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Soup in Roasting Pan – Butternut Squash

Roasted vegetables have more pronounced and concentrated flavor when caramelized in oven. Not only butternut squash, but any vegetable soup that’s intended to be pureed. The ingredients and their proportions depend on what you have in your fridge, some can be added (carrots, hot pepper), some omitted (fennel, sweet pepper). The combination in the list of the ingredients makes for very delicious, comforting, satisfying soup and it’s made with the minimal effort.

Ingredients:

  • Butternut squash
  • Fennel
  • Onion
  • Sweet pepper
  • Tomatoes
  • Chicken stock (vegetable stock or water)
  • Hot sauce (sriracha)
  • Roasted pumpkin seeds for garnish

Directions:

  • Cut butternut squash into ~ inch size pieces
  • Slice onion, fennel, sweet peppers, tomatoes
  • Place on a big roasting pan in 1 layer
  • Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper
  • Roast in the preheated to 375 °F oven for about 45 min till all vegetables are cooked and slightly brown
  • Put all vegetables in a blender, add some water or chicken stock and puree or use emerging blender in a pot
  • Move into a pan, add some hot sauce and bring the soup to a boil, check for seasoning and adjust if needed.
  • Serve hot with roasted pumpkin seeds and/or feta cheese crumbles

Directions:

Russian Honey Cake

It’s comprised of 6-8 layers, each of them has to be rolled and baked. Sounds intimidating, but the pastry rolls easily, bakes quickly and the result is totally worth it. The layers are made with honey, the frosting is surprising – made of cream of wheat with the butter whipped in. But wait till you try it, you will bite into creamy, soft, silky, celebratory dessert – no resemblance to baby food at all!

Ingredients

for the layers pastry:

  • Butter – 50gr
  • Milk – 2tbsp
  • Honey – 2 tbsp
  • Soda – 1 tsp
  • 1 egg
  • Water – 2 tbsp
  • Granulated sugar – 3/4 cup
  • Flour – 2.5 cups

for the frosting:

  • Milk – 2 cups
  • Sugar – 0.5 cup
  • Cream of Wheat – 2.5 tbsp
  • Pinch of salt
  • Butter – 2 sticks (~200 gr)

Directions:

  • Place all the pastry ingredients with the exception of soda and flour into the bowl
  • Place the bowl on double boiler
  • Stir till butter and sugar dissolves
  • Take off the heat, add soda and flour gradually and kneed the dough, starting with the spoon and then just use your hand. It’s warm and very pleasant to touch
  • Cover with plastic wrap, allow to cool down and put in the fridge for an hour
  • Divide into 8 pieces, roll very thinly to fit 8″ baking form. I may not fit exactly, but you will use those borders to decorate the cake.
  • Bake in preheated to 375 °F oven till golden brown (check after 5 min, they bake very fast).
  • Make sure you snap off the borders of the layers till they are warm, they will firm as they cool down.
  • In a sauce pan combine cream of wheat, sugar, pinch of salt, gradually add milk and put on a low medium heat
  • Bring to a boil stirring constantly
  • Boil till cream of wheat is ready (about 5-7 min)
  • Take off the heat, allow to cool completely
  • Whip in room temperature butter with the hand mixer, it should be whipped in not melted.
  • Assemble the cake by spreading the frosting over each layer
  • Grind the borders of the layers in a food processor or make crumbles any other way, you can add hazelnuts or almonds to the mix

Zucchini Gratin

Unusual, delicious, decadent zucchini dish, great for family lunch/brunch, dinner side dish, or party buffet

It does require some preparation, but it absolutely melts in your mouth. The cheeses and spices/herbs are flexible, so are the proportions, use the ones you have and/or like and as many zucchini as you have, adding spinach is an option too.

Ingredients:

  • 3-4 middle size zucchini
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 -1.5 cup shredded cheese

Directions:

  • Wash and peel zucchini (or summer squash)
  • Cut into pieces (if you use food processor) to fit into the food processor. Skip it if you use a hand grater. Shred zucchini using food processor or grate using hand grater.
  • Put shredded (grated) zucchini into a pan, add 4-5 cups of cold water, 1tbsp salt and put on high heat.
  • Bring to a boil and let it boil for about 3-5 min.
  • Drain through a sieve and wait till all water is drained.
  • Make Bechamel sauce:
  • Melt 2 tbsp butter on low-med heat, add 2 tbsp flour. Fry flour in a butter stirring constantly, gradually add milk, keep stirring to avoid lumps till the sauce start thickening. Once the sauce thickens – take it off the heat and let it cool a little.
  • In a big bowl combine drained zucchini, grated cheese (I used provolone and fontina), it can be gruyere, parmigiano, manchego or a combination of the above, even cheddar. Season with 1 tsp salt, half tsp of pepper, you can add nutmeg, dry garlic, dry oregano or any other herb you like.
  • Oil deep baking dish. Pour zucchini mixture into a dish and put into a preheated to 375°F oven for 50-60 min (or till it’s golden). Take a small taste 15 min before it’s cooked and add salt/pepper if needed.
  • Serve hot or warm and you can reheat the leftovers

Запеканка из Кабачков.

Ингредиенты:

  • 3-4 кабачка зуккини среднего размера
  • 2 ст. ложки сливочного масла
  • 2 ст. ложки муки
  • 1 стакан молока
  • 2 ст. ложки оливкового масла
  • 1-1.5 чашки тёртого сыра (проволон, фонтина, груйер, пармезан, манчего, чеддер).

Инструкция:

  • Помойте кабачки, очистите от кожуры.
  • Нарежьте на дольки, которые поместятся в кухонный комбайн.
  • Для натирания на тёрке нарезать не надо

Соус Бешамель:

  • в небольшом сотейнике на небольшом огне растопите 2 ст ложки сливочного масла,
  • добавьте 2 ст ложки муки, поджарьте непрерывно помешивая.
  • продолжая помешивать постепенно добавьте молоко.
  • не переставая мешать доведите соус до загустения, снимите с огня, остудите.
  • Натрите сыр.
  • Смешайте кабачки, бешамель, сыр.
  • Добавьте 1 чайную ложку соли, 1/2 чайной ложки перца.
  • Можно добавить сухой чеснок, орегано, мускатный орех.

Russian cutletts

It’s not meatballs, not burgers, not meatloaf. These crispy and fluffy meat pillows are called cutletts in Russian.

The ingredients, the proportions and even directions vary wildly, I don’t think I ever made 2 identical batches. You can mix and match the meats – beef, pork, lamb, veal, chicken, turkey. The best result is usually with the combination of beef and pork, or beef and lamb, even a sausage without casing can be added to juice up beef. To make them fluffy you can add breadcrumbs or stale bread soaked in milk or water, number of eggs can be different. Adding fried onion instead of raw is always better. Different herbs, spices, condiments you put inside may turn your cutletts to different directions – make them Italian, Spanish, Moroccan, or Asian oriented, it’s your choice.

For the best result you can grind your ingredients yourself using meat grinder, not blender, it doesn’t have to be pureed. But using ground meat is absolutely fine, the rest of the ingredients can be finely chopped or ground with a box grinder.

Ingredients:

  • Ground beef (plus pork or lamb) 1 + 1 lbs
  • Onion 1 medium or half of a big onion (can be red or white)
  • 3 Eggs
  • Breadcrumbs or bread soaked in milk – 2-3 tbsp
  • Very important secret ingredient I learned from my aunt – small piece of a tart apple (granny smith), can be replace with the small piece of cabbage, or zucchini. You will not feel it there, but it makes the cutlets juicy.
  • Salt 1 tsp, be careful with the salt if you put any sauce inside.
  • Pepper 1/2 tsp

Directions (with ground meats):

  • In a big bowl
  • Grind or finely chop onion
  • Grind a piece of apple
  • Put ground meats
  • Add eggs, breadcrumbs,
  • Add a dash of Worcestershire sauce and/or a tablespoon of any barbeque sauce or a teaspoon of any condiment you like
  • About a teaspoon of salt, half a teaspoon of pepper, fresh thyme
  • Mix everything to combine with your hand
  • Shape your cutlets (these amounts made 8-9 cutlets)
  • Heat a pan with some neutral oil
  • Fry the cutlets on both sides on a medium high heat in batches about 3-4 minutes per side
  • Put all cutlets back to the pan, sprinkle with lots of chopped parsley/cilantro/dill or other herbs
  • Finish in the 325 F oven or cover with a lid and turn the heat to very low for 15-20 minutes
  • Serve warm or hot with any side of your choice – mashed potatoes, pasta, rice, green salad.

Birds Milk Cake

Ingredients (all should be in a room temperature):

  • 5 eggs
  • 1/2 + 1 cup of sugar
  • 12 tbsp of butter
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
  • 1tbsp of gelatin
  • 1/2 cup of water
  • 2 oz of dark chocolate

Directions:

Separate whites and yolks of 5 eggs

For the batter:

  • Beat yolks with 1/2 cup of sugar in a stand mixer or hand mixer.
  • Add 8 tbsp of room temperature butter
  • Sift 3/4 cup of flours with 1/2 tsp of soda.
  • Add flour + soda to the yolk and butter, mix the batter,
  • Place into 8 ” foil form greased with vegetable oil,
  • Put into a preheated to 375 degrees Fahrenheit oven for 25-30 min.
  • Let the crust cool.

For the topping:

  • Mix 1 tbsp gelatin with 1/2 cup of water, heat it till gelatin dissolves.
  • Place 5 whites into the bowl of the electrical mixer, add 1/2 tsp cream of tartar and start beating on high speed for about 2 minutes.
  • Add 1 cup (or a little less) of sugar, keep beating for another minute.
  • Add gelatin mixture slowly and beat till firm glossy peaks.
  • Assemble the cake: Decorate the crust with berries, slices of mandarins.
  • Place the whites mixture on top, shape the cake.
  • Put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
  • Make the chocolate glaze by melting 2 tbsp of butter with 2 oz of dark chocolate on low heat.
  • Gently spoon the glaze over the cake, decorate with mint and berries and put it back in the fridge.

Serve cold.

Самый простой и вкусный рецепт торта Птичье Молоко

Ингредиенты:

  • 5 яиц
  • 1/2 + 1 ст. сахара
  • 100 + 50 гр. сливочного масла
  • 1/2 ч.ложки соды 3/4 ст муки
  • 1 ст. ложка желатина
  • 1/2 стакана воды
  • 50 гр тёмного шоколада

  • Отделите белки от желтков
  • Взбейте желтки с половиной стaкана cахара в стационарном миксере или ручным миксером.
  • Добавьте 100 грамм мягкого сливочного масла
  • Просейте муку с содой , смешайте с желтками.
  • Мягкое тесто положите в смазанную растительным маслом форму и поместите в разогретую до 180 духовку на 25-30 минут
  • Корж остудите.
  • Растворите 1 ст ложку желатина в 1/2 стакана воды на медленном огне.
  • Взбейте белки с лимонной кислотой 2 минуты
  • Добавьте сахар, продолжайте взбивать еще минуту.
  • Постепенно добавьте желатин, продолжая взбивать до получения густой, блестящей массы.
  • Выложите белковую массу на корж украшеный ягодами, и/или дольками мандарина.
  • Торт поставьте в холодильник на 30 минут.
  • Растопите 50 граммов масла + 50 грамм тёмного шоколада на медленном огне.
  • Залейте торт шоколадной глазурью. Украсьте мятой и свежими ягодами.

Подавать холодным.

Pumpkin cookies – soft, delicious, super easy to make.

And good for you! They are nice to have for breakfast with coffee, and they can be a light Thanksgiving dessert.

All done in one big bowl, just make sure it’s big enough. The recipe is for 32-34 cookies, depending on the size you make them.

Ingredients:

  • Unsalted Butter (room temperature) – 1 stick (1/2 cup)
  • Margarine (room temperature) – 1 stick (1/2 cup) or replace it with another stick of butter
  • Granulated sugar – 1/2 cup
  • Brown sugar – 1/2 cup
  • 1 egg
  • All-purpose flour – 2 cups
  • Quick or old fashion oats – 2 cups
  • Baking soda – 2 tsp
  • Ground cinnamon – 2 tsp
  • 1/2 tsp of salt
  • Solid pack Pumpkin – 1 can (16 oz)
  • Pecans, walnuts, cranberries (optional)
  • I try to add several pieces of roasted butternut squash or pumpkin, it’s roasted with salt and sage, but adds a lot to the flavor – 1/2 cup.

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 350 °F
  • Cream butter & margarine using hand mixer or a whisker
  • Gradually add sugar, continue creaming
  • Add an egg, salt, soda, vanilla, cinnamon, beat all together
  • Gradually add flour and oats, alternating with the pumpkin, mixing well to combine
  • Add your garnish of choice (pecans, walnuts, cranberries, raisins)
  • Spoon the dough onto the baking sheet covered with parchment paper
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes till golden and still a little soft to the touch
  • Sprinkle with confection sugar

Enjoy!

Zucchini Crepes Inside and Out.

For the out – The crepes themselves are made with ground zucchini. They melt in your mouth, but stuffed with herbed cheese – it is a complete meal.

Here is how you make the crepes:

  • Grate small to medium fresh zucchini or yellow squash (the finer the grate the better, I found it was best using the food processor). You may peel it if it doesn’t look fresh enough, I didn’t. If a zucchini is not too watery – don’t squeeze it. It will make your crepes delicately sweet and silky. If it is too watery – discard some of it.
  • Add about 5 tbsp of flour
  • Add 1 egg
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp of sugar (optional, zucchini are sweet enough)
  • Combine everything together
  • Gradually add 1 cup of milk, stirring constantly so there are no lump
  • Add 1 tbsp of light olive oil or canola oil to the batter (any oil you use for frying)
  • Heat not stick pan on medium heat, add 1 tbsp light oil (you won’t need to add oil later, it’s already in the batter)
  • Fry the crepes about 1-2 min on each side (1st side usually takes 2 min, 1 min after flipping them)
  • Taste the 1st one for salt and adjust as needed.
  • For the filling mix cottage or ricotta cheese with finely chopped herbs – dill/parsley/cilantro/garlic (optional), add a spoon of sour cream or yogurt for smoother consistency.

And with the inside:

The inside is a hash of zucchini, onions and carrots.

The crepes:

Ingredients:

  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups of milk
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 cup flour

Directions:

  • I always start with whisking the eggs with a whisker,
  • Add salt, sugar, flour
  • Gradually add milk.
  • Keep whisking to avoid the lumps.

The filling:

Start roasting onions till slightly golden, then add carrots, zucchini and optionally chili pepper if you want it spicy, then add salt and pepper. Keep frying all together on medium heat till all cooked through (about 10-15 minutes). The hash is quite delicious, I would eat it with a spoon, but wrapped in a crepe makes it an extraordinary breakfast or lunch.

Blended Ratatoulle (икра)

Just cook your ratatouille the way you usually do (or as I suggest below) and after it’s cooked and chilled (at least a little) – put it all in a blender and puree. It creates a very delicious, creamy, and versatile vegetable dip, which you can spice to your liking and serve warm right away, room temperature or cold, and can be a sauce or a side for any fish, chicken or meat. I can eat it with a spoon, but if you put that spoon on a slice of good rye bread – it’s hard to stop.

  • Start with roasting onions (and you don’t have to chop them too fine as it will all be blended) on medium high heat.
  • When onions turn golden – add eggplant as they cook the longest
  • Once eggplant gets some golden crust – add chopped zucchini
  • When zucchini softens add garlic and chili pepper (optional)
  • Add chopped tomatoes, you can also add tomato paste, herbs of your choice (thyme, oregano, parsley)
  • Mix everything, check for seasoning, cover the lid, reduce the heat and let it cook for about 15 min till all the vegetables are fully cooked
  • The vegetable size and proportions are very flexible, you can also saute every vegetable separately
  • You can add salt and pepper to every vegetable as you add it or season the whole pot when all the ingredients are in
  • Turn the heat off, let it cool (at least slightly), place in a blender or food processor and puree. Check the dip for seasoning and adjust if needed.

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