In our household, December meals are not usually vegetarian. But this year I included a dinner of Crispy Potato Pancakes with roasted carrots, labneh, and hot honey, inspired by Samin Nosrat’s recent podcast of Home Cooking, where she answered a question from a listener seeking advice on how to use four gallons of honey. Samin, a honey enthusiast, excitedly […]
Crispy Potato Pancakes — a New Twist on an Old Classic Read More »
This elegant Poppy Seed Coconut Cherry Cake is a perfect holiday dessert for a large gathering. Poppy seed and coconut layers filled with cherry-flavored pastry cream and cherries, topped with chocolate glaze, are worthy of celebration. This creation is based on plyatsok, a sweet pastry beloved in Western Ukraine. What is a plyatsok? Plyatsok (plyatsky,
Poppy Seed Coconut Cherry Cake –A five-layer plyatsok from Ukraine Read More »
We were introduced to Sodd, a Norwegian soup made with chunks of cooked lamb or mutton, lamb and beef meatballs, potatoes, and carrots in a clear broth, several years ago in Oslo, Norway, at dinner with Weldon’s cousin Jan Erik Bangsund and his family. A bowl of hot Sodd on that cold October night was
Sodd, A Comforting Norwegian Meal Read More »
When a white-jacketed Italian waiter brought in a golden, crusty tower of pasta on a silver platter, it was love at first sight! After all diners admired this creation, as he cut and served the wedges, he announced that this was pasta al forno con spinaci, pomodori e quanciale – Baked Pasta with Spinach, Tomatoes, and Bacon.
Baked Pasta with Spinach, Tomatoes and Bacon. Read More »
This Grilled Caponata with Balsamic Vinaigrette is a summer vegetable dish inspired by caponata, the classic Sicilian sweet-and-sour vegetable stew.* Here, the vegetables shine without the need for heavy tomato sauce or copious amounts of olive oil. It is a versatile dish, delicious at all temperatures. After seeing this year’s crop of eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash,
Grilled Caponata with Balsamic Vinaigrette Read More »
On a business trip to Istanbul several years ago, I was introduced a Turkish culinary treat –a steaming bowl of manti, tiny dumplings, nestled in garlick-flavored yogurt and drizzled with peppery oil. I was intrigued by their diminutive size. As I was eating Manti with Garlic Yogurt Sauce and Peppery Oil, I studied each spoonful
Manti with Garlic Yogurt Sauce and Peppery Oil Read More »
Fish soup, called yushka or ukha (юшка or уха), is a classic dish, popular throughout Ukraine. This Black Sea Fish Soup, called Chornomorska (Black Sea) yushka, a version prepared along Ukraine’s southern shore where saltwater fish are abundant, can be easily prepared anywhere where fresh saltwater fish are available. Yushka is one of the oldest
Black Sea Fish Soup with Spicy Sauce -Chornomorska Yushka with Salamur Read More »
Easter is cheesecake time at our house. I prepare Ukrainian cheese desserts for the holiday each year and experiment with cheesecake recipes from other cuisines. This year, I am adding melopita to my dessert repertoire. Its Greek name, comprised of two words – mela, which means honey, and pita, which means pie, implies that it
Melopita –Greek Honey Cheesecake in Phyllo-Nut Crust Read More »
This Chocolate Mocha Karpatka is my adaptation of a Polish cake that became popular in western Ukraine during the final decades of the 20th century. The original Karpatka is made from choux pastry with a vanilla crème pâtissière filling. My version flavors the cream puff dough with chocolate and the filling with coffee, a delightful
Chocolate Mocha Karpatka Read More »
This Meatball Chili is my make-ahead-keep-in-reserve dinner this month. Each December, I focus on baking cookies, breads, and cakes, pickling herring, making pâtés, and curing meats for our traditional Scandinavian and Ukrainian Christmas celebrations. Other meals throughout this month are often thrown together at the last minute from leftovers and pantry ingredients. This year, I