Week 6: Russia

We had friends over to enjoy our Russian feast, which helped elevate the mood.  It is so nice to share our experience with others, I don't know why we don't do it more.

Dinner:  Cold Borscht, Kasha Simenukha, Pirozhki, and Chicken with Prunes
Dessert:  Blini with Hot Fruit Compote

So to start, there was a question of what was on the menu, because my friend's 16-year old daughter was worried that Russian food would be "gross".  Now added to the list of 'will my kids eat this' was the concern 'will my friend's kids eat this'.  I was not going to let these worries interfere with the bit of excitement that I felt in preparing this meal.  No matter my mood, I am still loving the project and the preparation that goes into fixing each country's meal.  And as I grew up eating certain Russian staples, I knew that it would be good.  Really, I just need to take a deep breath and dive in!

Ok... I think I made enough food to feed four families, plus the enormous amount of kasha that was literally overflowing from the baking dish. 

Finding a traditional recipe for borscht (hot or cold) was incredibly difficult, as all the recipes that I came across were incredibly varied... not just slightly different. One website said "that there are as many 'real' recipes for borscht as there are grandmothers in Russia and Ukraine."  So I finally settled on one that I thought would be the most well received by my family and our guests.  It worked... the borscht was a hit with the adults and my littlest.  Even the day after when we were talking about the dinner, when asked what was their favorite dish, the littlest responded "porsh".  My guess is that the color, referred to by some as "the pink stuff", was a turnoff for my middle little.  I'm not sure if he even tried it. 

Borscht

I had high hopes for the kasha, as I am always on the lookout for an interesting new grain to add to the dinner table, but it was my least favorite new taste.  I really think it was the recipe I used, which of course was a more authentic way of preparation, but I feel like if I had cooked it in broth instead of water, that would have helped immensely. 

Kasha Simenukha

I chose to stuff the pirozhki with a cabbage filling, but I read that other traditional fillings are mashed potato or sour cherries. 

Pirozhki

The chicken with prunes was good, but nothing special.  I really liked the prunes with the chicken... they added a mild sweetness that was nice.  I know that my husband wasn't impressed, but the kids ate it up.

Chicken with Prunes

The blini was the obvious best... everyone LOVED the blini.  The blin is a Russian pancake that we topped with warm fruit compote and homemade whipped cream.  My kids had a blast helping make them, but that didn't come close to how much they enjoyed eating them.  And as much as my kids loved them... our guests' kids loved them even more.  As they left, each child clutching cold blini for the ride home.

Yum!

What I came away from this dinner was how similar and yet how different traditional Russian food is to my mom/great-grandma's Jewish food.  When I first set out to find the recipes for this dinner, I was sure that this was all stuff that I had growing up, but it's not... it's close, but definitely not the same.  The pirozhki are reminiscent of my mom's knishes, which she always stuffed with mashed potatoes and onions.  My mom used to make kasha varnishkes, which is the kasha mixed with a bowtie pasta.  I am actually going to try to use some of my mountain of leftover kasha to make this.  And... oh how I remember the blintzes that she would make as a special treat!  Blintzes and blini... so similar, with only the thickness of the later separating it from the former!  I remember fruit stuffed blintzes topped with sour cream and a sprinkle of sugar.  It was a rare treat... and sooo yummy.

Interesting Facts:
- Russia has 12 seas, 35 national parks, and 100 forest reserves.
- Russia is the largest country in the world.
- The Russian alphabet is a Cyrillic alphabet with 33 letters.
- There is the closest point between Russia and USA that is only 4 km long.
- Russia borders North Korea, Mongolia, China, Finland and Norway.
- The Ural Mountains in Russia are the oldest mountains in the world.
- Lake Baikal is the world's deepest lake and the largest fresh water reservoir on Earth.
- Russia is a federation of 86 republics, provinces, territories, and districts all controlled by the government in Moscow.
- Moscow is the capital of Russia.
- Russia was the first country to launch a man into space.
- The population of Russia is 142,893,540.
- Russia is 6,592,800 square miles - 1.75 times the size of the US.
- The people of Russia speak Russian.
- The Russian coin is the ruble.
- Oymyakon in Russia is the coldest city on Earth. It's nickname: "Pole of Cold", with a recorded temperature of -96F.
- Russia came in 4th in the 1966 FIFA World Cup.  Russia has participated in the FIFA World Cup 9 times (1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 2002).