Dan Feenstra
October 26, 2017
RUSSIAN FOOD NETWORK
Project form
Please fill out the form below, print it to turn it in, in HARD COPY,and also send ELECTRONICALLY, on the due date you selected on the sign up sheet. The Russian Food Network Event as a follow up to your Russian cooking experience will take place during class time as indicated on the syllabus. Please duplicate your recipe and bring it in for the event.
Recipe: Blini
Ingredients
2 eggs
2 Cups of milk or heavy cream (I used one more cup)
1 table spoon of Sugar
½ tea spoon of salt
2 cups of flower
2 table spoons of canola or vegetable oil
Sour Cream, strawberry jam and condensed milk to serve for toppings smoked fish is also very commonly served with this dish.
Instructions.
Whisk the eggs, milk, sugar and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
Slowly start pouring in flour to the mix, stirring as you go. The batter should be runny not thick, if it is add more milk.
Stir in vegetable oil. Then let sit for at least 15 minutes.
Use a 1/3 measuring cup to scoop the batter in a non-stick frying pan. Move the pan around until the whole bottom is covered. Put on medium heat.
Cook until small bubbles form on the surface then flip. They should be golden brown in color.
Photo of the prepared dish:
A synopsis of your research on the recipe and the area where the recipe originated:
I found this recipe on the website Russian Bite and there is a similar one found in the
Cookbook Please to the Table: The Russian Cook Book. According to Please to The Table Blini is an old Russian dish possibly from before christen times and it is traditionally eaten in the spring though now it is made all year round.
Your description of the experience of preparing and tasting the recipe (any ingredients you needed to substitute, any changes you made to the recipe… does it remind you of something you tasted before? What would you serve to accompany it? Etc.
This recipe was very easy to make, I just combinedall ingredients in to a large mixing bowl and stirred thoroughly. My mixture was a bit thick so I added about a half a cup of milk. I burned the first one because I didn’t know it would cook that fast. I would recommend the strawberry jam to go along with the blini. I would serve this dish with ham or smoked fish to so the dining experience is not so bland.
Like a wine recommendation to accompany a dish, make a recommendation of a reading from Russian literature that would accompany the making or tasting of the dish you prepared. Perhaps the reading would suit the mood of the dish, its spiciness or its sweetness… perhaps there was a mention of one of the ingredients or the dish itself in the reading… etc. You may select from the stories read or presented in class, or some other Russian work with which you are familiar.
I would recommend Eugene Onegin to go along with this dish, because like Tatyana blini has a long history in Russia and is deeply connected to its people. I am sure that Tatyana enjoyed her blini and smoked fish when walking in the countryside and knowing her character I am sure she preferred Russian cuisine compared to the dishes coming in form Europe.