Blinchika (cheese blintzes)

Growing up, blinchika was my favorite family recipe. It's really intense to make - my mom, brothers, dad, really all of us burn ourselves each time (true of almost all our family recipes I've realized over time) - takes a bit of learning and time, but my husband agrees is well worth it.

I'd request this almost every year for my birthday, otherwise, it was made on very rare occasions. The recipe is from my maternal grandmother's family, who were Ukranian. I don't know too much about my grandmother - just that her and my grandfather eloped (he was Hungarian and Jewish, so they were ostracized from their families for a while) - I do know that she was an amazing cook. My mom learned and wrote down as much as possible over the years, and this is one of several recipes that stood the test of time thanks to her. After my grandmother passed away, when my mom was visiting her father, she made him a few which brought him to tears thinking of his late wife. 

The recipe differs from most blintzes in that they're a little lighter, and, most importantly, they are rolled, ends open, not folded.

I've only ever found one similar type of blintz in a local Russian supermarket, but even then, the ends were folded in.

If you ever want to try it - be very careful when flipping the pancakes, expect to have seared fingertips, and that your first pancake is typically a wash. I'm not really sure if it's possible to make without a few lessons... It's definitely one of those old school recipes where you know it's right when "it tastes right" or "you know, it looks right" (words I hated hearing from my mom when I was learning - what does that taste like "oh, you know... I'll help you in a minute