Turkey Broth With Dumplings

This heartwarming soup benefits from the long, slow cooking process of the broth in this recipe. It is a great way to use up any leftover turkey and it is perfect on its own as a light lunch, or served with bread for a filling and satisfying main meal.

Lamb Soup with Garbanzo Beans & Garlic

This Russian soup made with lamb, and it's substantial and warming - just perfect for taking the edge off a hearty appetite on a cold winter's day. Lamb and garbanzo beans go together so well, they seem to have been made for one another. Thick slices of warm rustic bread would make the perfect accompaniment.

Russian Monday: "Ukha" - Fish Soup

“Ukha” is Russian word used to name fish broth or fish soup. In this meaning it exists in the language for about 250 years or so, but before it was used for any fish or meat based soup, pea soup or sometime even sweet soup served with sugar. In the dictionary “Lexicon” published in 1704, “ukha” is defined as synonym for “gravy”.

Rustic Beef Tomato & Carrots Chili - NO Beans

This is certainly a simple and interesting dish, it looks like a chili, though a bit unusual. This sort of chili is normally not made with beans. Basically what you have is a bowl of meat, carrots and spices in tomato sauce. But you can serve it different ways.

When you serve it "two way", the sauce comes on a pile of spaghetti. When you serve it "three way", you add some grated cheese. A "four way" adds chopped yellow onions and a "five way" adds some sour cream. You can have great fun with this and I am sure that your children will think up some additional "ways" of serving this delicious dish.

Russian Monday: Cabbage Soup - Shchi

Last Sunday, at bloggers conference in Orlando, when people were finding out I was born in Russia they have been asking if I have any recipes of Russian cuisine on my blog. Apparently, I had none. I just thought that on the internet there are plenty of recipes of cabbage soup (pronounced as “sch-ee”), cabbage rolls (“go-lub-tsy”) and perogys (“pee-ro-gee”). There are tons of these things around I would not dare to say final products look really attractive. On the way home I have been thinking about all of this, about my hometown of St. Petersburg, about my mom’s home cooking and the fact that I have graduated from the Culinary Arts Institute years ago particularly in my hometown and not at any other place. I would love to stay close to my roots and I feel that my cultural background comes out anyways in all of my creations – recipes, photos and illustrations.

Shrimp Etouffée - Spicy, Salty, Delicious!

The name Etouffée refers to "smothering" the seafood with a heavy sauce. This method of cooking has its roots in Creole cuisine, and if you take the time to prepare this dish properly you will be very proud of your Creole skills.



Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp. peanut oil
• 3 Tbsp. flour
• 1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 green sweet bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 3 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 1/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 Tbsp. whole basil leaves
• 1 Tbsp. whole thyme leaves
• 1 Tbsp. plus 1/2 tsp Tabasco
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled and uncooked
• cooked rice for serving

Directions:

Heat a large Dutch oven and add the oil and flour. Toast this to a peanut-butter-colored roux. This should take about 10 minutes over medium heat. Be careful not to burn this. Stir often.

Add the yellow onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic. Saute for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Stir in the tomato paste, followed by the broth and wine. Stir constantly until this mixture thickens. Add the remaining ingredients, except the shrimp, and rice. Simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes.

Add the shrimp and simmer for 15-20 minutes, uncovered.

Serve over cooked rice. This is also great with Zucchini Tian or Corn Pudding.