Russian Beet Salad

This is a salad my husband loves.  In fact, he entered this one in a international potluck competition at a gathering in Asheville several years ago, and won first place.  He says he ate this a lot in Tashkent, Uzbekistan back in the '90s.  And I know we had a variation of this on our visit to Moscow in 2007.  It's very good, and can be a great complement to other dishes.

Here's a simple recipe:

Boil and peel a few medium-sized beets
Cut them into small strips (or grate them) and put in a big bowl
Let the sliced beets chill in the fridge for at least an hour
Add mayo, a dash of salt and some fresh minced garlic
Mix together, taste, and then adjust ratio of mayo and garlic to suit your taste

If you need something more exact, here's a recipe for an easy Russian beet salad. 

Here's the write-up from the competition in 2008:

I do want to recognize the winners of the international potluck food cook-off. They were awarded fun prizes at Zambra's.  Well, those who attended claimed prizes!  Belated congratulations to the following:

Most #1 Votes
Russian Beet Salad, yours truly, 4 votes
Moroccan Lentil Soup, James 2 votes
French Crepes, Tracey, 2 votes

Most Total Votes
Russian Beet Salad, very yours truly, 8 votes
Japanese Aveline Kushi, Lesley Anna, 7 votes
Lebanese Fatoosh, Sarah, 7 votes

Just to show how interesting Asheville is, the people there (at the cook-off) were from Alabama, Long Island, Brooklyn, Canada, South Florida, North Carolina, the U.K., Chicago, Oregon, etc.,  

Red Velvet Cake

This was my first ever Red Velvet Cake.  Everything made from scratch.  I used a friend's recipe, but the cream cheese frosting was something I adapted from a few ideas I got online.  My husband and friends said the cake was delish.