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Uzbek style Plov – Pilaf

Jan 15th, 2010
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This dish is native to most of the countries in central and was spread to Russia during its soviet days. Indian cuisine has its own versions as well. As with any dish such as this, there are countless variations and many different names. In this recipe we use pork; in my family we prefer pork over lamb. However, authentic plov will always use lamb. Just note that the meat will cook differently than pork.

Ingredients

  • 0.5 pork shoulder (cut up into 1 inch cubes, save the bone)
  • 3 cups rice (washed)
  • 3 onions (sliced)
  • 3 peeled carrots (coarsely chopped, 1 inch long thick strips)
  • 0.5 cups vegetable oil
  • 2 whole heads of garlic (washed but not peeled).
  • Salt, pepper, spices to taste
  • 1 large Dutch oven (you really need an iron pot with a thick bottom)

Directions

Preparation of plov requires a lot of attention; otherwise you will burn the meat and the veggies. Therefore, make sure you have the time to invest into the preparation.

Start by heating the vegetable oil in the Dutch oven until it just starts to let off smoke.

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Place the bone you cut out of the pork shoulder into the hot oil and fry on both sides until what’s left of the meat turns red-brown.

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Pull the bone out and discard. Throw the carrots and onions into the hot oil and stir thoroughly. Cook until the onions just start to caramelize on the outside.

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You should already have the pork prepared by this point. Make sure to trim off any excess fat.  Throw the meat into Dutch oven.

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Stir thoroughly and do not allow to burn. Add 1 tbs of salt, it’s not too much, you’ll be adding rice to this later. Set the heat to medium-high and allow to cook, it can take up to an hour. Stir every few minutes to make sure the meat is cooking thoroughly. The meat and the veggies will release a lot of water, and by the end of the cooking process it should all be almost submerged in it. If for some reason you’re boiling off a lot of water, don’t be afraid to add some. The pork has to be almost completely cooked and the onions will almost gone.

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Now pour the washed rice over the meat. DON’T STIR. It is important for the rice to sit on top. Use a large spoon to spread the rice evenly over the top of the meat.

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Add water to the Dutch oven, slowly, to add about an inch of water to the top of the rice. It should take several cups of water.

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Bring to a boil and lower the heat to simmer. With the Dutch oven uncovered, let the rice cook, after a while the water will be almost gone. Now here’s the important step, as soon as the water completely disappears from the surface (no more bubbles). Quickly use a spoon to make about 7-9 holes and add a table spoon of water to each hole.

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Cover up the holes by spreading the rice over them. Now take the heads of garlic and carefully insert them on the sides of the pot under the rice.

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Now, even out the rice at the top of the Dutch oven, cover it, and let it cook on the lowest heat possible for an additional 30 minutes.

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Once done, discard the garlic. To serve, use a big spoon or ladle to grab rice, meat, and veggies at the same time.

Enjoy!

Posted in: Beef, Lamb, Meat Dishes, Pork, Rice.
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Meat Stuffed Blinchiki / Blintzes

Jan 9th, 2010
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Meat Stuffed Blinchiki / Blintzes
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This is a very common dish most places in Eastern Europe but may be by different names. In the West, it is mostly known by its Polish name of “blintzes,” however the dish is essentially the same. It can be prepared with a wide variety of fillings, most commonly with tvorog, but also a variety of fruit fillings. Here, we used some pre-cooked turkey breast.
Ingredients for Filling
1-2 lb turkey breast (we used 2 and had some left over)
2-3 onions, chopped
Salt, Pepper, favorite seasonin
Ingredients for Blinchiki
2 cups whole milk
4 large eggs
1.5 cups all purpose flour
0.25 tsp salt
Directions
Start by preparing the filling, if you are starting with ground meat then you can skip this. We cubed up turkey breast and put it through a meat grinder.
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Saute the onions and add the ground meat. If you’re using uncooked ground meat, then fry it until fully cooked. All we had to do was heat up the turkey, make sure it’s well mixed with the onions. Season the meat to taste, all we used was salt, pepper, and a couple of tablespoons of vegeta seasoning.
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The blinchiki are extremely easy to make. Beat the milk, eggs, flour and sal together until a uniform mixture.
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Lightly butter or use some oil spray to grease a pre-heated pan (medium heat). Ladel in the batter into the center of the pan and spread it out evenly over the bottom to form a very thin layer. Similar to the way you would prepare crepes.
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As soon as the batter on top no longer flows, flip the blinchik and cook for an additional 30 seconds. You don’t want to burn the dough, it shouldn’t take longer than 1.5 minutes to prepare one blinchik.
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Once you have a stack you can start wrapping the blinchiki. Place one table spoon of the filling slightly off center of the blinchik and wrap it tightly to make sure it doesn’t fall apart.
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Place them in a pot or a covered bowl and store them in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.
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Right before serving, lightly fry the blinchiki on some vegetable oil on both sides until golden brown.
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Serve hot, topped with sour cream, or with fresh berries if you’re stuffing with tvorog.

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This is a very common dish most places in Eastern Europe but may be by different names. In the West, it is mostly known by its Polish name of “blintzes,” however the dish is essentially the same. It can be prepared with a wide variety of fillings, most commonly with tvorog, but also a variety of fruit fillings. Here, we used some pre-cooked turkey breast.

Ingredients for Filling

  • 1-2 lb turkey breast (we used 2 and had some left over)
  • 2-3 onions, chopped
  • Salt, Pepper, favorite seasoning

Ingredients for Blinchiki

  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1.5 cups all purpose flour
  • 0.25 tsp salt

Directions

Start by preparing the filling, if you are starting with ground meat then you can skip this. We cubed up turkey breast and put it through a meat grinder.

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Saute the onions and add the ground meat. If you’re using uncooked ground meat, then fry it until fully cooked. All we had to do was heat up the turkey, make sure it’s well mixed with the onions. Season the meat to taste, all we used was salt, pepper, and a couple of tablespoons of vegeta seasoning.

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The blinchiki are extremely easy to make. Beat the milk, eggs, flour and sal together until a uniform mixture.

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Lightly butter or use some oil spray to grease a pre-heated pan (medium heat). Ladel in the batter into the center of the pan and spread it out evenly over the bottom to form a very thin layer. Similar to the way you would prepare crepes.

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As soon as the batter on top no longer flows, flip the blinchik and cook for an additional 30 seconds. You don’t want to burn the dough, it shouldn’t take longer than 1.5 minutes to prepare one blinchik.

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Once you have a stack you can start wrapping the blinchiki. Place one table spoon of the filling slightly off center of the blinchik and wrap it tightly to make sure it doesn’t fall apart.

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Place them in a pot or a covered bowl and store them in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.

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Right before serving, lightly fry the blinchiki on some vegetable oil on both sides until golden brown.

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Serve hot, topped with sour cream, or with fresh berries if you’re stuffing with tvorog.

Posted in: Beef, Chicken, Dairy, Desert, Meat Dishes, Pork, meat-less.
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Russian Bean / Fasol Soup

Jan 8th, 2010
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This was a soup I ate quite often as a kid. Though soups are a major part of Russian cuisine, I wasn’t very fond of them as a child. Over the years though, they’ve grown on me, and the Fasol Soup has become one of my favorites.

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 cups kidney beans (we use white)
  • 32 oz of meat stock
  • 1 large chopped potato
  • 5-6 slices of bacon, or an equivalent amount of salo
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 stick of celery, chopped
  • 1 parsley root, chopped
  • 1 peeled carrot, chopped
  • Salt, pepper, dill, other favorite spices

Directions

Before starting on the soup, wash and soak the kidney beans in some water for at least an hour. This will start to soften them up and will decrease your overall cooking time.

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For this, and most other soup recipes, we make our own meat stock. In this case it is identical to the one we prepared for Borscht. If you don’t want to make your own, you can start with store-bought. Bring it to a simmer, and add the beans, potatoes, parsley root, celery, and carrot.

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The beans will take an hour or longer to cook, set the heat to medium and leave the soup alone. In the meantime, chop up the onion and the bacon strips. Fry up the bits of bacon until they start getting crunchy and add the onions. Let them caramelize, then add the contents of the pan to the soup

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Stir thoroughly and use this opportunity to add the spices. Salt and pepper to taste, we also like to add some vegeta seasoning, and the polish herb Marjoram.

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Keep the soup on a simmer until the beans are fully cooked. They should be soft and melt in your mouth. 5 minutes before turning off the heat, add the finely chopped dill.

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Serve hot and enjoy!

Posted in: Beef, Chicken, Pork, Potatoes, Soup, appetizer.
Tagged: · · ·

Kartoshka (Potato) Pastry – Rum Balls

Nov 24th, 2009
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This one is definitely not native to Russia but is quite popular there year round. I’ve only recently realized how easy these are to make and require absolutely no baking or prep work.

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Ingredients

  • 1 package (~7oz) of sweet tea biscuits
  • ½  cups of pecans or walnuts
  • ½ cup cocoa
  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • ¼ cup raisins
  • 1.5 sticks of softened butter (unsalted)
  • 1 shot of rum (cognac can be used instead)
  • Dry coconut shavings if desired

Directions

First you’ll have to crush the tea biscuits and pecans into a flour or slightly more coarse consistency. Using a food processor helps a lot.

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Combine all the ingredients in a bowl.

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Use a large spoon to slowly mix the ingredients together. It will first form clumps, but the longer you work at it the more butter will be mixed into the ingredients. You want to reach a sticky, uniform, mix that can be rolled into balls.

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Roll the mix into balls and coat in coconut shavings if desired. Chill and serve!

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Enjoy!

Posted in: Dairy, Desert, Holiday, meat-less.
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Golubtsi – Meat Stuffed Cabbage rolls

Nov 21st, 2009
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This is a very common household dish in Russia and other Eastern European countries that goes back quite a while. As with most other household dishes, there are many different recipes having different fillings, sauces, etc. This recipe is the one that is prepared in my family and the results are quite good.

Ingredients

  • 1 large head of green cabbage
  • 2 lbs ground meat (pork, beef, chicken, lamb, in any combination)
  • 1 medium-large onion – chopped
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup of white rice – washed
  • 6oz can of tomato paste
  • Sour cream
  • Mayonnaise
  • Salt, Pepper, sugar and your favorite seasoning

Directions

Firstly, prepare the filling for the golubtsi. In a large bowl, combine the ground meat, onion, egg, salt, pepper, and the seasoning (we used cayenne pepper and vegeta).

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Now you have to prepare the cabbage leaves by softening them in boiling water.

Cut out as much of the core of the cabbage as you can. You won’t need this part, and it will make it easier to remove the leaves later.

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Bring a large pot, filled half way with water, to a boil (putting more water in will make the pot overflow).

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Use two forks to pierce the cabbage at the bottom, it will make handling the hot cabbage a lot easier. We used a special tool we made which is essentially a serrated, pointy stick. Place the cabbage into the pot and boil for about 10 minutes. You’ll be looking for the outer leaves to get soft.

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Carefully remove the cabbage from the pot (be very careful, it’ll be dripping with scolding hot water) and place in a large plate. Carefully remove all the soft leaves. Once you get down to the layers that are still hard, put the head of cabbage back in the boiling water. Repeat until you’ve removed all of the large usable leaves.

After you’ve gotten enough soft leaves, you may need to cut out the hard parts of the leaves at their bases. Alternatively you can soften those parts using a meat mallet.

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Now, take about 1 tbs of the filling and place inside the leaf. Wrap the filling such that you have only 1 layer of cabbage surrounding it, cut off the excess cabbage. Do this for the remaining golubtsi

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In another large pot now, line the bottom of the pot with one large sheet of the cabbage. Stack the golubtsi inside this pot in layers. Coat each layer in a thin coat of mayonnaise.

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In the bowl you used for mixing the filling, combine the tomato paste and a table spoon of sour cream with 2-3 cups of water, 1 tea spoon of salt, and a table spoon of sugar (adjust to taste). Mix this until uniform and relatively thin. Pour over the golubtsi and add more water to the pot until the golubtsi are almost submerged.

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Cover the pot, and place on the stove on high heat. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to low and cook for 1.5-2 hours. The filling should be cooked through and the cabbage leaves soft enough to melt in your mouth.

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And you’re done!  Serve warm with the sauce they cooked in and a spoon of sour cream.

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Enjoy!

Posted in: Beef, Chicken, Holiday, Lamb, Meat Dishes.
Tagged: · · · · ·

Borscht – Russian Beet Soup

Nov 2nd, 2009
by .
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Borscht – Russian Beet Soup

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This dish is one of the staples of Russian cuisine, and it seems it has gained some popularity in the West as well. Like with most traditional recipes, there are many variations of this soup and the particular one I give here is one that is prepared within my family. I’m sure if you talk to someone else the recipe might vary quite a bit.

Ingredients:

Broth

  • About 4 quarts of water
  • 1 large bone, either pork or beef (not lamb)
  • 1 unpeeled onion
  • 1 whole peeled carrot (can be cut into smaller piece if it doesn’t fit into the pot)
  • 1 whole parsley root
  • 1 unpeeled head of garlic
  • 1 Coarsely chopped celery
  • 1-2  coarsely chopped leeks
  • Salt (too taste)

Alternatively, you can use store-bought beef broth and simply dress it up with some veggies and let it cook for a little bit.

Borsch

  • 1 potato, peeled, and cubed
  • 1 chopped onion
  • 1 large beet, peeled, and grated
  • 3 tbs tomato paste
  • 1 large, peeled, and grated carrot
  • 1 chopped, parsley root (can reuse the one from the broth)
  • 1 chopped celery (can ruse the one from the broth)
  • 1 medium to large tomato,  cubed
  • 1 can of sweet peas
  • Finely chopped dill
  • Whole peppercorns (6-8), salt, and favorite soup seasoning

Preparation:

Broth

If you chose to use the store bought beef broth then skip to the actual soup part. If you chose to make your own broth from scratch, then read on.

The bone used for the broth can come from anywhere. We used the bone that came out of a large cut of pork shoulder we already used for shashlik and still had a few pieces of meat left on it. The broth is simple to make.

Wash the bone before you start, fill up a large pot with water and drop the bone in. Bring to a boil and remove any foam formed with a spoon. Add salt, the onion, carrots, parsley root, garlic, celery, and the leeks. Cook for an hour and remove the veggies.

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Cook the bone for another hour and remove it. If there are significant chunks of meet still left on it, you can cut it off and add it back to the soup later.

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Strain the broth through a sifter bowl to remove any small floating solids left behind

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Your broth is done

Borsch

Bring the broth back to a simmer and add the chopped potatoes, they take a long time to cook and therefore should be added first.

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In a pan, heat up some butter and add the chopped onion.  Let it start to caramelize and add the chopped beets.

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Let the beets cook for several minutes, and add the tomato paste. Mix it in thoroughly and add the chopped carrots.  Let this cook for several more minutes, stirring occasionally to not burn the veggies.

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Once the beets start to get soft (taste them), ladle in about a cup of the broth, mix, and cover. Let the beets cook for an additional 10-15 minutes.

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Add the contents of the pan to the pot of soup, stirring thoroughly. This is also a good time to add the parsley root and celery you saved from making the broth. Also add the peppercorns, bay leaves, the soup seasoning, and adjust the salt to taste.

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Allow to cook for about 15 minutes. Add the cubed tomato, the peas, and the dill.

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Cook for 10 more minutes, the tomato should become really soft and start to dissolve in the soup.

And you’re done! Serve with a spoon of sour cream.

Feel free to be creative with this recipe.

Enjoy!

Posted in: Beef, Meat Dishes, Pork, Potatoes, Soup, appetizer.
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Greek Style Fish

Oct 24th, 2009
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Though probably not Russian in origin, this is a common dish prepared in a lot of Russian households. How “Greek” it is I do not know, but it’s a very simple way to prepare an excellent seafood dish.

Ingredients:

  • A few steaks of fish (we used Pollock)
  • 1 cup of flour
  • 6oz can of tomato paste
  • 1 medium onion
  • Salt and your favorite seasoning

Cut the steaks of fish in half or you can cook them whole depending on their size.

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Season the fish to taste, we used salt, vegeta and lemon pepper blend seasoning. Rub the seasoning into the fish so it sticks.

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Pour the cup of flour into a bowl, and coat the fish steaks in it. Make sure to get a nice even coat all around.

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Heat some vegetable oil in a pan and throw the steaks of fish in. It only takes a few minutes to cook the fish. Rotate them as necessary to get a nice brown coat. Cook until the meat is tender and set aside.

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Chop up the onion and throw it in the pan with some butter. Let it start to caramelize and add the tomato paste.

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Let it cook for a few minutes. Since this is your sauce, you can adjust the consistency by either adding some water, broth, wine. It’s very simple, so be creative and dress it up however you like.

Once the sauce is where you want it, pour it over the fish and serve.

Enjoy!

Posted in: Fish, Meat Dishes.
Tagged: · · ·

Russian Mushrooms in Sour Cream

Sep 29th, 2009
by .
1 comment

What do you get when you take the beef out of beef stroganoff?

Very simple and can be served as an appetizer for a party.

Ingredients

  • 1-2lbs baby portabella or white mushrooms
  • 1 onion
  • butter for cooking
  • 2-3 tbs sour cream

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Wash and thinly slice the mushrooms. Heat some butter in a pan and add the mushrooms.

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Cook the mushrooms covered on medium-high heat. Let them sweat a little and in the mean time chop up the onion.

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Add the onions and cook until the onion caramelize

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Add the sour cream, reduce the heat, and allow to cook for a few more minutes. You want the consistency of gravy for the sauce, add water to reduce the mixture or a table spoon of flour to thicken it.

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Enjoy!

Posted in: Dairy, Holiday, appetizer, salad.
Tagged: · · ·

Sprats Appetizer

Sep 29th, 2009
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European sprats are a type of small fish commonly, smoked, salted, and canned. Similar to sardines, they are primarily served as appetizer.

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You can serve them on a plate to compliment some vodka ;) or dress with some lemon juice.

The way my parents usually serve them is to make little sandwiches with them.  You’ll need some white bread, french bread will do.

Additionally you’ll need some easily spreadable butter and some grated cheese (whichever you prefer).

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Butter the slices of bread and arrange them on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. Place two to three sprats on each slice of bread and sprinkle enough grated cheese to form a crunchy crust.

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Bake in the oven to let the cheese crust over and the bread to get crunchy.

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Let cool and slice the bread into threes with a sprat per piece.

Enjoy!

Posted in: Fish, Holiday, Meat Dishes, appetizer.
Tagged: · · · · ·

Beef Stroganoff

Sep 1st, 2009
by .
2 comments

This has been one of my favorite dishes since childhood and fortunately it is also extremely easy to make.

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 lb thinly sliced beef, cut into strips. Go for a cut that’s not too tough,  otherwise you have to tenderize the meat.
  • 0.5 lb sour cream
  • 1 medium onion (chopped)
  • 2 tbs all purpose flour
  • 1 small carton of white mushrooms (thinly sliced)
  • 3 tbs butter
  • Salt and seasoning to taste

beef_stroganoff (1)

Melt a table spoon of butter in the skillet and throw the beef in. You want to brown it, but don’t cook the meat for too long. You’ll probably have to cook the meat in batches, adding another stick of butter between batches.

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Once the beef is done, throw the onions into the pan and let them start to caramelize. Add the mushrooms and season the sauce at this point. You’ll probably have to reduce the sauce with some water periodically to keep a fluid consistency.

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Add the sour cream and mix it thuroughly. Reduce the heat and do not allow it to come to a boil. Add more water if needed. Add flour to thicken the sauce. Allow the sauce to simmer for 5-10 minutes.

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Add the meat and allow to cook for a few more minutes.

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Serve over pasta, mashed potatoes, or rice. Enjoy!

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Posted in: Beef, Meat Dishes.
Tagged: · · · ·

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