Families often have secrets they hope the world never discovers. When I was growing up, my family had a big one. It was our love of a super indulgent Volga German dish we called “clays.”

It is sinfully decadent in its use of both browned butter and heavy cream to make the sauce, which tops a delicious duo of carbs in the form of boiled potato cubes and flour-and-egg dumplings.

Any time someone new was set to marry into the family, we debated whether to introduce our new in-law-to-be to the dish, worried they might be turned off by the gluttony. But while our “clays” won’t be winning any medals in the health food awards, this simple yet extravagant dish has always received two thumbs up from everyone we’ve eventually shared it with.

About two decades ago we discovered that we’d botched o

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