Book of the Month!
Authored by Anya von Bremzen and John Welchman
The Red Pages is pleased to announce a new feature! It has been observed that most Red Elvises fans enjoy books, and nearly all of us enjoy eating. How many enjoy cooking? Well, those who do, here is a book for you! Those who only want to learn more about Russian food and sound cool when discussing it, here is a book for you as well! We hope you like this new feature.
This is a Russian cookbook that dares to ask the question, “Is there more to Russian cookery than beets, cabbage, and sour cream?”
Apparently so. Well, you could ask Our Favorite Russians that question the next time you see them at a show, but for those of us who won’t be seeing them for a while, we can cook our worries away this winter with this book, as well as improve our knowledge of useless-to-know worldwide trivia. Russia, as we all either know or can imagine, is huge; it also encompasses many former Soviet republics. Each area of Russia and those former republics has their own regional foods and tastes, and this book has a wide variety of those dishes in 400 different recipes! Surely there is plenty here to keep you eating like a Russkie all winter.
The author is authentically Russian herself even though she left Russia for the West in the mid 1970s. According to Amazon.com: “Anya von Bremzen and John Welchman capture the soul of Mother Russia in 400 recipes joined together with a literate overview of each culinary piece in this magnificent jigsaw puzzle of a nation. The cook will be amply rewarded, and readers will travel far and wide through flavors and feasts only dimly imagined in the West.”
Now I am about the least qualified person to review a cookbook, or even to talk about cooking that doesn’t involve a microwave and poking holes in the plastic cover of some frozen dinner, so instead I think you’ll find it more interesting to explore some of the intriguing fare listed on the back cover:
From the Baltic Republics: Cold Veal Meat Loaf with Horseradish Sauce. Pork Chops with Apples Braised in Beer. Carrot Baba. Estonian Rye Cookies. Black Bread, Apple, and Cherry Pudding.
From Russia: Sour Cherry Soup. Shchi. Chicken Cutlets Pozharsky. Steamed Salmon with Sorrel and Spinach Sauce. Fried Potatoes with Wild Mushrooms. Blini. Russian Cranberry Mousse.
From the Caucasus: Armenian Lentil and Apricot Soup. Grilled Chicken with Garlic and Walnut Sauce. Grilled Trout with Tarragon. Asparagus with Egg, Garlic, and Lemon Sauce. Saffron Pudding.
From Central Asia: Asian Radish Salad. Uzbek Lamb Kebabs. Spicy Carrots with Cumin Seeds. Chicken Pilaf with Nuts and Candied Orange Peel. Poached Quinces.
From the Ukraine: Borscht with Apples and Beans. Potato, Feta, and Scallion Salad. Chicken Kiev. Roast Pork Loin with Caraway Seeds. Vareniki. Almond Raspberry Torte.
That’s enough to make your mouth water, isn’t it? And that’s only some of the recipes!
Most of the people who bought this book and wrote reviews of it on Amazon.com liked it. How comforting is that? One customer/reviewer teasingly wrote:
“Don't miss this book, even if you have lots of other Russian cookbooks. This one has so much more.”
This book can be ordered at: Please to the Table: Amazon.com More information and many handy reviews are on that site. Why not whip out those credit cards, Red Elvises fans, and start practicing your Russian cookery!
If you know of some great books that involve Russian life, history, culture, or even fiction and would like to see them featured as a Book of the Month, feel free to
Just write to: redelvisesfotm@yahoo.com.
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