It’s that time of year again! Here’s my selection of dishes to make for the holidays, and a recap of my most popular posts! The launch of The Goulash Archipelago took a substantial amount of my time (should I mention again that with its 300+ illustrations and unique design, it makes for a great gift?), but I still managed to publish several new recipes that you can totally use to impress your guests:
- Start your meal with a drink: an Eastern European mulled wine, a Sarajevo Mule, or a horseradish vodka. Whichever one you pick, Hungarian pogácsas make the perfect accompanying snack.
- My Dalmatian trio of fish terrine, tuna carpaccio, and shrimp serves as an elegant appetizer that can be prepared in advance.
- Want more seafood? Try my red mullet with peppers and Hutsul banosh.
- Prefer meat? Try another Ukrainian dish with these duck golubtsy served with red beet risotto, reminisce about tsarist Russia with a pheasant Galitzin, or pretend to be a Hungarian cowboy (an improbable Christmas figure, I admit) with these Hortobagy pancakes.
- For a formal dessert, I would go with the delicious Esterházy torte. If you need a sweet afternoon snack, try some koláčky – if you’re still hungry, that is!
As for the Top 5 recipes of 2022, we see a lot of the usual suspects though there’s been some movement. In ascending order:
- Qurutob, Tajikistan’s National Dish may be in fifth place this year, but it’s been in this Top 5 every year since 2015 – which makes me feel old! It’s also my most popular post of all time. I propose we call it the Post That Put Tajik Cuisine On The Map.
- Bosnian Ćevapi with Kajmak, Ajvar, and Lepinja lands in fourth position. It’s also my second most popular post of all time.
- We have a newcomer in the third spot: Pogácsa, Hungarian Biscuit / Scone! I cannot tell you how many batches of pogis I had to bake to get to the perfect recipe…
- Khinkal, Dagestan’s National Dish gains 3 ranks over last year and arrives in second place. I’ve always said it’s unlikely that any of us ever steps foot in Dagestan, and this has never been more true.
- Kajmak, the Clotted Cream of the Balkans gets the top spot. So much for a healthy diet!
Previous years:
Happy Holidays 2021
Happy Holidays 2020
Happy Holidays 2019
Happy Holidays 2018
Happy Holidays 2017
Happy Holidays 2016
Happy Holidays 2015
Happy Holidays 2014
Happy Holidays 2013
Happy Holidays 2012
Happy Holidays 2011
(Photo credit for featured picture of Poopoo: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Date unknown. TASS)