aspen bolete and most wanted king bolete along with tons of other mushrooms, the names of which I don’t even know how to translate.

Bitter Greens Salad with Potatoes, Mushrooms and Quail Eggs

It looks like a salad week in my blog (high time to go on strike and demand some meat!), but I can’t help myself but give you one more of our favorites. It makes a great vegetarian lunch or a first course of a bigger meal.

Potato Salad with Eggs, Arugula and Mayo & Dijon Dressing

If you are a fan of potato salads, here’s another one to your collection. It goes especially great with grilled, roasted or pan-fried fish.