Eastern European Cuisine

[Darnell 8,478]

Eastern European ? like the old school definition, behind the Iron Curtain ?

I love Hungarian, Romanian and some [old name] Yugoslavian dishes. None are in yer list, though

[slim 1,514]

I'll preface this by saying I'm not a big fan of Eastern European food. Just the other day my wife was asking why we don't have more Russian restaurants around here. (There are none.) I said it's because people in America have enough money to eat well so they're not going to pay "extra" money to eat like they're poor. "If we're going to spend money on dinner, we're going to eat steak, not beet soup."

You can put me firmly in the camp of vodka being my favorite "cuisine" from Eastern Europe.

While I do enjoy certain things (I voted for pelmini.. and forgot now as I type this how it was transliterated above!) I'm not big on vegetables, soups or salads. I don't eat that stuff here so when I went to Russia I was more than a little disappointed with the standard fare. I absolutely love meat and potatoes so I was able to survive. Plus, there's something to be said for having a rotisserie chicken kiosk that's open 24/7.

I'll never forget spending literally hours making pilmeni so she could enjoy "good food" and not our standard American fare of frozen chicken fingers. I used to be like the King of Queens and need the "pre-dinner Whopper" because dinner would be something like olivie salad and a few pieces of stinky fish. MMmmmmmm. No. Those are apetizers. Not a meal.

I'll eat blini for breakfast (although I coat that stuff with peanut butter and honey!) pilmeni for lunch, and then some shashliki out over the fire for dinner, but by far, the most appetizing of all "Eastern European Cuisine" has to be just a simple cutlet and mashed potatoes. Now that's food!

I do like how everything is "healthy" yet slathered with mayo, sour cream, oil, and/or vinegar, doused with salt and pepper and then still covered with hot sauce and/or ketchup. I find almost all EEC to be either lacking in substance (salad and soup? Really? That's our dinner?) way too bland ("Pass the mayo.") or really good but needing some help to make it tasty ("Wow. Those really are like little porcupines!")

Oh, almost forgot to add, I don't need all the fat and gristle on there either. It's not "tasty" for me, even with the ketchup, and I don't have to prove that it's hardwired into my psyche to never leave a scrap behind.

I like EEC, but I'm not going to celebrate it. I'm a firm believer in having EEC for holidays, picnics, weekend trips, etc. Not for dinner every night.

She actually did say 40g, like it's medicine.

You know that's because shots are in grams, right?

[shikarnov 7]

I'll preface this by saying I'm not a big fan of Eastern European food. Just the other day my wife was asking why we don't have more Russian restaurants around here. (There are none.) I said it's because people in America have enough money to eat well so they're not going to pay "extra" money to eat like they're poor. "If we're going to spend money on dinner, we're going to eat steak, not beet soup."

QFT

I do like how everything is "healthy" yet slathered with mayo, sour cream, oil, and/or vinegar, doused with salt and pepper and then still covered with hot sauce and/or ketchup. I find almost all EEC to be either lacking in substance (salad and soup? Really? That's our dinner?) way too bland ("Pass the mayo.") or really good but needing some help to make it tasty ("Wow. Those really are like little porcupines!")

Oh, almost forgot to add, I don't need all the fat and gristle on there either. It's not "tasty" for me, even with the ketchup, and I don't have to prove that it's hardwired into my psyche to never leave a scrap behind.

Two for two... I often felt the same way. Everything they make is lathered in fat... Your arteries can clog simply by looking at most food. When my wife and I went shopping and I bought like 96% lean beef, she was aghast. But what about the вкус?!

You know that's because shots are in grams, right?

As I said, I don't drink... So I wasn't aware of that.

[slim 1,514]

As I said, I don't drink... So I wasn't aware of that.

Typically, shots are in 50gram or 100gram units. "He made for me big shot howadka. Hundred gram, like zis big!"

[Neonred 3,517]

Yep, I like pelmini. I cover it with spaghetti sauce. It is just like beef ravioli. My wife makes a great lagman soup (an Uzbek dish) and tasty plof. My wife absolutely loves lamb on the grill (NEVER with that awful American mint jelly..yuck). The wife just told me this week she is making youjik(?), those porcupines. My favorite salad is kariskya morkovka, Korean carrot salad.

[slim 1,514]

My favorite salad is kariskya morkovka, Korean carrot salad.

I think they translated "Korean" as "add lots and lots of garlic." (Which actually is traditional in Korean cooking and salad making.)

Edited June 13, 2010 by slim

[Jonathan Matthies 1]

I love Katya's Pelmini and Borscht, but I like the Pelmini better. So good with just some butter. Yummm

It's 10pm and now I'm hungry. damn

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Mmm, food! You know, it's funny (or not if you are as lousy a cook as me!) but in addition to the excitement of seeing and being with Diana for all the myriad wonderful reasons we have for marrying our RUB women, she is an excellent cook. I have literally told some of my friends and family how I count down the number of days left that I have to eat my own cooking!

So many good dishes to choose from, but yeah, what is it about the "stinky fish?" Diana loves it and I haven't yet had the heart to tell what I think about it. (I guess now I'll find out if she reads this forum! ) Sorry, shikarnov, but 40 g of vodka DOES help with the fish!

Anyway, my favorite is some kind of meat and cheese baked turnover thing we have for breakfast (Dunno what it's called). Love it!

I leave the room when Alla eats her stinky fish. Alla also makes a Ukrainian equivilent of scalloped potatoes with potatoes, meat, cheese and lots of onions. MMMM good. You will have to learn to accomodate the stinky fish. Separate dining rooms.

[Brad and Vika 129]

Brad,

Did you try any "Икра лососевая" (Salmon Caviar) while you were there? I thought I'd hate it but I actually love the stuff! Tanya served it on crusty bread with butter ... Yummy!

Yeah .... the stinky fish ... I can live without it. Tanya called it: "Fish in a fur coat" or something like that. (it sounds even LESS appealing with that name!)

--Tom

Yes, I have tried and enjoyed them. Vika buys the fish eggs at our local Russian store pretty often. We are close to an accord with the stink fish.

I definitely can't tie myself down to one thing but the soups and salads are really good. I honestly don't know what you guys mean by the stinky/salty fish unless you're talking about pickled herring which I do definitely like, especially under a fur coat. In my experience, the wonderful thing about Russian cooking is the simple reliance on fresh vegetables. Most dishes gain their flavor from the proper mixture of beets, onions, mushrooms, cabbage, peppers, carrots, garlic, and potatoes with some cucumbers, tomatoes and fresh dill mixed in. Pickles also have their place. It's so simple but really fantastic.

Pelmeni can be good but they are only great with the right sauce and seasonings. There is quite a bit of bad pelmeni to go around.

Although I've never drunk a drop, I really do like the beer cheese. It's great for snacks.

I enjoy Vika's Pilmeni, but not so much the frozen stuff from NY. You know, the kind sold by the bag that says "authentic Russian"?

Oh one more thing I really enjoyed there: Shashlyk. We had the marinated pork kabobs cooked on a wood fire on a day we went mushroom picking. What fun!! (BTW, Now I know just enough about mushrooms to get myself in trouble!)

I think shashlyk is kind of a generic name for barbeque kebab, but I woun't swear to it. As meat and veggies go it is not one of my favs.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Yes, I have tried and enjoyed them. Vika buys the fish eggs at our local Russian store pretty often. We are close to an accord with the stink fish.

I enjoy Vika's Pilmeni, but not so much the frozen stuff from NY. You know, the kind sold by the bag that says "authentic Russian"?

I think shashlyk is kind of a generic name for barbeque kebab, but I woun't swear to it. As meat and veggies go it is not one of my favs.

Shashlyk, at least in Ukraine, seemed to be more of an event than a type of food. In general the bar-b-que kabobs are served, cooked over wood fires, but also all sorts of other dishes brought by the women who seem to be trying to outdo each other. (a good contect to be a "taste tester" at) I went to many "shashlyks" and we had a "shashlyk" in our yard for the local Amer/Rus couples.

Great fun, no doubt.

An accord on stinky fish, Brad? This is like settling the cold war! Do tell when the treaty is signed!

Yes, I have tried and enjoyed them. Vika buys the fish eggs at our local Russian store pretty often. We are close to an accord with the stink fish.

I enjoy Vika's Pilmeni, but not so much the frozen stuff from NY. You know, the kind sold by the bag that says "authentic Russian"?

I think shashlyk is kind of a generic name for barbeque kebab, but I woun't swear to it. As meat and veggies go it is not one of my favs.

Alla has come to the conclusion that food in a plastic bag that says "Authentic..." is NOT authentic and rarely qualifies as "food".

[Islapaz 41]

Love love pelmeni, I even learn how to make them

I like blini with sour cream and honey mm so nice with a cup of tea.I also try blini with ground meat and sour cream mm tasty snack. And shashlik jiji whom cant love bbq meat (just without the plum sauce please). And I loved the home made jams my mother in law made. Also some refreshing drink that was just boiled fruits in water, then cooled out, perfect for the super hot summer days, when I was in Dnepropetrovsk.

Not my favorites were brosh and the cabbage rolls. And the dried salty fish ahhh not my kind of food

[jimnlena 8]

Balini, meatballs, borsch and to many more, Lena has only been here 6 months and i have gained 30 lbs!!! I must like all her food!!

[slim 1,514]

I think shashlyk is kind of a generic name for barbeque kebab,

Shashlyk has also been translated here as a generic name for "hot dogs" which, as we all know, are just balogna in a tube. Hey, when you run out of sausages, the good ones, hot dogs will do in a pinch. Right?

[shikarnov 7]

Shashlyk has also been translated here as a generic name for "hot dogs" which, as we all know, are just balogna in a tube. Hey, when you run out of sausages, the good ones, hot dogs will do in a pinch. Right?

Interesting. Everybody in Russia that I met called them хотдогы, which I found to be hilarious (there was also a фуд курт in the local mall). But I never her шашлык refer to anything other than some kind of kebab cooked over fire. Wouldn't колбаса be a more logical generic translation for hot dog?

Edited June 14, 2010 by shikarnov

[SMR 368]

Interesting. Everybody in Russia that I met called them хотдогы, which I found to be hilarious (there was also a фуд курт in the local mall). But I never her шашлык refer to anything other than some kind of kebab cooked over fire. Wouldn't колбаса be a more logical generic translation for hot dog?

Hot dogs can be called сосиски, which is a pretty generic translation for any sort of tube sausage. Hot dogs wouldn't be called колбаса. As far as шашлык, it is traditionally pieces of meat fried on a spit, with garlic, onions, and marinades optional. However, it can sometimes be more generic and just mean a cook-out or barbecue (sort of like how barbecue in English can mean a certain type of food or it can be generalized to anything cooked on a grill, which real barbecue ironically isn't).