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Dear Friends,
I can no longer keep this to myself. I am an addict, hooked on mithai. What’s that? You don’t know about mithai? Mithai are Indian sweets and since Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, is upon us, I can think of no better time than now to tell you my tale. So gather round your diyas and check out my post “Indian Sweets 101: Meeting Mithai” right here on ethnojunkie.com!
दिवाली मुबारक
Happy Diwali!
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According to one source, Pelmeni have been described as “the heart of Russian cuisine”. Unlike Ukrainian varenyky (see my last post), I’ve never found pelmeni (пельмени) that were made with a sweet filling – they’re customarily fashioned from a variety of ground meats and occasionally mushrooms – but like their cousins across Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe, they’re almost always served with sour cream (сметана).
These came from Tashkent Market on Brighton Beach Avenue in Brooklyn, one of the highlights on my Little Odessa ethnojunket, and were purchased specifically for my recent “Everybody Loves Dumplings” series. I garnished them with fried, thinly sliced onions that had been the topping for some Tashkent salad that I bought during the same visit.
If you know Tashkent Market or if you’ve joined me on one of my food tours to that neighborhood, then you know that perforce I also acquired several additional bags of droolworthy goodies – not with the intention of posting, but because, um……research! Yeah, that’s the ticket!
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Here’s another temptation that was included in my recent four-part “Everybody Loves Dumplings” series but surely deserves a post of its own.
Like similar dumplings of differing names and nationalities, varenyky (вареники), one of Ukraine’s national dishes, can be found in a pair of divergent guises: sweet, filled with cheese and/or fruit; and savory, stuffed with meat, potatoes, or cabbage, and customarily crowned with fried onions, occasionally bacon, and almost always accompanied by a dollop of sour cream.
These cheese varenyky are served with a homemade sour cherry sauce; all dumplings are comfort food, of course, but these sweet treats easily sashay into dessert territory.
And yes, the blue and yellow color scheme was by design.
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There were a couple of dishes that were included in my recent four-part “Everybody Loves Dumplings” series that had never been featured in a post of their own.
Since I seldom order ravioli in an Italian restaurant (although I truly love it), I picked up a legit brand of frozen cheese ravioli for this photoshoot and topped it with my own bespoke meat sauce.
I’ve been developing and perfecting that grail of a recipe for more years than I can count (since I first got into cooking as a matter of fact) and frankly it’s one of the best creations I’ve ever come up with; I’m truly proud of it and seldom share the anchovy oil stained recipe with anyone. (Yes, that’s a hint.) As a matter of fact, I often have some in my freezer because it keeps incredibly well and makes for a quick, but impressive, meal.
I wasn’t certain that this post would be Instaworthy since it was partially based on something out of a supermarket freezer case, but I would ask you, please – consider the sauce.
😉
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National Pierogi Day happens on October 8, but that’s certainly no reason not to indulge on the other 364 or so. Typically associated with the cuisines of Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe, pierogi are known by many names, varenyky in Ukraine for instance.
This photo was taken during a 2019 visit to the beloved Polish & Slavic Center Cafeteria at 177 Kent St in Greenpoint, Brooklyn; they’ve been closed because of COVID-19, but we’re definitely hoping for a refresh.
Bits of bacon and sautéed onion with sour cream on the side, of course, adorned these Pierogi z Kapusta (cabbage) which I ordered because I like saying “kapusta”.
Try it.
See what I mean?
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Eggnog! First sighting of the year!
It’s like waiting for this year’s vintage Beaujolais Nouveau to appear: Le 2022 Lait de Poule est arrivé! (They say that the French have a word for it, and I have to admit a certain fondness for their spin on the word “eggnog”, lait de poule: hen’s milk.)
If you’ve read me, you know that I have a few (ha!) guilty pleasures when it comes to holiday food, and for me, nothing heralds the advent of the season like the first appearance of eggnog on supermarket shelves. And snatching it away precipitately as they do every year when the yule log’s embers have barely begun to evanesce only makes the anticipation and craving for next year’s batch more intense.
But which one(s) to buy? The brand in this photo may not be my fave – it’s merely the first I’ve found this year. But fret not. I and my OCD are here to offer you the benefits of my research and experimentation regarding this happy holiday quandary. Please check out my essay, An Eggnog Excursus – and unlike the holiday libation itself, it’s available year-round under “Deep Dives” on my homepage!
Cheers!
I’m going to quit while I’m ahead – although there are so many more delicious varieties out there!
So here’s the final installment, Part 4, of National Dumpling Week.
A couple of friends asked if there would be kreplach but I couldn’t find a photo of any lurking in my files, so I’ve got a year to take one and lead with that delicacy for next year’s National Dumpling Day – er, Week!
Like making dumplings, making this series was a labor of love, so thank you checking it out!
Multiple Reels of Multiple Dumplings – just trying to keep the Instagods happy. We’ll see, won’t we?
Here’s Part 3 of National Dumpling WEEK!
Stay tuned for even more because…
Everybody Loves Dumplings!
A dumpling a day keeps the…
Wait…do you know anyone who can stop at ONE dumpling?
Here’s Part 2 of National Dumpling WEEK!
Stay tuned for more because…
Everybody Loves Dumplings!
So I intended to do a post for National Dumpling Day, September 26, consisting of a few of my favorites from past posts, sort of like a “Dumplings I Have Known and Loved” kind of thing. But perusing what I have in my files disclosed almost a hundred candidates!
So here’s Part 1 of National Dumpling WEEK!
Stay tuned for more because…
Everybody Loves Dumplings!