ext_104794 ([identity profile] superslayer18.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] learn_russian2004-09-07 08:53 pm

(no subject)

This post serves two purposes: my condolences and a request

I have been trying to keep up with everything that is going on in Russia, and I'm very sorry for all of your losses and your current situation. I wish more than anyone that we could all live in a peaceful world, and it's saddest when the people caught in the crossfire are innocent people, especially children. What these people have done is disgusting and barbaric, and nothing they could want could possibly be more important than the lives of those 150+ children killed simply for going to school. I wish that there was more that I could do, but I don't really think I can do any more than to say that I care.

I also have a request, though I feel incredibly selfish for asking this given what I'm sure a lot of you are going through right now. I'm currently in an International Relations class and we have a culture project due next week for a country of our choosing (of course I badgered people until I got Eastern Europe as my region and was able to chose Russia as my country ^_^). I thought it might be fun to bake or bring in a Russian dessert to share with the class, but can't really find too many good recipes online (either because they are way too advanced for a n00b like me when it comes to cooking, or because I wouldn't be able to get all the materials easily, or because it just isn't something that can be taken to school and distributed to 30-some-odd teens.)

Can someone please either 1) give me the recipe to a simple, practical (can take to school, give to 30 kids, easy to make, easy to get the materials for, etc.) for a good Russian dessert or

2) Tell me about one of them (I honestly don't even know what any of them are) so that I can just go out and buy them lol.

Thank you, and again, I'm very sorry...

[identity profile] nadyezhda.livejournal.com 2004-09-07 07:07 pm (UTC)(link)
My three favorite Russian cookbooks:

"Please to the Table", Anya von Bremzen and John Welchman
"The Art of Russian Cuisine", Anne Volokh
and not just because the author was my professor, but
"A Taste of Russia", Darra Goldstein

a lot of dishes are time-consuming. You don't have to be a master chef, but be prepared to put in some time. My thoughts are to cook pirozhki with a fruit filling- it's a lot of work but will serve a lot of people. You can get a variety of recipes online, it's too long to type out here.

Also, khvorost is a good idea because you can make a lot. Not very substantial though. I HAVE NOT tried this recipe, from http://www.russianfoods.com/recipes/item00240/default.asp.

about 3 c flour.
1/2 cup milk.
oil for frying.
2 eggs.
1 tb sugar.
1 c sour cream.
1 wineglass vodka.
pinch of salt.

Mix flour, sugar and salt and blend with the milk, sour cream, vodka and beaten eggs. Stir until the mixture is smooth then roll out very thinly and cut into strips about 4 inches long and 1 inch wide. Slit the center of each strip and push one end of the pastry through it, or make rings with a pastry cutter and twist them into various shapes. Fry in deep, boiling fat until golden brown, then drain on greaseproof paper and sprinkle with sugar powder.


I also like Suvorov Cookies:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
pinch of salt

1/4 cup thick jam (raspberry or apricot) * I like apricot
confectioners' sugar

Cut the butter into the flour. Add the sugar, cream, and salt. Form the mixture into a ball and wrap in waxed paper. Chill for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.

On a floured board, roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick. Using a flower-shaped cookie cutter or other decorative shape (or just a circle!) cut out the dough into cookies about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Place on ungreased cookie sheets.

Preheat oven to 375F. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until golden around the edges. Remove from sheets and cool on wire racks.

To assemble, sandwich two cookies together with a layer of thick jam, putting the two flat sides together.Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving. Yield: 5 dozen small cookies.

From "A Taste of Russia," p. 198.

Good luck!

[identity profile] nadyezhda.livejournal.com 2004-09-08 08:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Hmm, well, I can't find any online pictures either. Go check out your local city library, or order a copy of the cookbook online- you won't regret it :) but seriously, I just used a small circle biscuit mold. There's nothing special about the way they look. I know a lot of making ethnic food is in the appearance, in which case, go with the sweet blini or pirozhki ideas- but in terms of simple, I still highly recommend the Suvorov cookies. You can even do a little bit of history about Suvorov- my professor writes,

"Aleksandr Suvorov was a great Russian military commander, who found fame during the Russo-Turkish Wars of the late eighteenth century. Exactly how these dainty biscuits came to be named after him has been lost to history, but we do know that the recipe is an old one, dating back to his time. These biscuits are very elegant for tea."

Also try a search for "Печенье суворовское". Don't know if that will help but it's how it's labelled in my book. Good luck!

Hmmm...

[identity profile] alektoeumenides.livejournal.com 2004-09-07 08:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Writing as a foreigner in Russia, I have to say that desserts are not a strongpoint here. Usually ice-cream or very nice, creamy cakes. Biscuits and sweets. But nothing terribly "special" as such :(

Good luck anyhow.

[identity profile] xxxaxa.livejournal.com 2004-09-07 11:01 pm (UTC)(link)
What about bliny (блины)? This is, as far as I know, a very russian dish. I don't have a recipe, but I'll gladly find one for you if you're interested in that.
Shortly, bliny, have something in common with pancakes, but they are much much thinner, about 1-2mm. They can be eaten with different stuffing, such as meet, cabbage, carrot, fruits, kaviar, everything, actually... On the other hand, they can simply be spread with butter and honey or some jelly... They are quite simple to make :)

Some images to feel the touch :)

Image
Image

[identity profile] mooze.livejournal.com 2004-09-09 07:31 am (UTC)(link)
It's pretty straightforward. Get some milk, say, a glass and a half. Add a dash of baking soda. Add a couple of teaspoons of sugar to the milk. Constantly stirring with a mixer or a batter, add flour to get a runny batter with a consistency of, mmm, say, runny yoghurt. In fact, the consistency is tested during the actual baking. Also, add an eggyolk to the mixture. After that, add a little bit, a couple or three, tablespoons of sunflower oil or any other odorless tasteless oil. All of that needs to be mixed together, obviously.

Baking. Get a round frying pan, grease it with the same oil or with butter a little bit. Heat it up well. To test, put a drop of bliny batter onto the pan and see if it gets fried almost instantly. Pour some of the batter (mix it again before baking to spread the oil in the batter) onto the frying pan with a very thin layer of batter (actually, rotate the pan around to spread the batter evenly) and fry until you can easily detatch the blin from the pan, then flip it over and wait for 20-30 seconds until the other side is done too.

Typically, the first one wouldn't unstick from the pan and it is normally thrown away (первый блин комом, which is roughly translated as the first blin is always wasted). The cook tests whether there is enough flour (it's best to not overdo with the flour at the beginning and add more later as required) or whether the pan is hot enough. You should experiment a little with this process and eventually you'll figure it out. Good luck!

[identity profile] ex-my3bikaht259.livejournal.com 2004-09-08 09:50 am (UTC)(link)
да, блины либо вареники

а вареники с вишней..ммм...
хотя если с творогом, да под домашней сметанкой...

[identity profile] wolk-off.livejournal.com 2004-09-08 10:23 am (UTC)(link)
Dear fellow Russians,
when answering to the posts in learn_russian, you are expected either to answer in English, or to provide your answer with an English translation. The working language of this community is ENGLISH. Not all who Learn_Russian have mastered it yet.

[identity profile] ex-my3bikaht259.livejournal.com 2004-09-08 11:10 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, sorry

[identity profile] wolk-off.livejournal.com 2004-09-09 06:14 am (UTC)(link)
well, my3bikant just agreed with the choice of blini and also offered vareniki (kind of small ravioli NOT with meat inside, but with cherry, or feta cheese, or mashed potatoes etc.)

[identity profile] mooze.livejournal.com 2004-09-11 06:54 am (UTC)(link)
I've added a recepie for bliny, check it out lower down the thread.