As to be expected, food in Russia is VERY different than what I am used to. If you haven't already, go read my post on fish soup. But one thing Hot Stuff and I didn't think much of until it actually happened, was cooking a meal.
OPERATION THANKSGIVING 2012
Thanksgiving is the second largest US holiday, beaten only by Christmas. This day is usually meant as an excuse to gather the family together and eat otherwise elephant sized portions, but it is worth it.... until you do it all again a month later. Since there is no family to be seen here is Russia, and homesickness had begun to take over, Hot Stuff and I planned this day in the kitchen as best as we could having somewhat of a knowledge of what ingredients we would be able to find. Despite our planning, when we went to get the ingredients... Let's just say our recipes changed. The traditional turkey, for example, became a Thanksgiving chicken, which just sounds wrong. It was delicious, but that whole ordeal will come in a bit.
Since I was only allowed over to cook for one day, Hot Stuff had to try to make my family's rolls without me. She followed the directions and it failed miserably. The dough just didn't rise, which was weird since these rolls rise in the refrigerator. While I was making a new batch the next day, which ended beautifully, she went ahead and prepared the failed dough for baking. It actually rose, but it still wasn't as magical as the second batch. We did, however, add apple pie filling to some of the dough (best idea EVER), and turned another bit into cinnamon rolls, which needed more cinnamon, but were still rather tasty.
As, I mentioned before, the bread was a family recipe, which, like the rest of our recipes for the day, means the measurements were in U.S. customary and not SI. If you cannot eyeball a recipe, I recommend NOT trying to change measurements. I really think our meal would have failed had we not been able to say, "This looks like it would be about a cup."
Rolls ended up working out, but what about the sides, and what was the problem with the chicken?
For sides, we made mashed potatoes with onions and garlic (yummy), broccoli and cauliflower casserole, and candied carrots. You remember up above when I mentioned that recipes had to change? The carrots are a great example of that. There is no brown sugar in St. Petersburg. If you can find it, let me know, because we could not. Instead, we used regular sugar and vanilla sugar. It actually turned out really well.
While the sides ended up being delicious, the main problem we ran into, was not having enough cookware. All of the things that needed to be baked were immediately transferred to a plate or bowl when they came out of the oven, just so we could turn around and use the baking sheet again, the pot for the potatoes was originally used to brine the chicken, etc. It was a disaster zone not having everything you needed.
The chicken was supposed to be the centerpiece of the meal (having originally been a turkey in our game plan). We began to prepare the chicken and then realized something. Unlike the US, where any bird you buy is nice and clean, this chicken still had to have feathers and hairs plucked from the skin. We just opted for cooking the chicken and serving it skinless after giving up. It was rather tasty, but that fact alone almost made Hot Stuff and I abandon the chicken and purely having sides and rolls for dinner (something that unintentionally happened anyway).
Overall, it was a great meal and a great experience, but, while I will hopefully get the opportunity to cook again, I believe Hot Stuff and I are agreed that it will never be on that kind of scale. We commend all who manage to cook like that, and now realize why Russian dishes are meant to be made in large quantities.
OPERATION THANKSGIVING 2012
Thanksgiving is the second largest US holiday, beaten only by Christmas. This day is usually meant as an excuse to gather the family together and eat otherwise elephant sized portions, but it is worth it.... until you do it all again a month later. Since there is no family to be seen here is Russia, and homesickness had begun to take over, Hot Stuff and I planned this day in the kitchen as best as we could having somewhat of a knowledge of what ingredients we would be able to find. Despite our planning, when we went to get the ingredients... Let's just say our recipes changed. The traditional turkey, for example, became a Thanksgiving chicken, which just sounds wrong. It was delicious, but that whole ordeal will come in a bit.
Since I was only allowed over to cook for one day, Hot Stuff had to try to make my family's rolls without me. She followed the directions and it failed miserably. The dough just didn't rise, which was weird since these rolls rise in the refrigerator. While I was making a new batch the next day, which ended beautifully, she went ahead and prepared the failed dough for baking. It actually rose, but it still wasn't as magical as the second batch. We did, however, add apple pie filling to some of the dough (best idea EVER), and turned another bit into cinnamon rolls, which needed more cinnamon, but were still rather tasty.
As, I mentioned before, the bread was a family recipe, which, like the rest of our recipes for the day, means the measurements were in U.S. customary and not SI. If you cannot eyeball a recipe, I recommend NOT trying to change measurements. I really think our meal would have failed had we not been able to say, "This looks like it would be about a cup."
Rolls ended up working out, but what about the sides, and what was the problem with the chicken?
For sides, we made mashed potatoes with onions and garlic (yummy), broccoli and cauliflower casserole, and candied carrots. You remember up above when I mentioned that recipes had to change? The carrots are a great example of that. There is no brown sugar in St. Petersburg. If you can find it, let me know, because we could not. Instead, we used regular sugar and vanilla sugar. It actually turned out really well.
While the sides ended up being delicious, the main problem we ran into, was not having enough cookware. All of the things that needed to be baked were immediately transferred to a plate or bowl when they came out of the oven, just so we could turn around and use the baking sheet again, the pot for the potatoes was originally used to brine the chicken, etc. It was a disaster zone not having everything you needed.
The chicken was supposed to be the centerpiece of the meal (having originally been a turkey in our game plan). We began to prepare the chicken and then realized something. Unlike the US, where any bird you buy is nice and clean, this chicken still had to have feathers and hairs plucked from the skin. We just opted for cooking the chicken and serving it skinless after giving up. It was rather tasty, but that fact alone almost made Hot Stuff and I abandon the chicken and purely having sides and rolls for dinner (something that unintentionally happened anyway).
Overall, it was a great meal and a great experience, but, while I will hopefully get the opportunity to cook again, I believe Hot Stuff and I are agreed that it will never be on that kind of scale. We commend all who manage to cook like that, and now realize why Russian dishes are meant to be made in large quantities.
I'm really happy your chicken turned out well enough for you to eat. Less than a few weeks left!
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