The Russian Tea Room Cookbook

The Russian Tea Room Cookbook by Faith Stewart-Gordon and Nika Hazelton

 

  The Russian Tea Room is a glamorous restaurant located just steps from Carnegie Hall in Manhattan.  When the establishment opened in 1927 it served as gathering place for Russian expatriates.  It has since gone on to become a world famous restaurant.  The Tea Room--with its red booths, green walls, and gold accents--has been featured in movies like The Sweet Smell of Success and When Harry Met Sally, as well as episodes of Sex In the City and Louie.  

  This cookbook (published in 1981 and now out of print, but easy to find online) features a history of the Tea Room and recipes for Russian specialties such as Stroganoff, Musaka, and Chicken Kiev.  The dessert section is one of the largest in the book, with pastry recipes and notes on how to serve tea and coffee.  The drinks section features recipes for vodka drinks that, frankly, sound pretty gross--and not very traditional.  I opted for ice-cold shots of Russian vodka.  The book gives this sage advice:

  

"Russians never drink without eating or eat without drinking--and the numerous toasts given and drunk down neatly in thimble-sized glass are always accompanied by food, usually from an enormous zakuska table full of hot and cold hors d' oeuvers."

  Since I'm forgoing a cocktail recipe this week, I will leave you with my version of Hot Borscht that I adapted from the cookbook.  I made a couple of small changes to make it vegan, as I am wont to do, and it was delicious.

Hot Borscht

6 cups vegetable broth

1 cup tomato sauce

1 1/2 cups shredded purple cabbage

3/4 cups thinly sliced celery

3/4 cups shredded carrots

3/4 cups thinly sliced onions

1 teaspoon sugar

1 1/2 cups grated raw beets

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

1/4 cup miced fresh dill week

non-dairy sour cream

Pour broth into large pot.  Add tomato sauce, cabbage, celery, carrots, and onions.  Bring to boil and turn heat to low.  Simmer, covered, about 10 minutes until vegetables are tender.  Stir in sugar and beets.  Simmer, covered, for 10 more minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in vinegar.  Ladle soup into a tureen or individual soup bowls and sprinkle with the dill.  Serve hot with sour cream.