Petite meat pirogi

But back to reality of my home cooking again…I was eating clean and exercising a whole bunch, which could explain the lack of recent posts. Having said that, I have realized that life without home cooked meals and delicious parties thrown for friends was not a festive one.  If saying hello to starchy foods, sauces and sweets means I have to double my fitness regimen, so be it. Afterall, the French have proven to us many a time that enjoying life while maintaining a bikini-ready figure could all be achieved by the simple portion control. Indulging your senses should never be sacrificed and happy conscience can still be maintained without saying goodbye to joie de vivre ; )

Since San Francisco has now become my permanent city of residence and a joyful playground of gastronomic adventure, I, nevertheless, make it my top priority to visit the family at least once a week. The suburbia welcomes me with the open arms of my wonderful parents, sunny weather and endless opportunities to learn a new recipe from the grand-chef-maman! This week, I invite you to join me in the preparation of the classic Russian meat pirogi, reduced in size and perfect for a savory finger food treat at your next soiree:  

Petite Meat Pirogi:

·      1 lb of Beef Shoulder

·      1 Onion 

·     4 Eggs

·      Puff Pastry

·      Flour

Directions:

Start out by boiling the beef shoulder for 2 hours until it is cooked through and soft. Chop one large onion and cook it on the pan until it turns soft and golden. Boil the eggs and set aside to cool. Process the meat and cooked onion in the meat grinder to get a uniform mass. Chop the eggs and combine them with the meat mixture. Season with salt and pepper and consider your pastry stuffing ready!

Take a package of the puff pastry that had been previously defrosted. Spread some flour on the rolling board for even coverage. Take a square of the puff pastry and roll it out. Take a tea cup or a glass and press it against the dough to create a small circle.  Repeat with all the dough until you have a sufficient number of circles to create pirogi. Take one circle and add stuffing. Bend one side of the circle over the other to create a round pocket shape and seal the ends with a fork, pressing it firmly against the edges. Repeat with the rest of the dough circles. Pour one egg yolk in the cup and use a brush to paint the pirogi  - this will give them a beautiful golden glow.

   

  

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and bake the pirogi for 15-25 minutes until they get to an even golden brown color. You really cannot undercook them since all the ingredients of the stuffing were already cooked so just watch for the right color! Take out from the oven and inhale the delicious smell - no need to tell your guests which apartment you live in...they have to simply follow their noses...Mmmmm

ENJOY!!!

Grilled Chicken Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

I have recently come back from NYC and being a huge fan of Bergdorf Goodman's grilled chicken salad was deeply disappointed by its absence on the restaurant's menu due to seasonal changes. I guess I cannot expect things to stay the same after, oh dear, almost two years now. Since I could not satisfy my salad craving the lazy restaurant way, I am recreating it at home. I even so modestly believe that it tastes just as good and costs less - counting in a flight to JFK ; )

Grilled Chicken Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Ingredients:

·      Iceberg lettuce

·      Green apple

·      Grilled chicken

·      Blue cheese

·      Caramelized pecans

·      Unsweetened dry cranberries

·      Poppy seed dressing

Directions: 

Cut the iceberg lettuce into smaller sections and combine with medium pieces of grilled chicken. On the side, peel and cut the green apple into small square pieces and add to the salad. Mix in pecans, cranberries and blue cheese crumbles and drizzle with poppy seed dressing. Since the poppy seed dressing has salt and spices in it and the taste of blue cheese is rather intense, do not season additionally. Serve and enjoy for lunch with a chilled glass of chardonnay!  

Tatler Club

So here is the long promised post on the presentation and variety of Russian food menus set in the example of a few dishes I tried at the Tatler Club restaurant in the newly revived and dazzling Hotel Ukraina: 

 Spring salad with calf liver, chanterelle mushrooms 

and Parmesan shavings

 Lobster salad

 A whole stuffed carp with beets jelly 

and horseradish sauce

 Brick-oven-baked goat prepared in Tuscan style

 A biscuit souffle cake that melts in your mouth

called "Bird's Milk"  

 Varenniki, or cherry-stuffed dumplings 

with delicious cherry syrup on top 

Tatler Club: 2/1 Kutuzovskiy Prospekt, Moscow, Russia

Village Kebabs

Here is a twist on the kebabs recipe that is inseparable from my favorite summer past time of picnicking in the countryside. The preparation is quick and requires only a few easy to find ingredients. Even though the recipe could not be simpler, the end result is juicy and full of flavor. I usually make a big batch the night before the picnic and let it sit in the fridge to marinate. With a side of fresh farmers market veggies and a glass of red, your friends and family will sure enjoy this sunny weather feast.

Village Kebabs:

Ingredients:

·      Pork shoulder

·      Mayo

·      Mustard

·      Yellow onions

·      Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cut the pork into medium-sized square pieces and set aside. Cut the onions into chunky rings and combine in a bowl with pork. Mix a cup of mayo with a half-cup of mustard and pour over the pork. Mix everything together for even coverage and season with salt and pepper. The kebabs now are ready to be marinated over night in the fridge. I usually prefer to let them sit for at least a 12-hour period. The next day when the mangal grill is ready and the coals are done burning creating an even heat, put the pieces of pork on the skewers and cook until the meat is ready. Enjoy! 

Mmmm...bakery!

Besides the grand dames of restaurants, Moscow is full of charming bakeries and cafes. That is what I love so much about European towns and miss in the United States. What is better than to catch up with some old friends at a dimly lit cozy corner while sipping on a cup of cappuccino and munching on a buttery almond croissant!?

Coffeemania (2 Trubnaya Square):

Incredible cake made by Coffeemania patissier : )

 Wolkonsky (2/46 Bolshaya Sadovaya Uliza):

The smell of bread and pastries makes your head spin!

Moscow Feast

Long time, no post and there is reasoning behind it. I have been away on an extended vacation running around tasting the impeccable deliciousness of anything and everything Russia’s capital has to offer. And before you jump to conclusions that what you eat in Moscow is “borsch” or “pirogi,” I have to say that most of the restaurants that opened their doors to my second deadly sin, otherwise know as gluttony, deserve a Michelin star for their culinary virtuosity. Moscow has everything NYC, London or Paris do – French, Japanese, Spanish – you name it! But Russian cuisine has to have a pedestal of its own. If you ever looked at the world map you must have noticed that Russian Federation is one big country. Being a big country gives it a lot of ethnic and climate variety spicing Russian cuisine up with so much national flavor that the choices to indulge are infinite. And so are the menus in most of the venues I have been in, leafing through 2-3 pages of desserts alone. Three choices of deserts consisting of chocolate fudge cake, apple pie and crème brulee, anyone?! Not here! At least 10 varieties of cakes from Strawberry Mille Feuille to Honey Cake, a delicious mouth-watering combo of tender biscuit layers of caramelized condensed milk and butter. And I am not even mentioning 15 other desserts not pertaining to the baked goods category! The food itself, another 6 pages or so, goes from multiple varieties of salads, hot and cold, delicious soups, many kinds of fish and meat in types alone as well as preparation. I truly wish I had taken my camera with me every time I dined somewhere…and embarrassingly I admit that I did yet forgot about it the moment a lavish dish was placed in front of me. I promise I will take some pictures the last few days I have left here. But for now, let me introduce you to the restaurants I found noteworthy during my stay in golden-domed Moscow. Since the food was great in all of them, I will give you pointers on what makes them stand out set-up-vise or whether they specialize in some peculiar regional flavor:

Bolshoy (Traditional/Contemporary Russian)

LOVE: for its lavish ambiance and breathtaking live piano music by Sergey Belov

ADDRESS: 7 Staropetrovsky Proezd, Moscow

Beloe Solnze Pustini (Kavkaz Cuisine) 

LOVE: for its mouth-watering cuisine of the Kavkaz Region – chebureki and plov – as well as the decorations and wax figures from the film bearing the same name

ADDRESS: 29 Neglinnaya Uliza, Moscow

Aist (Contemporary Russian) 

LOVE: for its rooftop veranda and cool summer vibe with hookah tableside if requested

ADDRESS: 8/1 Malaya Bronnaya Uliza, Moscow

 Mr. Lee (Chinese Cuisine)

LOVE: for Dim Sum, traditional Chinese fare and cool ambiance with Cherdak nightclub and lounge upstairs if the night gets long

ADDRESS: 7 Uliza Kuznetsky Most, Moscow

Pushkin (Traditional Russian) 

LOVE: for ambiance of the old Russian mansion with books dating back to 1500’s and a collection of clocks (worth 600, 000 Euro) that used to be put on royal horse-drawn carriages

ADDRESS: 26A Tverskoy Bulvar, Moscow

 Vanil (Contemporary Russian)

LOVE: for the breathtaking view of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior which is literally across the street

ADDRESS: 1/9 Ostojenka, Moscow

Summer Sangria

The summer is in full swing even in the usually cold San Francisco. With the temperatures climbing up to 85 degrees and sun touching the pale features of the fog-city inhabitants lounging outside, I am in the mood to celebrate! Luckily for me, as I was browsing online looking for my usual updates on fashion, art and culture, I came across a cocktail recipe book published in 2009 but since then gaining wide recognition for its straight forward directions for NYC brightest concoctions. Mix Shake Stir: Recipes from Danny Meyer's Acclaimed New York City Restaurants is a wonderful book exploring everything from the timeless classics like  “Bloody Mary” to inspiring new twists on the refreshing “Pomegranate Gimlet.” With no further delay, I present to you my favorite drink for the warm sunny days – Sangria!

  

Summer Sangria:

Ingredients:

·      6 cups full-bodied dry wine (merlot or chardonnay)

·      2 cups simple syrup

·      1 cup fresh orange juice

·      1 cup fresh or unsweetened canned pineapple juice

·      3 oz white rum, preferably Bacardi

·      3 ounces gin

·      1 oz triple sec or other orange liqueur

·      1 oz brandy

·      ice

·      3 cups (or more, as needed) chopped fresh seasonal fruit

Directions:

Combine wine, simple syrup, orange and pineapple juices, rum, gin, triple sec, and brandy in a large glass pitcher. Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours. Fill wine glasses with ice and arrange a half cup of the chopped fruit in each. Pour the sangria into the glasses and serve. Makes 12 - 14 drinks.

Pair berries and plums with red or peaches and melons with white. Citrus fruits add balance to both.

P.S. For fruit I used 5-6 cups of plums, strawberries, blackberries, oranges and apples. My friends and family loved the Sangria as it was but I think I will cancel the simple syrup as it was a tad too sweet for my taste – orange and pineapple juices provide enough sweetness naturally. As you can see Sangria is a work in progress open to different interpretations – experiment and indulge!  

And here is the book: