We woke up to a fresh few inches of snow and yet it is still very cold. I had hoped that we would get some warmer temperatures as the clouds moved in but it is not to be. I had to go out and clear off the car since Cindy is taking it to school tomorrow for maintenance. Once that was done I figured, well I’m all dressed for the cold so I might as well go for a walk. There is an old Russian expression that says, “On the ice, we walk like bears.” I took that to mean carefully, but with a new layer of snow to cover all the ice on the sidewalks, I think it means that they walk on all fours. I’ve never seen so many people slip and fall. Part of the reason is that they always seem to be in a hurry and they are always distracted, either by using their cell phones or reading messages, or talking with their friends. In any event, I understand the expression better now that I’ve seen so many Russians on all fours.
Dinner last night was a lot of fun and we really had a chance to get to know the principal. Our first course was grilled broccoli blinis topped with salmon that I had cured in lemon and fresh pepper and then covered with homemade crème fraiche and thin slices of lemon. It was fantastic if I do say so myself and we all loved it. The main course was a variation on my Basque Chicken. In this version I rubbed the chicken pieces with sweet paprika that one of Cindy’s colleagues brought back from Budapest. I then seared the pieces in a little peanut oil so that I could get the temperature really hot without smoking me out of the kitchen. My goodness, the smells from the paprika cooking in oil were divine and it gave the chicken a wonderful deep rust color, which held up throughout the cooking process. Once the chicken was seared I removed the pieces and then added the cut up sausage to the same pan and cooked them until brown. Once removed, I added all the chopped up vegetables, red and yellow peppers cut in long strips, onions, garlic, and chopped tomatoes and softened them for about five minutes. I almost ruined the meal at this point. I went to add a little salt and the entire top of the container came off. I quickly scooped out as much as I could by grabbing handfuls of hot vegetables and throwing them into colander. Luckily the vegetables had cooled the oil a bit and I wasn’t burned but I was very upset. I rinsed the saved vegetables and added them back to the pan and tasted everything. I was vastly relieved that it wasn’t too salty. I looked at the container and could not, and have not, figured out how that could have happened, but given the fact that I failed to close Cindy’s commuter cup this morning, I suspecting that I’m to blame.
I added a half-cup of red wine, normally I would use white wine, but with the paprika I was going for a deep ruby sauce. I then added all the meat and let everything simmer for an hour. I drained the liquid and thickened it with a butter roux and added it back to the pot for the last fifteen minutes as the turmeric rice cooked. The smells were filling the kitchen and seeping into the dining room and I couldn’t wait to get everything to the table. The colors alone were worth all the effort. Bright yellow rice, covered with a ruby sauce and chunks of chicken, sausage and brilliant peppers made it, according to Cindy, the best effort at Basque Chicken yet. I had fully intended to make an apple crisp for dessert but when I was buying the bread for dinner, they came out with small apple strudels that were still hot from the oven. I couldn’t resist and served that with some cinnamon crème fraiche.
As Starbucks moves in one direction, it appears Wal-Mart is willing to take some baby steps in the direction of health and nutrition. Speaking of forward steps, the Russian government banned 100-watt bulbs as of January 1st in an effort to promote the sale of energy efficient bulbs. The problem is that the new bulbs cost 10-15 times more than the old ones so no one is buying them. Stepping in to fill the gap, two companies are now selling 95-watt bulbs, perfectly legal and they are flying off the shelves.
That’s it for today, tune in tomorrow. Cindy and Wm
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