I didn’t get to write a lot on the blog but believe me, it’s been a busy year! If all goes well, by this time next year, my cookbook The Goulash Archipelago will be hitting the shelves of your favorite French bookstore, and I’ll be looking for an American publisher. While I haven’t posted many recipes, most of those I did would fit perfectly in a holiday meal:
- As an apéritif, try one of my Unicum cocktails. Maybe the Tokaji Unicum Puszta with its little toast of foie gras terrine.
- Start the meal with Arctic scallops and crab rice polenta, one of my favorite recipes from the Russian Far North. Enjoy it with a shot of chilled Siberian infused vodka.
- You could stick to the Russian theme with venison heart, lingonberry sauce, spelt, and celery root purée, or orchestrate a Russo-Ukrainian reconciliation through gastronomy thanks to my Transcarpathian goulash.
- For dessert, the just-published Patriarch would make a dramatic finale for any meal. My Rugelach and Babovka are more on the homey side – but equally delicious!
And what would the holidays be without a look back at the year’s most popular posts? Here are the Top 5 of 2021, in ascending order:
- Who would have thought so many people would be interested in the cuisine of a tiny republic in the Caucasus that they’ve never heard of? Khinkal, Dagestan’s National Dish, enters the Top 5 for the first time.
- Qurutob, Tajikistan’s National Dish is fourth, down one place compared to last year. It can find solace in knowing it’s still the all-time most popular post, and by a large margin.
- Bosnian Ćevapi with Kajmak, Ajvar, and Lepinja steps down from the top position to the third. It’s also the all-time second most popular post.
- Kajmak, the Clotted Cream of the Balkans keeps the second spot, a natural complement to the Bosnian Ćevapi.
- Despite being published only last May, Babovka, Czech Bundt Cake is the most popular post of 2021 – unbelievable! I guess that means I can officially call Food Perestroika a Czech food blog!
Previous years:
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 Vlad: Putin Drinks Champagne Somewhere Sometime in 2020. Mikhail Metzel/Mikhail Metzel/TASS)
1 comment
Glad to see Qurutob is getting its due! Whenever someone asks me for my favorite lamb or mutton recipe (which is relatively often since I’m a sheep farmer) I refer them to qurutob. And your cevapi and lepinja recipes are among my favorites as well. Congratulations on the cookbook and hope it finds and American publisher so it can be enjoyed over here as well.