Russian Pryaniki

Ingredients:

3 cups flour, 1/8 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground cardamom, 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg, 1/2 tsp ground allspice, 2 egg yolks, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 cup honey,Thick berry jam.

Method:

-Sift the flour, salt and baking soda into a bowl and add the spices.


-Put the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl and whisk until white and thick.

-Melt the honey until it is liquid and stir in the vanilla. Set aside to cool slightly before adding the honey to the egg mixture.

-Stir this mix into the flour to form a stiff dough. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour.

-Take approximately a tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball on a lightly floured surface. Flatten the dough and place around 1/2 teaspoon of jam into the middle. Pinch the edges together to close and roll on on a lightly floured surface to shape into a ball.

-Place each ball onto a greased or non-stick baking tray with plenty of space between each ball - they will spread as they cook to around twice their original size.

-Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celcius. Bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating the tray half way through.

ENJOY!!

    
After talking about the food all among the presentation that we have given like the good chef said it is always to complete your meal with a good beverage, and you can enjoy it after all these good and variety dishes that was presented by the CLL blog group. Here are two of my favorite recipes, which are so good you could make a whole weekend out of them. Start Sunday by shaking up a bracing Morning Glory Fizz or a luscious Ramos Gin Fizz, and you’ll forget about that hour you lost.

 

Ramos Gin Fizz/New Orleans Fizz

Contributed by: Allen Katz  and Faad limanesiwa
                               


INGREDIENTS:

• 2 oz Zin
• 1 oz Fresh lemon juice
• .5 oz Fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 3 Dashes orange flower water
• .5 oz Heavy cream
• 1 Fresh egg white
• Seltzer
• Glass: Collins

PREPARATION:
The secret to this drink is to shake, shake and shake some more. Shake all the ingredients, except seltzer, vigorously with ice until the drink is as white as fresh snow and as smooth as a cold glass of milk. Strain into a Collins glass and top with cold seltzer. Stir before serving.

Morning Glory Fizz

Contributed by: Allen Katz 



INGREDIENTS:

• 1.5 oz Blended Scotch whisky
• .75 oz Fresh lemon juice
• 1 oz Simple syrup (one part water, one part sugar)
• .25 oz Absinthe or Pastis
• 1 Fresh egg white
• 1.5 to 2 oz Seltzer
• Glass: Highball

PREPARATION:
Shake all the ingredients, except seltzer, vigorously with ice and strain into a highball glass. Top with 1.5 to 2 ounces of cold seltzer. 
By the group CLL2010 with the precious advice of Allen  Katz.
NB: Good food without a good aperitif is worse it .But my advise to you, drink with moderation.

How to make shumai

Shumai（焼売）are a standby for dim sum, and are very well suited to bentos. They are small, freeze very well, and are a lot easier to make than.

You will need:

• Shumai skins. Shumai skins are square, and are a bit smaller than wonton skins.
• Filling of your Shrimp filling.

Place a skin on your hand.

Put about 1/2 tablespoon of filling in the middle of the skin.

Make a circle with your thumb and forefinger.

Push the shumai skin down into the circle formed by your finger and thumb.

Squeeze the dumpling gently from the sides, while pressing the top and bottom.

A completed shuumai. It should be a little cylinder shape that is taller than it’s wide, since it will spread out a bit horizontally when you cook it.

Steam for 10-15 minutes.

Recipe: Shrimp shumai filling

This makes about 25 to 30 shuumai, depending on how much you pack into each skin.

• 225 g / 1/2lb uncooked shrimp (fresh or frozen), roughly chopped
• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
• 120 g / 4 oz ground pork
• 1 tsp. grated ginger
• 1 Tbs. soy sauce
• 1 Tbs. shaoxing wine or mirin
• 1/2 Tbs. sesame oil
• Pinch of salt
• Ground pepper
• 1 Tbs. cornstarch or potato starch

Combine the pork, ginger, seasonings and cornstarch, and mix well until it forms a paste. Add the onions and shrimp and mix very well. Use to fill shuumai skins.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

     Sweet and sour chicken is a main dish of Chinese restaurants, and it is popular dish in civilian. Learn how to make a restaurant-style sweet and sour chicken with the sauce may make your life more beautiful.

How to Make Sweet and Sour Chicken

Sweet and Sour Chicken Ingredients

2 lb of boneless skinless cut into chunks,1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger and garlic powder, 1/2 cup of milk, 1cup of flour, 2 eggs,  pinch of freshly ground pepper,
1 green pepper, 1 red pepper and 1 yellow onion all cut into half inch bits,20 ounce can of pineapple chunks in juice, 2 medium carrots cut into thin slices, 1/2 pineapple juice, 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, 1 cup of water, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1/4 cup of sugar, 2 tablespoons of corn starch, and a little red food coloring.

Make Chicken Coating

In a new bowl we'll put the milk and the eggs and mix that together well.

In another bowl place the flour, ginger, garlic powder, add some freshly ground pepper, and mix that together and now we're ready to cook!

Fry the Chicken

Take some chicken, put it into the egg mixture, let it drain for a second, then drench in flour. add that to a large skillet with heated oil. You want to cook until golden brown on one side then turn over. Once its cooked on both sides, remove to a paper towel covered plate to drain.

Stir Fry Vegetables

We'll finish the meal in a wok. So heat some vegetable oil up and add the peppers and, the onion and the carrots. Stir fry that until the onions begin to caramelize.

Add Sweat and Sour Sauce

Add about a third of the sweet and sour sauce, stir fry that for a minute, add the chicken, add more sauce if you'd like, add the pineapple chunks, stir fry for a minute or two and you're ready to serve.

I'm going to serve this on a bed of rice, straight out of the wok. Let that cool for a minute before you eat it, but this is a fantastic recipe, check it out

persian sabzi polo

Sabzi polo is the herb rice traditionally prepared by the Iranians for the Iranian New Year. Iranian people eat it in the first day of New Year (nourooz).serve sabzi polo with white fish.


Basmati rice

Herbs (parsley, dill, coriander, fenugreek, spring onion ends)

Cooking oil

Salt

White salmon fish

Russian Tea Ceremony

Most of the Russian Tea Recipes you will find in cookbooks and on the internet are a dry mix tea or Instant Tea Mix from Russia that actually involves using Tang! (Tang is an instant orange drink / beverage powder).

Of course this wasn’t always the recipe for the tea, as Tang has only been available since 1960. Russia was slow to get on the tea drinking bandwagon considering it is a European country. Tea was introduced to Russia from China in the early 17th century. Prior to Chinese Tea being introduced, the Russians drank a beverage or tea called sbiten.
Sbiten was a brew of herbs, honey and of course water. Today in Russia, tea is the most consumed non-alcoholic drink.
Russian culture and the Tea Ceremony that evolved in Russia included the use of a unique device for keeping the Tea hot, it is called the Samovar. The Samovor can be very elaborate and the Tea Ceremony was one that involved social gatherings.

Chinese Style Fried Rice

Many Chinese from Eastern region, especially Shanghai, like fried rice.  If people have the leftover rice, it is the great way to use these rice to make fried rice.

Lemon Cream  Sugar Cookies

• 1 cup softened butter
• 1/2 cup cream cheese
• 2 cups evaporated cane sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• fresh zest of 1 lemon OR 1 tsp lemon extract*
• 5 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt

Cream the butter, sugar and cream cheese in a mixer until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.  Mix in the flour, baking soda, salt and lemon zest.
Cover the bowl or wrap the dough in logs and chill for at least 3 hours.  Overnight is better.
Preheat oven to 390F.  Roll dough out on a floured surface or a pastry mat.  If you like a crisper cookie, roll it to 1/4 inch thick.  For moister cookies, roll to 1/2 inch thick.  Cut into shapes and place onto a making sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
Bake for 5-8 minutes. For more moist cookies, take them out just before they “look done.”  Like as soon as the timer goes off the first time.
Try to restrain yourself and let them cool… or not your choice.
If you feel so inclined, decorate them with icing.  Royal icing is the typical topping, but I think a cream cheese frosting would be a lovely addition.  You know, cream cheese & heavy whipping cream whipped to stiff peaks and smeared all over the top of everything… err, these wonderful cookies.

Russian Tea Cakes

1 cup softened butter or margarine
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

In a large bowl combine ingredients on low speed of mixer about 1 minute. Blend well. Gradually add flour at low speed until just combined; stir in nuts. Roll dough into 1 inch balls; place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 F for 8-10 minutes until firm to the touch but not brown. Do not overbake. While warm, roll in powdered sugar. Cool; re-roll in powdered sugar before serving.