Food, Glorious Food

[Scepticalscribe]

The old Soviet world has always done soups, and pickled (vegetables) and dried, smoked and preserved foods (meats and fish) exceptionally well, so it comes as small surprise to find this tradition sustained still.

What has come as a considerable surprise is how good the salads are in Ukraine - even in small(ish) - comparatively speaking - (writing?) - regional centres.

The Greek salads are superb, and the pizzas excellent. And the coffee has improved beyond measure.

 

[decafjava]

A serious dinner in a splendid (and apparently quite well known) restaurant in Kiev tonight: A platter of four different types of caviar (sturgeon, trout, herring, pike) to start - served with stunning homemade brown bread, and blini.

Pickled herring.

A salad of roasted parsnip, beetroot, potato, carrot dressed with a honey dressing that included sesame seeds.

Serious borscht.

Some strange dish of dark dumplings stuffed with what they described as calf er......

Potatoes stuffed with something best not described but horribly delicious.

Classic chicken Kiev.

A bottle of Chablis Premier Cru, and several bottles of Borjomi (Georgian sparkling mineral water).

Espresso (and recioto) for me, green tea and cognac for my most agreeable American dining companion.

Sublime.

Saw this on the other thread too. My mentor and inspiration during my undergrad studies at Acadia university in Nova Scotia was a Canadian of Ukrainian origin who spoke fluent Russian and Ukrainian. One of the most inspiring teachers I have had and one of the toughest too.

He and his wife were lovely people, and would invite his grad students (Masters) for dinner and once made the most sublime chicken Kiev. Unusually they were teetotalers as they were Evangelical Christians, Baptist as it happens and Baptists have had a presence in Russia and Ukraine since the 19th century. Nevertheless we had superb borscht and the chicken Kiev and marvelous tea from a samovar.

 

[anika200]

Capicola, bacon, egg and cheese waffled breakfast this morning ahead of a laborious work day.

 

[44267547]

Really simple grilled chicken Caesar salad with shredded mozzarella. The quality of the chicken is the real staple here. (No hormones or by product fillers.) Cracked black pepper corn and garlic-herb sea salt on top.

I don’t eat a lot of chocolate, but a friend brought these back from Hawaii for me as a gift. [The chocolate paired with the macadamia nuts is the perfect balance.]

 

[0388631]

Can't wait until ripe mangos come in so I can make mango meringue pie.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Can't wait until ripe mangos come in so I can make mango meringue pie.

Chateau moi, ripe mangoes don't last long enough for one to be able to make any sort of pie.

However, I have served a salad of my own devising that includes mangoes: with greens, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, blood oranges (if I have them, or something equally tart - perhaps, Moroccan oranges) and mangoes with a honey and mustard dressing; a different version includes ripe peaches or nectarines if I have them instead of mangoes.

Excellent with fish or non-red meats.

 

[44267547]

Nothing fancy. Scrambled eggs (5) with Crimini and baby portabella mushrooms. Seasoned with pink Himalayan sea salt, coriander and black peppercorn.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I purchased oxtail pieces from a small (award winning) butcher and have purchased vegetables today.

Tomorrow, I shall have fun preparing an oxtail casserole.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

The oxtail casserole (it included stock, Belgian beer, pancetta, carrots, onions, leeks, garlic - a head, cherry tomatoes, tinned Italian tomatoes, cannellini beans, thyme, oregano, sea salt, black pepper, a little brown sugar) - cooked for over five hours in a slow oven - was delicious.

 

[mgguy]

Freshly baked homemade bread. Toasted, with butter or peanut butter and a little black current jam - so good. Then a 3,000 meter swim to keep the waistline in check.

 

[0388631]

Late night snack of a mettwurst sandwich with stone ground mustard on black bread.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

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Freshly baked homemade bread. Toasted, with butter or peanut butter and a little black current jam - so good. Then a 3,000 meter swim to keep the waistline in check.

Late night snack of a mettwurst sandwich with stone ground mustard on black bread.

Simple, but perfect, in both cases.

 

[arkitect]

Sourdough Noughts and Crosses Buns…

 

[0388631]

Do I spy with my little eye some candied citron?

 

[arkitect]

Do I spy with my little eye some candied citron?

A very sharp eye! Oh yes indeed.

 

[0388631]

A very sharp eye! Oh yes indeed.

The usual or the fingered variety? I've found it's quite flavorful finely minced in a salad. Fresh and uncooked, that is.

 

[arkitect]

The usual or the fingered variety? I've found it's quite flavorful finely minced in a salad. Fresh and uncooked, that is.

I just buy a big chunk of peel and chop it up. Definitely better than the pre chopped stuff. By fingererd I assume you mean the strips of citron?

I am definitely going to use your idea in a salad.

Sometimes when I make a fish salad — say Salmon — I grill fish with some lemon slices underneath. While the fish rests to cool a bit I really caramelise the lemon slices and then chop it all up and add that to the salad. Zing! Lovely.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Sourdough Noughts and Crosses Buns…

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This looks evil, it looks so good.

Stunning pictures - my mouth is watering, thanks for sharing.

 

[0388631]

I just buy a big chunk of peel and chop it up. Definitely better than the pre chopped stuff. By fingererd I assume you mean the strips of citron?

I am definitely going to use your idea in a salad.

Sometimes when I make a fish salad — say Salmon — I grill fish with some lemon slices underneath. While the fish rests to cool a bit I really caramelise the lemon slices and then chop it all up and add that to the salad. Zing! Lovely.

Interesting. I've never seen cut portions sold here. Only in whole form. No, the fingered variety is called Buddha's hand. It may be tricky for you to find it compared to someone here. Same flavor, but it's a lot prettier. Your idea of using caramelized lemon isn't too different from what I do with certain fish varieties. I usually chop up some preserved lemon and do that. And by that I mean Moroccan style salted lemons. Which also work well in a salad. Just lightly rinse them off for the latter, forgo rinsing for the former.

Certain fish do well with herb or lemon or both rested atop them as they steam or grill or bake. Others do better as a whole fish and stuffed with greens and herbs. For these I usually opt to remove the rind from the lemon and keep the fruit intact. For certain fattier fish, this is a great idea because not only does it firm up the fish some, the acidity mellows out the flavor of the fat within the wish. Some people are sensitive to the richness of fish fat when it's cooked.

 

[Lee_Bo]

Cobb salad, Flying Saucer Draft Emporium, Columbia SC.

 

[maxjohnson2]

I don’t eat a lot of chocolate, but a friend brought these back from Hawaii for me as a gift. [The chocolate paired with the macadamia nuts is the perfect balance.]

View attachment 830248

Well I can buy chocolate and macadamia nuts separately. This gave me an idea.

 

[LizKat]

This two-pack of salsa happened last time I was over in town... and landed in my pantry as it does every time I open the 2nd of the preceding pair of jars of of the same stuff.

Glorious it may not quite be, but it's close enough to it when there are not fresh tomatoes in my garden asking to end up as salsa, and when I feel lazy about making a lunch or supper.... Taco shells, some black or pinto beans, salsa, a few greens and a little cheese, microwaved, et voila. I'd post photos of the tacos du jour instead of grabbing that shot of the salsa jars, but those tacos are history already.

 

[0388631]

505 isn't a bad brand if you can find their products. Their hatch chili isn't like the fresh stuff, but it's decent close. I try to not keep salsa and chips in the house. It's like pretzels. I can go through pounds of the stuff in a sitting.


I did eat about 2 lb of garlic pretzels last summer with an entire jar of stone ground dijon. The heartburn was ever so worth the pleasure experienced.

 

[LizKat]

505 isn't a bad brand if you can find their products. Their hatch chili isn't like the fresh stuff, but it's decent close. I try to not keep salsa and chips in the house. It's like pretzels. I can go through pounds of the stuff in a sitting.

I did eat about 2 lb of garlic pretzels last summer with an entire jar of stone ground dijon. The heartburn was ever so worth the pleasure experienced.

Mmm I love pretzels and mustard, I must admit, but I can manage them in moderation.

I don't keep chips in the house or I'd overdo them with salsa. I just have taco shells which I don't tend to abuse... crackers and peanut butter are things I can't have both of around, usually. If there are just crackers, I'm good with that and they end up a few at a time crumbled into soup or under some cheese as a snack. If there's just peanut butter, I might have a sandwich now and then (on toast).

But peanut butter and crackers in the house at the same time are problematic, I will eat too much of the combo, and mindlessly at that, e.g., bring the sleeve of crackers and a plate and knife into the living room along with the jar of peanut butter "like a heathen" my late and favorite aunt would say, adding "Why not just add a quart of milk left in the bottle to the decor?" I think she meant pig, not heathen...

Oy. I'm a little more civilized than that when doing wrong with peanut butter and crackers: I add a mug of coffee with hot milk to wash the stuff down. Now that can be truly glorious -- as long as the memory of my aunt doesn't surface while I'm indulging.

 

[0388631]

Mmm I love pretzels and mustard, I must admit, but I can manage them in moderation.

I don't keep chips in the house or I'd overdo them with salsa. I just have taco shells which I don't tend to abuse... crackers and peanut butter are things I can't have both of around, usually. If there are just crackers, I'm good with that and they end up a few at a time crumbled into soup or under some cheese as a snack. If there's just peanut butter, I might have a sandwich now and then (on toast).

But peanut butter and crackers in the house at the same time are problematic, I will eat too much of the combo, and mindlessly at that, e.g., bring the sleeve of crackers and a plate and knife into the living room along with the jar of peanut butter "like a heathen" my late and favorite aunt would say, adding "Why not just add a quart of milk left in the bottle to the decor?" I think she meant pig, not heathen...

Oy. I'm a little more civilized than that when doing wrong with peanut butter and crackers: I add a mug of coffee with hot milk to wash the stuff down. Now that can be truly glorious -- as long as the memory of my aunt doesn't surface while I'm indulging.

Peanut butter works well with graham crackers. Specifically cinnamon or chocolate ones. I feel it washes out the bran flavor of the regular ones. Of crackers, I like Triscuits as a plain snack. I have since the mid 90s. The only crackers I've never saw a point in are probably saltines unless you're sick and can't keep anything down. Peanut butter can be vile on the wrong type of crackers, like Miltons. Though there's this one flaky butter cracker that's very good and reminds me of old school Ritz before they began using cheap ingredients. That nice wheat flavor and just a hint of sweetness with a buttery flavor because of butter and not some flavoring.


I sometimes enjoy shredding an ounce or two of hard cheese and whisking it with 2 whole eggs and slowly cooking it in a pan with a lid on to steam it. Fluffy and pockets of molten and quite hot cheese. It cooks more like a spread than an omelette.
[doublepost=1555749460][/doublepost]Sourdough cake is good, too. Just a pain in the ass to make.