Farm Fresh

beets, carrots, celeriac, kale, leeks, micro greens, parsnips, potatoes, squash

What’s for Dinner?

What better way to kick off the Sochi Olympic Games than with a week’s worth of Russian-inspired dinners! The Eastern European cuisine isn’t one I naturally gravitate toward. Maybe because I don’t know much about it? After my bit of exploration, I found that in my own cooking, I’ve certainly made a semblance of some of the more popular Russian dishes. An occasional stroganoff dinner, admittedly quite Americanized; beet soup, more often in the summer, smooth and chilled; the infrequent rye bread sandwich, stuffed with lots of pastrami & cheese; and of course potato salad, the 4th of July version. I’ve found the perfect time to delve in a little more, see what the Russians really eat, and if my veggies might play a role in a week’s worth of those dinners. Here’s what I came up with…looks pretty tasty to me! Serve with vodka, if you please.

Friday – let the games begin

potato, kale, leek perozhki (Moosewood Restaurant)
apple sharlotka (Deb Perleman, The Smitten Kitchen)

Saturday – borscht & brown bread

borscht (Simply Recipes)
rye bread

Sunday  – russian comfort

beef stroganoff (Cook’s Illustrated The New Best Recipe)
roasted squash (Simply Recipes)

Monday – pancakes, fancied up

blini with smoked salmon (Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa)
celeriac remoulade (Alice Waters, The Art of Simple Food)

Tuesday – “russian salad”

salad olivier + micro greens  (Deb Perelman, The Smitten Kitchen)
olympic provisions kielbasa (Olympic Provisions)

Wednesday – pancakes, take two

chicken, leek, & winter squash blintzes (Food and Wine)

Thursday – sammie night, russian style

grilled cheese & pickled beet sammie on rye (The Best Thing I Ever Ate)
roasted carrots & parsnips (About.com Eastern European)

More Menu Musings…