Cooking in Russia! Pelmeni

Assisting the ship's chef.

      Now I can actually claim that I’ve cooked in Russia! To be more truthful, I was on a pelmeni assembly line production. Barry and I celebrated our 44^th wedding with a river cruise in Russia – it was a fabulous trip. As our ship was cruising from Moscow to St. Petersburg, we attended a cooking class.

     Chef André Frischmuth demonstrated the preparation of pelmeni -- the Russian equivalent of tortellini that originated in Siberia. Family members, with the aid of babushkas prepare large batches of these filled dumplings using an assembly line method. The pelmeni are then frozen (outside in the snow in early times); to finish — simply drop in boiling water and cook until they rise to the top of the pot (in early times they were taken on journeys and cooked in water over an open flame).

Typically the little dumplings are filled with raw meats ground with onions and herbs. However sauerkraut and potatoes are other popular fillings. Sometimes they’re filled with fruit pastes, such as prune and one lady on board said she’s skipped the paste and simply inserted a prune in a round of dough.

     Although Chef André converted his recipe to standard U.S. measure, some of them are in ounces versus cups (actually a more accurate method of measurement) so I’ve done a rough conversion.

Pelmeni

14 oz. all-purpose flour – converts to a little less than 2 cup (I oz. flour = 1 cup)

2 eggs

5 fl. oz. cold water (most measuring cups designed for liquids have oz. measurements in addition to cup measures)

1½ teaspoon salt

7 oz. finely ground beef

8 ¾ oz. finely ground pork (or a total of almost 1 lb. ground beef & pork)

1 onion

5 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3 tablespoons stock or water

Salt & pepper

Egg wash – an egg mixed with a little water for brushing edges

Salted water or broth for cooking pelmeni

Sour cream or butter for serving

Pelmini Dough

1)   Combine flour, eggs, water and salt; knead until dough is smooth. Cover and let dough rest 30 minutes for best results.

The chef mixes the dough . . . 

and now he rolls it until it is extremely thin.

2)   Transfer to a floured surface and roll until dough is really thin (max. 0.08”).

3)   Using an upside down glass or pastry cutter, cut out rounds (each 2” in diameter).

Filling

4)   Combine meat, onions, garlic and 3 Tblsp. stock or water; stir until smooth and season with salt and pepper.

5)   Brush the edges of each round with egg wash; place small portions of the filling onto the dough rounds;  fold in half  (to resemble a half moon) and press together, preferably with a fork. Turn up the sides of the half moon pelmeni, so that they have little ‘ears’ (similar to tortellini).

Brushing the rounds of dough with egg wash.

Assembly line production.

Cooking

6)   Bring a large pot of salted water or broth to boil. Drop in the pelmini (a batch at a time); gently simmer – they are done when they rise to the top of the surface (they cook quickly.) 

Chef Andre´ folds over th pelmeni and then drops them in boiling broth,.

The pelmeni rise to the top of the pot when they are done.

7)   Serve with sour cream or melted butter.

Chef André rolls out pelmeni dough. Oh look – he found a babushka on board to help!

It’s a Main Dish or a Side Salad — Garden Pasta Salad

Mixing veggies in with the pasta base.

     Garden Pasta Salad makes a quick and easy main dish or side salad. I cooked the pasta several hours ahead and refrigerated it with the sauce and parsley, allowing the flavors to meld. Right before dinner I added garden veggies along with eggs, cheese and some meat for a simple, tasty and hearty meal.

     This recipe is quite versatile and lends itself to lots of variations. No Comeback Sauce? Use Ranch dressing mixed with some salsa. Vary the type of pasta, add other garden herbs, shredded carrots, thinly sliced radishes, diced peppers  . . . or whatever sounds good.

Garden Pasta Salad

1 (12 ounce) package spiral whole wheat pasta or use tri-colored

1/3 to ½ cup (more or less) Comeback Sauce  

2 to 3 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped

3 Roma (plum tomatoes), diced

About 1/3 to ½ cup black olives pieces or slices

3 tablespoons red onion, finely chopped

About ¼ cup finely chopped cucumber, peeled & seeded

Salt & pepper to taste

2 hard cooked eggs, chopped  

¼ to ½ cup cubed Cheddar cheese (we prefer sharp)

Ready to eat. 

About ½ cup diced ham, or add fried bacon, turkey, etc.

                     

1.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook spiral pasta in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until cooked through but firm to the bite, 12 minutes; drain.

2.  Toss cooked pasta with Comeback Sauce (vary amount to your taste and preference) in a large bowl; add parsley.

3.  Chill in refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.

4.  Add any or all of the additional ingredients before serving. Note – add just veggies for a side salad; if using as a main dish salad add the eggs, cheese and meat.

Mom’s Kitchen — Souperburgers

     These are essentially Sloppy Joes and my mom, Phyllis Newell, has been making them since I was in grade school. The recipe came from Mrs. Childs, the cook at the Zenith country school that included grades one through eight. Instead of a one-room school, ours included three rooms + a minuscule gym that also served as a stage (the wall behind the gym opened onto the school room used by 6^th, 7^th and 8^th graders – this area then became the stage where we presented our annual Christmas program).

     Growing up in the “clean plate” generation, we were required to eat everything on our plates and I remember my friend, Ruth Bietler, hiding a piece of gristly meat inside her milk carton. Her attempt to deceive Mrs. Sloan did not go unnoticed however. Somehow she managed to choke down the meat and that episode was a reminder to all – never waste food and don’t question authority! When Souperburgers were on the menu that was never a problem!

     Chicken Gumbo Soup is not the easiest thing to find (generally carried in most grocery stores; it just doesn’t warrant a great deal of shelf space). What’s more, the first time I opened the can of soup I was startled to discover there was rice and veggies in the soup – those things had never shown up in my mom’s Souperburgers so I was sure I’d made a mistake. That was before cell phones; actually we were newly married and had no phone at all so I couldn’t make a quick call. The recipe turned out just fine and now I try to keep a can of Chicken Gumbo Soup on hand.

     My mother made these recently for a family gathering and I took photos of her standing at the stove. 

Souperburgers    Makes about 3 cups

1 lb. lean ground beef

½ cup chopped onion

1 can Campbell's® Chicken Gumbo Soup

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

6 buns, split and toasted

1.     Brown beef and cook onion in skillet until tender; stir to separate meat.  Add soup and seasonings.  Heat; stir often.

Mom used a speciality tool to break up the ground beef as it browns along with the onions.

After the beef has browned, she adds the soup and other condiments.

2.     Pile onto buns. I like to add a dollop of sweet pickle relish to mine; a slice of cheese is also a nice addition.

Similar recipe: Beef Burgers

Erin’s in the Kitchen: 2-Way Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Swirl Cookies / Casserole Cookies

     While Erin is here we’ve been checking out all those things I’ve been pinning on Pinterest, and that’s where the inspiration for these cookies came from. Of course we played around with the recipe slightly and highly recommend the outcome. The cookies are amazing! Interesting to see how browned butter adds a new dimension of taste to the classic chocolate chip cookie.

     The good thing about this recipe is that it makes a small quantity of cookies – so we are not tempted to eat so many. The bad thing about this recipe is that is makes a small quantity of cookies – and we really want to eat lots more of these delicious treats!

2-Way Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Swirl Cookies

Click here for details on how to toast nuts.

Recipe inspired by these blogs: 6 Bittersweets & The Little Red House

Makes 6 to 8 casserole cookies or about 24 regular cookies

1½ cup all purpose flour

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

½  cup (1 stick) butter, cut into 8 slices
¾  cup packed brown sugar 

1 large egg, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon milk or water -- if dough is somewhat dry

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup pecans, lightly toasted and roughly chopped

Whole pecans for topping the cookies

1.  Preheat oven to 350°.

2.  Mix flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.

3.  Heat a pan on medium heat. Add butter slices and melt in pan. Stir continuously; butter will foam up. Eventually butter will begin to turn a light brown color and small brown flecks will start to appear in bottom of pan (flecks are simply the milk solids from the butter). Continue stirring, until butter has reached a nice brown color, and nutty aroma. Remove from heat at this point to avoid a burnt taste! Check out the step-by-step guide for browning butter at Simply Recipes blog.  

The butter will turn a nice golden brown color when it has browned sufficiently

4.  Add browned butter and brown sugar to your mixer bowl. Mix well.

Erin adds the browned butter to the brown sugar.

5.  Add in egg and vanilla, and mix them in thoroughly.

6.  Slowly stir in the flour mixture. Add the 1 Tbsp. of milk or water if dough seems a bit dry.

7.  Add and evenly distribute the chocolate chips and pecans by mixing. We added the pecans when they were still warm from toasting; that along with the remaining heat from the browned butter caused the chocolate chips to partially melt resulting in a chocolate swirled effect.

8.  Now it’s time to choose how to bake the cookies or do like Erin and I did and make both variations.

a.  Scoop dough into individual ramekins that have been lightly sprayed with pan release — we used about ¼ cup of dough per ramekin; add a whole pecan to the top of each cookie. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Your casserole cookies are  ready when the edges are cooked, but the center is still gooey. Top with vanilla ice cream and gobble up the goodness. (We actually waited awhile to eat ours so warmed the ramekins in the microwave before adding the ice cream.) We made four (1/4 cup portions) casserole cookies.

We took the cookies to Grandma's where we warmed them in the
microwave. Erin is adding a scoop of ice cream to each warm cookie casserole.

b.  If you want to make these as normal cookies, just drop a scoop full of dough onto a lightly sprayed cookie sheet — we used a tablespoon capacity scoop; lightly press a whole pecan to the top of each cookie.  Bake about 10 to 13 minutes until the edges are just set. We had enough dough left to make 6 (1 Tbsp. capacity) regular cookies.

The cookies cooled slightly before it was time to consume them!

Printable recipe without photos . . .

2-Way Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Swirl Cookies 

Recipe inspired by these blogs: 6 Bittersweets & The Little Red House

Makes 6 to 8 casserole cookies or about 24 regular cookies

1½ cup all purpose flour

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

¾  cup packed brown sugar 

½  cup (1 stick) butter, cut into 8 slices

1 large egg, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon milk or water -- if dough is somewhat dry

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup pecans, lightly toasted and roughly chopped

Whole pecans for topping the cookies

1.  Preheat oven to 350°.

2.  Mix flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.

3.  Heat a pan on medium heat. Add butter slices and melt in pan. Stir continuously; butter will foam up. Eventually butter will begin to turn a light brown color and small brown flecks will start to appear in bottom of pan (flecks are simply the milk solids from the butter). Continue stirring, until butter has reached a nice brown color, and nutty aroma. Remove from heat at this point to avoid a burnt taste! Check out the step-by-step guide for browning butter at Simply Recipes blog.  

4.  Add browned butter and brown sugar to your mixer bowl. Mix well.

5.  Add in egg and vanilla, and mix them in thoroughly.

6.  Slowly stir in the flour mixture. Add the 1 Tbsp. of milk or water if dough seems a bit dry.

7.  Add and evenly distribute the chocolate chips and pecans by mixing. We added the pecans when they were still warm from toasting; that along with the remaining heat from the browned butter caused the chocolate chips to partially melt resulting in a chocolate swirled effect.

8.  Now it’s time to choose how to bake the cookies or do like Erin and I did and make both variations.

a.  Scoop dough into individual ramekins that have been lightly sprayed with pan release — we used about ¼ cup of dough per ramekin; add a whole pecan to the top of each cookie. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Your casserole cookies are  ready when the edges are cooked, but the center is still gooey. Top with vanilla ice cream and gobble up the goodness. (We actually waited awhile to eat ours so warmed the ramekins in the microwave before adding the ice cream.) We made four (1/4 cup portions) casserole cookies.

b.  If you want to make these as normal cookies, just drop a scoop full of dough onto a lightly sprayed cookie sheet — we used a tablespoon capacity scoop; lightly press a whole pecan to the top of each cookie.  Bake about 10 to 13 minutes until the edges are just set. We had enough dough left to make 6 (1 Tbsp. capacity) regular cookies.

Purple Power Smoothie

     Our niece Erin arrived in Kansas last week to attend the Excite Camp (focus on high school girls in engineering, science, technology, etc.) at Kansas State University. So it seemed only fitting that we create a Purple Power drink. It was one of those concoctions where we added a little of this and that . . . but the results were quite favorable. Even Uncle Barry, who is not a smoothie fan, gave it a thumbs up. 
     Here's what we came up with . . . and it was amazing the effect the vanilla had on the overall taste — vary anything else you want but don't leave out the vanilla.

Purple Power Smoothie   2 servings
1 banana

1 cup (8 oz.) milk – we used almond milk

¼ cup plain yogurt – we used Greek

Pinch or two of ground nutmeg, cardamom & ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/3 cup blackberries, fresh or frozen (we used frozen)

2 tablespoons agave syrup or other sweetener –adjust to your own taste

2 teaspoons “good” vanilla

1½ cups of ice

1. Add all ingredients to the blender and blend until ice is crushed and drink is frosty. Add additional milk if drink is too thick.

Erin peels the banana to add to the blender.

Erin adds the agave for sweetness.

2.  Put on a K-State shirt and enjoy your drink!

Erin added a mint leaf and is ready to take a drink!

Mom's Cooking: Country-style Green Beans w/ New Potatoes

      Growing up on the farm, my mother always cooked green beans with bacon or ham, covered in water, for a long time! This was the way everyone I knew prepared the green veggie. As a matter of fact I had no idea that green beans could be steamed quickly until I was an adult. 
     As I was picking our first crop of green beans, I was reminded of the long rows of green beans I used to pick on the farm and, nostalgia took over . . . resulting in Country-style Green Beans w/ New Potatoes.
     Growing up we snipped both ends of the beans -- now I just snap of the stem end.

Country-style Green Beans w/ New Potatoes

4 slices bacon, cut into thirds

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 pounds fresh green beans, stem ends snipped or trimmed

8 small new potatoes, halved or quartered if large

Fresh thyme leaves, optional

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.     In a large saucepan or medium Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until it has rendered most of its fat and has begun to brown, about 5 minutes.

2.     Add the onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes.

Fat has been rendered from bacon; it has begun to brown & onions have been added to Dutch oven.

3.     Add the green beans, potatoes and thyme leaves and enough water to just cover them. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low.

Beans & potatoes have come to a boil and it's now time to add the lid and simmer until tender.

4.     Season with salt and pepper, to taste, then cover the pan and simmer until the beans are very tender, about 45 minutes. 

"Grab & Go" Bacon, Egg & Cheese Breakfast Cookies

Out of the Oven —Two cookies on the
left have been turned over to show
bottom browning.

     Right before we left for Russia I made a batch of these cookies! They were just perfect for our 4 a.m. "grab & go" breakfast prior to our middle of the night departure from KCI!  
     Packed  with flavor and also some protein as well, these cookies certainly tided us over until we were served one of those infamous airline meals!
     By the way . . . Russia was great and when we recover from jet lag we'll include a few Russian recipes and, of course, a tablescape featuring some of our new treasures.

Bacon, Egg & Cheese Breakfast Cookies   Makes 28 cookies, using a 2 tablespoon dipper

2/3 cup softened butter

2/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

¾ cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1½ cups oats (old-fashioned or quick)

1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese (we prefer sharp)

½ cup seeds or chopped nuts (I used ¼ c. sunflower seeds & ¼ c. chopped walnuts)

6 crisply cooked bacon slices, crumbled

1.  Beat together butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until well blended.

2.  Combine flour baking soda and salt; add to butter mixture and mix well.

3.  Stir in oats, cheese, seeds &/or nuts, and bacon.

4.  Use a dipper or a tablespoon to drop cookies onto a sprayed or lightly greased cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper or a silicon sheet.

12 cookies fit nicely on a baking sheet.

5.  Bake in preheated 350° oven for 12 to 14 minutes or until edges are golden brown.

Two cookies on front left have been turned over  to reveal a crisp, browned underside. 

6.  Cool 1 minutes on cookie sheet and then remove to wire cooling rack.

7.  Store in closed container or plastic bag in refrigerator or at room temperature.

Cookies and coffee (or a cup of milk) make a quick breakfast.