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Camping Recipe For The Great Outdoors

By Brad On September 6, 2010No Comments

Camping provides a great escape from the weekday routine. You can enhance your camping experience with innovative camping recipe. A camping recipe can be as easy or as complicated as you want as there’s no reason to fear camping cooking. Start your day off with a hearty breakfast that’s easy to make. A breakfast that’s satisfying and easy to make is pancakes. You can speed things up while camping by using a pancake mix, however, if you like to make your own pancakes from scratch then pre-measure your dry ingredients, for example flour, baking powder, sugar and salt, and seal the ingredients into a ziplock bag. At your campsite you can easily add your wet ingredients and have a hearty pancake breakfast on the table in no time.
 
Camping recipes are great way to have delicious and nutritious meals while camping. Many camping and outdoors websites have camping recipe ideas and also have areas where you can share your favorite camping recipe with other campers. If you’re camping with your friends or family, make sure that you get everyone to participate in the preparation of meals. Camping recipes don’t have to be restricted to meat-filled classics, and there are many vegetarian camping recipes for kids and the whole family to make and enjoy. Fun camp cooking recipes are an especially great activity for family camp outs.

Cooking on camping trips can be the most enjoyable part of the experience, especially if you are not too keen on spending the entire day hiking or playing cards. Dutch oven campfire cooking is one of the best ways to make meals on camping trips. A large and deep Dutch oven will have room for many serving sizes so that you can feed an entire family. Dutch oven camping recipes are great for breakfast ?not just dinner ?since all ingredients can be cooked in the Dutch oven. Easy Dutch oven camping recipes for delicious meals around the campfire are available at many websites. Shallow Dutch ovens can also be used to cook breakfasts on a smaller scale.

Everyone can partake in campfire favorites such as smores, or try a new campfire dessert recipe that is both simple and fun to prepare. Do you have a favorite camping recipe? Share your favorite camping recipe with your fellow campers. Camping websites can quickly give you a choice of easy camping recipes for breakfast lunch and dinner to browse and add to your camp cooking menu or just give you ideas for your own. The information was offered by an expert at web design. He was once a businessman in SEO and search engine marketing. He’s seen lots of websites about camping. If you want to know more about camping, you can search the Internet.

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As A Salad Or As A Chicken Salad Sandwich The Day After

By Brad On August 29, 2010 No Comments

What is great about either tuna or chicken salads is that there is hardly any wastage (unless of course, the cook has already messed up the salad big time). Should the preparation for these salads exceed the expected consumption, they can be recycled the next day as a sandwich. Just throw in maybe feta or mozzarella cheese, place it on any bread of your choice, pop it in the oven and you are ready to go with a totally different dish. For your convenience, I have compiled the following must-try chicken salad sandwich recipes for all those salad left-overs.
CHICKEN SALAD SANDWICH
Ingredients
1/2 – cups cooked chicken breast, diced
1/2 – cup celery, diced
1/2 – onion, diced
1/2 – cup salad dressing (or mayonnaise)
1/2 – teaspoon oregano
1/4 – teaspoon salt
1/8 – teaspoon pepper
1 – hard-cooked egg, peeled
1 – tomato, 8 slices
4 – lettuce leaves
8 – slices of bread (your choice of bread)

Directions: You want to add the cooked chicken breast, celery, onion, salad dressing (or mayonnaise), oregano, salt, pepper, hard-cooked egg in a food processor. Pulsate food processor about 4 times. You want ingredients well mixed; however, only coarsely chopped. With a tablespoon, spread chicken salad mixture on a slice of bread; add 2 tomato slices, a leaf of lettuce and top with second bread slice.

WALDORF CHICKEN SALAD SANDWICH
INGREDIENTS:
4 Kaiser rolls, cut in half
1 cup deli chicken salad
12 very thin apple slices
4 slices Cheddar cheese

PREPARATION:
Layer bottom half of each roll with salad, 3 apple slices and 1 cheese slice. Top with tops of rolls. (You can spread the kaiser rolls with a thin layered of softened butter before making the sandwiches, if you’d like.) 4 servings

CHICKEN SALAD SANDWICH RECIPE
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked diced chicken Miracle Whip Salad Dressing
1 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons pickle relish
1/8 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon dill
8 slices thin white bread

Directions:
Mix together ingredients. Chill for several hours. Spread chicken mixture on bread and remove crusts. Cut into squares or triangles.

The recipes above were given by an orthodontist who’s a professional at teeth whitening and personality tests.


How To Make Italian Ice Treats – Simple Recipes

By Brad On August 28, 2010 No Comments

We all know that Italians have some of the world’s greatest cuisines. But they are most famous for their pasta which is very tasty. Pasta, however, isn’t the only cuisine that Italians are famous for. They are also recognized for their very tasty Italian ice treats. Here are some recipes that you can enjoy and try these delights the Italian way.

The Basics

What you will need:

A cup of orange, lemon or pineapple juice with 1 and 1/4 cups of sugar already added, a maraschingo cherry for garnishing and 2 cupes of water.

Procedure:

First, you have to mix sugar and water and boil them in a saucepan. Stir the mixture continually until the sugar crystals are completely dissolved. Then let it cool. Add the juice then stir. Once done, pour down into a freezer- safe container. Then put into the freezer for approximately 4 hours. During this time, stir it occasionally until it becomes completely frozen. Then serve.

Fruit Juice

Things needed:

2 cups of any type of sugar, 2 cups of your favorite juice and 4 cups of distilled water or tap water.

Steps:

Using a saucepan, mix 4 cups of water and sugar. Let it boil and make sure that you stir it constantly until sugar crystals are no longer visible. Wait for about 5 minutes and then let it cool. After that, you can now add your favorite juice in the mixture and then put it in a container and pop it in the freezer. Stir occasionally until frozen completely. Serve.

Making Fruit Punch

Needed:

A bottle of sprite or 7 up soda, a bottle of fruit punch preferrably chilled, 3-5 Italian ice of your favorite flavors.

Steps:

Mix the fruit punch and the sprite or 7up in a container. Then let the Italian Ice float on top and serve. Lemon

Ingredients:

Approximately ¾ pounds of granulated sugar, 1 pint of clean water, 3 large ripe lemons, approximately ½ teaspoon of grated lemon peel.

Procedure:

Combine water, lemon peel and sugar in a saucepan and let it boil. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes then remove from heat and set it aside. Squeeze the lemons and if there are seeds, remove them. Mix the cooled syrup and the freshly squeezed lemon juice. You can add sugar to suit your taste and add water to neutralize the acidity. Pop it in the freezer and occasionally stir it until it becomes fluffy.

Would you like to start your own snow cone business? Learn more about italian ice franchise because this business is not only enjoyable but it’s a very promising business and you don’t have to shell out a huge capital. This means less risk and great potential.


Finding Secret Recipes Is Easier Than Ever

By Brad On August 28, 2010 No Comments

In relation to finding the perfect idea for a meal, you’ll find that those hidden, secret recipes are only a click away. There are numerous selections accessible right now for the one that is on the lookout for a recipe. Whether it is a one-time recipe you heard of from a co-employee, or an older recipe from a member of the family, you’ll discover that there are nice ideas to your subsequent meal. Even nice ideas abound of a scrumptious desert or a terrific, cool drink for the summer time night on the porch.

Finding these lengthy hidden secret recipes is easy thanks to one huge tool – the internet. The internet has made it attainable to share photographs with household on the alternative aspect of the world, to e-mail grandma a favourite song, or to fulfill your soul mate. Yes, this is a large device that’s growing in popularity everyday. Even the demographic age of who is utilizing the web has changed. As soon as thought-about a baby’s toy, the internet right now is utilized by more than half of all adults as well.

Whether for gaming or sharing tales, the internet has opened up the world we dwell in to incorporate instance gratification as well as hidden troves of treasure. As soon as upon a time, we relied on cookbooks or family and associates to insure we had that favorite recipe for No-Bake Chocolate Cookies. Maybe the favorite dish of Hen Enchiladas was a favorite of grandma. Nonetheless, as we speak it is easier than ever to get the secret recipes we as soon as may by no means get our arms on.

There are a multitude of internet sites geared at recipe swapping and sharing. A few of the best ones will not be those you pay for, but are those you can find that has a large number of free recipes of a cuisine you prefer. I love Mexican meals, and nothing gets me more excited than an excellent web site filled with Mexican recipes that permit me to make authentic dishes in my very own kitchen. Yes, I could make nice meals with out spending a fortune!

What’s it you might be on the lookout for in a recipe?

Once I choose authentic Mexican food for my family, I’m giving a present of health. As soon as upon a time, I believed wholesome meals carefully resembled the taste of rabbit food. Immediately, I do know that good food doesn’t must be tasteless. Actually, some of the healthiest meals is food that’s all natural and authentically delicious without the need for additives. That is the trick! Good food depends upon naturally scrumptious elements instead of MSG or other additives.

When it comes time to search out these secret recipes of yesteryear, I do know that I can open up Google, sort in my favourite recipe, and discover what I am wanting for. Fortunately, there are enough options that I can get a normal concept of what will work best for me and my family. Tossing away these tasteless healthy foods makes life a whole lot higher, and when meals tastes good, you can find that your finickiest eaters will even respect the dinner table again.

If you need more information about recipe secrets, please click here to visit my restaurant recipes website.


Everything You Need To Know About Fruit Salads

By Brad On August 28, 2010 No Comments

Most of the people know only one thing about fruit salads; and that is how to eat them. How could you eat something that you know nothing about? Well, aside from the fact that they are delicious? A fruit salad is a delicious dish with different kinds of fruit, sometimes served submerged in their own fruit juice, or lathered with syrup. It is oftenly served as an appetizer, if not that, dessert. Eitherway, fruit salads are definitely delicious, you can have them for both appetizer and dessert. Making your own fruit salad is not hard; you just need to prepare its ingredients. And the ingredients used are neither extinct nor hard to find, you can just whip out your wallet and make the march to the nearest grocery store.

It needs one pint of basket of fresh California strawberries, which you are supposed to stem and make into halves; a teaspoon of finely chopped fresh mint or a half teaspoon of dried mint; a half cup of light sour cream; lettuce leaves; a half teaspoon of honey; two cups of fresh fruits that are in season. See? These ingredients do not require you to go hiking up in the mountains, looking for exotic fruits.

For you to make a strawberry dressing, you must puree an ample amount of the strawberries in an electric bender, about a half-cup, to make a ?cup of pureed strawberries. In a separate bowl, stir the puree, together with mint and honey, into a sour cream so that they will all blend. In assembling your fruit salad, line individual salad plates that contain lettuce. Arrange the strawberries that you have reserved with the other fruits on the lettuce and top with the strawberry dressing. Sounds good, huh? You could bet that this tastes even better.

Yes, you now know how to make a fruit salad after knowing the necessary ingredients. But still, do you know where fruit salads came from? This is added knowledge, thus, it would be best if you keep this pieces of information in your memory.

The origin of fruit salads relies highly on what you initially mean by “fruit salad”. Fruit salads that are made up of combinations of different fresh, dried, candied or sugared, and stewed fruits or vegetables. This type of fruit salad originated from the ancient times. The ingredients and the recipes that are used depended on what were available in the country, or if what ingredients were in season. They also depend on the socio-cultural attitudes of the people toward the ingredients, whether the fruits were socially considered to be healthy or not.

The fruit salad, as we know of it today, is a production of the mid-nineteenth century. There has been unearthed culinary evidence that confirms the saying that sometimes, fruits salads are purposely mixed with sugar and alcohol, thus, given the term “fruit cocktail”. The non-alcoholic variation of this recipe, also the jellied fruit salad, was famous in the 1920s. In the period of the World War II, fruit salads were introduced to the world as a proper supplement of Vitamin C, and were, in fact, included in the American diet.

Now is the time when you can say that you know everything you need to know that concerns fruit salads. The tips above were offered by an orthodontist who’s good at teeth whitening as well. He’s very fond of making salads and other food supplements as well.


Top Tips For Cooking With Herbs

By Brad On August 27, 2010 No Comments

By cooking with herbs, even your simple meals will take like you slaved in the kitchen for hours. While it’s fairly easy to cook with fresh herbs, there are some tips that will help you get the most flavor. Once you start cooking with herbs, you will love cooking with herbs… and may even enjoy your own garden!

Tips for Cooking with Fresh Herbs:

Fresh herbs are more delicate than dried and can lose their flavor if cooked too long. To enjoy the most intense flavor when cooking with fresh herbs, you can add them towards the end of the cooking time. You can also add a little of the herbs freshly chopped to your food when you are finished cooking, and put aside some for garnishing the platter as well. You will want to use more fresh herbs than dried since drying herbs concentrates their oils and flavor. A good rule is to use one tablespoon of fresh herbs for every teaspoon of dried herbs called for in a recipe.

Fresh herbs can lose their flavor rapidly and should be used as quickly after harvesting as possible. For the finest flavor when cooking with herbs that are fresh is to grow your own. If you use store bought, try to find plants that still have their bright green color and do not appear wilted. The fresher the herb plant appears, the better the flavor they will add to your food.

Cooking with herbs that have big leaves, like basil, is easy because the leaves can be torn and tossed into a sauce, soup or salad. Another technique for cooking with herbs that have large leaves is to chop the leaves in a method called “chiffonade”. This is not hard and creates pretty strings that can be added to your recipe or tossed in for attractive color and flavor.

Tips for Cooking with Dried Herbs.

Keep in mind your dried herbs have intensified aromatic oils because of the drying procedure. You need to use a reduced amount of dried than fresh, but you still want to draw out their flavor and fragrance.

A good way to release the flavor of dried herbs is to include some to the oil in your pan prior to sautéing your meat or vegetables. Another method is to soak them in the liquid that will be used for your cooking. When creating your own salad dressings, it’s a helpful idea to make them in advance (at least 15 minutes) to allow time for the flavor to infuse with the oil and other ingredients in your salad dressing or marinade.

Another tip for dried herbs is to crush them with a mortar and pestle or roll them in your hands before adding them to your cooking. Slightly crushing and breaking up the dried herbs will release their oils and add better flavor when cooking with herbs.

You want to be sure to keep your herbs, whether fresh or dried, in a way that best protects their aroma and flavor. Fresh herbs need to be used as promptly as possible. One good way to store fresh herbs is to stand them up in a container of water with the bottom of their stems in the water. Keep the leaves out of the water because they will spoil.

Be sure to check the expiration dates of any dried herbs you buy because they lose their flavor after about six months. For superior flavor and aroma, try cooking with your own fresh or dried herbs that have been harvested from your own garden.

Find out how easy herb gardening actually is! Learn how to cook with fresh herbs from your own garden.

Sign up for my Free  Herb Gardening Secrets Mini-Course and get started with your own herb garden now!

I share my top secrets for natural pesticides, how to pick the best herbs for your location, the best growing conditions, how to use each type of herb and much more!

 


Use A Cast Iron Pancake Griddle To Make Perfect Pancakes

By Brad On August 26, 2010 No Comments

One of the secrets of making great pancakes is learning the secret of starting with the proper temperature of your pancake griddle and maintaining that temperature while cooking the pancakes.

It’s important of course to start with a good pancake recipe or mix. You can make your own pancake batter from scratch and there are many excellent recipes online that you can try. And while some may look down their nose at ready to make pancake mixes, it is usually the cooking that spoils the pancakes and not the mix.

When the kids are begging for pancakes on a weekend morning, and time is of the essence, a good premade mix and a little water will have pancakes on the table in record time. Poor preparation rather than the poor quality of pancake mix is usually the reason box mixes are looked down upon.

Start out with a cast iron pancake griddle:

If you want to make excellent tasting pancakes consistently with the least amount of mess and cleanup time, the perfect answer is a cast iron pancake griddle. Using this properly on an electric or gas stove converts your kitchen into a grill just like the ones in a commercial restaurant. Cast iron griddles heat evenly and because of their weight and mass they maintain their temperature much more evenly while you cook.

Other types of cookware such as lightweight Teflon coated frying pans or electric fry pans or griddles are notorious for having rapidly fluctuating temperature control and uneven heating. The tried and true cast iron griddle is a time tested answer to solve these problems.

The main reason people have trouble making good pancakes is that they do not have a good method of determining the proper heat of the griddle before they start cooking. If pancakes are cooked at too low a heat they turn out tough and chewy. When cooked at a temperature that is too high, which is more common than not, the outside burns and crisp while the inside remains a raw and soggy mess.

The next time you make pancakes, take a few minutes to determine the proper settings for heating your pancake griddle with the following method. The trick to this method is known by many cooks but most probably don’t know the science behind it.

The Leidenfrost effect:

When you let a drop of water fall onto a hot pancake griddle, the water drop will dance around and stay in its droplet shape while it skitters across the surface. The scientific name for this is the Leidenfrost effect. When the drop hits the hot surface the water that comes in contact is immediately vaporized and the steam created pushes the remaining water in the drop up and away from the heated griddle.

This will not happen on a surface that is merely warm. In normal cooking situations it is agreed that the Leidenfrost effect occurs when the temperature of the griddle is at approximately 325 degrees F.

Find and record the best setting for your stove:

Since the ‘dancing water’ or Leidenfrost effect occurs at 325 degrees F, and the best accepted temperature for cooking pancakes that turn out perfectly is 375 degrees F, you can use a simple method to determine the setting for the burners on your stove. Start by warming up your pancake griddle to a very warm, but not hot temperature. Make sure it is preheated well but it is not hot enough to exhibit the Leidenfrost effect.

Then slowly increase the settings on your burners until you determine the point where a drop of water landing on the pancake griddle will ‘dance’. Give the griddle time to heat to each new setting as you slowly increase the heat by changing the settings of your burners. You will want to make sure that the pancake griddle has reached the maximum temperature of your current settings before you test with a few drops of water.

Once you have determined the exact settings where the Leidenfrost effect takes place, make a note of the position of your burner controls for future reference. By knowing these settings you will always be able to reheat your griddle knowing that you have an exact point of reference.

According to some cooking guides, the temperature of 325F or 160C correlates to the ‘medium-low’ setting on your stove or range. The pancake cooking temperature of 375F (190C) is closer to ‘medium-high’.

Record the settings that work best for your stove:

So you will now want to bring the temperature up just a little before you start frying your pancakes. Try a small increase at first for one or two test pancakes and if you feel that it takes too long for them to finish increase the setting and give the pancake griddle time to adjust to the new heat setting before trying again.

Once you have determined the best pancake setting for your equipment make a note of it. You will now find that it is extremely easy and fast to make pancakes in the future. All you will need to do is put the best of your cast iron griddles on the stove, turn the burner settings to these predetermined marks and give the griddle a little time to heat up.

And by using your knowledge of the Leidenfrost effect you can test if the griddle is ready for pancakes by using a drop or two of water. You’ll be able to turn out great tasting and most importantly properly cooked pancakes in less time than it will take you to finish your first cup of morning coffee.


Valuable Information About Cooking Classes

By Brad On August 26, 2010 No Comments

Cooking is a tough ability to choose up. Whether you are cooking for a large group, a spouse, a family, or only for yourself, making meals that are healthy, delicious, and visually appealing can be rather a challenge. Fortunately, if you’re lacking in cooking talents, you have got the option of taking cooking classes. Cooking classes, offered by many top-notch chefs, supply the perfect answer to your meal quandary. And with all of the speciality classes offered, there is no way you won’t find a recipe or cooking style ideal for your circumstances!

One of the first questions you must ask is what event or purpose you are serving by enrolling for a cooking class. There are lots of different cooking classes available, and many of them are specific to a certain cuisine, event, or meal type. Cooking classes are available for folk who need to learn the way to cook regional meals , such as Chinese or Mexican cooking classes. They are also available for learning how to make healthy meals, whip up quick weeknight dishes, or how to make wedding cakes.

Dependent on whether you want to employ your newly found cooking talents when cooking for your children, when cooking for a family get together, or when doing the groundwork for a complex party, there are different cooking classes that could possibly serve your needs. If you select a cooking class that fits your standards completely, it’ll make a significant difference in your cooking.

Cooking classes have many different options in terms of how long they are, how frequent they are, and how much money they are. Many times, you can check with your local community center to find a weekly cooking class in your area. The teacher will most likely not be a professional chef, but the fees involved will be reasonable.

On the other hand, if you are looking to receive cooking lessons from a pro, try researching cooking classes offered by famous cooks. You will be more likely to find such classes in major cities, such as Washington D.C. or New York City. These classes are likely to be more expensive, but you’ll have the chance to work with a professional cook.

After you begin to take cooking classes, you’ll be astonished by the difference it’ll make in your daily existance. Whether you put your cooking talents into use while throwing together a quick weekday meal, or while knocking up a fancy, candle lit dinner for 2, you’ll use the abilities where you aren’t expecting it!


Making The Perfect Beer At Home

By Brad On August 24, 2010 No Comments

All of us enjoy a cool beer after a long, hard day at work and there’s almost certainly nothing much better than having a sip of your own selfmade beer, with your feet up or with a group of friends, which has cost a fraction of the price as off license or pub beer and can also taste much better!

In case you have not made your own home brew before, the good news is there are home brew making kits available which, with a little patience can help you make home made beer easily.

Although you will find several beer making kits available, it is really worth purchasing a more expensive one as these offer different kinds of hops and flavours so you can adjust the taste to suit.

Using the right ingredients when making your own home brew is essential and most beer making kits now include everything from the raw ingredients to the equipment necessary so you cannot go far wrong. If you do have to buy the ingredients separately then ensure you get the precise products as the beer making kit lists.

Perserverance is important as brewing homemade beer can take several weeks, although once you’ve perfected it you’ll be able to have numerous batches, at different stages to keep your beer stock flowing.

It could take numerous tries to get the home brew to taste just right so don’t expect your first batch to be perfect and once you have the taste, try using different flavoured hops to create various tasting home brews.

Using the right home brewing kit, ingredients and utensils and by following the step by step instructions supplied, you’ll soon be on your way to brewing your first home made beer which both friends and family will delight in sharing with you.

Find out more on beer making and home beer making kits and begin your first home brew in time for the summer.


Sous Vide Cooking Is In A Water Oven

By Brad On August 24, 2010 No Comments

Sous Vide cooking is a way to cook everything from meat to veggies so that it is perfectly flavorful, tender and done every single time you make it. This is a method of cooking that is taking the world by storm because it is so easy and effective. You will find that you are creating high quality, healthy meals that are delicious and you can do this all the time when you cook. What if you could make every meal you ever cooked taste wonderful and still be healthy and you didn’t have to do hardly anything to get it that way. Now, you can do just this, the easy way.

So maybe you are curious what is Sous Vide cooking. This type of cooking takes longer to work since it’s cooked at lower temperatures than traditional cooking. This works without any effort from you to make the most delicious perfectly done meals you can have no every time you choose to cook in this way.

Water Oven Cooking

If you’re wondering how you can do your Sous Vide cooking, then you should know that there is a special SousVide water oven. This water oven will help you to get the results you seek simply and easily. This oven helps you to perfectly maintain the water temperature so you can get the flavors and results you seek with every single meal you make. This is a kind of cooking that is simple, so you’ll find yourself using your oven time and time again. Not only is it easy, but you can go about your day while you’re waiting for your food to get done and this means that it’s also convenient.

Even if you’re not positive that this is the kind of cooking that you will love, you might find that it’s easier to make a choice when you take a look at a SousVide Supreme review. You’ll find out what other people have to say about this kind of cooking and how it’s changed their life, plus you can get ideas about how you’ll find that the SousVide water oven makes life simple than ever.

Okay, but how does it work? You’re about to find the answer to this great question. When you use the Sous Vide cooking method, you vacuum pack what you want to cook after it’s been seasoned and prepared. You then place the package into a bath of warm water which stays the same temperature the whole time you’re cooking your meal. This is a new method of slow cooking that will offer you great results every time.

If you are looking to make healthy meals then you might want to take a look at the water oven. So, what are you waiting for? Take the time to read a review and get to know the product and see if this isn’t what you’re looking for.


Cooking Russian Food

By Brad On August 23, 2010 No Comments

What are you planning to cook at your next dinner party?  Why not step outside of your comfort zone and attempt something new .  International dishes are a great way to show off your talents in the kitchen so today we are going to share with you some hot and cold Russian recipes that anyone can master.

Russian Blini – Hot Pancakes

The crepe might be French but other countries will argue their version tastes better.  Russia is no different and they have the Blini:

Ingredients:

½ cup plain flour (sifted)

2 eggs

2 ½ cups of milk

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon butter

1/3 teaspoon of baking soda (optional if you want a lighter mixture)

What To Do:

Start by whisking the eggs in a bowl with the sugar and salt.  Add the flower to the mixture and then slowly stir in the milk to avoid lumps.  Mix well or blend in a food processor.   You should have a thin batter at this stage.

If you are using baking soda in your recipe, add it now to make the mixutre more light (i.e. it adds air to the batter).  You can also stand the batter in the fridge for half an hour to let it rest.  If the mixture is too thick, add water/milk.  If the mixture is too thin, add in flour.  What you want is a pancake batter that pours like fresh cream.

Heat a pan over medium heat and lightly coat the cooking surface with oil or butter.  Pour about 2 tablespoons of the batter (or more if you want) onto the pan and spread the batter out evenly.  Traditional blini are thin but this is personal preference.  You should be able to fit 3 or 4 on a standard frying pan to make the process go faster.  Each side should only take about a minute.  When bubbles appear in the mixture or the centre of the uncooked side is dry, flip it over to finish it off.

Move the cook Blini to a plate and butter one side and stack them.  Eat them as they are or as a real treat, put jam into the centre and fold them in half.  Fold them again to make a triangle.  They are best enjoyed as an afternoon treat on a cold winter’s day with a nice cup of tea.  The tea should be black, no sugar and served with lemon.  You can sweeten the tea with honey, but there will be plenty of sweetness in the blini.

Russian Salads

If you are use to salads of tossed lettuce, fresh vine ripened tomatoes and a light vinaigrette,  then you are in for a bit of a shock with Russian salads.  Russia is a cold country, so hardy root vegetables tend to feature on the dinner table that delicate spring salads.

This is gives us the Russian salad – a salad with some grunt.  The salad we will cook for you today is the Dressed Herring Under Fur Salad.  If you are use to a delicate vinaigrette, then this salad will put hairs on your chest.

To make this salad you will need:

2 herring (salted)

5 potatoes

4 carrots

4 beets

5 eggs

1 lb mayonnaise

Steps:

Bring a large pot of water to the boil and add the potatoes, carrots and beets.  Boil until soft, drain and set aside.

Skin and debone the herring.  Cut the fish into small bite size pieces.  Take a large serving bowl and spread the herring on the bottom.  Cover with a thin layer of mayonnaise.

Take the potatoes and mash.  Spread the potato as the second layer and cover with mayonaise.  Repeat the process for the beets and 3 of the eggs.  Top the dish with the remaining egg and put in the fridge (covered) for one hour before serving.

What else can you cook that is Russian?  Why not try some a href=”http://www.hotrussian.net/russian-food-borsch.html”>Borsch as well?