Russian Tea Time Restaurant, Chicago IL

When Joe was awarded a dinner for two for an excellent sales week, we knew where we wanted to go: Russian Tea Time in downtown Chicago. It's one of our favorite, romantic restaurants in the city, especially in winter-time when we're craving rich, hearty dinners. Russian Tea Time is on 77 E. Adams, just around the block from the Art Institute on Michigan Avenue. It serves a mouth-watering variety of classic Russian and Central Asian foods, and the tea menu is larger than a wine list in an upscale restaurant (our favorite is the coriander tea, a fruity, fresh blend).

The decor is just the way I'd picture an old-world Russian restuarant, if the restaurant was located in a storefront in a big city. The glistening antique samovars, cushy red booths, and balalaika music set a romantic, comfortable mood, and all the staff we've met, except the busboys, are from Russia or the Ukraine. If you choose a vodka tasting flight, it comes with a piece of dark brown bread, a gherkin, and instructions on how to take a shot the Russian way. Na zdorovje!

Joe and I had visited the Art Institute on our engagement anniversary, December 20, and decided to make reservations at this restaurant afterwards. Everything is good, even their beet caviar, though ordinarily I treat beets like you'd treat toxic waste. Since then, we have been trying to re-create the items on their tasting platter, and I'll be posting our recipes here. Hope you enjoy them!


Russian Tea Time platter for two: appetizers.
Clockwise from top: Tashkent carrot salad, stuffed mushroom, beet caviar, cracked wheat (tabbouleh) salad, apple-beet vinaigrette salad, chick pea spread, beef dumplings (pelmeni).

Russian Tea Time platter for two: entrees.
Clockwise from top: chicken pozharski, beef stroganoff, stuffed cabbage, Moldavian meatballs, rice pilaf.

Related Recipes:

• Beet Vinaigrette Salad
• Beef Stroganoff
• Tashkent Carrot Salad
• Parjoale - Moldavian Meatballs
• Roasted Beet Caviar

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Santa's Whiskers Christmas Cookies

These are my favorite Christmas cookies, and they’re also pretty easy to make. My mom taught me to bake these when I was a kid.

Makes about 60

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup red candied cherries, finely chopped
1/2 cup green candied cherries, finely chopped
3/4 cup pecans, finely chopped
1 cup flaked coconut

Directions

In a large mixer bowl beat butter till softened. Add sugar and beat till fluffy. Add milk and vanilla and beat well. Add flour and beat until well mixed. Stir in cherries and pecans by hand.

Shape into three 7″ logs. Pour coconut onto two sheets of aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Roll logs in coconut to coat. Wrap and chill for several hours.

Preheat oven to 375F. Cut into 1/4″ thick slices. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake about 12 minutes or until edges are browned. Remove and cool.

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Vegetable Fried Rice

One of the best things about fried rice is that it's one of those dishes you can throw together using whatever leftovers are in your fridge. When Meatless Monday rolled around, I found a container of cooked green beans, a couple of ears of grilled corn, some broccoli that was nearly past its prime, a limp green onion, and half a red pepper. In the spirit of reducing our meat intake and being thrifty with our food budget, we whipped together a fairly hearty dinner. Use any vegetables that strike your fancy when making your own version; surely this is one of the reasons fried rice was created!

Ingredients

2 cups white or brown rice

4 cups water

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup broccoli, cut into small florets

1/2 medium red bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup green beans, sliced

1 green onion, chopped

1/2 cup corn

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp sesame oil

1/3 cup soy sauce

3 tbsp chili garlic sauce

2 tbsp honey

1/4 cup chicken broth

Directions

Pour water and rice into a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 20 minutes for white rice or 40 minutes for brown rice.

Heat oil in a wok until it shimmers. Add carrots and broccoli and stir-fry 2 minutes. Add pepper, beans, onion, corn, and garlic, and fry an additional five minutes, or until crisp-tender. Stir in rice, cover, and reduce heat to low.

Whisk together remaining ingredients. Pour over rice and mix well. Heat through before serving.

Serves 4.

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Greek Meat Rub

Joe: "I developed this meat rub and seasoning mix after being unsatisfied with commercial blends. If you want to start out with fresh ingredients and dry them yourself, double the initial amounts, and then dry slowly in the oven at 175-200 degrees for several hours."

Ingredients

1 tablespoon oregano

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried mint

Directions

Mix together well, and place in a dry sealed container. Rub on meats about 30 minutes before roasting or grilling. Add to vegetables before steaming or sauteeing.

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Peking Duck

Angela: "This recipe has one of the most interesting preparation steps we have ever tried - wait till you see the work-in-progress photos! The key to really good Peking Duck is a crispy, sweet skin, and though the steps are a little odd, it's not hard to do. Actually, the most difficult part was getting the rice wrappers to warm without getting stuck together or breaking. I think we will try a different brand next time."

Joe: "We combined recipes from four different Asian cookbooks to create this one. The taste is unbelievably good. It was the perfect meal to celebrate our seventh wedding anniversary on September fifth, and we paired it with a bottle of mellow Malbec."

Ingredients

• 1 4 1/2 to 5 lb duck
• 6 cups boiling water 
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 cup hot water
• 2 tablespoons orange peel
• 2 tablespoons red vinegar

• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 10 scallions or green onion stalks, julienned
• 1/2 large cucumber, julienned
• 2/3 cup hoisin sauce 
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil 
• Chinese pancakes

Directions
Cut off duck wings at second joint, remove excess fat and any innards, rinse and dry well. Place the duck in a large bowl or pan and pour the boiling water over the bird. Let set for five minutes, then drain, reserving the boiling liquid.

Mix together honey, vinegar, water, and orange peel in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove orange peel and combine with salt, sugar, garlic, onion, and five-spice powder. Add the boiling liquid to the reserved liquid from step 1.

Using kitchen twine, loop under each of the wings so that it holds up the duck for hanging. Tie up the duck in a drafty place, or hang in front of a fan. Place a bowl underneath the bird. (Note: we hung ours from a plant hanger in the living room, but any hook or doorknob will do. Be sure to make your bird pet-proof, if you have pets that love poultry as much as our cats do.)

Pour the liquid over the bird and let it drain into the bowl for about five minutes. Repeat five times. Discard the liquid and let the bird dry for at least 1, preferably 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 350. Take down duck and remove twine. Fill the cavity with the spice mixture. Tie or sew shut, if desired.

Put roasting pan on lower oven rack and fill with 2-3 inches of water. Oil a poultry rack and place in the pan with the bird on top, breast side down. Roast duck for 1 hour, basting occasionally.

Turn duck side up and roast until dark brown, about 25 minutes per pound in total. 

Carve duck into thin slices. Mix hoisin with sesame oil and 1 tablespoon hot water. Heat pancakes or steam them. Serve by spreading hoisin sauce on the pancakes, and laying the cucumber, onions, and duck slices on top, then rolling up the pancake.

Serves 6-8.

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