I have some photos to share from this past Saturday evening (before we came home to a bit of drama). We got to have dinner with a group of friends at the home of a woman whose Russian mother was visiting from Moscow. Much to our delight, Mom kindly prepared a traditional Russian dinner for us all, which was both a visually beautiful and an absolutely delicious meal!
The meal started with what I think are called pirozhki -- small pies with either meat or cabbage baked inside. You can see them in the background of the first two photos.
After the appetizers we enjoyed some borshch, a very light and tasty beet and vegetable soup. I could have made an entire meal out of just this one course, which was thick with veggies!
After the soup, we enjoyed a delicious winter salad, which was appropriate, since it was the evening of the solstice. This was a meat-vegetable-potato-egg dish that was the most substantial part of the meal. It was a struggle to avoid eating too much as it was so good, but also quite filling and I was trying to pace myself without knowing what to expect next.
The salad was followed by some caviar -- a rare treat! Apparently it appears more regularly on the Russian table, but to me it is quite the delicacy! The caviar was served on buttered bread, so this was bit lighter than the previous course, and made a great transition to the meal's conclusion.
We wrapped up the meal with some very thin crepes, which we rolled and dipped in a fruit whip. It was a wonderful conclusion to an impressive dinner -- one that I very much prefer to the way we end meals in the US. I'm not a big fan of the rich, heavy sweets that most Americans bring out for dessert so I usually skip the final course when eating out (and at home, we don't bother with it at all), but this was very light and tasty and with just a hint of sweetness, so I thought it was just right for the end of the meal.
This the first time I've had a whole meal of authentic Russian cuisine and it really whetted my appetite for more! Of course, it was served with wine (or vodka!), and the company was just as impressive as the food. We really enjoyed the conversation, along with some great stories about life in Moscow. It was a rare holiday season treat. If you ever have the opportunity to sample some Russian food, I highly recommend it!
The meal started with what I think are called pirozhki -- small pies with either meat or cabbage baked inside. You can see them in the background of the first two photos.
After the appetizers we enjoyed some borshch, a very light and tasty beet and vegetable soup. I could have made an entire meal out of just this one course, which was thick with veggies!
After the soup, we enjoyed a delicious winter salad, which was appropriate, since it was the evening of the solstice. This was a meat-vegetable-potato-egg dish that was the most substantial part of the meal. It was a struggle to avoid eating too much as it was so good, but also quite filling and I was trying to pace myself without knowing what to expect next.
The salad was followed by some caviar -- a rare treat! Apparently it appears more regularly on the Russian table, but to me it is quite the delicacy! The caviar was served on buttered bread, so this was bit lighter than the previous course, and made a great transition to the meal's conclusion.
We wrapped up the meal with some very thin crepes, which we rolled and dipped in a fruit whip. It was a wonderful conclusion to an impressive dinner -- one that I very much prefer to the way we end meals in the US. I'm not a big fan of the rich, heavy sweets that most Americans bring out for dessert so I usually skip the final course when eating out (and at home, we don't bother with it at all), but this was very light and tasty and with just a hint of sweetness, so I thought it was just right for the end of the meal.
This the first time I've had a whole meal of authentic Russian cuisine and it really whetted my appetite for more! Of course, it was served with wine (or vodka!), and the company was just as impressive as the food. We really enjoyed the conversation, along with some great stories about life in Moscow. It was a rare holiday season treat. If you ever have the opportunity to sample some Russian food, I highly recommend it!
3 comments:
Oh God.
May I move to Chattanooga and just visit you every day. For the company I assure you and not the, drool, food.
We do our best to keep the food interesting, and the older we get, the better we are at it, if I do say so myself.
When your kids are young and both time and money are in short supply, one can be forgiven for taking short cuts with the food. But eventually (especially once the ol' metabolism starts to slow down), you have to give into the "life is too short to eat uninteresting food" perspective on life.
Of course, the company is fabu (if not a bit surly)! ;-D
Well, I'm 42, don't take up much space and must say, this looks fabulous.
Food porn at it's best. :)
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