Enter our worldwide giveaway to win one of two copies of Chesnok: Cooking from My Corner of the Diaspora: Recipes from Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia by Polina Chesnakova. Please note the author's remaining event on our Calendar.

Polina’s cookbooks are special and all are favorites in my collection. I was thrilled to learn of this title. The world chesnok translates to a head of garlic. This gorgeous book is a love letter to the food of the author’s childhood. Born in Ukraine to Russian and Armenian parents from the Republic of Georgia, she grew up cooking and eating at the hips of her mother and aunts.

Chesnok paints a picture of the Soviet diaspora through food, and is for the children of that diaspora, but it is also for anyone looking to expand their palate and pantry and learn the rich history of a people through their most cherished recipes and traditions.

I bought walnut cookie molds (even though I already own this pan) to make the Oreshhki cookies as my first recipe but time has been sparse. I am adding them to my Christmas baking because I also bought all the ingredients!  

Our  features a selection of pages and the following :

There are also ten additional online recipes for our Members to try now.

Eastern European cookbooks are a passion of mine. They remind me of my heritage and how important it is to remember our roots. Polina's latest offering is definitely a keeper.

Special thanks to the publisher for providing two copies of this title in our promotion open to Member worldwide. Entry options include answering the following question in the comments section of this blog post.

Leave a comment on this blog telling us which recipe in the index you would like to make first.

Once you leave your blog comment stating which recipe you would like to make there are three additional options that you can complete for more entries. If you have any questions about this process email me at jenny at eatyourbooks.com directly.

  1. Follow Eat Your Books on Instagram for another entry. Leave a second comment stating you followed and your Instagram name (you may omit your Instagram name if that is set to private, just add "followed").
  2. Follow CookShelf.app on Instagram for another entry. Leave a third comment stating you followed and your Instagram name (you may omit your Instagram name if that is set to private, just add "followed").
  3. Subscribe to the free CookShelf.app Substack for another entry. Leave a fourth comment stating you are subscribed.

Be sure to check your spam filters to receive our email notifications. Prizes can take up to 6 weeks to arrive from the publishers. If you are not already a Member, you can join at no cost. The contest ends at midnight on December 20th, 2025.