Russian Cuisine?

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Tell me about it! We got a yellow lab puppy last summer and Olya spoils it ridiculously. The dog eats at least as well as any human in the house. I don't even want to think about how much the dog is costing us in increased grocery bills!

The dog will also eat anything Alla eats. If I take a piece of orange or banana, for example and put it in the dog's bowl...forget it. If Alla eats an orange or banana the dog is right there looking up at her for a share of it. Alla peels off a slice of orange and drops it...the dog gobbles it up! Not really on topic is it. Russian dog cuisine.

Incidentally, I speak only Russian to the dog. SHE understands me.

Edited March 27, 2013 by Gary and Alla

[james&olya 1,121]

The dog will also eat anything Alla eats. If I take a piece of orange or banana, for example and put it in the dog's bowl...forget it. If Alla eats an orange or banana the dog is right there looking up at her for a share of it. Alla peels off a slice of orange and drops it...the dog gobbles it up! Not really on topic is it. Russian dog cuisine.

Incidentally, I speak only Russian to the dog. SHE understands me.

Same exact thing here. The dog is not interested in anything unless a human or feline wants to eat it! And the dog hears and knows Russian more than English.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Same exact thing here. The dog is not interested in anything unless a human or feline wants to eat it! And the dog hears and knows Russian more than English.

Our dog is a Ukrainian Pekinese (if there is such a thing) born and raised in Ukraine, definitely speaks only Russian...could also just be the dumbest dog on earth...very possible. She gets lost in our backyard, no kidding. If you let her out alone, she cannot find the door to get back in! She wanders around barking until you go outside and and call her, then...OH there's the door! and she comes running.

Alla would like a labrador because they are "clever dogs". Her favorite is the Bernese Mountian Dog, I hope we do not get one as we cannot afford to feed it Russian cuisine.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Same exact thing here. The dog is not interested in anything unless a human or feline wants to eat it! And the dog hears and knows Russian more than English.

Our dog is a Ukrainian Pekinese (if there is such a thing) born and raised in Ukraine, definitely speaks only Russian...could also just be the dumbest dog on earth...very possible. She gets lost in our backyard, no kidding. If you let her out alone, she cannot find the door to get back in! She wanders around barking until you go outside and and call her, then...OH there's the door! and she comes running.

Alla would like a labrador because they are "clever dogs". Her favorite is the Bernese Mountian Dog, I hope we do not get one as we cannot afford to feed it Russian cuisine.

[Hollyday 122]

Her favorite is the Bernese Mountian Dog

Bernese Mountain dogs are fairly awesome, i have to admit. I like them too.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Bernese Mountain dogs are fairly awesome, i have to admit. I like them too.

They seem like big friendly dogs. I like big, friendly dogs. Whenever Alla meets one on our walks I am afraid she will try to kidnap the dog! I like Labradors for about the same reason. But our current lifestyle is not conducive to a big, friendly dog. If we ever have a situation where one of us can be home most of the time, then I think we would get one. For now, a dog that thinks the dining room is big enough for adventure is better for us.

[Amy_and_Victor 159]

I think you have to grow up eating russian food in order to appreciate it. Холодец is definitely not for everybody, but it sure is yummy! Пельмени is God's gift to people and блины are what angels in heaven use to cover themselves at night ahaha.

My husband, for example, doesn't eat anything russian unless its candy that mom sends... Оливье is "gross" to him (considering he eats regular potato salad like nobody's business) and пельмени is not his thing either... Oh well, the way I see it - more for me

My mom will be here this summer, so I'm seeing starvation in his future hahaha. I highly doubt he'll be eating anything.

I actually liked the flavor of xолодец, but the texture is what put me off more than anything, because my tongue isn't used to meat or savory foods being gelatanous. My hubby likes it, but isn't a big enough fan of it to spend a day making a bunch of it. We actually made our own пельмени a couple of times when he first moved here. It turned out pretty decent but was so much work. We've bought some frozen ones at a local deli that has some Eastern European and Russian foods (wish they carried more Russian stuff than they do), and it was OK, but not the best quality for the price. I miss delicious пельмени from Russia, along with a lot of other amazing food which is hard to find here and pretty laborious to make. We make блины for breakfast about twice a month and eat it with traditional toppings. Sometimes if we make too many we'll stuff the leftovers with other things like meat or cheese for a later meal.

-Amy

Edited March 31, 2013 by Amy_and_Victor

[Amy_and_Victor 159]

If the salads do not have beets, cabbage or fish...I LOVE THEM

So, like 90% of Russian salads are out for you then? LOL!

-Amy

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

So, like 90% of Russian salads are out for you then? LOL!

-Amy

Good thing I did not list mayonnaise! Alla makes a potato salad with meat in it, very delicious. Umm............. wait. No, that can't be the only one!

[Nick_Moscow 2]

along with a lot of other amazing food which is hard to find here and pretty laborious to make.

Yes, to truly appreciate a RUB woman, it helps to understand how much sweat and tears went into making, for example, that tasty salad that looks like potato salad but has meat in it too (oliv'ye). You all are going to laugh at me but when my RUB wife first made a beet salad I was amazed that she made the soft beets on her own - in my childhood beets had always come pre-softened, out of a jar (I think my mom was one of the first from the "freedom" movement of American women who got the job with the equality in the workplace but couldn't cook if her life depended on it)

Today being Easter (Roman Catholic, but not Eastern Orthodox), did anyone eat some kulich today?? I was happily surprised that my dad baked one to impress my wife - he looked up the recipe on the internet, and it tasted really good. But apparently it's much harder than we think to get the cakes to cook evenly in those coffee cans so that they remain tall and upright. So this was a case of the kulich's taste being much better than its appearance

[Amy_and_Victor 159]

It's Victor from Russia.

Yes, to truly appreciate a RUB woman, it helps to understand how much sweat and tears went into making, for example, that tasty salad that looks like potato salad but has meat in it too (oliv'ye).

Well, it's not such horrible. I can make a several pounds of oliv'e in about 1.5 hours of slow-pacing work on my own, if I'll have pre-boiled whole potatoes (they just take long time to cool down enough that you can add it to salad with mayo). Russian salads seem to be complicate (and they're by amount of ingredients comparing to some similar US salads, like Russian tuna salad "mimoza" or Russian potato salad "oliv'e" have usually about 7-8 ingredients), but they're not hard to make, it just takes some time to chop/slice/shred all ingredients.

Today being Easter (Roman Catholic, but not Eastern Orthodox), did anyone eat some kulich today?? I was happily surprised that my dad baked one to impress my wife - he looked up the recipe on the internet, and it tasted really good. But apparently it's much harder than we think to get the cakes to cook evenly in those coffee cans so that they remain tall and upright. So this was a case of the kulich's taste being much better than its appearance

We didn't make kulich and not going to make it on orthodox Easter either, because without being blessed in church it's pretty much nothing different from raisin wheat bread which I can make in bread maker just throwing ingredients there, but it's much more time consuming. I would rather spend this time on baking a real cake. And I honestly don't have great memories from my childhood about kulich'es to bake it for fun now. My family always would just buy some kulich from the store which usually wasn't as great (I don't know why, but in my city in Russia almost all of them in the stores were kinda flavorless, had almost no raisins and frosting and were getting stale really fast). I wish we could make "paskha", delicious Easter dessert with Russian curd (cottage cheese), sour cream, shugar, raisins..., it's really yummy, but I can't get in my city here Russian style of cottage cheese (our local "Russian store" pretty much is a piece of c...p), and US kind of cottage cheese doesn't have right flavor and texture. We're going to dye eggs on orthodox Easter however, we're not religious people (I believe in God in general, but for me church should be made from ribs, not from bricks) so we're not taking them to church for blessings, we will just make it for fun to keep some traditions.

[slim 1,530]

Chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate.

[SMR 368]

I can understand that some may not be particular fans of the fish salads. But who can honestly have a problem with potato salad just because you added bologna or chicken breasts (and peas)?

[ONA 133]

My husband looooves almost everything - even fish and beet salad (I absolutely hate it, by the way ). The only thing he would not eat is kholodets.

He can make blinchiki (or crepes) himself and make pelmeni himself too (I usually make the dough and freeze it though).

I got everybody I know hooked on Russian potato salad, even my boss I never make it with bologna though... only with beef or venison.

[Amy_and_Victor 159]

I got everybody I know hooked on Russian potato salad, even my boss I never make it with bologna though... only with beef or venison.

Sorry if it will offend anybody here, but US bologna is gross for me. I tried 3 or 4 brands, like Eckrich and few others, different kinds each, and gave up. I can't eat it. It's not anything about flavor - some of them actually pretty yummy, it's all about texture. To me it feels like it's... grainy? I don't know how to describe it better, but all of the kinds of bologna I tried had this grainy feeling. I've always loved bologna of all kinds in Russia (which never has this weird texture and always smooth like beef hot dogs) and would eat it few times per week, but here in the US it's not something I would eat unless I'm starving and it's the only food around.

- Victor

Edited April 2, 2013 by Amy_and_Victor