Dad’s College Days

When my dad was a college student at the University of Connecticut in the late 60′s, he boarded with a Russian couple and often enjoyed home cooked meals with them. He fell in love with many of their recipes and my mom consequently learned to make them after they were married. These dishes have become some of our family’s favorites:

Cabbage Rolls

Borscht Soup

Sausage and Sauerkraut

Sausage and Sauerkraut

On my recent trip home, on the evening that we prepped for this meal, my family sat around and engaged in a healthy debate about which sausage to use.  I fought hard for Ball Park all beef franks as that was the true recipe from when we were kids, when all our meals were pretty budget-friendly.  Over the years, looks like this recipe has enjoyed a ‘fancy period’ as we gazed over several frozen brats that emerged from the freezer.

Naeng Myun – cold noodle soup with beef

I feel like this is the only thing my dad would eat during the summer. This soup is awesome to have for lunch on a hot day. Just drop a couple ice cubes into the broth upon serving and 20 minutes later you’ll feel like you have a mini A/C sitting in your tummy that will last you for the rest of the afternoon. Whirrrrrr…..

Mom’s Kalbi

It’s embarrassing to think of all the home videos there are of us kids running around in shorts and tank tops in funky 70′s colors stuffing our faces with kalbi at family bbq’s, camping trips, dinner parties…let my future husband never set eyes on those.

Mom’s Potstickers

The first time I introduced these homemade potstickers to my friends, they went wild. Whenever I go home to my mom’s house or she comes out to visit me in Los Angeles, we’ll always spend at least one day making potstickers. They’re SO good. And fun to share.

Borscht Soup

Again, one of my dad’s favorites. He would go on and on about borscht soup. He always tried to get me to make this. Unfortunately for him I’m a bit of a late bloomer on the domestic front. Well into my mid-twenties food was just something that magically appeared on the table or came frozen in a box. Nevertheless, I’ve always loved beets and when it starts to get cold outside I looove this soup. It’s such a beautiful color and so healthy.

Cabbage Rolls

Reactions from around the table:

Don, 35, Amazon.com employee: “Fabulous, fantastic. I felt like I was in the Ukraine.”

Fried Onion and Bacon

My dad rarely cooked when I was growing up, but I remember once when I was little he made me breakfast one day when my mother was out of town.  He served this onion and bacon fried rice thing.  It smelled weird (I had never had bacon before).

He sold it to me as something he called ‘military breakfast.’  ?

Yeah. I remember shoveling it into my mouth and hoping that mom would come home soon.

Mom’s New York Steak

Mmm. Steak. ‘Nuf said.

Mom’s Spicy Seafood Soup

My family is CRAZY about seafood. Crazy like we storm the beaches at Ocean Shores in the winter. Pulling clams out of the sand with our bare hands. This dish is chock full of seafood and has a little spicy kick. A nice, hearty meal for the razor hunter.