Deep-fried doughnuts

The recipe seems to be from my great-grandmother. But I’m not entirely sure!

In my childhood, these doughnuts were always there. My mom would bake them for Hanukkah and occasionally just because.

Now, I bake these doughnuts every year and invite friends over to enjoy them during Hanukkah.

Hedva’s honey cake

Once upon a time, there was a wonderful cantor in the Jewish community of Cologne, Shimon Ben Zeev. And he had an equally remarkable wife, Hedva. She was the embodiment of what one might imagine an English lady to be—always impeccably groomed, with an ideally kept home, beautiful napkins, delicious tea, and mouthwatering cakes.

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meat

Yozhiki with the story from Dasha Tsivina

Dasha’s magical yozhiki that mend quarrels - her grandmother’s meatballs in tomato sauce. When Dasha was little and upset, her grandmother would say that the yozhiki would take all her troubles away. Now, Dasha makes them for her grown-up children, and they still work wonders, especially when served with mashed potatoes!

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sweets

Kartoshka (“Potato” chocolate sponge cake)

I can't call myself a fan of Soviet cuisine, nor do I feel any nostalgia for it—there's no Olivier salad, meat jello (kholodets), or herring "shuba" in our home. But some Soviet pastries?