First week back from our vacations!  It was kind of a gloomy day in Orlando, and only a few of us could attend.  

The meal wasn’t awful, but it also wasn’t close to a contender for the best.  

..The Plate..

I made a pork stew called Vereshchaka, served with buckwheat pancakes, and a Belorussian “burger” inspired by Burgers Here and There.  Danielle made a Borshch, and Julie made a loaf of rye bread. 

..Vereshchaka..

The pork stew would have been amazing if I had picked a milder beer.  I used Trader Joe’s Lager and for some reason it had a strong metallic taste.  It overpowered the flavor.  So sad.  It was edible, and not bad when ate with all the other stuff, but still disappointed me.  I also made buckwheat pancakes to serve with it, and those also came out a little weird. Photographed below is my final pancake which came out the best. 

..Belorussian Burger..

These were pretty good.  I made a pork patty from a package of Gimme Lean, and mixed in some fresh onions.  On top of the patties were a draniki (potato pancake) I made fresh with potato and onion. Layered atop of that, sauerkraut, sauteed mushrooms and dollop on sour cream. 

..Borshch..

This was tasty, but Danielle said she pured the potatoes, and regretted it afterwards.  I love a good beet. 😛 

..Rye Bread..

Julie loves to bake, so she baked us this rye bread to go with the borshch soup.  Yummy. 

CUPCAKES! 

Okay, totally not having anything to do with Belarus, but Julie made some cupcakes to celebrate her daughters upcoming birthday.  Yay!  They were delish.  

Short and sweet this week….