Ingredients:
Borsch
1 ½ lb soup meat with bone
7 cups cold water
3 medium beets, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small stalk celery, diced
½ small carrot, diced
1 cup shredded cabbage
½ cup tomato juice
Lemon juice
1 clove garlic minced
Salt & pepper
Directions:
Cover the meat with the water, bring slowly to a boil, and skim. Cover and simmer for about 1 hour. Take out the meat with bone and discard. Add the vegetables and continue simmering for another hour. Pour in the tomato juice. Use enough lemon juice to get the desired tartness. Add garlic and season to taste. Bring to a boil. If time permits, let the borsch stand for a while to blend the flavours.
Potato & Onion Filled Varenyky (Perogies) with Buttered onions
Filling
5 large potatoes
½ cup butter or cooking oil
salt to taste
1 small onion chopped
Cook potatoes in boiling water until cooked and soft enough to mash. At the same time fry onions in butter or oil until onions are transparent. Drain and mash potatoes. Add enough onions and oil to make a filing that is not too runny but pasty. Cool before using in varenyky.
Varenyky (Perogies)
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp light tasting cooking oil
1 cup water
Using a food processor, mix flour with water and oil until a medium soft dough is formed. Divide the dough into 2 parts. Cover one with a cotton towel or leave in processor. With the second half, place on a floured surface and with a rolling pin, roll the dough quite thin. Cut into 2 to 2 ½ inch squares. Put the square on the palm of the hand. Place a spoonful of the filling on it, fold over to form a triangle and press the edges together with the fingers. The edges should be free of filling. Be sure the edges are well sealed to prevent the filling from running out. Place the varenenyky on a floured board or a cookie sheet without crowding them. Cover them with a tea towel to prevent drying. In the meantime put a large pot of water on to boil.
Drop a few varenyky at a time into a large quantity of rapidly boiling water. Do not attempt to cook too many at a time. Stir very gently to separate them and to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Varenyky is ready when they float flat to the top and are puffed. Remove them with a perforated spoon or use a colander and drain thoroughly. Place in a drained varenyky in a dish, and mix with melted butter or oil to keep them from sticking. Toss very gently to ensure all are coated well. Cover and keep hot until all are cooked.
Smetana (Ukranian version of sour cream)
¼ pint of whipping cream
¼ cup evaporated whole milk (opt. as an extender)
½ cup buttermilk
Mix all ingredients together in bowl. Cover and let it stand in a warm place at room temperature for 15 to 24 hours, or until the cream is very thick and well set. Use at once or store in refrigerator. Chilled cream is thicker and keeps longer.
(made the day before)
A lively and entertaining half hour series that follows five strangers as they take turns creating the perfect dinner party for their fellow amateur chefs. Each dinner party host is given one night to impress their party attendees and competitors with scrumptious food, sparkling décor and stimulating conversation. At the end of the night, each diner rates the party. The very next night, it’s another mouth-watering meal at another host’s home, once again, the dinner-party marathoners rate the night. At the end of the week, the top rated host or hostess wins the reward of $1000 and bragging rights as the ‘host with the most’.
Come Dine With Me Canada