pasta pie!

I don't know what the best part is -- the delicious meal, or having someone else cook dinner. Yum!

fiddler on the roof

We end Russian week with blini! Took a little practice to get it right, but they were delicious!


We're watching Fiddler on the Roof, and I'm having a Black Russian for dessert. Strovia! (hope I spelled that right!)

we've got the beets

in borscht, that is.

that's just a fun word to say, isn't it? Russian week continues with BORSCHT!

no need to fear the beets. i overdid it on the vegetables, but this was delicious.

stroganoff

you're thinking "oh, no, you didn't."

and i'm like "oh, yes, we did."

Russian week continues, and i suppose this might be considered cheating, but we're having hamburger helper beef stroganoff for dinner, and watching Anastasia. It had to be done. Survivor is on tonight, so there really isn't time to cook a REAL meal.



Thank you, Betty Crocker!

first class

Russian Week, Day 2.

Dinner: Chicken Kiev and garlic mashed potatoes.
Movie: X-Men, First Class (because part of the movie is set in Russia).


As dinners go, this was not our best work. My chicken Kiev recipe calls for stuffing the chicken breasts with butter, and of course most of the butter ran out onto the baking sheet and into the oven (where it burned and filled the kitchen with smoke). The recipe also called for deep-frying the chicken, which I don't do. If I make this again, I will stuff the chicken with parsley and chives, bread it and bake it, and top it with a lemon-butter sauce to get all the same flavors without the smoking oven.

We will be taking a break from Russian food tomorrow night because I have a Child Development class after work that ends at 8:20 p.m., and there's no Russian take-out food available in town. That actually sounds odd, since Sitka was the capital of Russian America. Stroganoff on Wednesday!

it's russian week!

just the idea of making a menu for the week was not inspiring me. i said to cassie "we need something new and different. pick a country and we'll make food from there."

she walked down the hall where we have a world map, closed her eyes and chose...


it's a big country. i suppose it was hard to miss.

next stop, the library. we picked up a cookbook, and



a movie. (not my first choice, but dr. zhivago was only available on vhs).


tonight's dinner: piroshki and paprika potatoes! it's delicious. almost exactly like a burger and fries. only different.

kitchen withdrawal

Five days of travelling and I was having withdrawals from cooking. Upon return, I opened up the recent issue of Food & Wine and found this recipe for Bacon-Bourbon Brownies with Pecans. Interesting!


Then I made pizza for dinner! One with olive oil and garlic, roasted red peppers, fresh mozzerella, sundried tomatoes and fresh basil.


This one has raspberry habanero sauce (from Pampered Chef), grilled chicken, red onions, feta cheese, and fresh cilantro. The Culinary Circle Raspberry Chipotle Sauce is much better, but not available here!


And for breakfast this morning -- a summer fruit cobbler.


It's good to be back in my kitchen.