Musings of a Noviy God...My Memories from our Russian New Year'sEve...

"All is quiet in my house, nothing stirs...not even a mouse" only the quiet hum of the aquarium filter can be heard...I am the only one awake...playing with the little "Ded Maroz" (Father Frost) under our New Year's "yolachka" (Christmas Tree)trying to conceal the excitement bubbling out of my 40 pound body for the night ahead. It's the only night when even children are allowed to stay up with the adults and enjoy the festivities of the coming year.
It's December 31st 1988 on a usually snowy day in my homeland...Russia. The streets are bustling with people getting last minute treats for their elaborate New Year's Eve feasts...traffic roars down busy streets as people rush home for their naps. That is precisely what was happening at my house. All the adults were fast asleep getting their much needed sleep in preparation for a night filled with laughter, drinking and celebration. Much like our dinners New Year's eve has become a marathon of food and drink. Memories, tales and shots are shared much into the early mornings...until all the crumbs from the dining room tables are cleared and replaced with steaming cups of tea and coffee and plates of freshly made omelettes with butter. After a 12 hour marathon the survivors return to their homes to freshen themselves up for Day 2 of celebration: New Year's Eve; a repeat of Day 1...more memories, more tales, more food, more vodka.

In Russia New Year's Eve is as big as Christmas is in the states. Christmas and God Forbid, Hannakuh were not to be found on any calander. Instead, New Year's Eve was lavishously celebrated. Houses displayed their sparkling and tinsle-wrapped yolachka's, our version of Christmas Trees, in their windows proudly. Everyone gives each other presents and goes to see New Year's Eve plays featuring our non-controversial version of Santa Claus, Ded Maroz or Father Frost and his usually much younger sexy, scantilly clad assistant "Snegurachka".






I still remember our beautiful "yolachka". A real tree, that still smelled of pine cones and frost. We had the most gorgeous ornaments that were hand-made and each one had its own personality. My dad and I would decorate the tree together, my favorite part was spreading the cotton "snow" under the tree bottom. We laid "Ded Maroz" and "Snegurachka" figurines into the "snow" along with tinsle, toy trains, presents and all the other ornaments that never made it onto the tree. Countless hours were spent playing under that tree, wondering which presents were for me, dreading the moment we would have to put the tree away.

My mom would race around putting her last touches on her lipstick and her napoleaon cake. I would run right behind her, reluctant to miss any of the New Year's preparation. My dad, always the last to wake up from his nap, would walk around lazly trying to find his missing tie, annoying my mother with his constant requests to help him find yet another mysteriously missing article of clothing.

Somehow at the end of the night everything settled down...a decadant spread of appetizers, meats and desserts awaited us. A feast to fuel the busy night ahead of games, skits, songs and dancing. A night that Russians feel united in their love for celebration and food; for laughter and stories; for a good tale over a cold shot.

As an adult, I try and recreate that magic that I felt as a kid on New Year's Eve. But alas, that tingle in the stomach is unique to a child's soul and cannot be re-created but instead will hopefully be reincarnated...a wish for my own future children...a hope that they will enjoy this amazing holiday as I once did...and that my little ones will tail me around the house as I crazily rush around putting the finishing touches on my lipstick and desserts. In the meantime, I will go and drink my cold shot and laugh over memories with my friends.

A Happy and Healthy New Year to Everyone!!!

Citrus and Herb Turkey

I will confess something...I never made turkey before...EVER...before this Thanksgiving that is. I mean sure I made turkeys at a catering kitchen and I rubbed them down with butter and stuck them in the oven. But I never actually watched cooked it from beginning to end and it certainly wasn't for my loved ones.
This year I decided that I am making Thanksgiving MY holiday! So I researched recipes, most importantly of all...the turkey. Turkey is one of those things that we always did in my family, but it was just there...by some miraculous fluke it sometimes tasted great...but it was never WOW. So I decided to make it WOW! Now I understood what a huge task I was taking on right from the start. Most people in the family aren't even turkey eaters so I would have to overcome their previous notions of dry, icky turkey...

Right around Halloween I started planning my menu and my search for the perfect turkey began. Everything from marinading to salting to deepfrying...I read it all. But nothing really struck me as the perfect turkey. Until one day I saw it...BRINED TURKEY...Alton Brown was my savior! I was watching the food network as usual and there he was with a turkey show!
Brining: Brining makes cooked meat moister by hydrating the cells of its muscle tissue before cooking, via the process of osmosis. There it was! Science! How can this be wrong! It can't! It's perfectly logical and Alton said it works! So it certainly must!
So finally the right prep method was decided on.

Next came the flavors. I really tried to keep it simple. Lots of citrus and herbs just to enhance the flavors of the turkey. That's it, nothing fancy, I didn't want to cover the flavors just enhance and sweeten them.

Finally, I had to figure out the cooking process. There are SOOOO many different ways to cook a turkey in the oven. But based on all the cooking that I did in professional kitchens there is only one way to go: start high then go low.
What does that mean? Well you want to start out high to get the breast nicely browned and golden. Then you turn it down and let the rest of the turkey cook. This will guarantee a golden, crispy crust and a tender juicy inside.

That was it! Now that all the variables to a perfect turkey were complete, I was ready to cook!


I used Alton Brown's recipe for the actual porportions of salt to water as well as the cooking method. I definitley tweeked the brine recipe as well as the aromatics.

Perfect Citrus Turkey

Brine
14 to 16 pound frozen young turkey
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
zest of 2 oranges
zest of 2 lemons
3 tablespoons chopped rosemary
2 tablespoons chopped tyme
2 tablespoons chopped sage
1 cup orange juice
2 gallons heavily iced water

1.Combine all the ingredients in a large plastic bag, I used a garbage bag.
2.Place the thawed turkey breast side down in brine. I used a pot for this turkey, because it was small enough.
3. Cover the turkey and refrigerate for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining. I used my garage as a storage space since it is so cold out now.

Turkey
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
1 tablespoons chopped tyme
1 tablespoon chopped sage
zest and juice of one orange
zest and juice of one lemon
2 cups of chicken stock

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

1. The next day, remove the turkey out of the brine and rinse it inside and out with water.
2. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and place on a roasting rack on top of a sheet pan or roasting pan.
3.Combine all the ingredients, except the water and brush on the oil and herb mixture. Make sure you get the breastside as well as the underside. Get into all those little nooks and crannies, you want every piece of this turkey to taste wonderful!
4. Fill the cavity with the oranges and lemons that were juiced and zested.

5. Before placing it in the oven, take a piece of foil and measure it on the bird into a little triangle. You want it to just cover the breast. Place the triangle to the side, it will be used a bit later on.
6. Place the turkey onto the lowest rack in the oven and let it roast for 30 minutes and 500 degrees. NO PEEKING! Because it is roasting on such a high temperature, all the juices that fall into your roasting pan may evaporate off and start to burn. During this time you want to add in your chicken stock just a bit at a time, so that your bits don't burn. This can be done throughout the entire cooking process to prevent the bits from burning and leaving perfect pan juices for a gravy.
*One of the easiest way to make an roast perfect is an internal probe thermometer. Especially one that you can set the temperature alarm on. It makes life simple and your roast moist! All you have to do is stick in the thermometer and wait for the alarm to go off!*
7. After the first half hour, take out the turkey and cover the breast with your pre-measured foil.

8. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
9. Set your probe thermometer alarm to 151 degrees F and walk away. (A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting.)
10. Once it's done, remove it from the oven and let it rest for about 15-20 minutes, covered with foil.
11. Carve and serve!
*I always carve my turkey before I serve it to the guests. This actually enables me to make the turkey hours before they get there. That way, I can carve it, stick it into a sheet pan, cover with foil and reheat in the oven right before the guests get there. In case anyone wants to see what my turkey looks like before I cut it, I take pictures for proof! Alton Brown has an awesome video here on how to properly carve a turkey. By carving the breast this way, you get a much moister turkey breast.*

Now, the gravy. The pan drippings from this turkey were really wonderful so the gravy is really simple. Just make a rough with a bit of the fat from the pan drippings and some flour. Slowly pour in some white wine and the turkey juices (no fat). Add in seasoning and some chopped fresh herbs. Heat up when ready to serve and you're done!

Prepping for Hanukkuh and Other Holiday Gibberish

Yesterday was quite the day for me! Firstly, it is literally a winter wonderland in Chicago. Driving was awful and all the stores were packed, even the grocery stores! Today is no different, we are expecting an additional 4-6 inches of snow today, it really will be a White Christmas and a White Hanukkah!

Whenever I have a larger party to prep for I always do all my leg work ahead of time. It saves me a ton of time as well as headaches on the day of the party. All the chopping, marinading, baking and setting the table usually happens the day or 2 before (with a few exceptions). I never have to worry about the little things going wrong and I get to actually enjoy myself when people start coming over. On Thanksgiving I had 18 people at my house and I was done cooking and setting up by 3pm! My turkey was even ready by 4pm! All my guests started coming in at about 6pm and by that time everything was warming nicely in the oven.

Holidays should be fun and warm, not stressful and hectic! When I was a kid, I watched my mom and grandma prep for holidays for 2 days. I never understood why! Then when I got older and started doing my own holidays, I saw why my mom did everything up to two days before! It's a LOT of work to do a big party! It's even MORE work to do a party when you are Russian. Russians, have more of EVERYTHING! More food, more courses, more liquor and more dessert. You see, with Russian style eating it is more of a marathon than a sprint. Eating must be done over several hours and the key is to pace oneself...otherwise you will be out on the couch before the second course even hits with people calling you a wussy!

Our family get togethers are intense! My family is loud and my fiance's family is even louder! So when we all get together it is like one big tone deaf choir, all talking fast and loud in different pitches and tones! I always tell new guests to bring a pair of ear plugs with them, just in case. They all ALWAYS crowd around in the kitchen and naturally get in my way and try to taste a bit of everything, eventually I push them all out into the dining room. My nieces and nephews run around and squeal at the top of their lungs trying to catch my poor cat. And my fiancee...well he always finds this as the perfect time to hop in the shower, leaving me to handle the family all by myself! Half of the guests are always late the only exceptions being, my brother and sister-in-law, my fiance's parents and my brother's in-laws. After that the countdown begins...about 15 minutes AFTER we scheduled the together my aunt and uncle stroll in...15 minutes after that my fiance's brother and wife come with their kids and the final arrival is by my cousin and her husband crossing the line at an astounding 45-60 minutes after the scheduled time! I learned my lesson the first time and this is why now I tell people to come over about 30-40 minutes before the time I plan to serve. It gives everyone a chance to chill out, smoke and gather before we sit down.

Now on to the food. I am a control freak when it comes to the holidays! The food has to be done my way or else I know it will be screwed up! So I usually tell people to bring stuff that I don't want to make or that they can buy. For instance, I told my cousin to bring her usual Knorr's spinach dip (It is delicious, simple and not even the cooking challenged can mess this one up) and homemade cranberry sauce. My sister-in-law brought me Spanokopita, delicious little filo triangles with feta and spinach inside, store bought and delicious! (FYI, Cosco has the best ones and they are extremely affordable!) My fiance's mother is the baker. I always tell her to bring one dessert and she always brings 4! She also brought these amazing golden potatoes that everyone loved! (I may be making them tonight and if I do, I will definitely post the recipe!)

I really love our holidays together because I get to play around with the menus! For instance, for Thanksgiving there will of coarse be a turkey with some sort of potatoes and veggies, but that's pretty much the only constraints for food I have to stay with. Generally there are really 3 rules to a Russian dinner, no matter what the holiday is:

1. There must always be plenty of liquor on the table (vodka, tequila, cognac and wine...a bit of everything to please every one's tastes)...
2. There must always be pickled veggie and sometimes fruit on the table.
(This year we had my grandmother famous pickled tomatoes! I am still working on getting the recipe from her! We also had pickled watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew. Trust me, I am a picky eater but this is just sooo darn good! Don't knock it till you tried it!)
3. There must be an abundance of food...good, filling food. (To absorb all that liquor of coarse!)

The first course is always almost like an antipasti course. Really yummy deli meats and cheeses, pickled veggies, little compound salads, deviled eggs, pate, caviar and for the first time this year I did roasted garlic cloves to be used as a spread on rolls instead of butter! It's almost like little Amuse Bouches , just enough to get the taste buds going. The second course is hot appetizers. This year I went a bit heavy on the appetizers! My fiance's mom warned me, "On Thanksgiving, don't do a lot of hot appetizers no one will eat the turkey..." But she was wrong! Once the appetizers started coming out...the guests eyes started widening...first came my Secret Stuffed Mushrooms, then those Golden Potatoes, then the Spanokopita, then Eggplant Rolls (stuffed with ricotta and marinara) then a Wild Mushroom and Potato Augratin. After this everyone kinda looked at me and said, "Are we eating the turkey tommorrow? Because no more food can fit." So they took a break. When they came back there was a new spread on the table: the Turkey, with Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes, Not so Green Green Beans and this amazing Russian rice dish called Plov (I will provide the recipe once I decide to make it again). Everyone freaked out when they saw the spread. But they ate! They ate a LOT! I don't think my family has ever eaten quite so much food! I never thought I would say this: they were full, very happy and a bit inibriated: the perfect combination! (By the way, this was the first time I ever cooked a turkey at home! I freaked out a bit and started planning the turkey recipe a month out. It was worth it! Everyone raved and said it was the best turkey the ever had!)

Once dessert hits, people kind of grab something off of the table and go stroll around the house and join in random conversations. My friends usually stroll in around this time after their family gatherings and nibble on leftovers. On Thanksgiving we had an inticing game of "Catch Phrase" after dinner.

I really love the holidays. When I was growing up I truely loved them as well because my mom would keep busy cooking and I would get the chance to stick my nose in every pot. The family would get together and we would all laugh and chat and have a great time. Once my mom passed, the holidays kinda lost their special meanings. It was hard to crack a smile when everyone was missing her so much. So when my fiancee and I bought our home, I vowed that I would do my best to get the family together on all the holidays and create new and wonderful memories for us to share. Once again, the house was full of laughter, chatting and the occasional squeal from the kids. There is something so wonderful and special about seeing my new, growing family around my dining room table, eating and sharing their stories. Every once in awhile, I swear I can hear my mom's laughter at the table; and for me, that makes it all worthwhile.

A Very Warm and Happy Holiday To Everyone

Happy Hanukkuh!!!

Tommorrow I am hosting a small gathering of family and friends at my house to celebrate Hanukkuh! I will be serving up my very popular "Citrus and Herb Turkey",
"Not So Green, Green Beans", "Rosemary Potato Pancakes", "Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip" and much, more!
Naturally there will be plenty of pictures and recipes!

Happy Holidays to all!

Crispy Potato Pancake

So last week, on a very snowy night in Chicago, my usual channel was in tune on the tv...the Food Network...

From grits, to roasts to potato pancakes to soups...it was everything I could have wanted on a Tuesday night. Since I am hosting a little family get together for Hannakuh, I decided to give Giada's Baked Zucchini, Potato and Rosemary Pancake technique a try.

I love latki's and so does the rest of the family, however making them from scratch is always a little bit of a pain. First I used to grate them, by hand of coarse on a box grater...then you have to make sure all the liquid drains out...and then you make little pancakes and start to fry them...flipping them one at a time...one at a time. Now if you are making 10 it's not a bit deal...but if you are making 20...thats a bit of a nusance.

So after getting my instant inspiration from Giada, I jumped off the couch and grabbed some potatoes, a few shallots (I ran out of onions) some rosemary and a few cloves of garlic.

*This is the point that you want to preheat your oven to 450-degrees. I know this temperature sounds high...but you need it at a high temperature so that your pancake can develop a nice crusty top. *

I personally am not a fan of zucchini so I omitted them from my recipe and just used straight potato. After taking about a half hour to figure out the shredder attachments on my food processor, I was ready to shred! In 10 seconds I had shredded all the potatoes and 2 shallots, no more box shredder for me!

I put the mixture in a kitchen towel and rung out all the liquid...this step is imperative, because if all the liquid is not rung out then your pancake will stay soggy and not get crispy. It was shocking how much liquid actually came out! After that I placed the mixture in a bowl, added in 2 eggs, and sprinkled in enough bread crumbs to soak up the remaining moisture. Then I preheated my 12 inch pan with some olive oil in it.

Once the oil was hot enough (about 2 minutes) I turned the heat down to med-high, and put my potato mixture in the pan. Make sure you pat it down firmly and sqwish it down so that all the potato's surface area is covered. After about 5-10 minutes the edges started getting beautiful and brown. I turned off the heat and went and got my secret ingredient. I sprinkled some Parmesan cheese right on top before putting it in the oven. The cheese gives it an even more beautiful crust and adds a little bit of saltiness! Then I stuck in the oven and 20 minutes later it was done.

I was so shocked at how gorgeous it looked! The beautiful little specs of green rosemary looked so festive in there! And look no flipping necessary and you still get that beautiful crust!

I loosened the bottom of the pancake with my rubber spatulaand eased the pancake out onto a plate
From the plate I put it on the cutting board and sliced it into slices using my pizza slicer...I could have probablly eaten the whole thing all by myself...but I figured that would require another hour on the stair master...and so I opted to save them.

For a dip I just whipped up some sour cream with chives, rosemaryand some citrus and voila! It tasted wonderfully with the potato pancake.

Here is the recipe inspired by Giada de Laurentis

Ingredients:

2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and grated
2 shallots, grated
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1 tablespoon
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves

2 egg whites, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil

***the magic ingredient: a sprinkle of parmesan cheese on the top***

Herb Sour Cream
6 sour cream
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons chopped chives

1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and enjoy.