Even in the U.S., heading out to the vegetable garden is part of a Russian’s DNA; in her cookbook, Kachka, A Return to Russian Cooking, Portland-based Bonnie Frumkin Morales recalls her childhood, going out to farms in the suburbs of Chicago to pick vegetables for pickling. In Russia, not all vegetables get used in salads—here, horseradish adds a kick to vodka.
Steep the root pieces in a quart jar of vodka for a week.
Strain, and enjoy.