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zellm's review
2.0
Solid recipes, good stories and history lessons, and well laid out instructions. Felt like it was a rose-tinted version of events on the USSR and only focused on positives, rather than being realistic.
moomin333's review
4.0
beautiful, funny, interesting recipes and i love the anecdotes. would definitely make a few of these, especially the awesome section on infused spirits and the short rib borscht looks phenomenal. i have been lucky enough to eat at kachka twice in portland. yes, i did immediately buy a pelmini mold on amazon...
harukacrush's review
5.0
My family grew up in the Soviet Union so I grew up eating a lot of the food Morales writes about in her book, cooked by my grandmothers, aunts, their friends and my mom. When we came to the States, Russian food was something I felt really embarrassed about, comparing it to what I saw other kids around me eating and thinking about how weird our food was in comparison. We ate things like sauerkraut, boiled beef tongue, liver patés, pickled herring and beets, various types of dried and canned fish and pickled tomatoes. I decided that cooking Soviet food wasn’t a skill I needed to learn. My family slowly adapted to a more “American” diet and we started having less and less of the foods we grew up with.
Years later I saw this book on a shelf in Portland Oregon and just the brilliantly colored image on the cover without reading the text drew me in immediately. It was so familiar! I looked at the cover for a minute and thought “well, this all looks very Russian” then I read the actual title. Leafing through Kachka, its a genuinely stunning book. The details in every photograph, the personal stories, the familiarity around her experiences around food, family and cooking tools (its been years since I’ve heard the words “mangal”, “kompot”, and “pelmenitsa”).
What really hit home for me were the recipes themselves. She advocates for the use of the freshest possible ingredients, salting your own salmon roe and in general putting out more updated versions of recipes that have been replicated for decades (usually using not so fresh ingredients because of what was available at the time).
But I only got this book after I went and experienced her restaurant in Portland for myself. I’m not going to write a restaurant review but I will say that it was amazing. It captured so many familiar nostalgic Soviet elements down to the last detail. (Although it was kind of amusing watching people suspiciously eyeing their “kholodetz”). This experience along with this wonderful book completely renewed my perspective on Soviet food, making me see it in a refreshed way where I am no longer embarrassed by my culture and embracing the weirdness of the food that I love to eat. I’m stoked that Morales has found a way to bring these recipes into the mainstream.
Years later I saw this book on a shelf in Portland Oregon and just the brilliantly colored image on the cover without reading the text drew me in immediately. It was so familiar! I looked at the cover for a minute and thought “well, this all looks very Russian” then I read the actual title. Leafing through Kachka, its a genuinely stunning book. The details in every photograph, the personal stories, the familiarity around her experiences around food, family and cooking tools (its been years since I’ve heard the words “mangal”, “kompot”, and “pelmenitsa”).
What really hit home for me were the recipes themselves. She advocates for the use of the freshest possible ingredients, salting your own salmon roe and in general putting out more updated versions of recipes that have been replicated for decades (usually using not so fresh ingredients because of what was available at the time).
But I only got this book after I went and experienced her restaurant in Portland for myself. I’m not going to write a restaurant review but I will say that it was amazing. It captured so many familiar nostalgic Soviet elements down to the last detail. (Although it was kind of amusing watching people suspiciously eyeing their “kholodetz”). This experience along with this wonderful book completely renewed my perspective on Soviet food, making me see it in a refreshed way where I am no longer embarrassed by my culture and embracing the weirdness of the food that I love to eat. I’m stoked that Morales has found a way to bring these recipes into the mainstream.
nxg3ofb654jrfz0h7rpsmmws's review
3.0
Has a wide range of recipes, just a very very heavy emphasis on meats.
As someone trying to reduce the amount of meat they eat, I would say that made 80% of the recipes immediately uninteresting to me.
As someone trying to reduce the amount of meat they eat, I would say that made 80% of the recipes immediately uninteresting to me.
irena_smith's review
5.0
An unapologetically nostalgic all-in dive into Soviet nostalgia. This, I think, is how most former Soviet residents (my family included) would cook if they didn't have to stand in long lines with an avos'ka (a net bag whose name literally means "what-if?") hoping to "get" whatever's on offer—with gusto, joy, and no regard for salt, fat, or cholesterol. Ate at Kachka years ago while at Portland and fell in love with the hospitality, the Soviet-kitsch decor, and the Baba Yaga cocktail (and yeah, all the food, too). And now this gift of a book—not sure if I'm going to make any of the recipes, but reading through them—and Morales' sparkly prose—was pure pleasure.
assaphmehr's review
5.0
This book is (almost) as much a memoir as it is a cookbook, but it will certainly make you fall in love with Russian cooking.
With sections ranging from drinks and pickles, through homestyle and BBQ cooking, to impressing guests at parties, this book covers a lot of ground. There are both traditional and regional recipes, from classic favourites to soviet era 'we-grew-up-on-this'. Each section and recipe are accompanied by a short introduction which is fun to read in itself, with clear instructions and enticing pictures.
Morales is a restaurateur and knows her kitchen, but be aware that the cuisine represent what the daughter of émigrés from the 70's would have experienced. This slants the selection of recipes into the more Belarusian region and Soviet eras (some of my Russian friends raised eyebrows at a few recipes and techniques, leading to spirited discussions and a rabbit-hole of food history), and the recipes have been adapted to a western environment (which isn't always bad, especially for those of us not having the whole day to cook).
I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about Russian cooking, and have some fun doing it. It's not a traditional cookbook, but the recipes are clear and easy to recreate at home - all the extras just make it a joy to read for itself.
--
[a:Assaph Mehr|14422472|Assaph Mehr|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1596954987p2/14422472.jpg], author of [b:Murder In Absentia|29500700|Murder In Absentia (Felix the Fox, #1)|Assaph Mehr|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1457914061l/29500700._SY75_.jpg|46845657]: A story of Togas, Daggers, and Magic - for lovers of Ancient Rome, Murder Mysteries, and Urban Fantasy.
With sections ranging from drinks and pickles, through homestyle and BBQ cooking, to impressing guests at parties, this book covers a lot of ground. There are both traditional and regional recipes, from classic favourites to soviet era 'we-grew-up-on-this'. Each section and recipe are accompanied by a short introduction which is fun to read in itself, with clear instructions and enticing pictures.
Morales is a restaurateur and knows her kitchen, but be aware that the cuisine represent what the daughter of émigrés from the 70's would have experienced. This slants the selection of recipes into the more Belarusian region and Soviet eras (some of my Russian friends raised eyebrows at a few recipes and techniques, leading to spirited discussions and a rabbit-hole of food history), and the recipes have been adapted to a western environment (which isn't always bad, especially for those of us not having the whole day to cook).
I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about Russian cooking, and have some fun doing it. It's not a traditional cookbook, but the recipes are clear and easy to recreate at home - all the extras just make it a joy to read for itself.
--
[a:Assaph Mehr|14422472|Assaph Mehr|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1596954987p2/14422472.jpg], author of [b:Murder In Absentia|29500700|Murder In Absentia (Felix the Fox, #1)|Assaph Mehr|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1457914061l/29500700._SY75_.jpg|46845657]: A story of Togas, Daggers, and Magic - for lovers of Ancient Rome, Murder Mysteries, and Urban Fantasy.
briface's review
4.0
Beautiful cookbook highlighting recipes from the author's restaurant in PDX that I would now like to visit. I am not that familiar with Russian cuisine, but the cookbook made me want to try more recipes. Would check out again
dray's review
4.0
Quite a book. I eat very little food from this large region and it is tastefully presented with a lot of cultural information. Well done!