Happy Thanksgiving, Teachers & Staff!
The cold weather has begun to descend upon us, which means it’s time to start stuffing ourselves with delicious food and snuggling up with a warm beverage! We are blessed with a wide variety of diversity at our school, and a community of individuals who love to share and learn about the world!
Last year, we had “RSM is Thankful” and we loved hearing about how supportive and encouraging everyone was in our community! We want to keep this connection alive, and what better way than bringing RSM to the Thanksgiving table? We won’t be able to all fit at one table this year (darn social distancing!) but we CAN bring RSM to your kitchens for the holidays!
This year, we want YOU to post your most delectable recipe you make for Thanksgiving (or any holiday) and explain why it is an especially important dish in your family or culture! The recipe with the most votes (likes) by our staff will be the winner of our GRAND PRIZE: a $200 gift card to Self Up Boston, which offers virtual and in-person cooking classes! This gift card is ideal for two people, so bring a friend or loved one! Feel free to like as many as you want, but there can only be one winner! Leave your recipes in the comments!
We can’t wait to see what you’ve got cookin’ this year for the holidays! We will accept recipes up until 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, November 24th and we will announce the winner Thursday, November 26th (Thanksgiving)! Make sure you email nancy.hurley@russianschool.com your most tantalizing picture so we can share it in our blog gallery and really experience the deliciousness that is your recipe.
Be warned, if you make anything too delicious, you may need to bring it to the school for all to try!
(Bonus problem: if we have 64 staff and teachers that work on our branches, and they all wanted to sit at one table for Thanksgiving 6 feet apart (two people at the head, and everyone else around the sides), how long would the table need to be?)
RSM Teachers' Blog: Arlington, Belmont and Lexington 
Gloomy weather can make you feel lazy sometime! Trying a simple recipe that suits the weather may help refresh the mind!!
So tried cooking Fish Fillets today!!
Here is the recipe:
Ingredients: Fish Fillets (Qty: 8)👩🏻🍳
🥄 Chili Powder
🥄 Turmeric Powder
🥄 Coriander Powder
🥄 Cumin Powder
🥄 Salt
🥄 Lemon Juice
🥄 Semolina (Rawa)
🥄 Rice flour
Step 1:
Marinate the fish fillets in lemon juice, salt, chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and cumin powder (one spoon each) for 30 to 45 minutes.
Step 2:
Take 5 spoons of semolina and 3 spoon of rice flour in a flat plate or bowl. Add some salt.
Apply this mixture to the marinated fillets nicely and evenly from both sides.
Step 3:
Deep fry or shallow fry the fillets. I shallow fried the fillets.
Here is a picture of the final dish!
Do try this 😋😋
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Madalina Suvaina
ROMANIAN CABBAGE ROLLS (SARMALE)
Prep: 30 mins Cook: 4 hrs Total: 4 hrs 30 mins Author: Joanna Cismaru Serves: 10
Traditional Romanian Cabbage Rolls are made with sour cabbage stuffed with pork and beef and little bit of bacon, the best cabbage rolls you will ever have.
INGREDIENTS
▢2 tbsp vegetable oil
▢1 large onion chopped
▢1/2 cup long grain rice uncooked, I prefer basmati
▢2 lb ground pork or whatever meat you prefer
▢1/4 cup parsley chopped
▢1/4 cup fresh dill chopped
▢salt and pepper to taste
▢2 lb sour cabbage leaves
▢15 slices bacon chopped
▢4 cups tomato juice
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Heat the oil in a skillet, add the onions and cook until softened and translucent. Add the rice and cook for another minute.
3. In a large bowl, add the ground pork, salt, pepper, parsley, dill and the onion and rice mixture. Be careful with the salt, not too much is needed because the sour cabbage is already salty. Mix well using your clean hands.
4. Remove all the cabbage leaves and cut each leaf in half. Romanian cabbage rolls are traditionally smaller than the Polish cabbage rolls, so that’s why I recommend cutting each leaf in half, otherwise you can use the entire leaf for one roll.
5. Fill each leaf with about a couple tbsp of the meat mixture and roll. Repeat with all the remaining meat and cabbage. If you have any cabbage left over, chop it up and spread it over the bottom of a big pot.
6. Put all the rolls in the pot, add the chopped bacon in between the cabbage rolls and add the tomato juice over the rolls. Add more water if needed, the juice should cover the cabbage rolls entirely. Cover the pot with aluminum foil or a lid.
7. Place in the oven and bake for 2 hours, remove the foil or lid and place back in the oven and cook for another 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Serve hot with a bit of sour cream on top and with a side of polenta.
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Luljeta Cano:
My easy Cranberry Sauce on the side of big Turkey dish. You can prepare it days in advance and it is very traditional.
1 bag (12 ounces) cranberries
1 3/4 cups apple cide3/4 cups honey
2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
6 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
Pinch of salt
Simmer ingredients in heavy sauce pan for fifteen minutes until sauce thickens. remove cinnamon sticks, cloves and bay leaf. Cover and chill.
Enjoy!
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1. Heat up your pan on medium-high, add some oil of your choice and a bit of butter (leave out butter for a healthier option).
2. Cut a garlic clove in half and rub it onto your chicken pieces. (Don’t leave any garlic directly on the chicken at this time). Generously salt and pepper your chicken pieces. Use 1-2 tablespoons of paprika and rub it into the meat. I love using bone in-skin on thighs.
3. Once the oil gets Smokey hot, gently place your seasoned chicken, skin down onto the pan. Don’t move your chicken around, it will release itself off the pan once it’s crispy.
4. Chop two small onions, 4 medium cloves of garlic, and a bell pepper. (For more color feel free to use several different colored bell peppers).
5. Heat up another pan with a little bit of oil.
6. Once hot, are your onion and mix them around in the pan. About 30 seconds later, add your chopped bell pepper.
7. Once the bell peppers and onion are more tender, add the garlic.
8. Season this with a pinch of salt, and caraway seeds. (About a teaspoon of caraway seeds).
9. Once your chicken is browned on one side, flip it over and let it cook on the other side. After it’s flipped, throw in some sprigs of fresh thyme.
10. Add the veggies to the same pan as the chicken, add some some chicken broth. (About 1/2 a cup)
11. At this stage, you can either put the veggies and the chicken into a pan and pop it in the oven to finish it off, or finish cooking it through on the stove, covered with a lid. You would need to simmer your chicken for about 20-25 minutes.
12. Typically, you would add sour cream into your simmering broth to make it creamy, however, you can skip this step if your are trying to cut back on your dairy intake.
13. Serve with noodles… rice… quinoa… or on its own.
14. ENJOY! -love, Olga and Greta
Ingredients:
Chicken meat (4 chicken thighs or equivalent)
1/2 cup of chicken broth
Oil of choice
Fresh thyme
1 Bell pepper
1-2 small onions
4 medium cloves of garlic
Salt
Pepper
1-2 tablespoons of paprika
1 teaspoon of caraway seeds
Optional:
Butter
Sour cream
Cayenne pepper
Some kind of starch for a simple side dish.
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Be sure to check on Ms. Kathleen Forgac’s Holiday Salad recipe in the gallery, and like this comment for her votes!
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Great recipe. Will try it one day even though I am not good at baking
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Fattah
This is the main dish for the big holiday (Eid)
It is simply meat , rice and bread ! But the secret in the simplicity!
You will need :
1-Meat Cubs or shanks ( lamb is always preferable in this occasion- and tastier) use the amount of meat that can make good amount of SOUP ! Make a regular clear meat soup ( no complications here!)
2-Rice : the regular white short grain rice ( the basmati is not preferred here) and make an easy white rice that you usually make next to any vegetable ( life is easy heh!)
3- The bread: back home we used to have a special dried bread, but guess what ! The pita bread here is working fine
Toast 2 big round pitas in toaster or oven ( don’t burn) then let them out to the room temperature so they dry more !
THE SECRET SAUCE!
In a small pan , melt a good amount of butter and add some crushed garlic to it ( the more the better)
When it starts to get brown add 2 spoons of tomato paste along with a cub of water bring them all to boil and once it does add the important ingredient VINEGAR 1/4 cub will do the trick. Well, turn it off now , no more boiling!
Let’s mix
In a big deep tray ( I’m feeding the whole family here!) Bring the bread and start to break it into small pieces- 2×2 inches , or if you like geometry you can make some perpendicular triangles, but the polygonal are the winners here!
The try now have all the bread pieces at the bottom, add some salt pepper and small pieces of butter over them , and here comes the SOUP ! Hot boiling meat soup you made it earlier add it to the bread ( soak the bread in the soup) then cover it and keep it warm for 10 minutes.
Check back again , the bread will absorb all of the soup and will be soft and gain some volume ( L*W*H) !
Add some of the special sauce on top of the bread – then bring your hot white RICE and top the whole tray with it !
Bring your soft meat shanks to top the middle of the tray , then decorate with the remaining sauce.
PS: play with your ingredients, some families like rice > bread , some like bread = rice and some like meat .> everything!
Do the same with the sauce and keep some aside for those who like to sizzle everything!
Enjoy ( and bring your tums😀)
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great!
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Roasted Trout And Veggies
Ingredients
Fresh trout, about 1-2 lbs, cleaned washed
Salt pepper to marinate the fish prior roasting
You will also need:
Dried or fresh tarragon, 2-3 tbs or a few fresh branches
Olive oil 2-3 tbs
Veggies such as :
1-2 garland c cloves , crashed
Cauliflower ½ lbs, cut
Pumpkin ⅓ lbs , peeled , cubed
Green peppers, I used 9-12 shishito peppers
A few mini carrots , cherry tomatoes , 1-2 celery sticks
Lemon slices
Spice and season to taste : salt, pepper, turmeric, garlic powder, cumin, paprika
Directions:
Start by marinating the fish, simply season with salt and pepper and set in fridge for an hour or longer
In a lined , greased baking or roasting pan arrange the fish
Put it in the center so that veggies surround and flavor it evenly
Place the crashed garlic in fish’s head, tarragon in cavity
Arrange the veggies around it, spice, season, drizzle with oil , lightly toss and cover with another piece of paper or foil
Bake at 450° / 210° F preheated oven , 25 -30 minutes covered , 5-8 minutes uncovered
Bon appetite!
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Love it
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GHAPAMA ( Pumpkin stuffed with rice, fruits, nuts and spices)
I am thrilled to present an Armenian traditional dish – GHAPAMA Usually Armenians make it for big family gatherings. Adjusting it for Thanksgiving is my Armenian way of celebrating Thanksgiving, adding a bit of Armenian flavor to the traditional American holiday of expressing gratitude to people around you- family, friends and colleagues. It has a very practical ground as well:) Everyone has 1-2 lovely, round fat pumpkins left from Halloween at home:)
Ingredients:
– A pretty pumpkin, preferably round 🙂
– Long rice
– Honey
– Butter
– Any nuts
– Dried prunes, apricots, cherries
– Raisins- Quince, apples
Spices- White pepper, cinnamon, carnation, cardamon, nutmeg
Process:
Cut out the top of the pumpkin as if you were to make a jack-o-lantern, clean out the seeds and everything else that’s inside. If the walls of the pumpkin are too thick, shave off some of it. Spread honey on the walls of the pumpkin from the inside and sprinkle cinnamon.
Filling: Boil the rice until it’s half made, cool it and mix with nuts, raisins, spices, quince, apples and pieces of pumpkin
Fill up the pumpkin with the filling, put butter into the filling, add honey (to your preference), a few sticks of cinnamon. Close the top, spread butter on the outside and close with aluminum foil.
Usually the amount of hours it has to bake is equal to how much the pumpkin weighs. For the last half-hour open the aluminum foil to give the pumpkin a little blush.
Goes perfectly with home-made Gluhwein and will warm you up during Christmas holidays!
Let’s add some Pumpkin-Apricot flavor to Turkey! Happy thanksgiving to my lovely RSM family jan!
Enjoy Armenian Folk song Ghapamahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KliGvu8Tjbw
Pictures are in the Gallery
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Love it, I will be trying it
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Cannot wait to try it:)
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Yummy !
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HONEY CAKE
We don’t cook anything special for events. We always try to cook something new or order. But only one dish is almost always permanent – hand-make cake. One of our favorites is the honey cake. Last couple of years I improved my skills and added more shapes and decorations that depend on the event and mood.
1/5 cup of honey
1 egg
1/3 cup of sugar
2 oz of butter
7 oz of flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
A pinch of salt
For cream
1 1/4 cup of heavy cream
12 oz cream cheese
2 tb spoons of sugar powder (can be more)
A little vanilla
Mix together honey, sugar, butter, egg, and salt.
With a middle temperature bring to a boil on the cooktop. But do not boil!!!
Add baking soda to the hot mix, the mix will increase in volume.
Cool down mix and add flour.
Put mix in the fridge for 2-3 hours to make it harder.
During this time you can make a cream. Mix everything for cream together and whip cream.
In 2-3 hours take a hard mix and separate for 3 pieces. Each piece roll and cut shape (it can be heard, circle, tree, number, rhombus, everything by your fantasy).
Bake in an oven at a temperature of 365 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cool down cakes. Grease the cakes with cream and decorate by your choice. Leave in the fridge for 1 day.
Enjoy!!!
PS. The picture of different shapes and also short drawing instruction you can find in the gallery
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Carrot & Spinach Dhokla( Steamed Savory cakes)
Ingredients:
I cup Semolina( Coarse)
½ cup fresh yogurt
Assorted colored grated carrots-2
1 cup of finely chopped spinach
Chia seeds- 1 tsp
Salt( As per taste)
Eno fruit salt- 1½ tsp
For tempering:
Oil- 2 tbs
Mustard Seeds- 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds- ½ tsp
Curry leaves- 7-8
Asafoetida- ½ tsp( optional)
Green Chilies- 2-3
Cilantro- For garnish
For dhoklas,
Mix semolina, yogurt, grated carrots, spinach, chia seeds and salt together. Add water as needed to make it into a cake batter consistency. Keep the prepared batter aside for about 10 minutes.
On the other hand, grease a cake tin or a plate with olive oil for steaming the dhokla batter. To the prepared batter, now at the Eno fruit salt and mix slowly but evenly. Add water to regularize the consistency of the batter. Pour the batter on the plate/ cake tin and steam it for about 10-12 minutes. Check whether the batter is cooked with the help of a knife, just as we do a knife test while baking a cake. If the knife comes out clean, that means the batter is cooked. Let it cool down a bit before cutting it into small pieces.
Now, in a small pan make the tempering. To the olive oil, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds. Let them crackle. Then add asafoetida, curry leaves and green chilies. Temper the steamed dhoklas while the tempering is still hot. Garnish with lots of fresh cilantro and serve with a mint or tamarind chutney.
Extremely light and healthy dhoklas are ready to eat.
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Never thought about it, Will be trying it very soon…:)
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love it!
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Armenian Gata
In a mixing bowl, combine the yeast with 1 cup sour cream; set aside for 10 minutes. Add butter and mix well. Add the egg, oil, and vinegar and mix well. Add the sifted flour gradually and continue mixing. Knead dough for about 15 minutes until smooth and firm so that it does not stick to your hands. Gather dough into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough overnight. To make the filling, mix together 1 cup of the melted butter and 2 cups flour. Add 1-1/4 cups sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; stir constantly for 1 minute, so that the mixture does not stick to your hands and becomes smooth and even. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove dough from the refrigerator; divide it into 8 equal balls. Place each ball on a lightly floured board. Roll each ball out to a rectangle measuring 10-by-6 inches, or as thin as possible with the aid of rolling pin. Paint each rectangle with melted butter. Spread 1/4 cup filling into the center of each rectangle and roll out the filling over it with the aid of a rolling pin. Fold in about 1/2 inch of the rectangle on each side. Roll up dough into a cylinder. Place rolling pin on pastry roll and flatten slightly lengthwise. Cut the roll diagonally with a sharp knife or serrated knife into 2-inch equal slices. Place pastry about 2 inches apart on a lightly floured baking pan. (Be careful not to spill out any filling.).
Paint the surface of each pastry with the glaze (mixture of beaten egg and brown. Place baking pan in the oven and bake for 15 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the baking pan from oven and allow the pastries to cool.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving 🙂
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Best recipe, Can never be as good as your mom’s but will try making it some day
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My favorite one😋
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Ah, I miss that!
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For the starter
1 cup flour,
1 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar,
1 tsp instant dry yeast
For the main dough
1½ cups warm water
1½ tsp kosher salt
3½ and a little more all purpose flourOil for greasing the baking pans and fingers
1 egg white +1tbs water for egg washStart by making the starterIn a bowl mix all the ingredients for starter, cover with plastic and let it rest for 3-4 hoursIt should become bubbly mixturePour the starter into a larger bowl and add water,salt and flourI mix with a wooden spoon until it thickens, then I switch to kneading with handsYou can also use your electric mixer with a hook attachmentThe dough may be quite sticky but avoid adding too much flourKnead until the dough is elastic and smooth , may be still slightly sticky but don’t add flourAdd only enough to help you knead the doughPlace the dough into a large greased bowl, cover with plastic and let it rest and double in sizeAfter it rises, remove the plastic, grease your fingers and fold the dough a few times to remove the air out and cover again for the second rise,another hour or until it doubles in sizePreheat the oven to 500°F/ 260°CLine a baking sheet with greased parchment paper or foilDivide the dough into 2 portionsGrease your hands and shape the dough.
Let the shaped dough rest another 15-25 minutes, reshape before baking to make the lines visible ,that’s what specifies traditional Matnakash shapeEgg wash with egg white water mixLightly spray the breads and oven with water spray right before placing in the ovenThen spray 2-3 times during the bakingBake 7-10 minutes on lowest oven rack and another 7-10 minutes on upper rack of your ovenTotal bake time should be approx. 15-20 minutes,or until the breads turn golden colorRemember to switch the baking pans halfway through the baking to make sure the breads bake evenlyLet the breads to rest 15 minutes on cooling rack before slicingEnjoy!
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Love the recipe, will be trying it
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Masala Dosa (Indian Crape)
For the batter
you will need Urad dal and Rice from 1 to 3 ratio.
Soak it overnight, wash and blend in smooth paste/batter.
Add salt to the batter and let it ferment at room temperature (70-75 degrees in fahrenheit).
make pancake type of batter by adding water and on a hot non stick pan make crapes.
You can add veggies as a filling, cooked chicken, noodles, rice, beans, potatoes.
Traditionally, we add boiled potato filling.
For the Filling
Boil about 5 to 6 potatoes, mash it.
In a separate pan, add 2-3 table spoons of oil, once oil heats up, add fresh curry leaves, tea spoon of urad dal, one medium size sliced onion, turmeric.
At the end add mashed potatoes, salt and lemon juice.
mix it well and add to the crepe.
To close the dish, enjoy with Sambhar (Lentil Soup)
Lentil Soup
Boil Dry, oil free Tuvar Dal (Tuvar Lentil) – 3 cups
While the Lentil boils,
on a side heat up oil (3-4 table spoons),
add Mustard seeds(1 tea spoon),
fresh curry leaves(8-10),
Urad dal(1 Table spoon)
Dry red chili (About 2-3 pieces)
Veggies (small potato, small onion, 1 carrot, drumsticks)
sauté all that once cooked add salt and add Sambhar Masala (MTR Best Brand)
once oil separates, add lentil, add water as needed and enjoy wonderful Masala Dosa.
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I am already drooling, where is the best place to get these ingredients in the area?? I want to go shopping now!
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Run Run Run to Indian Store…:)
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I would love to try this😋
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It should be a delicious one!
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Superb Recipe!!
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Pallavi,
You are a certified cook, share some of your secret recipes.
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Yes Priyanka… Thank you
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Salted Egg Yolk Pound Cake
This recipe that I have been using for about a year now is great for winter months as it is heavy on butter and flavor! I love this recipe because it is a fusion food between a classic Chinese cooking staple, salted egg yolks, but incorporates them into an American style bundt cake. Salted egg yolks are most often used as a garnish or in the popular mooncake eaten at Mid-Autumn Festival. It can be dressed up with fresh fruit and whipped cream, or eaten as is. It’s great with tea or as a dessert!
Prep Time: 48 hours + 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Ingredients:
Salted Egg Yolks:
– 4 large egg yolks
– 2 c kosher salt
Cake:
– 2 1/2 c (340 g)white pastry flour (or sometimes I will use 2 c pastry flour, 1/2 c sweet gluttonous rice
flour), plus extra for bundt pan
– 1 3/4 t baking powder
– 2 t salt
– 1 1/2 c sugar (can use up to 2 1/4 c, but I prefer light sugar)
– 4 large eggs, room temperature
– 4 salted egg yolks, room temperature
– 1 lb (454 g) unsalted butter, melted (approx. 4 sticks), plus extra for bundt pan
You will also need:
– Refrigerator safe container with lid for egg yolks (Pyrex is great)
– 2 mixing bowls
– a double boiler (for melting butter), or microwave
– Hand whisk
– Stand/Hand mixer
– bundt pan
Prep Salted Egg Yolks:
1. Line the bottom of a shallow airtight container with half of the salt. Make 4 wells using the back of a tablespoon measure, or your hand, and carefully nestle the 4 yolks. Gently cover the yolks with the remaining salt (though, you might not need all of it). Cover the container and let the yolks cure for 48 hours in the fridge.
2. On the third day, brush the salt off the yolks—you can gently rinse them under cool water if the salt is clinging stubbornly—and discard the curing salt. Stored in an airtight container, salt-cured egg yolks will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks until you’re ready to use them.
Directions:
1. Heat the oven to 325°F. Butter and flour bundt pan and set aside. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt with a whisk.
2. Combine sugar, eggs, and egg yolks with the mixer. Whip on medium until thick and glossy, almost like a pale yellow meringue, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and slowly stream in the warm butter (be careful that it is not too hot or it will curdle the eggs). Crank the speed to medium-high and whip for another 2 minutes, or until the butter is well-incorporated. (Some stray bits of salty egg yolk are okay.) Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients by the half cup, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary. As soon as all flour is incorporated, stop mixing and transfer batter to the prepared pan. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles.
3. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until the cake starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, and bounces back when pressed lightly. Let cool in the pan before unmolding onto a wire rack to cool completely. Serve with your favorite fresh fruit and whipped cream!
Picture in the Gallery!
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