1 ea Duck 5-6 lbs
1 ea Head red cabbage shredded
1 ea Onion chopped
Salt to taste
6 oz Salt pork diced
1/2 c Red wine

Place cabbage & onion into a bowl, sprinkle with salt & allow to stand 10 mins.
Squeeze out liquid.
Fry salt pork in a skillet until browned.
Pre-heat oven to 425 deg-F.
Add cabbage & onion mixture as well as wine.
Cover & simmer 20 mins.
Place duck in a roasting pan.
Bake for 30 mins.
Drain off fat.
Spoon cabbage mixture over duck.
Reduce oven temp to 350 deg-F.
Bake for 45-50 mins. until duck is tender.
Baste every 10-15 mins.

ORIGIN Dr. Valentina Shevolskov, Kyiv-Ukraine, circa 1999

I felt well enough to get dressed up for a friend’s wedding today. In the last two shots, my niece, Abbie, decided she wanted to horn in on my action. Enjoy!

After a busy weekend, I managed to have fun with family for my cousin’s birthday. A couple glasses of wine, some good coffee and cake, and I was able to finally unwind a bit. While preparing my iPad for my uncle, who is now interested in buying one, my mother took an opportunity to snap a pic of me. So, here I am in all my candid glory.

Russian Beef Tongue & Raisin sauce
Categories: Meat, Russian, Ukrainian, Slavic, Ethnic, Euro, Maindish
Yield: 4 servings

1 ea Fresh Beef tongue
3 ea Onions
1 ea Carrot
1 ea Parsnip
4 ea Celery ribs & leaves
5 sprigs parsley sprigs
8 ea Black peppercorns
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 c Almonds blanched & split
2/3 c Raisins
6 tb Sunflower oil
3 tb All-purpose flour
1/4 Dry bread crumbs
1 ts Ginger ground
1 ea Lemon cut to small cubes
Hungarian sweet paprika as required

Boil raisins & almonds for 3-5 mins.
Strain raisins & almonds from liquid & reserve.
Reserve liquid as well.
Put tongue in a large pot with onions, carrots, celery & parsley.
Add water to cover.
Add peppercorns & salt.
Simmer gently for 4-6 hrs. until tender.Drain.
Reserve liquid.
Heat oil then add flour.
Cook as you stir constantly until well blended & turning tannish.
Gradually stir in reserved raisin & almond liquid along with enough tongue liquid to make apporximately 3 cups total.
Add breadcrumbs, almonds, raisins & lemon cubes.
Season with salt & paprika.
Pour sauce over sliced tongue.
Serve hot.

ORIGIN: Dr. Irina Buraskova, Sevastopol-Ukraine, circa 2000

Categories: Meat, Beef, Pork, Russian, Ethnic, Main dish
Yield: 1 batch

Dough:
2 ea Eggs
2/3 c Water
1 tb Sunflower oil
1/2 ts Salt
3 1/2 c All-purpose flour

Filling:
1 ea Onion grated fine
1/2 lb Pork ground
1/2 lb Beef ground
Salt & pepper to taste

Dough:
Combine eggs, water, oil, salt & 1/2 of flour in a food processor.
Add remaining flour then process until a smooth dough forms.
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface.
Knead for about 5-6 mins.r until no longer sticky.
Wrap in plastic wrap then allow to rest for 30 mins.
Dough can be refrigerated or frozen at this point until ready to roll.

Filling:
Combine onion, meats, salt and pepper until thoroughly mixed.

Cut dough into 8 equal pieces.
Keep remainder covered while you roll 1 piece of dough into a finger-width cylinder.
Cut this into 10 pieces.
Roll each piece into a 2″ circle.
Spread 1 ts of filling on circle almost to edges.
Pick up circle then fold to create a 1/2-moon.
Pinch the edges together as you make sure no trapped air is in them.
Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.
Once you have made 10 pelmeni then drop them into boiling water.
When they float to surfaceyou will boil for another 1-2 mins.
Remove from water with a slotted spoon.
Repeat with remaining dough & filling.
Serve boiled dumplings with melted butter & sour cream.
After boiling your pelmeni can also be sauteed in butter with chopped onions until lightly brown.

ORIGIN: Dr. Nadzhezda Kuprova, Roistov-Russia, circa 1999

My rest in Skopje has done me some good. For the first time in ages, I feel like the color is really coming back to my skin. Between this and my time with family in Los Angeles, I feel like I’m ready for a busy, but fun, year.

The first part of my semi-permanent move to Europe began on February 15, 2012. After a long (and absolutely wonderful) stay with family and friends in Southern California, I began my sojourn back ‘home’ at around 5:30 in the morning. My father drove me to the airport, and made sure to see me off in good order.

Once the trip began, I steeled myself for 30+ hours of airports and a bit of discomfort. I had surgery in January, and though I healed incredibly quickly, I still feel touches of rawness every time I move. Still, considering my condition (which is not bad at all, to be honest), the trip was a lot more than bearable. I flew to Chicago, spent a few hours there in relative comfort, and then headed off to London, where I milled around Heathrow Airport for about 2 1/2 hours before heading off to Sofia, Bulgaria. For those of you who know me well, you know I’m a big fan of the country generally, but not of its capital city. Still, even here, things went smoothly. I found the correct taxi to jump into, rather than getting shanghaied by some dirtbag pirate whose life is spent preying on tourists who don’t know the area so well. Once I went from the airport to the bus station, I took a bus ride to Skopje, and have been here since, waiting one more week before I head off to Naples, Italy, where life begins anew (or so I hope). The picture above is of me freezing a bit at my friend Igor’s apartment, but other than me forgetting to close the window, I’ve been in good hands here. Unless something interesting or out-of-the-ordinary happens, I won’t be posting here again until I’m settled in bella Napoli.

My Pop and I.

Europe, for better or for worse, has been and will probably always be home to me. As much as I love staying in the Los Angeles area in the vicinity of my parents, brother, nieces and family in general, everyone around me understands that I forged my own path some time ago, and have become content with life on the Old Country.

As of tomorrow morning, I will be leaving for Sofia, Bulgaria, where I will then board a bus and trek 5 hours or so to Skopje, Macedonia, for some relaxation with my good friends. I need it after enduring a lengthy recuperation after a rather grueling surgery that turned out to be successful. More about that another day.

From there, it’s off to Naples, Italy. The very first time I went, I wasn’t exactly impressed, as there was a workers’ strike which kept the city looking like a cesspool. Amalfi and Maiori were Heaven during that trip, but Naples… meh. After a few more visits, the city grew on me, even as the original reason for visiting the city disintegrated for reasons I still can’t, and probably ever won’t, fathom.

There is much to do work-wise, and many projects will be begun. You see a couple on the home page, but more are developing, as, this time, I seem to be making contacts with people who are less willing to waste time and dream, and more willing to act. Old friendships may rekindle, and new friendships, certainly new alliances, will be formed. This year looks promising. May God will it to be so.</p<

You all know how to contact me. If you don’t, just look at the “PAGES” section and click on “CONTACT ME.” There, that wasn’t so hard to do, was it?

May you all have a wonderful Valentine’s Day. Spend it with those you love. If not, remember those you did love at one time. It makes the day go by a bit easier.

Cheers,

Rudy

Cultural Offering Blog posts that ‘The Senator’, a 3,500-year-old, 118 foot tall cyprus in Florida, burned down after being struck by lightning. Think of the implications, as this is something older than most of the great civilizations of this Earth. A profound loss. RIP.

Take the time to read National Review’s commentary here.

In terms of good manners and bravery, things have changed for the worse.

I had the honor of being raised by a chivalrous father. He had always let it be known that I’d ‘get it’ if I didn’t hold doors open for women, let the woman walk into a room first (except for German girls, where one should walk in first, to make sure the room is safe), and so on. It became something so deeply ingrained into my psyche that every time I hear a feminist cackle about equality to this day, I wonder about the mind-numbing sludge spilling out of their mouth and ponder their seriousness in anything in life. Is that rough? Perhaps, and it’s not entirely meant to be. The problem is that I decided long ago that it was no longer worth my time or effort to decipher things that made absolutely no sense to me.

The problem seems to be two-fold: first, women demand equality, yet expect deference. To say otherwise is to lie, and everyone who thinks critically about this story knows it. It is not to say that feminism, in and of itself, is such a horrible thing. There will be situations in life where you WILL have to rely on yourself, either for your own benefit or for the benefit of those around you. This should be commended and encouraged. Just don’t complain if, in an emergency, that a man won’t steamroll over you to save his skin while you or your child drowns. When you subscribe to certain theories, think fully of the consequences. The second is far more disturbing to me: cowardice. I included a link to National Review Editor Rich Lowry’s column. It left me feeling sick that men feel absolutely no shame in blatant cowardice anymore. It has become an accepted part of society. The man has nothing to defend, and the woman has nothing to shield her from the harsh realities of natural disasters. Our culture rots every time a story like this comes out. We’re in a truly pitiable state.

A lot of you knew I had a rather long surgery a few days ago. I’m fine from it, but recovery will be long and annoying. Still, this is how I’m looking these days. Yes, I need a shave, and I look like a combination between Grizzly Adams and Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi. Yuck. Anyway, all’s well, and I’ll shave eventually.

MSNBC has more on the date jump here.

On that note, I’ll leave you with some wonderful Christmas music, courtesy of the legendary Swedish tenor, Jussi Björling:

Sleep in heavenly peace… sleep in heavenly peace.