Comments on: why we’re afraid to cook + salad olivier

By: Nina

Nina — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 02:24:40 +0000

I always thought this was a persian dish! My family says it with a thick accent- I thought it was ‘Salad Dolovi’e”! My mom used to make this dish almost every friday so that when people came and went all weekend there would be food in the fridge that didn’t need preparing- just pita and mustard. It is so sweet to see this on your site that I love.
Also, this is EXACTLY how the rest of my family makes it- my mom omits the peas.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:24:50 +0000

You`d think I`d have lost my fear of cooking when I was pushed into a situation where I had to cook breakfast for 70-90 people everyday, alone, with little cooking experience, none of it professional.
Wrong. My most recent freeze up moment was when I screwed up a meringue for a large family dinner at my boyfriend`s place…how come I can make a perfect meringue to feed 90 people in a tent (oh, right…that breakfast cooking job was in a remote work camp in Northern Canada, where the kitchen is a tent in the middle of the woods), but I can`t in a regular kitchen for 14 people? I almost gave up completely, retreated to the nearest bakery to buy something chocolatey, but I didn`t, and the resulting Pavlova was worth it. From now on, I`m just going to go for it.
Deb, I`d also like to thank you for all the inspiration you supply us with. Thanks to your LOVELY wedding cake photos and recipe, my sister got a homemade wedding cake for her reception this August, and I learned how to…well, make wedding cakes! It was a little nerve-wracking, but so much fun!

By: Annelise

Annelise — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:57:45 +0000

Hi, I am a fairly new reader to this site and was so happy to find this article. Just last night, I was inspired by your nectarine tart, but intimidated by making my own dough. But your beautiful photography convinced me to try it and it turned out wonderfully. Yes..I burned the edges, but my fear of the pie crust is now gone. Thank you.

By: Nina

Nina — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:03:28 +0000

First of all, thank you so much for this wonderful website and tons of great recipes – it’s a life saver for me…

I’ve never heard of vegetarian version of Olivier salad (I’m from Moscow originally.) We add sausages (same kind as they sell in Russian stores here) or “doctorskaya” kielbasa (I think it’s similar to Italian “mortadella” (sp?). Also it’s supposed to be presented as a dome in a bowl (rather than flat) and we like to put a small “mushroom” on top (1/3 tomato on top of half an an egg.) If you add chicken and apple then it’s Warsawian salad. Judging by your MIL recipes, your husband is probably from Ukraine/odessa, right? (They tend refer to eggplants as “siniye” while we call them “baklazhany.”) And yes, I was really surprised that local (NY) Persian restaurants carry perfect versions of Olivier…

By: Yana

Yana — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 10:53:59 +0000

Hi Deb,

I’m an equally quarter Jewish/Russian/Georgian/Mordovian and live in Azerbaijan.
Russian food is extremely popular here, although naturally have been slightly modified over years.

In case you might want to try it, here’s Azeri version, which is a MUST at any family do/fancy dinner/wedding etc:

We dice vegetables quite finely (potato/carrot cube should not be more that 6-7 mil), we add equal amount of pickled gerkins and fresh cucumber, finely chop onions, some people add radishes, and the egg potato ratio is 1 large egg to 1 medium potato. Total list of ingredients is: potatoes, carrots, eggs, canned peas, gherkins, cucumbers, green onion, dill, parsley, radishes. Adding some sort of meat is a must in our version, whether it is kielbasa, chicken or ham. End result is to die for, although does not taste quite like potato salad.

I have got to say I am totally in love with your site, have tried quite a few recipes already and have got chocolate caramel cheesecake in the oven as we speak!!!

By: rootcanaler

rootcanaler — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 06:56:26 +0000

persians often serve salad olivier at the new year’s celebratory picnic or other large gatherings but we cook the salad with chicken. food of life by najmieh batmanglij haa a nice recipe (salad olivieh, page 30) spelled olivieh! i suggest cooking the chicken whole by roasting it with the skin on and then removing the skin, and rather than chopping the chicken into cubes, tearing it for a more rustic and appetizing appearance and texture. i spend my morning eating breakfast and slowly sipping my coffee with your site and ree drummonds pioneer woman. thank you!

By: lsaabel

lsaabel — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 23:34:52 +0000

finally! My brothers and I have been searching for years for my mother’s potato salad recipe – who knew that it was salad olivier? I think the only difference is that our mother put some pickle juice in the salad, but we could never figure out the measurements. Thanks for sharing this!

By: Dusan

Dusan — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 20:31:40 +0000

Dear Sir,

Please browse to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_salad

There are (certainly) NO potatoes in the original recipe. And no one knows the original dressing too.

Otherwise, I approve of your site and attitude to cooking. Very good …

Sincerely: Dusan Jovanovic

By: clayton

clayton — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:34:34 +0000

while this is “salad olivier” and not “potato salad,” this is still the best potato salad i have ever had/made. even better than MY mother’s. i’m normally horribly impatient and can’t stand to chop and dice everything the same size, but i had a bit of extra time on my hands today so i did. and it paid off. delicious. :)

By: taash

taash — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 04:44:04 +0000

My kitchen phobia? Swiss broyage. I attempted it once, when I was @ 14, and it was a dismal failure. Never since. I bake yeast bread frequently (love the CI Dutch oven version), have no trouble with phyllo, but SB has me buffaloed. Maybe it’s time to have another shot at it.