Ukranian Ricotta Pancakes (Sirniki)

Followed THIS recipe with minor alterations:

- Used whole milk ricotta (15oz) and squeezed it using cheese cloth (*could have done a better job with this as there was still plenty of moisture which necessitated the use of more flour)
- Used double the amount of flour in the food processer

- Fried in a cast iron skillet - make sure to patiently wait for it to heat up before adding high smoke point oil (peanut, for example). Fry on low heat or they will burn.

-Serve with preserves, apple butter, sweetened condensed milk, sour cream (traditional) or anything else that tastes good with them.

Turkey-Chicken-Rice Balls (Tefteli)

Loosely based on THIS recipe

Ingredients:
1lb ground turkey (not completely lean, 93:7 is good)
1lb ground chicken (also not too lean)
1 egg
white onion
fresh garlic
rice
flour
butter and oil
paprika
smoked salt
black and white pepper
marjoram
chicken stock
sour cream
tomato paste

- Make 1/2 cup white rice - undercook it by adding less water/stock than usual, let cool
- Fry chopped onions lightly, combine in a mixing bowl with rice, cool
- Add ground chicken, turkey, egg, 3 cloves fresh chopped garlic
- Add pepper/salt/paprika to taste (yes, I taste my raw meat)

- Roll mixture into balls (bigger than a golf ball, smaller than tennis ball, doesn't really matter)
- Dredge balls in flour
- Fry on all sides but not until fully cooked in a little bit of oil (we use grapeseed)
- In a separate pot, start the liquids - melt 2tbsp butter, whisk in 1-2 tbsp flour, add stock (we used a diluted bouillon cube and adjusted the overall amount of salt accordingly)
- Add 2-3 tbsp of sour cream, mix
- Add 1-2 tbsp of tomato paste, mix
- Transfer all fried balls into the liquid, bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer for ~20 min

Carrot Soup

Roast: 
carrots (2lb, peeled, cut lengthwise)
garlic (cloves, peeled)
onion (sweet/white, cut in large chunks)
potatoes (cubed, partially peeled if thick skin)

Make chicken stock:
boil chicken thighs/drum sticks (~1-1.5lbs with skin) for about 20 min
remove foam (if you do this, no need to strain the stock - it'll just be clear)
throw in: 1/2 white onion (wrapped in cheese cloth), celery, bay leaves, peppercorns, salt
cook for another ~30 min

Use broth for soup base
hand blend roasted components with broth

Notes - didn't add any ginger but could add to stock while boiling for extra flavor; didn't add any onions or zucchini/squash to soup because it probably won't add to texture or flavor (roasting zucchini/squash for 25 min was too long, made them overcooked)

Bacon Wrapped Figs with Goat Cheese

Pit the dates, stuff them with goat cheese, wrap in partially cooked bacon and stick in the oven at ~350F for ~15 min until bacon is crispy. We arranged the dates on a cookie rack and placed that in a pan so the fat can drip off and pool below.

Egg Salad

Ingredients: 
Eggs, red onion, pickles, peppers, chives, mustard, ground pepper, paprika, mayo

Scavenger meal: Anchovy Kale Soup with Potstickers

Pork and leek potstickers from an Asian market

Dried anchovies from an Asian market

Chopped kale, onions, 1 red pepper, garlic cloves (3)

Red miso dashi paste (4 tsp)

Sesame oil (1 tbsp)

Lemon juice (squeezed from 1 lemon)

Water (3-4 cups)

Cook about 15 minutes

Serve with sriracha sauce and furikake seasoning (sesame seaweed)

Jalapeño Pancakes

Used THIS recipe for the amounts and the base with a few additions of our own. Yielded ~18 pancakes.

Prepared batter as per recipe (we didn't have buttermilk so it was created using >1 cup of milk and 3 tbsp vinegar; 1/4 cup=4tbsp)

Added to batter:
Chopped fresh jalapeños
Frozen corn (heated in the microwave before adding to batter)
Grated sharp cheddar cheese
Fried pancetta (not necessary to add in the future, it was too salty)

Served with orange marmalade (not too sweet) and fresh orange slices (tastes better than maple syrup)