Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms.

Juicy Stuffed Champignons with Cheese
Preparation time 15 minutes, cooking time 15 minutes, yields 3-4 servings.

Ingredients:
12 large fresh mushrooms with stems
100 g semi hard cheese
1 small yellow onion
Seasoning: salt, ground black pepper
For frying: 50 g vegetable or olive oil

Note: You may use smaller mushrooms. I like those that are about 5-6 cm or 2-2.3 inches in diameter. Remember that when cooked champignons let out juices and become about 1/3 smaller in size.

Instructions:
Fill a large bowl with room temperature water. Add 1 tbsp salt and stir to dissolve. Place mushrooms in the salty water to sit for about 10 minutes. When done rinse and dry with paper towel. Transfer the champignons to the kitchen table.

Large Champignons.

Tip: salty water helps small soil particles fall of the champignons better.

Carefully remove mushrooms stems pressing them with fingers to one side at a time. Place mushroom caps aside.

Mushroom stems removed.

Dice mushroom stems in about 5 mm or ¼ inch small pieces.

Diced mushroom stems.

Peel, rinse and dry the onion. Transfer it to the cutting board and finely dice. Place a medium size frying pan over medium heat, add 2 tbsp oil. Transfer the diced onion into the frying pan, add a small pinch of salt. Fry till slightly golden-brown.

Now also shred the cheese on a small grater.

Note: As with me little salt is quite enough when cooking champignons. Remember that you will add cheese to the food. Though little salt adds to the fried onion but don’t over do with it in the end.

Fried mushroom onion mix.

When onion is cooked, add diced mushroom stems to it and pan-fry for some 5 minutes on medium heat. Sprinkle with ground black pepper; stir well. When done set aside or transfer the mix into a small bowl or plate.

Clean the frying pan briefly with a paper towel to remove onion as it will turn black when you cook the caps. Anyways you may use a different maybe a larger pan. No need to cook all caps at once you can cook them in 2 batches.

Add 2 tbsp oil to the skillet. Put caps rim side down. You may sprinkle very little salt over the caps if you like. Cover the skillet with a lid and fry champignons for 10 minutes on medium heat. When you see the juices came out, open the lid and let the mushrooms fry this way for another 2-3 minutes. It is time to turn the caps over when rims turn brown.

Stuffed caps.

Fill the caps with fried mushroom and onion mix, spoon about 1 level tsp of the mix.

Mushrooms with shreded cheese topping.

Top it with 1 tsp of shredded cheese. You may slightly press the cheese to sit better.

Cooked Cheese Stuffed Champignons.

Return the skillet over medium heat for another 8-10 minutes. Decorate to your taste. When cooked serve while still hot or warm.
Note: you may use frying plate instead of a skillet. In that case serve in the plate at once.

So that was my method of cooking this picnic food. Now I will shortly speak about a more classical recipe for this meal. I find mushrooms not as juicy and yummy as when cooked the way I do.

Instructions:
Place the raw caps on a baking sheet. Add a small piece of butter in each cap. Bake in the 220C hot oven for 10 minutes. When done stuff the caps with fried mushroom and onion mix. Add shredded cheese on top. Return to the oven for another 10 minutes. When cooked serve warm.

Fried Cheese Finger Food.

Fried Cheese Finger Food
This is an easy and quick recipe. Crispy cheese sticks have all chances to become your favorite snack. Preparation time: 10 minutes, cooking time: 10 minutes, yields: about 10 servings.

Things you will need.

Ingredients:
125g Brie cheese
1 egg
1 tbsp all purpose flour
small pinch of salt
a pinch of red hot chili powder (optional)
1 small apple
small shoot of fresh mint or 10-15 dried mint leaves
10 diet bread crisps
1 cup breadcrumbs
For frying: 0.5-1 cup olive or vegetable oil

Note: Brie cheese work the best for me in this recipe, instead of Brie you may use, semi-hard Gouda Holland, or harder cheese like Feta.

Instructions:
Although Brie is a soft mildly aged cheese it perfectly works in this frying recipe. I have also tried other soft cheese type like brined (or pickled) soft cheese and it melts and leaks out of the breading at sides when fried. Thus if you want neat fried cheese sticks use semi-hard or hart cheese. If you like blue cheese (like Dorblu, Roquefort, or Gorgonzola) they also are fine for this recipe.

Cut the Brie cheese circle into slices as thin as 0.5 cm or as thick as 1.5-2 cm. My slices were about 5-7 mm (round 1/4 – 1/3 inch) wide. The length may be as the cheese piece allows or divided in smaller cubes – about 1.5 inch or 4 cm long.

Assorted Cheese Slices.

Beat and whip the egg. Add all purpose flour, some salt and a pinch of red hot chili powder if you like. Stir to incorporate well. Dip several cheese pieces in the mixture at a time.

Cheese in Egg Mix.

Then coat the cheese in the breadcrumbs. Now you may either proceed with frying the breaded cheese or secure it with a double coating and return the breaded cheese in the egg mixture again and then bread it once again as well. To my opinion as we add flour into the whipped egg and since we are not using soft type of cheese single coating should work pretty fine – at least with me it did.

Breaded Cheese.

Put a medium size skillet over medium heat. Pour in the vegetable (or olive) oil and allow it to become well hot (not steaming hot). Carefully transfer the breaded cheese sticks into the oil and allow to pen-fry till golden brown. If you are using plenty of oil you may not need to turn the cheese over, thus if needed turn it over to allow frying of the other side. Normally the cheese stick fries on both sides in about half a minute – quite fast.

Frying Cheese.

Transfer the fried cheese sticks onto a paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Removing Excess Oil.

In a few minutes transfer the fried cheese sticks on a serving plate or on a bread crisps.

Tip: Use one cheese stick per crisp or place fried cheese in the middle of two crisps.

You may serve fried cheese as picnic food this way or proceed for a more elaborate serving. I went on adding apple slices. If interested read on. Rinse and dry a small or medium size apple. Make as many thin slices as many fried cheese pieces you have.

Apple Slices.

Apple slices would remind you of potato chips. When done, panfry the apple slices till edges start to curve. If you are for an experiment you may leave them longer in the frying oil and check what comes out. I didn’t experiment although may do it next time as I find it very intriguing – whether I will succeed in making the apple slices as crispy as potato chips.

Elaborate Canapes.

Transfer the pan-fried apple slices on cheese sticks. Add a 1-2 leaves of fresh or dried mint and top the picnic finger food with a seedless slice of a grape. I find fresh mint very fragrant – at least for this recipe thus I preferred dried leaves which added slight after taste to apple and Brie cheese mild flavor.

I love the combination of crispy crust of the fried cheese and its soft inside. It is highly recommended to serve this picnic food while still warm. As a paring have a bottle of semi hard wine. Bon appetit!

The sweetish juicy middle and the salty bitter coat makes cheese balls a perfect picnic food for real gourmands. A glass of good wine will be a must for such a special picnic food. Ideally a proper pairing with salty bitter food would be a semi-hard sweetish type wine. Thus if using Dorblu, Roquefort, Gorgonzola, or other blue cheese you will need Cabernet Sauvignon, Port, Gruner Veltliner, or Merlot type of wine.

Grape Cheese Balls

Gourmand Cheese Balls
Preparation time: 20 minutes, cooking time: no, yield: 6-7 cheese balls. In this recipe I am using the red globe grapes.

Ingredients:
6-7 medium large round and sweet grapes (like globe grapes) or 10 olives
100g soft cheese, cream cheese, or processed (process) cheese
100g blue cheese (like Dorblu, Roquefort, or Gorgonzola)
150g pistachios or roasted (could be also salted) pumpkin seed kernels

Note: If you are using olives better to have the pitted ones. It would be also interesting to experiment with the stuffed olives. Use olives of the Spanish table type.

Instructions:
If using grapes then rinse and dry them using a paper towel. If using olives, no need to rinse them just, likewise, dry them with a paper towel.
If using pistachios, remove the shells and any unnecessary pieces. You will need only the green kernels. If using pumpkin seeds, remove the shells, pan-fry on a skillet shortly if needed. Nowadays you can easily find a great variety of seed kernels that are packed peeled and fried. Crush the kernels into small pieces.

Pistachios and Grapes

Mash the blue cheese. Then combine it with soft cheese (cream cheese, or process cheese). Mix well. You may not need a food processor for that, a folk may be quite handy to mash and make the cheese mix.

Cheese Mix

Take one grape (or an olive) and about a teaspoonful of the cheese mix. With your fingers cover the cheese mix over the fruit and then allow it coat evenly as you roll the fruit between your palms.

Olive Cheese Balls

You will see how a cheese ball forms itself quite fast. Make as many cheese balls as the cheese mix allows you to.

Cheese Balls

When done coat the cheese balls plentifully in the pistachios crumbs (slightly pressing them) .

Pistachio Coated Cheese Ball

Note: if you like, you can use sesame seeds with grapes.

Assorted Cheese Balls

The picnic food – a romantic picnic snack is ready. Now all you need is a good company and a bottle of semi-hard wine. Bon Appetite!

Useful information about the blue cheese:
Not many people often eat blue cheese. Some of them don’t find the look of the blue-green mold appetizing; the others fear the mold may have negative side-effects on health. If you find yourself in one of this group then the facts below may come very useful to you.

Blue cheese has wonderful benefits on health! The cheese mold in Latin is called “Penicillium roqueforti” – just like Roquefort cheese. Penicillium perfectly fights different harmful bacteria in the human body and organism. Also blue cheese is made from the goat’s milk. Thus this cheese will help young organism grow (as it has much calcium), others – to remain slim (as it is low in calories), and prevent cavities (due to calcium and milk protein). Goat cheese is rich in calcium, A and B vitamins, phosphorus, and iron. Besides it has less cholesterol and saturated fats.

Lenette:
A few weeks ago, I was approached by a fellow blogger and asked to exchange articles for our very different cooking styles. Needless to say, I was thrilled! Despite the fact that I live in Miami, as a culture, we don’t embrace the outdoors as much as one would think. Of course, there are the beach communities that are frequently showcased on TV; but generally speaking, it is usually so hot, that people here tend to look for thirst quenchers and lite bites. However, liquid lunches can only get you so far and some nourishment is required.

Apple Marmalade and Flank Steak Jerky Crostini

Taking a tip from picnicfood-ideas.com, I started thinking about what I would like to take on an outing. I almost couldn’t help myself from incorporating the holidays into this recipe. So in typical Flavor Fusion style, I merged the best of both worlds.

Picnic Menu: Homemade Apple Marmalade and Flank Steak Jerky Crostini

sashimi pieces

The Jerky
Don’t be overwhelmed; it couldn’t be easier!  Take a slab of flank steak and thinly slice the meat.  Use a fillet knife and cut across the grain to cut sashimi thin pieces.

Ingredients:
In a large zip bag add the following:

¾ cup teriyaki sauce
3 smashed garlic cloves
Zest of one lemon
Juice of one lemon
2 pinches of crushed pepper flakes
Several twists of ground pepper
3 pinches of kosher salt
3 tbsp of honey or simple syrup

Instructions:
Seal the bag and shake to mix the ingredients.  Add the meat, seal the bag, and massage the mix into the meat.  This has to sit in the refrigerator overnight.

sealed bag with ingredients

The final step to prepare the jerky is to dry it out.  Set oven to 200 degrees.  Place meat strips onto a baking sheet.  Each piece should lay flat.  Let the meat cook for about 3 hours.  Remove from pan and let it cool completely before eating.

preparing the jerky

the jerky

The Marmalade
Not only is this a great homemade gift, but it is a great way to preserve fruits for later use.  Today, it’s all about the Grannie Smith.

Ingredients:
4 cups of green apples (about 3 1/3 large apples)
1 ½ tbsp. lemon juice
4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
1 pkg of pectin (sure gel)
1 tsp. of candied ginger
2 cups of water
7-8 small canning jars (sterilized in dishwasher)

preparing the apples

Instructions:
Wash, core, and chop the apples; I like to leave the skin on.

Place the apple pieces in a heavy pot.  Add the lemon juice, water, and pectin; bring to a boil.  Once boiling, add the sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, and candied ginger; bring to a boil once again.  Stir and let the mix boil for a couple of minutes and remove from the heat.

preparing the marmalade

Gently, take a masher and help break down some of the apple pieces.  Don’t make it a complete puree, but mashing some of the fruit will help the gelling processes and make spreading easier later on.

Carefully fill the pre-sterilized jars with the apple marmalade.  You must leave about ¼ inch space between the lid and the fruit itself.   Seal the lids and rings tightly.  The final step is the water bath which ensures that the product will remain safe to eat.

pre-sterilized jars

Boil water in a heavy pot and place the tightly capped jars into the water bath.  The water should go about half way up the jars and should sit there for about 5-6 minutes.  This is where the lid becomes airtight.  If you find that the center of the lid is still popped up, the process didn’t take. Return the jars to the boiling water bath for an additional 5 minutes.

jars in the boiling water bath

Let the marmalade cool completely before opening the jar.  Give the jars as gifts and save one jar for your picnic.

Picnic Day
On your outing, take your homemade jerky, apple marmalade, a few sprigs of your favorite fresh herb, and a baguette or crispy Melba toast.

Smear some of the marmalade on a slice of bread, place a piece of the flank steak jerky and add a fresh herb leaf.

The mix of sweet apples, spicy beef, earthy herbs, and the neutral yet crunchy bread is a feast for both the eyes and the palate.

Pair it with a crisp white wine and you are ready to spend a great day outdoors. Happy eating!

I hope this recipe comes to your taste. For more interesting recipes and  extraordinary recipe collections see The Flavor Fusion Project.

Onion Rings with Sesame Seeds.

Crispy Onion Rings with Sesame Seeds
There are many different recipes of onion rings. Some people do the coating batter with beer or milk and whisked egg. I prefer a different recipe as beer gives aftertaste to the food which some people will not like (especially children), and the milk and egg combination is also not as light as I like it. After experimenting I have come up with this perfect crispy onion rings recipe.
Preparation time: 10 minutes, cooking time: 10 minutes; yields a good batch of crispy rings, good for 5-7 servings.

Ingredients:
2 medium button onions
0.5 cup all purpose flour
0.25 cup cornflour
1 level tsp black pepper or hot chili powder (cayenne, Guinea spice)
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 cup room temperature water (or cold club soda)
a pinch of fine salt
2 cups breadcrumbs (preferably Panko breadcrumbs)
1 cup olive or any vegetable oil (for frying)
Note:  In this recipe you can likewise add 2 tbsp instant mashed potato. You do not need baking powder.

Instructions:
Transfer all purpose flour, cornflour and instant mashed potato into a medium bowl. Stir shortly, add cold club soda or water at room temperature. Whisk well. Add chili powder (or black pepper) and salt; whisk to incorporate well. Allow the mixture to rest for about 10 minutes. While you prepare the onions the batter, slightly thickened, will become perfect.

Peel and rinse the onions. Dry with a paper towel. Slice the onions into 5mm (or quarter inch) rings. Carefully separate the onion rings – begin with the central small rings – carefully press them out.

Preparing Onion Rings.

Mix breadcrumbs and sesame seeds in a separate bowl, large plate, or just use a plastic bag.

Breadcrumbs with Sesame Seeds.

Now take a few onion rings at a time and drop them into the batter to coat well all over. Use a folk to turn over the rings. Before transferring the coated rings into breadcrumb mix make sure the excess batter drips off the rings. Then transfer the coated onion rings onto a plate, bowl, or plastic back – where you have breadcrumb and sesame seeds mix.

Breaded Onion Ring.

Coat the rings plentifully in the breadcrumbs and sesame seeds mix.

Have a skillet with oil ready over medium high heat. When the oil becomes hot (about 370F) it is time to proceed with frying the first batch of the crispy picnic food.

Do not overload the skillet, allow some space between the rings – otherwise they may stick together. It will take a few instants for the onion rings to turn golden-brown. If needed turn them over. If there is enough oil you might not need to do that. Use a fork or a slotted spoon to turn over and take out the onion rings.

Place the golden-browned rings either on a grill rack or paper towel. Paper towel is good as it will absorb the excess oil.
You will see the sesame seeds peeping out white on the onion rings. They look gorgeous don’t they? Like special crispy doughnuts! This may become one of your special picnic foods. Bon appétit!

Note: If transferring put the onion rings in a carton or paper box – not a plastic bag. Use napkins.

Usually an average American tends to resist the temptation of buying the onion rings along with a burger as a side dish – instead of these mundane French fries. As a rule French fries are a cheaper substitute for onion rings, thus it turns out to be: less money paid – less joy met. But the real great good news is the recipe that I have prepared specially for you to enjoy your picnic food ever since! It will turn any day into a party and you will feel good. What is more worth doing? These onion rings are easy to make, you can enjoy them whenever you want and in any quantities. The magic crispness hence will be at your disposal any time.

Crispiest Onion Rings.

Onion Rings with Sesame Seeds
Preparation time: 10 minutes, cooking time: 10 minutes; yields a good batch of crispy rings.

Ingredients:
2 medium button onions
0.5 cup all purpose flour
0.25 cup cornflour
1 level tsp black pepper or hot chili powder (cayenne, Guinea spice)
2 tbsp instant mashed potatoes (with or without flavor)
a pinch of fine salt
1 cup room temperature water or cold club soda
2 cups breadcrumbs (preferably Panko)
1 cup olive or any vegetable oil (for frying)

Instructions:
Transfer all purpose flour, cornflour and instant mashed potato into a medium bowl.

Combining the Ingredients.

Whisk shortly the ingredients, then add cold club soda (or water at room temperature). Whisk the ingredients well. Add black pepper or chili powder. For example I prefer chili powder to black pepper. Add salt and whisk all ingredients well.

Allow the mixture to thicken a bit while it settles for the next 10 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare the onions. Peel and rinse the button (yellow) onions. Dry them with a paper towel. Slice the onions into 5mm (or quarter inch) rings. Carefully separate the onion rings – begin with the central small rings – carefully press them out.

Sliced Onion Rings.

Transfer breadcrumbs into a medium bowl, large plate, or use a plastic bag – which is more convenient to you.

Onion rings in the batter.

Drop several onion rings into the batter. Using a folk turn the rings over to evenly coat in the liquid. Before transferring the coated rings into the breadcrumbs make sure the excess batter drips off the onion rings.

Breaded onion rings.

Then transfer the coated onion rings into the breadcrumbs. Allow to coat plentifully with the breadcrumbs.

Have a skillet with oil ready over medium high heat. When the oil becomes hot (about 370F) it is time to proceed with frying the first batch of the crispy picnic food.

Do not overload the skillet, allow some space between the rings – otherwise they may stick together. It will take a few instants for the onion rings to turn golden-brown. If needed turn the cooked onion rings over. If there is enough oil you might not need to do that. Use a fork or a slotted spoon to turn over and take out the onion rings.

Place the golden-browned rings either on a grill rack or paper towel. Paper towel is good as it will absorb the excess oil.

Homemade onion rings.

The homemade crispy onion rings look gorgeous don’t they? This may become one of your special picnic food ideas. Bon appétit!
Note: If taking the onion rings to an alfresco party transfer them in a carton or paper box – not a plastic bag. Use napkins.

Deviled Eggs with Caviar.

Deviled Eggs with Caviar
These deviled eggs will be perfect as side dish or a snack at any picnic or party. Also it is a kind of fast recipe. This picnic food is appealing and rich in nutrients.
Preparation time 15 minutes, cooking time 15 minutes, serves

Ingredients:
8 eggs (preferably free-range)
4 tbsp caviar (any)
½ small button onion
80-100g butter (or 2 tbsp of vegetable or pure olive oil) – optional
a few shoots of parsley
a pinch of salt

Instructions:
Rinse the eggs in the running water. Put the eggs into a sauce pan, add water to cover the eggs. Add a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of vinegar into the water. I don’t know exactly why it is needed but as far as I remember it will prevent egg white to leak out if cracked and will also keep the peel tough.

Put the sauce pan over medium heat, bring to a boil. For this picnic food we will need hard boiled eggs. Thus, either allow the eggs boil for 10 minutes over medium heat or, turn of the heat a couple of minutes after the water starts to boil and leave the eggs (with the lid covered) in the hot water for another 15 minutes. The second option will save you from overcooking the eggs. Personally I usually boil them for 10-15 minutes.

Then, cool the eggs in cold water. For this case empty the hot water and fill the saucepan with cold water; change the water if needed till eggs are well cooled. Then carefully peel the eggs.

Note: Normally eggs are peeled easily when they are at least a couple of days old. To be sure they will peel fine buy a dozen of eggs in advance and put them in the fridge till you need them.

When the eggs are peeled do not hurry to cut them lengthwise as traditional deviled eggs recipes say. Take a thin but rather sharp knife and make zigzag cuts as shown in the picture. Cut only the white part. When making the cuts make sure the cuts meet in the end. Do not worry if it goes slightly up or down. You can be sure that no one will see a “wrong” zigzag on these gorgeously decorated deviled eggs filled with yummy delicacy.

Before separating the egg halves carefully try to separate the zigzag cut parts all around. It is not difficult, just turn the egg around slightly pressing and separating the zigzags.

Egg cut in zigzag.

When done take out the yolk halves and drop in a bowl. Normally I do not use a blender to puree the yolks, I just mash them with a knife. Do which way you like better.
Tip: Another option to make smoothly mashed yolks is to press them through a sieve with a tablespoon (back side).

Combining the ingredients.

Then, add caviar, finely chopped parsley and onion. Add melted butter or vegetable (or pure olive oil). Stir all ingredients well. Don’t be afraid that caviar ‘capsules’ will break – normally they survive. To be on the safe side add oil (or butter) to slightly thin the mixture before adding caviar. Originally this recipe comes without butter or oil but I prefer the mixture to be more cream-like so I add oil.

Ingredients Mixture.

When the picnic delicacy mixture is done, it is time to fill the egg halves. There are different methods for this operation – to use a butter knife, teaspoon, or plastic (or freezer) bag. Usually I prefer butter knife. If using a plastic bag, empty the whole mix into it, press the mixture to one side, cut the corner and press the mixture into the egg halves.

Decorated Deviled Eggs.

When done decorate each deviled egg with a parsley leaf.  Although this picnic food can stay in the fridge for a couple of days, it is preferable to have it eaten the very day. Bon appétit!

Note: “blinchik” is a singular, while “blinchiki” is a plural form of the word.

Russian Blinchik with Cottage Cheese and Honey.

Russian Blinchiki with Flavored Filling
Surfing the internet and numerous cooking websites by all means you will come up with quite a dozen of different recipes of Russian blinchiki. And all of them will be referenced as classic and traditional. I have tasted different blinchiki, but the one I definitely like the one I do the best.

This recipe comes from my grandma who is Russian by origin. I remember her cooking these thin slightly turned golden-brown crepes on two skillets at a time. Then there were two huge piles of this delicious picnic food served on the table with sour cream. Like other traditional Russian food, say, vareniki or pirojki, blinchiki are usually cooked to have in a company – with the whole family and friends. By all means it is also a perfect option for breakfasts and snacks.

With this – a more miniature recipe – you will have blinchiki enough for a company of 5-7 people.
Preparation time 5 minutes (plus the time to rest the batter), cooking time about half an hour; yields 20-25 blinchiki.

Ingredients:
Blinchiki Batter
1 large egg
2.5 cup (0.5 liter) milk
1 cup plain flour
1 small pinch salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 tsp baking soda
1/3 tsp lemon juice or vinegar
1 tbsp vegetable oil (and some more for frying)

The Filling
400g cottage cheese
1 tbsp sugar (optional)
1 leveled tsp cinnamon powder
1 leveled tsp ginger powder
200g (or more) honey
100g walnut kernels

Note: do not use sugar if using raisins in the filling.

Instructions:
Blinchiki Batter
Pour half of the milk (1 cup) into a deep bowl. Break the egg, add vanilla, sugar and salt and whisk together shortly. Use a wire whisk, blender, or mixer for that. Sift the flour, whisk until a thick soft mixture forms. When done add the rest of the milk (1 cup). It is recommended to use warm or room temperature milk (not cold). Stir well the added milk to thin the batter. In a tablespoon slake baking soda in lemon juice or vinegar; add to batter while still fizzy. Stir batter evenly. It is highly recommended to leave the batter to rest for at least 15 minutes in warm place before cooking. Before proceeding with cooking add vegetable oil and stir well.

Blinchik Batter.

Note: Some people prefer using 50×50 milk and water, it means 1 cup milk and 1 cup water.
Tip: Use freshly squeezed lemon juice to slake baking soda.

The Filling
While the batter rests we will get down to preparing the filling.

Cottage Cheese and Flavors.

In a bowl combine cottage cheese, sugar, cinnamon and ginger powder. No need to stir the ingredients very thoroughly.

Flavored Cottage Cheese and Walnuts.

Cut walnut kernels into smaller pieces and add to the mixture evenly. Set aside to rest while you are done with the blinchiki.

Cooking Blinchiki
Now put a medium size non-stick (preferably heavy type) skillet (or griddle) over medium heat. Brush the bottom with few drops of vegetable oil or cooking spray.

Frying a Blinchik.

When the skillet becomes hot (not steaming hot!) take batter approximately half of a small ladle and swirling spread it evenly over the skillet bottom.

Cooked Blinchiki.

Fry one side of blinchik till golden-brown then flip it over. Use a thin spatula to flip blinchiki. One blinchik is cooked in about one minute. Transfer cooked blinchiki one at a time on a kitchen towel to absorb excess steam.

Stuffing Blinchiki
When you are done with frying blinchiki proceed to stuffing them.

Stuffing Blinchik.

Spoon 1 tbsp of cottage cheese filling on one half and cover with the other half.

Blinchik Wrap Topped With Honey and Walnut.

Then spoon 1 tbsp of honey on blinchik and near it on the plate. Decorate with walnut, drizzle it with a bit of cinnamon powder at one side.

Serve this picnic food at room temperature one per plate. Priatnogo appetita! – which is Russian form for Bon appetit!
Note: As coriander and ginger are effective anti-cold spices use them with this picnic recipe in autumn and winter seasons. Use sweet cream and berries (instead of honey and flavors) in summer.

In this recipe I will present five canapés with cucumber and salmon as key ingredients. Though there will be different canapé recipes too. Some will be with or without salmon or cucumber. Also I will include pickled capers as a key seasoning. This assorted finger food ideas are perfect as a starter for any cocktail party or a picnic.

Assorted Canapes.

Salmon and Cheese Finger Food
Preparation time 10 minutes, yields 5 canapés.

Preparing Canape.

Ingredients:
50g cold smoked salmon fillet
5 wafer crackers, pumpernickel breads or other bread that you prefer
10g butter
1 small cucumber
10g semi-firm cheese (like Gouda or Mahon cheese)
few parsley leaves
lemon with zest

Bread, Cheese, Salmon, Lemon Canape

Instructions:
Trim and slightly toast bread slices if needed. Spread some butter on each bread slice or cracker. Cut the cheese and cucumber in the form of the bread or cracker, lay on the piece of bread.

Preparing cucumber slices.

Cut salmon slices in the same manner, put over the cheese slice. Add a small parsley shoot and a piece of lemon with zest. Thread the yummy pyramid with a toothpick. Serve at room temperature. Preferably with white dry whine.

Cucumber, Salmon, Cream Canapé

Ingredients:
1 medium cucumber
50g cream cheese or cream fraiche
50g cold smoked salmon fillet
capers
dill (optional)

Cucumber and Capers Canape

Instructions:
First we will need to prepare the canapé base. Rinse and dry the cucumber with a paper towel. Cut into equal parts about 1.5-2 cm thick. If you cut some peel off you will have a more decorative base.

Preparing cucumber base.

Scoop out half of the inner flesh with a tablespoon – as shown in the picture.

Preparing canape mix.

Blend together cream cheese (or cream fraiche) and salmon fillet. Fill the cucumber bases with a dollop of the mixture. Top with a caper and dill.

Cucumber with Salmon Picnic Food Idea

Ingredients:
1 medium cucumber
40g cold smoked salmon fillet
50g thick cream
50g soft cheese
1 tbsp capers
1 pinch of freshly ground black pepper
chives

Salmon and cucumber canape.

Note: the amount of ingredients depends on how many canapes you will have.

Instructions:
Prepare the cucumber canapé base as said in the recipe above. Blend together cream and soft cheese. Add finely cut capers and finely diced chives, stir to incorporate well. Fill cucumber bases with the mixture. Top with salmon slice. Fix with a toothpick. Sprinkle some black pepper above.

Another Cucumber and Salmon Canapé
This is a quick variation of the cucumber, cheese, salmon picnic food idea.

Another cucumber canape.

Ingredients:
1 cucumber
30g salmon fillet
50g semi-firm cheese
capers

Instructions:
Make equal slices of cucumber, cheese, and salmon. Make the canapé starting with the cucumber, then lay cheese, and salmon. Top each finder food with a caper, fix with toothpick.

Bread Base Canapé Idea

Ingredients:
cold smoked salmon fillet
bread slices
butter
semi-firm cheese
lemon

Bread and Salmon Finger Food.

Instructions:
Make equal slices of bread, cheese, and lemon. Lay first a bread slice (slightly toasted if preferred), spread some butter, add cheese, and a lemon slice with zest. Top with a bigger slice of salmon and some more lemon zest. Fix with a toothpick.

Note: Instead of bread or cucumber you can use hash browns, wafer crackers, or chips as base for these picnic food canapes. Also instead of blending cream and soft cheese you may use a cream cheese if you like.

Pirojki with Mushroom Filling.

Mushroom Pirojki
Use your favorite mushrooms, it can be even champignons. Any fresh or dry mushrooms will do, however you may try the marinated ones as well. Normally the pirojki are not made of marinated mushrooms – at least I haven’t heard of such. Overall preparation time is about 1 hour, cooking 30 minutes (for the whole batch); yields approximately 20 pirojki which may be enough for a company upto 10 people.

Ingredients:
The Dough
0.5 l fermented milk
2 eggs
700g flour
100g butter
1 level tsp baking soda
1 tsp vinegar
1 level tsp salt

The Filling
400g fresh mushrooms (champignons or other)
2 medium onions
1 level tsp salt
black pepper and chilli powder to taste (or a bit more)
herbs (optional): dill, coriander

For frying: 150g vegetable oil

Instructions:
The Dough
To make the dough you will need a medium size bowl. Blend together the fermented milk, 2 eggs and salt. Take a tablespoon, add there 1 level baking soda and vinegar. While the mixture bubbles mix it into the dough. Also, stirring continuously add the melted butter.

Preparing the dough.

Gradually add flour, blend until smooth. When dough becomes tougher transfer it on the kitchen table.
Note: Lightly flour the surface before hand (!).

Dough for Pirojki.

Knead the dough for a while – though it should remain smooth enough. Do not make it tough. When done, cover the dough with plastic file and leave it for 15-20 minutes to rise a bit. Meanwhile you may start preparing the filling.

The Filling
Peel, rinse and finely chop the onions.

Chopped Onion.

Add about 50g vegetable oil into a large frying pan. Pan-fry the onions with some salt on middle heat till golden brown.

While onion is being cooked prepare the mushrooms. For this picnic food I am using champignons.

Tip: I have read somewhere that it is preferable to leave mushrooms in cold salty water for some 10 minutes and then rinse them in cold water. Salty water detaches minor soil particles and thus rinsing becomes more effective.

Thus leave mushrooms for 10 minutes in salty water. Then rinse them and put on a paper towel to drain excess water. Cut the mushrooms into small pieces and add into the skillet to pan-fry together with onion (which is already golden-brown).

Finely Chopped Champignons.

Add black pepper, chilli powder, and salt to taste. Pan-fry the mushrooms till cooked through. As I am using champignons it took me about 20 minutes. You may use the filling this way or add freshly chopped dill and coriander when mushrooms are done. Set aside to cool slightly.

Wrapping the Pirojki
Meanwhile the dough is ready. Cut a thick strip of dough. Then cut a smaller piece as shown on the picture. You may do without a rolling pin, roll the dough with your hands pressing it evenly.

Adding Mushroom Filling.

Put a tablespoonful of the filling. Fold the pirojki, place with the seam side down on the floured baking board.

Stuffed Pirojki.

Note: If you have some spare time it will be good to leave the pirojki covered with a light towel for 10 minutes to rest before frying.

When you are done with the pirojki pour about 100g vegetable oil in a deep skillet. When the oil becomes hot on the medium-low heat carefully place pirojki. Turn over when one side is golden-brown. Each side will take about a couple of minutes to cook through. Oil should be enough to cover also the sides of the pastry. Fry in batches. When done place on the paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Pan-fried Pirojki.

Leave to rest for 5 minutes. When you take pirojki from the frying pan they will be crispy becoming soft in a few minutes as they cool a bit. Better to serve this picnic food hot or at room temperature. Bon appetit!