Courses Archives: Dinner

Russian Eggplant Caviar

Russian Eggplant Caviar

Flora S.

Ingredients
  

  • 2 large eggplants peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 5 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 ½ cups finely chopped yellow onion
  • 1 ½ cups finely chopped green bell pepper
  • 1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
  • salt and ground black pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Place eggplants in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain in a colander; press out excess water with the back of a large spoon.
  • Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add green bell pepper; cook and stir until softened, 5 to 8 minutes.
  • Stir drained eggplant into the skillet. Add tomato sauce, salt, and pepper; cook, mashing eggplant with the back of the spoon, until flavors combine and tomato sauce darkens, about 30 minutes.

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Russian Eggplant

Russian Eggplant

Flora S.

Ingredients
  

  • 1 large eggplant peeled and sliced into 1/3 inch rounds
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 cup water
  • 3 large tomatoes thinly sliced
  • 2 onions thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 ¼ cups sour cream
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • paprika to taste

Instructions
 

  • In a medium bowl, combine the lemon juice and water. Place the eggplant slices into the lemon water to soak while you bring a saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Drain and rinse the eggplant slices, then place them into the boiling water. Cook for 8 minutes, or until barely tender. Drain.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 2 quart casserole dish. Layer the eggplant slices, tomatoes and onion in the dish, sprinkling each layer with a little flour as you go. In a medium bowl, stir together the sour cream, garlic, salt and pepper. Spread this over the top of the casserole. Sprinkle generously with paprika.
  • Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top is nicely browned and there is a bubbly sauce.

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Russian Dumpling (Pelmeni)

Russian Dumpling (Pelmeni)

Flora S.
Traditional Russian Food

Ingredients
  

Dough

  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup warm water
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Filling

  • 18 ounces ground beef
  • 1 small onion chopped
  • 1 ½ tablespoons ice-cold water
  • 1 tablespoon coarse salt
  • freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Combine egg, vegetable oil, and salt in a measuring cup; add enough water to fill to 1 cup. Pour into a bowl, add 3 cups flour, and knead into a smooth, elastic dough.
  • Cover with a kitchen towel and rest for 30 minutes.
  • Dust a baking sheet lightly with 1 tablespoon flour.
  • Combine ground beef, onion, water, salt, and pepper in a bowl and mix filling thoroughly by hand or using a fork.
  • Roll out a portion of the dough very thinly on a lightly floured surface and cut out 2 1/2-inch rounds with a cookie cutter or a wine glass.
  • Keep the rest of the dough covered with a towel to avoid drying out.
  • Place 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of filling on one side of the dough circle. Fold dough over and seal the edges using fingers, forming a crescent.
  • Join the ends and pinch them together. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
  • Freeze pelmeni for 30 minutes to prevent them from sticking together.
  • Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a simmer and drop small batches of frozen pelmeni into simmering water.
  • Cook and stir until the meat is cooked and pelmeni float to the top, about 5 minutes. Continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes.
  • Transfer to serving plates using a slotted spoon.

Notes

Instead of ground beef, you can also use a mixture of half ground pork and half ground beef. Sometimes we use ground turkey for the filling. If you're not a fan of raw onion, saute onion in butter first for 5 to 7 minutes on medium heat.
The meat filling can also be made by processing filling ingredients through a meat grinder but do not use a blender or food processor unless you have a special setting for meat.
Pelmeni can also be fried in a skillet. Melt butter or bacon grease in a skillet and saute frozen pelmeni until they are soft and the meat is cooked through, just like pierogi. Pelmeni is usually served with sour cream or vinegar.

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Russian Cabbage Pie

Russian Cabbage Pie

Flora S.

Ingredients
  

  • 3 tablespoons butter or more to taste
  • 1 small head cabbage finely chopped
  • 3 hard-boiled eggs peeled and chopped, or more to taste
  • 3 sprigs fresh dill finely chopped, or to taste
  • salt to taste
  • 2 sheets yeasted puff pastry
  • 1 egg beaten

Instructions
 

  • Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add cabbage and cook until softened but not browned, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool, 10 to 15 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
  • Mix cooled cabbage with hard-boiled eggs and dill. Season with salt.
  • Line a pie plate with 1 sheet of puff pastry. Add cabbage filling, leaving some space around the edge. Cover with the second sheet of puff pastry and pinch edges together. Glaze the top with beaten egg.
  • Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes.

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Russian Burgers (Kotlety)

Russian Burgers (Kotlety)

Flora S.
Course Dinner

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound ground beef or meat of your choice
  • 1 small onion grated
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1 large egg lightly beaten
  • salt and ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 cup water or more as needed
  • 1 cup bread crumbs or as needed
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil or to taste

Instructions
 

  • Combine pork, onion, garlic, and egg in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add water a little at a time, stirring until pork mixture absorbs it and reaches the consistency of sour cream.
  • Pour bread crumbs onto a plate. Scoop up medium-sized balls of the pork mixture with a tablespoon and drop into the bread crumbs; flip to coat both sides.
  • Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Fry patties, in batches if necessary, until golden brown, 5 to 6 minutes per side.

Notes

Cook's Note:
If needed, you can add some bread crumbs to the meet mixture to help it thicken up or to help with the stickiness.

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Russian Beef Soup (Solianka)

Russian Beef Soup (Solianka)

Flora S.

Ingredients
  

  • 2 ounces dried mushrooms
  • ¾ cup water
  • ½ cup unsalted butter
  • 3 onions chopped
  • 1 cup cooked diced veal
  • 1 cup diced ham
  • ¼ pound kielbasa sausage cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 2 quarts beef stock
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 10 black peppercorns
  • 2 dill pickles diced
  • 2 tablespoons capers
  • 12 marinated mushrooms
  • 1 28 ounce can Italian-style whole peeled tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 12 kalamata olives
  • cup chopped fresh dill weed
  • ¼ teaspoon dried marjoram
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • ¼ cup dill pickle juice
  • 1 teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika
  • salt to taste
  • ground black pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Soak mushrooms in 3/4 cup water until tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Set aside.
  • Melt half the butter and saute the onions, meats, and rehydrated mushrooms. Add the stock and liquid from the mushrooms and bring to a boil. Make a bouquet garni by tying the bay leaves and peppercorns tightly in cheesecloth. Lower the heat and add the bouquet garni, pickles, capers, and marinated mushrooms. Simmer 10-15 minutes.
  • Melt remaining butter in a skillet and cook the tomatoes and tomato paste for a few minutes, then add the flour and saute for another few minutes. Add a cup of the soup to the skillet and stir in well, then return pan ingredients to the soup pot.
  • Add the olives, dill, marjoram, garlic, pickle juice, and paprika. Adjust soup's seasoning with salt and pepper; simmer another 10-15 minutes.
  • Remove pot from heat and remove bouquet garni. Adjust seasonings and serve with sour cream.

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Russian Beef and Beet Soup (Borscht)

Russian Beef and Beet Soup (Borscht)

Flora S.

Ingredients
  

  • 1 1 inch thick slice bone-in beef shank
  • 3 quarts water
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 1 cup chopped carrots
  • ½ cup chopped celery
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3 cups diced peeled beets
  • 2 cups chopped cabbage
  • ¼ cup white vinegar or to taste
  • salt and ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 cup sour cream for garnish
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Cook beef shank in a large soup pot over high heat until browned, about 3 minutes per side; add water, onion, carrots, celery, and bay leaf to the pot, bring to a simmer and cook until meat is tender and falling off the bone, about 4 hours. Strain broth and discard solids.
  • Combine beef broth, beets, and cabbage in a large soup pot; cook, stirring occasionally, until beets are tender, about 30 minutes. Reduce heat to low; add vinegar, salt, and black pepper.
  • Serve garnished with sour cream and dill."

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Rassolnyk

Rassolnyk

Flora S.

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb beef
  • 1 small beef kidney
  • 6 marinated cucumbers
  • 1 large onion
  • 1 carrot
  • parsley
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 4 potatoes
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • 1 tbsp flour
  • 2 cloves garlic

Instructions
 

  • Several hours before cooking cut the kidney into two halves and put into large amount of cool water.
  • Change the water often. Then pour hot water onto it. Boil it several times, removing water, and pouring new hot water again.
  • Then wash the kidney in warm water and boil it together with meat, having poured cool water onto it. Chop the onion, carrots, and cucumbers.
  • Put them into a big pot, add oil, pour some stock, cover with a lid and simmer until ready (the ingredients must become soft).
  • Put the flour and tomato paste onto the frying pan and fry them together for a while.
  • Strain the stock and put it with the stewed ingredients (onions, carrots and cucumbers) into a pot.
  • Add potatoes cut into small pieces, the tomato paste fried with the flour, and the kidney and meat cut into pieces. Boil it.
  • The rozsolnyk is ready when potatoes get soft.
  • Put the chopped parsley and crushed garlic into it.
  • When serving put some sour cream into a plate.

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Rabbit in Sour Cream

Rabbit in Sour Cream

Flora S.

Ingredients
  

  • 1 3- lb rabbit deboned and cut into 10-12 pieces
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 2 cups sour cream
  • ½ cup dry white wine
  • 2 tbsp brandy
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 1 large bay leaf
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • salt
  • ground black pepper

Instructions
 

  • Season the rabbit pieces with salt and pepper and fry in butter until a brownish-red crust forms (the meat does not have to be cooked through at this point).
  • Remove from the pan and place on the bottom of a Dutch oven or a heavy casserole.
  • Return the pan to the heat and saute the onions (adding more butter, if necessary), until they are tender and slightly golden, about 10 minutes.
  • Drain the onions on paper towels and add to the rabbit.
  • Whisk together sour cream, wine, and brandy.
  • Pour over the rabbit and onions.
  • Bring to a simmer and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
  • Add the bay leaf, cover, and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes.
  • Serve with pan-fried potatoes.

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Poulet Rouleau avec Gruyere, Bearnaise et Champgnons

Poulet Rouleau avec Gruyere, Bearnaise et Champgnons

Dr. & Mrs. Blosveren
Rolled Fried Chicken around Gruyere coated with Mushrooms and Bearnaise sauceuyere. Had it in France 51 years ago on our [Barbara] Honeymoon and have made it ever since. Have shared my recipe/version many times over the years.

Equipment

  • Large 12" frying pan
  • 12" x 8"" baking pan
  • large piece of Aluminum foil
  • Canola/Safflower oil
  • Large piece of towel paper

Ingredients
  

  • 4 thick cut boneless, skinless chicken breasts/sliced in half to make 8 thin slice pieces.
  • 1 to 1 ½ cups of Panko seasoned crumbs [you can get GLUTEN FREE ones/4C] ground FINE in a cuisinart blender.
  • 1 egg Mix
  • ¼ cup Pinot Noir wine
  • cup milk stirred in a bowl
  • 8 pieces Gruyere cheese cut into 3" by 1/2
  • 1 package Bearnaise sauce
  • 1 qt portobello mushrooms sliced, with three pats of butter

Instructions
 

  • Rinse 8 pieces of chicken breasts/pat dry. Place a piece of Gruyere strip in each piece of chicken and roll it tight.
  • Dip each piece in egg/wine/milk mix, then dredge all over in Panko mix and set on laid out aluminum foil.
  • Heat oil in frying pan to 185* then carefully
  • place each piece of chicken, slightly apart from each other, in skillet and turn as each side becomes golden brown.
  • Put each cooked piece on towel paper to drain excess oil.
  • Lightly sautee the sliced mushrooms in the butter, wine and light amount of salt. Prepare the Bearnais sauce.
  • Place a layer of the 8 pieces of rolled chicken in the baking pan, cover with Bearnaise sauce and top with layer of mushrooms.
  • Bake at 350* for 30 minutes.

Notes

Side dishes of Caesar salad and Pomme Frittes make a great French dinner. Bon Appetit! Red or White Vin Sancerre goes wonderfully with this dinner.

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