Forget buying croutons at the store! You can easily make it at home with much better results. We just served these for dinner with the family this Sunday and everyone raved about them. Dinner with "the family" means at least 15 people, when it's Sergi's immediate family, and that's only part of us. That's what happens when you have 10 brother and one sister:). The point is, these croutons passed the test.
They are crisp and crunchy, but you won't break a tooth on them. The biggest advantage homemade croutons have over store-bought ones are the taste: I made mine with garlic, herbs, Parmesan cheese, butter and olive oil. No stale taste involved at all here! Besides, who doesn't have a few leftover slices of bread lying around? You can store the stragglers in the freezer until you have a collection large enough to make a batch. Not only are croutons delicious with salads, they are also great sprinkled on soup, such as Creamy Tomato Soup. [Read more...]
The name of this dish is a little misleading to what we perceive to be a "tortilla". I would call this a potato omelet. Thin slices of potatoes are cooked with onions and then encased in eggs to make a fluffy, omelet/frittata. I love the addition of roasted red peppers and fresh peas. I came upon this recipe from America's Test Kitchen and make this many times on the weekend for breakfast or for a quick weeknight dinner.
Roasting red peppers is so easy to make and you can enhance so many dishes by adding the roasted red peppers to them. When they are in season and really cheap, I buy a whole bunch of them and roast them to use later. You can add them to salsas, omelets, fried potatoes, salads, sandwiches, dressings, deviled eggs, lasagna, pasta dishes, etc. The possibilities are endless. Homemade roasted red peppers taste so much better than store bought because there are no extra mystery ingredients, just pure peppers and no briny taste..
In the crisp, sunny autumn days, the forests ofRussiaare full of people perusing the wooded floor for mushrooms. Mushroom foraging is almost a sport for Slavic people. For centuries, mushrooms have been a really substantial part of the diet, during the long winter months. Since the winter is so long and the warm weather doesn’t last very long, the meat supply was pretty scarce and had to be supplemented by mushrooms, which are hearty, savory and a perfect substitute.
Cabbage rolls are a widely known dish in many European countries - Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Germany and probably other too. I grew up eating Golubtsi, which is how we called them in our Belarusian family. This was something I learned from my mother, that she learned from her Mother and so on. Someday, I will share the recipe with my own children too. This is our version. Even though it is time consuming to make, it's totally worth it, because the leftovers taste amazing and freeze perfectly too. I always make a huge pot of cabbage rolls, because if I am going to go to all the trouble of making them, I want my effort to really count, so I freeze half, and the other half we eat for dinner and leftovers the next day.
Chicken salad is such a simple dish, but there are probably hundreds of different recipes for it. I want to show you my variation of it. I add the traditional onion and celery to it, but since I don't like raw onions, I steep it in boiling water for a little bit, to take some of the oniony harshness out of it. See, there's ways to make food behave the way you want it too. I like to add fresh cucumber too, since it gives the salad more crunch and also makes the salad taste fresher and lighter. 
Seafood is wonderful. It's usually almost laughably easy to prepare and tastes delightfully light and fresh. For some reason, a lot of people are intimidated to try making seafood at home. Maybe because it looks and tastes so aristocratic and cultured. I've got great news for you! Fish is probably one of the easiest (and fastest) dinner options. The #1 thing to remember is not to overcook the fish.
Soups are soothing, comforting and satisfying. I think each warm spoonful trickles down and seeps into every crevice of my being. It soothes and brings a toastiness not only to my body, but also to my soul. It's no wonder most people eat soup when they're sick!
Garlic bread is one of the easiest things to make at home. It is so easy to make, in fact, that it's almost humbling. I've noticed though, that it's often the most simple things that are some of the tastiest and most satisfying.
Peppers are colorful and pretty and are the perfect vessel to hold other food. It becomes a tasty plate for this food. I love all kinds of vegetables and its such a gift to enjoy the great abundance of them when they are in season. These stuffed peppers are a combination of gargen bounty. How gorgeous are these?
I've updated the recipe for this well loved cake since first posting it on July 9, 2012. It's just as delicious and hopefully easier to follow and make.
The sponge cake is a light and fluffy cake that serves as the foundation for many wonderful recipes. It's based on beaten eggs, sugar and flour. This is a recipe from Cook's Illustrated, and they call it Fool Proof Sponge Cake. Not only does it turn out perfectly every time, but it also tastes great too, with a small addition of butter, milk and vanilla. 
Summer desserts should be colorful, refreshing, light and fun. It's the perfect time of year to take advantage of all the fruit that's in season and incorporate all those delicious flavors into tasty treats. 
When I was a little girl, I visited my grandparents very often in Baranovichy, Belarus. Every spring they would plant a large garden. I would help them sort through the packets of seeds and then drop them into the warm, tilled soil. I was so excited to watch as the little green leaves would sprout through the ground, looking for sunshine.
How would you like a quick and simple breakfast idea, that will only take a few minutes to put together? I usually have all these ingredients on hand, so I can make it any day of the week and it makes that day just a little bit more special. I always have some sort of deli meat and cheese in my refrigerator - ham is our favorite, and with a sprinkling of fresh tomatoes, roasted peppers (super handy to have in the pantry), and fresh herbs, you have a colorful, very filling and delicious breakfast. 
Enjoying the company of family and friends in your home doesn't always necessitate a special occassion and tons of work. Here is the perfect dish to enjoy with coffee, tea or serve with some salsa and sour cream. Chicken and cheese are flavored with tomatoes, herbs and buttermilk dressing and encased in a crunchy tortilla. You can do all the prep work ahead of time and simply brown them in the skillet once your guests have arrived. This is also a great option for a quick and delicious weeknight dinner. I make this quite often and especially when we have a houseful of teenagers. 
I love tomato salsa, especially fresh tomato salsa, 
This show stopping dessert is called "firewood under snow" in Russian - Дрова Под Снегом. It's unconventional and unique but is so appealing in simplicity. The juicy and flavorful cherries are rolled in layers of thin, dainty crepes. That would be delicious enough as it is, but when it's assembled as a cake and saturated with smooth and refreshing frosting that is silky in texture, it looks phenomenal and is surprisingly tender and delectable.
One of my pet peeves is soggy, flabby chicken wings. The best wings are definitely in New York, where they are fried, not baked. In Florida, I don't think I've ever eaten good chicken wings. Every time we order some, it's such a disappointment, we just stopped. For some reason, they are always baked. Not my idea of a good wing. 
This recipe from
This is one of my husband's favorite meals. The chicken is juicy, succulent and infused with layers of flavor. The oil the chicken is cooked in is saturated with roasted garlic, shallot, herbs and lemon, and then it's all strained, leaving behind all the flavor in the oil. I cook the chicken in this oil to a crispy perfection, without burning all the aromatics, but still keeping all the flavor. Carrots and onions are steamed on top of the chicken until they're tender and moist. Then it's all topped with a creamy, satiny sauce. 
Every cook should have a cake recipe that is so simple to make they don't have to depend on a boxed mix to come to their rescue when having guests coming over unexpectedly or simply lacking in time. This cake should also taste so phenomenal that guests will beg for the recipe and family members will repeatedly request it. Too much to ask, you say? Not with this cake.
Most cultures make different versions of beef stew, and I can understand why it's such a favorite. There's something so comforting about taking a bite of succulent, tender chunks of beef. There's nothing more Russian than adding onions and carrots to everything, and the addition of garlic and tomato paste brings a depth of amazing flavor. The delicate sauce is perfect to pour over mashed potatoes or pasta. While the goulash is simmering merrily on the stove filling your home with it's enticing aroma, you'll have plenty of time to make a side dish and salad, or even dessert. Or just put your feet up and relax with a good book. 
This is one of my favorite cakes. It's a chocolate-honey layer cake with pastry cream. The thin layers of cake are so soft and tender and paired with the pastry cream, make this a very delicate and tender cake. The topping has a caramel taste and a mousse like textuer. I got the idea to decorate it to look like a honeycomb from a 
There is something so elegant about asparagus. It also makes me think of spring. It has such a cheerful look, making me imagine it eagerly sprouting from the newly warmed soil to peek at the sunshine. It tastes fresh, green and crunchy, just like spring should. If spring tasted like anything, that is. 
Panini sandwiches are great. Crunchy, warm and delicious, they can be served as an appetizer with tea or coffee, as a breakfast meal or even for dinner with a bowl of soup. As the sandwich is pressed and cooked, all the components blend together to form a great tasting mouthful. This sandwich is the one I make most often. Turkey is paired with the typical Caprese salad ingredients - mozzarella cheese, tomatoes and basil. Delicious.