Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Butter & Sage

Gnocchi are delicious poached dumpling-like preparations. They are typically North Italian, although Roman gnocchi (made with potatoes) are a regional specialty rarely found in Northern home kitchens. A light hand is the watchword for these delicacies, otherwise they will be soggy and leaden.

Pan-fried Lemon Bluefish with Caper-Tomato Salsa

Pan-fried Lemon Bluefish with Caper-Tomato Salsa & Thyme - a simple, yet colorful presented recipe with enough acidity of lemon juice and white wine, to cut the richness and enhance the flavor of the bluefish.

Radish Salad with Greens From Our Garden

This is the first year when I can proudly say I am a gardener. Everything you see on this plate comes from my backyard veggie garden. Sweet peas and beautiful radish are fully ripened. Carrots are still very small but there are plenty of herbs. There is no real recipe for this salad. It is just whatever you desire to put on a plate, sprinkle it with lemon juice, add oil and a pinch of salt. My lunch today was very simple and healthy at the same time. Today I did not feel like cooking anything complicated, it was “take it easy” day. I wish you to have an adventurous weekend - spend more time outside, go to a park, bike, garden. The summer is here and weather is beautiful!

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.

Roasted Whole Red Snapper, Healthy and Easy Recipe

"There are as many good fish in the sea as ever came out of it"

Red Snapper found all over the world. This fish has a firm texture and an almost nutty flavor. When buying look for clear, red eyes and bright red skin that fades toward the belly. Make sure the skin is not marked or broken. When you press down on the skin, the flesh should feel firm and not soft. Buy the whole fish to help retain the flavor of the fish. Red snappers are fantastic for roasting and grilling whole.



Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 medium whole fish, about 2 1/2 to 3 pounds, cleaned and scaled 
• 2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
• sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• 3 cloves crushed or sliced garlic
• fresh thyme
• fresh lemon mint or favorite herbs 
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 1/4 cup dry white wine

Directions:

In a large baking dish, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and spread around dish. Place fish in dish and coat with remaining tablespoon olive oil, salt, and pepper. Insert garlic, lemon, thyme, other herbs to cavity of fish. Pour white wine over the fish.

Bake, uncovered, at 400°F for about 25 minutes or until skin is browned and fish flakes easily.



I am sorry I don't have any photos of the cooked fish, I deleted them by accident -))
Here are a few photos of something very unique and beautiful - my neighbor drying his garden herbs. He is a doctor by profession, but I think he is truly a great artist -))

Eye of Round Roasted with Herbs

From A Dissertation Upon Roast Pig by Charles Lamb (1775-1834)
"Mankind," says a Chinese manuscript, "for the first seventy-thousand ages ate their meat row, clawing or biting it from the living animal just as they do in Abyssinia to this day."

From those early challenging days when raw meat was devoured to today's Steak au Poivre, Veal Scallopine, and Rosemary Shish Kebabs, almost everyone has relished the taste of meat. Correctly cooked and imaginatively seasoned, it has great appeal.



Ingredients:

• 1 eye of round beef roast, 3-4 lb.
• 1 1/2 cups beef stock
• 5-6 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 tsp ground mustard seeds
• 3 or 4 fresh rosemary sprigs, chopped
• 1/4 cup cognac
• salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

Mix together the seasonings with cognac and set them aside.

Take out the roast, rinse it and pat dry with paper towels. Rub the seasonings all over the roast, and let it sit out on the kitchen counter for 30 minutes. This allows the roast to reach room temperature, plus it lets the seasonings settle onto the roast.

Preheat an oven to 400°F.

Place a large Dutch oven over high heat. Add the meat and brown on all sides, 7 to 8 minutes total. Then add the beef stock and roast, uncovered, until the meat is evenly browned on top, about 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 375°F, cover and continue to roast for 1 hour more.

Transfer the meat to a cutting board. Let rest for 10 minutes. Serve with your favorite vegetables.

Mango and Strawberry Popsicles

The summer is here. Can you feel it, can you taste it? I am sure you can. I love summer food, so many colors, so many wonderful flavors. Summer days are so hot so we are doing different popsicles every day. I have never made popsicles before, and I really don't know why. I have seen many variations of these so I figured I try my own, after all, summer weather is here so these are just perfect for the hot days.You don't need a special recipe for it, just put in your blender any fruits or berries you have and freeze it.



We love mango popsicles and mango with strawberries. I have a few ideas for you what to make, but anything will do, honestly!



This year we started our first little herb garden: lemon mint, rosemary, carry leaves, lemon thyme, fennel and parsley. Also we have peaches and red currant.  I can not wait to make some jam and syrup using my herbs. Try to make strawberry syrup with basil and chocolate mint, the best with pancakes and waffles, it's amazing.



Love to know what is in your garden and what are you cooking with your herbs.



Mango popsicles

Makes 6
Ingredients:

• 3 mangos
• 1 tsp honey
• lime juice from half of lime
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Pour into your ice pop moulds, stick a paddle pop stick in and freeze for at least 4 hours, or until set.



Mango and Strawberry popsicles

Makes 6
Ingredients:

• 1 mango
• juice from one orange
• 1 tsp honey
• 2 cups strawberries
• juice from one grapefruit
• 1 tsp honey

Directions:

Place all ingredients for mango layer in a blender and puree until smooth. Do the same with strawberries. Spoon a layer of mango puree into the ice pop moulds, about a half full, and then add a layer of strawberry puree. Insert a paddle pop stick into each mould and freeze for a minimum of 5 hours.

Chicken and Red Currant Pie

The currants add a tart layer to this meaty pie. Cranberries can be used if currants are not available. Great recipe for the picnic. You can serve it hot or cold. If you are planning to use it hot don't put jelly at the end. The pie freezes well. This pie would be amazing for Thanksgiving if you are using turkey and cranberry sauce.

Ingredients:

For the filling:

• 1 lb ground chicken
• 1 lb ground veal or sausage meat
• 1 Tbsp ground coriander
• 1 Tbsp dried mixed herbs
• finely grated rind of 2 oranges
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 lb chicken breast fillets
• 1 cup fresh red currant
• ground black pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 1/4 cups aspic jelly, made according to the instructions on the packet

For the pastry:

• 4 cups plain all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup butter or lard
• 1 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup mixed milk and water

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F. In the bowl, mix together the veal, ground chicken, coriander, herbs, orange rind, ginger and salt. Season with black pepper to taste.

To make the pastry, sift the flour into a large bowl with the salt. Heat the butter or lard in a small pan with the milk and water until just beginning to boil. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly.

Quickly stir the liquid into the flour until a very dough is formed. Place on a clean work surface and knead until smooth. Cut one-third of the dough for the lid, wrap in clear film and keep in a warm place.

Roll out the large piece of dough on a floured surface and use to line the base and sides of a greased 8in loose-based, spring form cake tin. Work with the dough while it is still warm, as it will break if it becomes too cold.



Thinly slice the chicken breast fillets. Put them between two pieces of clear film and flatten with a rolling pin to a thickness of 1/8 in. Spoon half the meat mixture into the tin, pressing it well into the edges. Cover it with half the chicken slices and then the red currants, followed by the remaining chicken and finally the rest of the meat mixture.

Roll out the remaining dough and use to cover the filling, trimming off any excess and sealing the edges with a little beaten egg. Make a steam hole in the centre of the lid and decorate the top by cutting pastry trimmings into leaf shapes. Brush with some beaten egg and bake for 2 hours. Cover the pie with foil if top gets too brown.

Place the pie on a wire to cool. When cold, use a funnel to fill the pie with liquid aspic jelly. Leave the jelly to set for a few hours or overnight, before unfolding the pie to serve it.

Onion Marmalade with Fig Balsamic Vinegar served over Chicken Liver Pâté

ONION "Rose Among Roots"from The Spice Cookbook, 1964

Had robert Louis Stevenson been a modern advertising man, and been offered a fee to glorify the onions, he couldn't have done better than in his poem on salad making:

First let the onion flourish there,
Rose among roots, the maiden-fair
Wine-scented and poetic soul
Of the capacious bowl!

Then there was the eighteenth-century clergyman and wit, the Reverend Sydney Smith, who initiated a salad with a bit of minced onion. His rhymed recipe prescribed:

Let onion's atoms lurk within the bowl,
And scarce suspected, animate the whole.

The early nineteenth century seems to have produced a quantity of recipes written in rhyme, or what seemed to have passed for rhyme in those days. There was one recipe for roast stuffed swan which reads, in part, "…an onion, will heighten the flavor in gourmand's opinion."

All cooks agree with this opinion-
No savory dish without an onion.



The onion has been used for so many centuries by so many people throughout the world it is hardly possible to determine its origin. Most likely it was in Asia Minor, the home of so many Old World vegetables. We know that the Egyptians ate onions in great quantities. Even the pyramids seem to be indebted to the onion. For the manpower that built them was fortified with onions, according to history as recorded by Herodotus. He noted that in his time there was an inscription on the Great Pyramid of Cheops saying that 1600 talents of silver had been spent on onions, garlic, and radishes for the workmen in 2900 B.C.



This sweet and tangy condiment is perfect for grilled meats, burgers, sandwiches, pizza or on a crostini as an appetizer. I like to serve it over Chicken Liver Pate with butter, for pate you can find the recipe here.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 medium onions, sliced
• 2 Tbsp  fig balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar or honey
• 1 Tbsp thyme, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat; then add the onions, and brown sugar, and stir to dissolve the sugar.  Continue to cook the onions over medium heat for about 15 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are soft, translucent, and light brown.  Add the balsamic vinegar and thyme, turn the heat to low, and continue to cook the onions, stirring occasionally, for about 10 more minutes.  When they are done, they will be deep, dark brown and will have absorbed all the vinegar.




Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Use over chicken liver pate with toast.

Crab Cakes and Dragon Egg

There are so many different crab cake recipes that it boggles my mind. It's impossible to improve a good crab cake, and sometimes simple is better. This is standard delicious crab cake that can be dressed any way you might feel like eating it. For the occasions when you need to go a little fancier, you may dress your crab cakes with the poached egg or cherry tomatoes with herbs and the dressing of your desire.



Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds crabmeat
• 2 cups panko bread crumbs
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup finely diced celery
• 1/2 finely diced onion
• canola or olive oil for frying

Directions:

Working with your hands, blend the crabmeat and 1 cup of the panko in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs, mayonnaise, celery, and onion, and mix with your hands until well blended. The mixture should be quite moist, but not runny. Form patties about the size of hockey pucks, adding more panko if needed to obtain the desired consistency. Press the patties into the remaining panko, coating both sides, and place them on waxed paper. The patties may be refrigerated at this point for up to 1 day.

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Place the patties in the hot skillet in batches, being careful not to crowd the pan. Cook until crisp and brown on both sides, turning once.Remove from the pan and keep hot on a baking sheet in 200F oven until serving.



The Guardian of the Dragon Egg

Carrot, Apple and Orange Salad with Ginger Dressing

Carrot, Apple and Orange Salad made in minutes, this salad is not so much thrown together as tossed together, and this harmonious combination of ingredients and complementary dressing belie the speed with which it is made. This salad ideal for easy entertaining or speedy midweek meal when you are too tired, too busy or too hot to spend much time in the kitchen. It can be served as appetizer or as a refreshing accompaniment to fish or meat dishes.



Tip: It's better to have the ingredients julienned with the knife. A food processor or a mandolin might cause the apples to turn watery. You may julienned the apples 1 hour before serving time, toss them in lemon juice to prevent them from browning and they will look  great while sitting in the fridge, waiting to be tossed and eaten.

Serving: 4

Ingredients:

• 3 medium carrots, peeled and thinly julienned
• 2 apples, cut into thin matchsticks
• 2 large oranges, peeled and slice thinly
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. orange juice
• 2 Tbsp. chopped pistachio nuts
• 1 small piece root ginger
• 1 tsp chia seeds
• chopped parsley or mint (whichever herbs you prefer)
• salt and ground pepper

Directions:
Peel and finely chop or grate the ginger.
Blend together the olive oil, lemon juice, orange juice, ginger and season with a little salt and pepper to taste.
Toss the carrots and apples together, pour the dressing over and mix well.
Arrange on a plate the oranges and sprinkle lightly with chia seeds.
Put the carrot-apple mixture over the oranges.
Sprinkle the salad with the pistachio nuts and chopped herbs.

Roasted Lamb in Herbs and Pomegranate Marinade

This wonderful recipe comes from my dear friend's Carina-Forum



THYME Symbol of Activity from The Spice Cookbook, 1964
Among the attractive accomplishments of proper young ladies of the past was a knowledge of the language of flowers. From the book devoted to the lore, which appeared in 1836, they learned that thyme "is a symbol of activity".
"Beetles of all hues, light butterflies, and vigilant bees, for ever surround the flowery tufts of Thyme,"the author noted. "It may be that to these cheerful inhabitants of the air, whose life is a a long spring, these little tufts appear like an immense tree, old as the earth and covered with eternal verdure, begemmed with myriads of flowery vases, filled honey for their express enjoyment," the author continued.
It is true that bees have never able to resist the fragrance of thyme.The ancient Greeks relished the honey made by the bees buzzing over Mount Hymettus, near Athens, where thyme grew abundantly. So highly esteemed was the delicate fragrance of thyme that "to smell of thyme" was one of the most desirable compliments one Athenian could offer another.
Ladies of the Middle Ages also observed the attraction thyme held for bees. A favorite design that a lady embroidered on the scarf of her knight-errant was composed of a bee hovering over a spring of thyme-which mingled the sweet and amiable with high courage and martial action. To enhance their own charms these ladies included thyme springs in the "tussie-mussies" they fashioned. A tussie-mussie was a demure bouquet of very fragrant flowers and sweet-scented leaves. It was always held tightly by a lady so that the warmth of her hand could release the scent of the lovely bouquet.

ROSEMARY For Remembrance from The Spice Cookbook, 1964

The small flower that is part of rosemary - an evergreen of the mint family - once was white. Legend recounts that one night the Virgin Mary - fleeing with the Christ Child from Herod's soldiers - hung her sky-blue cloak on the rosemary bush. From that day on the color of rosemary blossoms was transformed to blue.

The mention of rosemary will call to mind an ancient symbol of remembrance and fidelity. Shakespeare made this sentiment famous in Hamlet, when the tragic Ophelia speaks the immortal line: "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance."

One seventeenth-century preacher urged at a wedding: "Let this Rosemarinus, this flower of men, ensigne of your wisdom, love and loyaltie, be carried not only in your hands, but in your heads and hearts." It was the custom then for bridesmaids to present the bridegroom with "a bunch of Rosemary, bound with ribands" on the morning of the wedding.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 leg of lamb sirloin, 3-4 lb.
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 250 ml pomegranate juice, natural and unsweetened
• 8 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1/3 cup very finely chopped shallots
• 2 Tbs. fresh thyme leaves or 8 thyme sprigs, each 6 inches long
• 4 Tbs. finely minced fresh rosemary
• 1 Tbs. ground coriander
• 2 Tbs. peppercorns, bruised
• 1 1/2 tsp. sea salt

Combine the minced rosemary, fresh thyme, ground coriander, garlic, finely chopped shallots, peppercorns, salt and olive oil to make a paste. Rub over all of the surfaces of the meat.



Place the meat in a shallow glass dish and add pomegranate juice to cover.



Marinate for 24 hours in the refrigerator, turning once. Bring the meat to room temperature before roasting.



Directions:
Preheat an oven to 375°F.
Put the lamb into a large roasting pan and drizzle the lamb with the olive oil. Cook for 25 minutes per pound for medium plus an extra 25 minutes for well-done, spooning the meat juices over the lamb once or twice during cooking.
Transfer the lamb to a carving board or platter and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Let rest for 10 minutes.
To serve, cut the lamb across the grain into thin slices and arrange on a warmed platter. Serve immediately, spooning some of the accumulated juices over each portion.

Warm Apple Drink with Herbs & Spices

Delicious sweet and spicy apple drink to warm you up this fall.


Ingredients:

• 5 apples, peeled, cored, and cubed
• 6-8 cups water
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Add: herbs & spices of your choosing

Directions:
In a large saucepan, combine the water, sugar, apples cinnamon, nutmeg, herbs and spices of your choosing and bring to a boil. Boil gently until the sugar is dissolved. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the apples are very tender about 20 minutes.



Remove from the heat. Let cool to room temperature before serving.



Serve as a warm drink with some breakfast items, such as toast, French toast, waffles, pancakes, or as an afternoon tea with pound cakes.