Every winter, I throw a Russian dinner party. When Russians have dinner parties, they have LOTS of little salad plates all over the table with a large variety of "salads" (mostly mayonnaise based). These are the 2013 Russian party salads (and other foods):
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| Cabbage salad with dill. The only healthy salad. |
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| On the left is what I call Korean Potato Salad, with a caramelized onion and garlic vinaigrette. On the right is a crab and rice salad with corn. |
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| Piroshki, stuffed with pork and onions, are the star of the show whether I want them to be or not. |
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The salad on the left is Frantsuskiy ("French") Salad. The sections on the outside are julienned carrots, cabbage, cucumbers, beets, shoestring french fries, and seasoned beef. In the middle is a dollop (sounds better than "glob") of mayonnaise. After it makes an appearance on the table, it gets mixed all together into a tasty purple salad with surprising bites of fry and warm beef. It's a Fath family favorite.
The salad on the right is a Korean carrot salad.
Obviously there would be at least two Korean salads at a Russian party. :o) |
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| This is one of the weirder Russian salads. It's called Mimosa Salad, named after the delicate yellow and white flower rather than the brunch beverage. There is a layer of mashed tuna (it should be sardines) encased in a mount of potato/boiled egg white/onion mixture, and garnished with grated egg yolk. This party was soon after that meteor hit Russia somewhere, so I used an extra egg yolk to look like a meteor (see the blurry little "craters?") and dill fronds to look like little trees bent over from the meteor. Weirdos. |
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| Another Fath favorite! We call these "El Dorado Tomatoes," named after the restaurant where we had them. Imagine this goodness: a thick slice of tomato, topped with a layer of garlicky mayo, topped with a layer of white cheese, topped with a single pea as a garnish. Does it get any better than that? |
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| The most classic Russian salad: Olivye. Potatoes, eggs, carrots, pickles, dill, and, of course, mayonnaise. |
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| Layered honey cake (medovnik) for dessert! Long ago I started a post on the making of this cake, but never finished it. It will come eventually. |
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| Look at those lovely layers! |
In past years, I made an entree as well, but eventually learned that everyone really just wants to eat lots of salads and piroshki. For the 2014 party, however, I am planning to unlearn that lesson and make borscht as well. Is that how you spell borscht?
