Christmas in Russia: C рождеством!

Unless you are a Catholic, most people in Russia celebrate Christmas on January 7th.

Russia tradition is to fast on Christmas Eve, until the first star has appeared in the sky. People then eat 'kutia' a porridge made from wheat or rice served with honey, poppy seeds, berries and dried fruit, chopped walnuts or sometimes even fruit jellies!

Kutia is sometimes eaten from one common bowl, this symbolizes unity. In the past, some families like to throw a spoonful of sochivo up on the ceiling. If it stuck to the ceiling, some people thought it meant they would have good luck and would have a good harvest.  

Sauerkraut is normally the main dish in the Christmas Eve meal. It can be served with cranberries, cumin, shredded carrot and onion rings. It might be followed by vegetable pies or porridge dishes such as buckwheat with fried onions and fried mushrooms.

Dessert is often things like fruit pies, gingerbread and honeybread cookies and fresh and dried fruit and more nuts.

'Vzvar’ is normally served at the end of the meal, It's a sweet drink made from dried fruit and honey boiled in water. Vzvar is traditionally at the birth of a child, so at Christmas it symbolizes the birth of the baby Jesus.

The Russian Santa Claus is named Father Frost. Accompanied by the Snow Maiden, he brings presents to children to place under the New Year's tree. He carries a staff, wears Russian wool felt boots called “valenki” and is carried across Russia in a 3-horse drawn sleigh called a "troika.”

Fun Fact:  One of the most famous things about Christmas in Russia, to people in western Europe and the USA, is the story of Babushka. This famous story explains how an old women met the wise men on their way to see Jesus.  However, most people in Russia have never heard of the story.  It seems that it was probably made up by an American writer. 

http://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/russia.shtml 

http://goeasteurope.about.com/od/russianculture/a/russiachristmastraditions.htm

Russian Tea Cakes

Ingredients 

• 1 cup butter or 1 cup margarine, softened
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup finely chopped nuts
• powdered sugar

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Beat butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar and the vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon.
3. Stir in flour and salt.
4. Stir in nuts.
5. Shape dough into 1-inch balls.
6. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Bake 8 to 9 minutes or until set but not brown.
8. Immediately remove from cookie sheet; roll in powdered sugar.
9. Cool completely on wire rack.
10. Roll in powdered sugar again.(food.com)

Blini’s!

Blini are Russia's version of the thin French crêpe and a staple on most Moscovian menus, typically made with buckwheat for savoury fillings or white flour for sweet toppings. You'll see accompaniments of smoked salmon, creamy mushrooms, sour cream, jams and condensed milk– to name a few– but the high-end, revered combination is a spoonful of red salmon or black sturgeon caviar. Another tasty Russian pancake is the cottage cheese version called syrniki, a denser form of ricotta-pancakes, which are eaten for breakfast or dessert. They're best served with homemade jams made from Russia's large array of berries, although condensed milk, honey and sour cream are also served as condiments.(Expatica) 

Ingredients:
(makes ~15 crepes)

• 2 eggs
• 2 cups of milk (or heavy cream for more indulgent blini)
• 1T sugar
• 1/2t salt
• approx. 2 cups of flour 
• 2T canola or vegetable oil + more for rubbing the pan

Instructions:

1. Whisk eggs, milk, sugar and salt
2. Slowly start stirring in flour. Start with a cup, and stir a little more at a time until you get a runny batter but not as thin as milk - don't stress about this step, you can always adjust as you go!
3. Stir in oil
4. Let rest for 15 minutes
5. Preheat a 10" pan over medium heat and rub with oil (I pour some in a little cup and dip a paper towel in, then run it around the pan before making each blin)
6. Use a 1/4 cup or 1/3 cup measurer the scoop the batter into the middle of the pan, then quickly tilt the pan in a circular motion until the batter spreads to cover the pan surface. It should be a very thin layer*.
7. Cook for 2-3 minutes on the first side, until small bubbles form on top and the crepe is light golden brown on the bottom. Flip and cook for 30 seconds. Repeat until batter is used (don't forget to rub the pan with oil each time!)
8. As always, enjoy with sweetened condensed milk, sour cream and jam or any toppings, dips, or fillings of your choice. :)

*The first few blini may be experimental. Try the 1/4 cup and see if the batter covers the pan. Does it easily slide around the pan? If it's too thick, add some milk/cream to the batter. If it's too thin, add more flour to the batter. If it flows freely but doesn't properly cover the pan, use 1/3 cup per blin. I made these twice using a 10" pan, the first time 1/3 cup was perfect, the second time 1/4 cup was enough. Play with heat as well... my stove at home got hot quickly and the crepes were burning on medium (3.5/10 heat ended up perfect). At my parents' in law house in Maine, the pan wouldn't get hot enough on medium, but the crepes were cooking properly on medium high.
(http://www.russianbites.com)

Pelmeni!

Russian Pelmeni 

In the spirit of the upcoming cultural credit, here is a recipe for Pelmeni.  Pelmeni are Russian poached pastries that have a meat filling. "Neighbours gathered after the frosts set in, having fun while pelmeni are being made in quantities running into the thousands. They are laid out on huge dough boards and carried outside to freeze, after which they are dumped into sacks like so many pebbles and stored away until needed...”

Ingredients:
2 c flour
1 c milk or water

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 eggs
1/2 lb beef
1/2 lb pork
1 onion
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Grind beef and pork twice in meat chopper. Then add chopped onion, salt, and pepper. To make mincemeat more tender and juicy, add a bit of milk. Reserve.

2. Mix flour with eggs and milk, salt and oil until a soft dough forms. Knead on floured surface until dough is elastic.

3. Take some dough and make a "sausage" (1 inch in diameter). Divide into pieces (1 inch thick). Roll each piece so that each is 1/16 inch thick.

4. Take a glass or a cup (2 inches in diameter) and make rounds with it's help on the dough. Fill each round with 1 teaspoon of the mincemeat, fold into half-moons.

5. Pinch edges together and connect the opposite sides. Pelmeni can be frozen to be cooked later ( you can keep them in the freezer for a long time), or cooked immediately.

6. To cook pelmeni, boil a large amount of water, as they can stick to each other. Salt water. Carefully drop pelmeni into boiling water. Don't forget to stir them from time to time. Boil for 20 minutes.

5. Served with butter, sour cream or vinegar, and ketchup.

(Ruscuisine.com) 

Beef Stroganoff

Fun Fact!: Beef Stroganoff was named after a Russian diplomat, Count Stroganoff from the court of Alexander III.  With cooler weather hopefully coming our way, many people look for warm hearty meals. Try this one out!

Ingredients for Russian Beef Stroganoff:
2 lbs steak – I used: “beef round bottom round thin sliced” or any kind of sirloin should work. 1 tsp Mrs. Dash seasoning1/8 tsp pepper1/2 tsp salt1/8 tsp paprika2 Tbsp Olive Oil1  1/2 Tbsp Soy Sauce1  1/2 cups water1 large garlic clove, finely grated or pressed1  1/2 cups whipping Cream2 Tbsp butter1  1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees F 

1.  Trim beef of excess fat and slice it into 1/2-inch strips
2. Fill a medium pot ⅔ with water and bring to a boil. Add beef and return to a boil. Boil until impurities rise to the top. Skim off impurities with a spoon. Remove from heat and rinse the beef in a colander.
3. Place the beef in a dutch oven (for baking) or a regular pot with a tight fitting lid.
4. Stir in Mrs. Dash, Pepper, Salt, Paprika, Olive Oil and Soy Sauce. Add 1 cup water. Cover and bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes (at 350°F). Check meat after 1 hour - if the meat has absorbed most of the water, add another ½ cup water. (For stove-top cooking, put on tight fitting lid and cook over medium heat until meat is soft, occasionally stirring and checking the water level). There should be enough water to keep the meat moist - remember it's not a soup
5. After the meat has been baking for 1 and ½ hours, remove from the oven and add the grated/pressed garlic
6. Stir in 1½ cups whipping cream
7. Melt butter, then blend flour into butter using a fork than add butter mixture to the pot and stir to combine.
8. Bake an additional 25 minutes. Beef should be very tender and sauce should have a gravy texture. You can add more cream if it gets too thick.