Sorrel soup, french style.

Pecipe from Best Food Blog.

Serve this with bread and a nice white wine, or a floral beer like a Belgian.

Serves 4-6.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup chopped green onions, ramps or other wild onion
4-6 cups (packed) of chopped sorrel
Salt
3 tablespoons flour
1 quart chicken stock or vegetable stock
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup cream
__________

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a soup pot over medium heat.
Add the green onions or ramps and turn the heat to medium-low.
Cover the pot and cook gently for 10 minutes.
While the onions are cooking, pour the stock into another pot and bring to a simmer.
Turn the heat up, add the sorrel leaves and a healthy pinch of salt and stir well.
When the sorrel is mostly wilted, turn the heat back to medium-low, cover and cook 10 minutes.
Stir occasionally. Mix in the flour and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes.
Whisk in the hot stock, stirring constantly. Bring this to a simmer.
To finish the soup, whisk together the egg yolks and cream.
Temper the mixture by ladling a little soup into it with one hand, while you whisk the egg-cream mix with the other.
Repeat this three times. (You are doing this to prevent the eggs from scrambling)
Now start whisking the soup.
Pour the hot egg-cream-soup mixture into the pot with the soup, whisking all the way.
Let this cook — below a simmer — for 5 minutes.
Do not let it boil or the soup will break. Serve at once.

Pearl barley.

Cock-a-leekie soup.

Russian Blini for Celebrating Maslenitsa.

5 Star Foodie Culinary Adventures: Russian Blini for Celebrating Maslenitsa: "Russian Blini for Celebrating Maslenitsa"

Russian Blini for Celebrating Maslenitsa.

Recipe tested by Brian.


Joan Nova of FOODalogue has been hosting a special Culinary Tour Around the World where she and other foodies get to explore the wonderful cuisine of different cultures around the world. I was invited to visit Russia today to celebrate the last day of Maslenitsa.

Maslenitsa, also known as Butter Week or Pancake Week, is an ancient Russian holiday that began as a tradition of celebrating the upcoming end of winter. In modern times this festival became a pre-Lental holiday similar to Mardi Gras or Carnival. This “festival of the sun” usually takes place in the last week of February or the first week of March and involves masquerades, sledding, games in the snow, and sleigh rides.

The traditional food with which to celebrate Maslenitsa is Russian Blini. These pancakes are thought to resemble the sun because of their round shape and golden color. Blini are consumed in great quantities with caviar, sour cream, jam and plenty of butter. Blini is one of my favorite comfort foods and I make them using this authentic family recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups milk
2 tablespoons yeast
1 cup Buckwheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 tablespoons sweet butter

Additional butter

Directions:

Warm 1/2 cup of milk. Add sugar and yeast and mix to blend. Let the yeast mixture stand for about 10 minutes until foamy.

In a large bowl, mix the flours, sugar, and salt. Add the yeast mixture and the rest of milk and mix well until the batter is smooth. Cover and put in a warm place for 1-2 hours to allow the dough to rise.

Melt butter and let it cool down to room temperature. Whisk the eggs until frothy. Add the eggs and butter to the Blini batter to deflate the bubbles and mix well.

Heat 1 teaspoon of butter in an 8-inch skillet over medium heat. Pour a scoop of batter (1/3 of a ladle or a full ice-cream scoop) into pan and turn the pan gently to spread the batter around the whole pan. Cook until edge of the pancake turns light brown, about 1 minute. Loosen edges gently with spatula and turn the pancake over. Cook until bottom begins to brown in spots, about 30 seconds. Transfer to plate and cover with foil. Repeat with remaining batter, adding melted butter as needed and keeping the Blini warm.

We prepared special fillings for the Blini, including caviar, crème fraîche with chives, and smoked salmon sprinkled with dill. We put these fillings inside the Blini and rolled them up at the table. We enjoyed a Ukrainian vodka with honey and pepper.

During this feast, I remembered a song for Maslenitsa about three white horses carrying away the three winter months, and the coming of Spring.


'via Blog this'

My Borsch recipe.

Borsch Soup

Put the kettle on, 800ml boiled water, 1/2 Veg stock cube + 1/2 Beef stock cube.
2 small potatoes= 1 cut, 1whole, put in simmering bulion for 10 min.
Meanwhile:
1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 beetroot shredded in food processor.
Fry vegetables in a pan with a tablespoon of oil or butter.
Put in simmering bulion for another 10 min.
Add any processed or fresh tomato: 2-3 full tablespoons.+ Add 1/4 small white cabbage shredded in processor for another 5min.
In a small saucer put 3-4 chopped cloves of garlic + 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika + 1 Bay leaf and add in soup after test potato for readiness.
After 5 seconds switch off heat and do not open lid for 15min.
After 15min soup is ready to eat, add a little dill to garnish when serving.

Quick apple pie.

Quick apple pie:
Products:
140 g flour
180 g semolina
4 g baking powder
800-1000 g apples
100 g sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon +vanilla (if you like)
100 g butter
1 tablespoon icing sugar for dusting
Method of preparation:
In bowl combine butter, sugar, sifted flour, semolina, baking powder and vanilla, mix well.
Wash apples, peel them, clean them from seed and grate, add the vanilla and cinnamon.
In greased pan (diameter of 22 cm) pour 3/4 of the dry mixture of equal layer.
Spread a layer of apples on it.
Repeat 3 times.
The last layer should be the dry mixture.
Evenly distribute the butter on top.
Bake 30-40 minutes in a preheated 200 degree oven until golden.
Readiness can identify with a wooden stick.
Cut the cake once cool completely and serve sprinkled with powder sugar.

Cabbage Pie on a baking tray.

Recipe:
Take any dough, ready from any shop.
I'm doing this way:
- 1 pack of butter
- 1 cup milk
- 1 pack of dry yeast (7-11 g)
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 4-6 teaspoons of sugar
- Flour 2cup+2 cup

A pack of butter soft but not melted (not from the refrigerator).
Put the butter in a large bowl, rub together with 2 cups of flour then mix with the dry yeast. (by hands)
Warm the milk - to a warm temperatures, add the salt and sugar, stir.

Pour the milk into the bowl, with the butter+flour+yeast, stir (by hands), add more flour (2 cups, probably), so that lagged behind their hands, but if still want to add a spoonful of flour, but you do not add! -but do not overdo it with flour!
Knead the dough well.
Leave in a warm place in the bowl under a towel for 1hour.

Now filling.
Better to do it in advance, so the dough will rise faster than you can cook this stuffing!
A head of cabbage cut into small squares (slices first and then crosswise into small squares.
Do not chop it too finely.
Cut patiently, in small squares.)

Pour a tablespoon of salt into the cabbage, stir and grind until the first juice.

Pour over the cabbage boiling water so that water covers the cabbage.
Allow to stand.
When the water has cooled to lukewarm (and if you have time, and more), drain through a colander and squeeze out a little.
When cabbage becomes more or less dry, put in a pan a mixture of butter and olive oil, place the cabbage, and half a cup of milk and simmer it, covered occasionally, constantly stirring and turning.
- If the milk has evaporated and the cabbage is not ready - add more milk.
- If it is too much milk - to merge the milk.
When cabbage becomes quite dry and begin to try to fry - it is ready.
Once again, check the salt.

Meanwhile hard-boil 2-4 eggs.

When the dough has risen, divide it into two parts.
Grease a baking sheet with oil.
Sprinkle flour on the board and a rolling pin.
Roll the dough.
Transfer the dough with a rolling pin to a baking tray/sheet.
Spread with hands to the shape of the bottom pan and sides.
Pour the cabbage and crumble the egg and close by the lid of the second half of the dough.
Coat the dough with beaten raw egg.
This is for a beautiful sheen and crisp.
Puncture the cover with a fork - to allow steam to escape.

Leave the pie to stand for 5-15 minutes before putting in a well-heated oven - 160C.
Time in the oven - 15-20 minutes, although it should go 35 min.

Saffron Scones. Low fat = 36 cal per scones.

225 g plain flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
40 g butter
150 ml milk
20 saffron filaments infused in 15ml of hot milk
2 tablespoon boiling water

Method:
Pre-heated oven, 220ºC (425ºF).
Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl.
Transfer to a greased baking tray, mix together well then rub in butter.
Mix the saffron infusion into the milk and reserve 30 ml of the fluid, mix the remaining milk and saffron into the flour, to form a soft dough.
On a floured surface, gently pat out the dough to about 1 cm (0.5 inch) thickness.
Make the 27 small scones using cutter D2.5 cm and brush with the remaining saffron milk fluid.
Place in a pre-heated oven, 220ºC (425ºF), for about 12-15 minutes until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and cool on a baking tray.

Fruit and cobnut crumble cream.

By Yottam Ottolenghi
From Great British Food Revival
Make the best of autumnal produce with this scrumptious pudding that can be made well in advance. You will need a baking tray that snugly fits the pears and apples, and four large glasses or glass bowls.

Ingredients

4 small pears, peeled and cut into 2cm/¾in dice

2 tbsp lemon juice

4½ tbsp caster sugar

2 medium cooking apples, preferably Bramley variety, peeled and cut into 2cm/¾in dice

16 blackberries

40g/1½oz wholemeal flour

40g/1½oz plain flour

50g/1¾oz unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 2cm/¾in cubes

25g/1oz soft brown sugar

pinch of salt

100g/3½oz dried cobnuts or hazelnuts
For the cream

150ml/5fl oz double cream

100ml/3½fl oz Greek yoghurt

100ml/3½fl oz mascarpone

1 tbsp caster sugar

½ tsp vanilla essence

½ tsp ground cardamom

½ tsp ground star anise
Preparation method

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Mix the pears, lemon juice and 1½ tablespoons of the caster sugar in a bowl. Spread the pears out on the baking tray, cover with aluminium foil and place in the oven. After 10 minutes, add the apples, cover with the foil again and return to the oven for 30 minutes. Crush the fruit with a fork, set aside to cool then fold in the blackberries.

To make the crumble, place both the flours in a mixing bowl with the butter and sugar and rub together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Spread out on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper and place in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven and set aside to cool.

For the cream, place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and whisk to soft peaks, taking care not to over-whisk.

To assemble, spoon two thirds of the crumble into the bottom of the serving glasses. Cover with two thirds of each of the fruit mixture, cream and nuts. Add the remaining crumble followed by the remaining third of the fruit and cream. Scatter over the remaining nuts and serve at once, or chill for a few hours. If you are serving the dish chilled, scatter over the nuts at the last minute.

Shopping list

Lorraine Pascale's Prosciutto and brie toastie.

Lorraine Pascale's Prosciutto and brie toastie | Celebrity Kitchen:
This is one of Lorraine Pascale's favourite snacks. It can be ready in minutes and is wholesome and tasty enough to give anyone's tastebuds a treat. It's ready in a few minutes and you can substitute the prosciutto for bacon if you prefer.

Ingredients
3 Slices of prosciutto
2 slices chunky white bread
Brie commonly available in 200gram packs
Fresh ground pepper
Butter for spreading
Dash of Olive oil

Lorraine starts by adding 3 slices of prosciutto to a hot oiled pan.
She then places one piece of buttered bread, butter side down into the pan next to the prosciutto, and breaks off chunks of brie which she places on top of the bread until the surface is covered.
Just as the prosciutto starts to crisp up, Lorraine uses some tongs to move the slices ontop of the bread and brie (everything is still the the pan at this stage).
Lorraine butter another piece of bread and grinds a good measure of pepper over it before placing it butter side up on top of the other ingredients in the pan.
She uses a sturdy fish slice to press the sandwhich together before turning the whole thing over to brown the other side.
After a couple of minutes, Lorraine removes the toastie from the pan, slices it in half and serves with a good squidge of brown sauce.

Rhubarb meringue pots.

Slow poached rhubarb.

Rhubarb and a handful of raspberries cooked in their own juices with a splash of Amaretto.
Very simple and unbelievably good.
Spooned into pots and topped with meringue. (190°C, 10 min)
Inspired by Good Food.

Post for Pagan.

Sugar Bun.
Here the original text in Russian with step by step pictures - so you have look, please.
Below I translated a Russian text into English. (But you can use Google translator too.)
So...
We will need:


1 cup milk a little warmer than room temperature ;
2 teaspoons active dry yeast with a slide, or 20 grams of fresh yeast;
1 teaspoon sugar with a slide in the dough
100g melted butter + 50g for greasing baking after
1 egg medium or small
1 teaspoon salt
300-350 g flour
100 grams of vegetable oil
100g sugar for sprinkling (or 6 tablespoons)

Preparation.

1. Gently warm milk 30-40C (not hot!) Mixed with sugar and yeast. Let stand 10-15 minutes.
2. Stir in milk and yeast mixture with melted butter, egg and salt.
3. Pour the flour and knead the dough. Amount of flour, depending on its properties may vary slightly. The main thing is not to add too much of it - the dough should be soft and not clam hands on it.
4. Add to dough 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, it ceases to be sticky. Close by foil and provide 1 hour and a half (minimum 1 hour).
5. Ready to roll out the dough floured table to a thickness of 5 mm.
6. Entire surface of the dough evenly and liberally lubricated with oil and sprinkle well with sugar.
7. Close range in roll and cut into pieces 4-5 cm in width
8. Each piece is cut into one or two times up to half the depth, slightly open and put on greased baking sheet.
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes in oven preheated to 180C.
10. Ready buns with melted butter to grease.

Notes.
1. Large amounts of sugar also reduces their lightness during baking. You can add sugar less choose what you like.
2. I baked 25 minutes, the crust in this case turned out crispy. If you like softer - bake for 20 minutes until light colored.
3. Another method of forming the buns. Divide dough into 10 equal pieces. Each flatten, spread butter and sugar, fold into roll. The resulting roll fold in half and cut into the knife with one hand close to the bend, stretch.
4. In addition to sugar buns can be sprinkled with poppy seeds, cinnamon or raisins.

Bon Appetit!


And these recipes below are just a win-win!
I highly recommend, they are my favorites:

Carrot Cake.
Pancakes.
Very-british-scones.
Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic. From Nigella Kitchen.

Sugar Bun.

We will need:

1 cup milk a little warmer than room temperature
2 teaspoons active dry yeast with a slide, or 20 grams of fresh
1 teaspoon sugar with a slide in the dough
100g melted butter + 50g for greasing baking after
1 egg medium or small
1 teaspoon salt
300-350 g flour (3 cups of cut as in the photo)
100 grams of vegetable oil (total)
100g sugar for sprinkling (or 6 tablespoons total)

Preparation.

1. Gently warm milk 30-40C (not hot!) Mixed with sugar and yeast. Let stand 10-15 minutes.

2. Stir in milk and yeast mixture with melted butter, egg and salt.

3. Pour the flour and knead the dough. Amount of flour, depending on its properties may vary slightly. The main thing is not to add too much of it - the dough should be soft and lipnuschim hands on it.
4. Add to dough 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, it ceases to be sticky. Close foil and provide rasstoyatsya hour and a half (minimum 1 hour).
5. Ready to roll out the dough floured table to a thickness of 5 mm.
6. Entire surface of the dough evenly and liberally lubricated with oil and sprinkle well with sugar.
7. Close range in roll and cut into pieces 4-5 cm in width
8. Each piece is cut into one or two times up to half the depth, slightly open and put on greased baking sheet.

9. Bake for 20-25 minutes in oven preheated to 180C.
10. Ready buns with melted butter to grease.

Notes.
1. If you like the buns popyshnee give rasstoyatsya test longer. I was proofing only 1 hour, the family could not wait any longer.
2. Large amounts of sugar also reduces their lightness during baking. You can add sugar less choose what you like.
3. I baked 25 minutes, the crust in this case turned out prizharennoy and crispy. If you like softer - bake for 20 minutes until light zarumyanivaniya.
4. Another method of forming the buns. Divide dough into 10 equal pieces. Each flatten, spread butter and sugar, fold into roll. The resulting roll fold in half and cut into the knife with one hand close to the bend, stretch.
5. In addition to sugar buns can be sprinkled with poppy seeds, cinnamon or raisins.

Bon Appetit!

Carrot cupcakes with pistachios, apricots and cream cheese frosting.

Сarrot cake.

Recipe:

Carrot Cake Recipe with photo (in English):

Preparing a cake pan for baking (in English)

Carrot Cake Recipe with photo

Cake for Masha...Carrot Cake!

Happy Birthday message...

Preparing a cake pan for baking (in English)

Carrot Cake Recipe with photo (in English):

Как приготовить форму для выпечки (фото). | Joe Pastry

Рецепт морковного кекса с фото. | Joe Pastry

Black Iron Blog: Easy Cast Iron Skillet Reconditioning

Black Iron Blog: Easy Cast Iron Skillet Reconditioning: "After this one seasoning the skillet is smooth, clean, rust free, and a nice dark brown that will become shiny & black with use. (see the picture at the top of the post)"

Apple pancakes.

Pancakes from 'smitten kitchen': "Apple pancakes"

A Little Lemon Polenta Cake.

Lemon Curd Recipe - How to make your own fresh batch at home | Greedy Gourmet

Nigel Slater - Recipes - A Little Lemon Polenta Cake:
Здесь

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic. From Nigella Kitchen.

Apple Custard Tart.

Apple Custard Tart Recipe adapted from "Joy of baking".
Apple Custard Tart Recipe.