A recipe even Anne could love

While searching last week for something to do with the leftover post-latkes sour cream in my fridge, I stumbled across this "Very tasty sauce from dried boletus mushrooms," from Elena Molokhovets' wonderful 19th century guide for young Russian housewives, Classic Russian Cooking:

• Wash 18-24 dried mushrooms and boil until almost cooked. Pour off the mushroom bouillon, which should be used the next day for borshch, sorrel shchi, or mushroom soup. Or, give the leftover bouillon to the servants...

Now, to get me some servants...

[Elena Molokhovets, Classic Russian Cooking, trans. Joyce Toomre (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1992), 197.]

new traditions new tamales on new years day!

the birth of gringas!  as much as there are many steps and time involved, there is nothing more freestyle than tamales!  although the first time always makes you nervous, i don't think there is much possibility of really making a mistake.   have filling, soak corn husks, make masa harina dough, fill, and steam. easy!

making some of the fillings--pork with onions, salsa verde

more fillings, leftover chicken to be mixed with mole (made in previous post)

soaking corn husks--at least 1 hr, hot water.

necessary accoutrements--bloody maria--makes the day more fun

more fillings, beans

adding broth to masa dry mixture
(2 c masa, salt, baking powder,  2 c broth  x 3)

whipping the lard (or shortening)
(2/3 c per batch)

mixing lard with masa mix

assembly area

first husk!

with filling!

not too hard to fold 

beautiful! double tie with corn husk.
hardest job to figure out how to distinguish the different fillings!

they are multiplying!

ready to steam

success, first round done!!!

steamy hot beautiful tamales (1.5 hr steaming good!)

taste and eat!

My first blog post. Be kind.

For the record, I can follow recipes. I'm rather attached, in an emotional sort of way, to recipes. Not because I can't "freestyle," but because I am more of a control freak and much more uptight than Anne. That said, my first post is about a relatively ad-libbed plat that I turned out last night, as part of a grand New Year's repast. A riff on coulibiac, served in individual portions. Part Julia (The French Chef), part Anya (von Bremzen, for those who don't know her, from Please to the Table), part some recipe on Epicurious, part my vast Russianist experience with mushrooms. It was yum, yum, yum, yum, yum. Очень вкусная, was the word on the street. Or 'round the table. And it looked damn good, as well.
Dilled rice (seasoned up with some mushroom stock), two different kinds of wild mushrooms that I sautéed and cooked down with shallots, cognac, dry vermouth and salt and pepper, 5 oz. pieces of salmon (traditionally, you poach and cube the salmon in advance, but I left the pieces whole and raw before baking). Layers: rice, mushrooms, salmon, mushrooms, rice, all wrapped in puff pastry. (Dufours is unquestionably the best. No reason to make your own.) Baked and served with a dill sauce. Rich yet light at the same time. I would definitely make it again. But, of course, since there was no real recipe, I probably couldn't.
That's another reason I like recipes...

lemon zest--a new years pledge

no photos, unfortunately, but am inspired to find a 'discovery' in every cooking activity this year!  inspired by a jaimie oliver recipe (secret pleasure is his ipad app....), i made fettucine carbonara with sausage, and i added lemon zest to the egg/cream.  AMAZING, makes a huge difference and sets off nicely with the pancetta and sausage!  hooked.