Category Archives: By Country

Vareniki with Potato and Mushrooms

Vareniki (varenyky, pirogi) are stuffed dumplings from Ukraine made from unleavened dough and different fillings. Some of the more popular fillings are vegetables, boiled potatoes, salted cabbage, baked pumpkin, fruits and berries, meat, mushroom, cheese, poppy seed or buckwheat. My favorite fillings are meat, potatoes with onions and mushrooms, cottage cheese or curd cheese and cherries. Vareniki with berry...
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Banana Bread with Pecans and Orange Zest

Hello! Its me, Nikita, with another great homemade recipe: Banana Bread. But while regular banana bread is great, it’s still missing something. Nuts go great with bananas, and who says we need just bananas? Thats why I added Pecans and Orange zest to this great classic. This follows the same recipe with any regular old banana bread recipe, except...
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Risotto with Bacon and Peas

I love to cook risotto, every time with a different addition, like carrots, pumpkin, asparagus, mushrooms, etc. Very simple, but at the same time, lively, delicious rich and creamy dish. This time I made risotto with bacon and peas, a really great combination! The bacon can be replaced with pancetta. Be sure to serve with wine. Read more

Empanadas

Empanadas need no introduction - popular especially in Latin America and Europe, as well as southwest United States and southeast Asia. Empanadas like pirozhki are little pies with different fillings such as cheese, potatoes, carrots and other vegetables, minced or chopped pork, beef or chicken, shrimp, zucchini blossom, fruits, etc., the fillings are endless but generally...
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Oladki, Oladi (Mini Pancakes)

Oladki, is one of the oldest traditional Ukrainian dishes and a traditional breakfast food (in Russia -Oladi, Oladushki), can be either sweet or savory. They may also be appetizer, main course, or even dessert; another Slavic dish. There are two types of Slavic pancakes, blini (mlinci), which are very thin like crêpes...
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Chocolate Pudding with Cream

Rich, sweet and delicious chocolate dessert. Pudding can be served with whipped cream, ice cream or just fresh berries. The mixture needs a lot of beating to incorporate air to make the pudding light. Instead of chocolate chips you can use regular dark chocolate broken into small pieces. (more…)...
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Ravioli with Spinach and Egg

Not  difficult, but tasty and original. You can experiment with different fillings, from cheese, mushrooms, vegetables or even sweet fruit and berries. In this version I used creamed cheese. Try to roll out the dough very thinly to give it a lighter taste....
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Chorizo Cheese Dip

Lots of gooey, melted cheese with spicy chorizo mixed in. Use any hot pepper to your taste, I had poblano pepper so I used those, but you can use also serrano, jalapeno, etc. Serve with crunchy tortilla chips. And add a ice cold beer to complete the meal. What could be better for a Super Bowl party?...
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Fried and Steamed Dumplings

There are many ways to cook dumplings, by steaming, boiling, frying or even combining these techniques. One way I like doing it best is to fry them a little to make them crisp and then quickly steaming them to cook the filling and make them tender (or steam first and then fry). You can prepare dumplings in...
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