Food

Party Food 'Po-Russki'

Most of my English-speaking friends think that I celebrate Christmas on the wrong day. While they are tucking into their turkey on December 25th, I am still finishing my university exams and my mother is importuning nearby grocery stores with her enormous shopping list. Why? Because for me, and for most Russians, we celebrate Christmas according to the Orthodox calendar, meaning that Christmas really falls on January 7th. Moreover, although we, as Russians, do know about Catholic Christmas, and respect this holiday, New Year is much more important.

There are ‘Western-oriented’ Russians – those who travel abroad, those married to Westerners, my generation – who celebrate Christmas twice, but the majority of Russians, brought up in the atheistic Soviet Union, think of New Year as being more ‘sacred’. These Russians buy a tree not for Christmas, but for New Year.

Food-wise, Russians start planning their New Year’s Eve menu in early December. Most of us still adhere to traditional Russian cuisine, but more and more Russians are adding ‘foreign’ food. Consequently, on our New Years’ table there will be traditional Russian Salad Olivier, Herring under Fur, and then also French foie gras, Georgian dolma, and Italian stuffed ravioli.

A New Year’s Ritual

A little before midnight, the Russian president will appear on television, to wish his fellow countrymen a happy new year. This is the signal for the whole nation to start making ready for the all-important midnight ritual.

At the stroke of midnight, Russians will open a bottle of champagne; everybody at the party will write a wish on a piece of paper, set fire to it, drop the ashes into their glass, and knock the champagne back, all in one go. All of this has to be achieved before the chimes have finished.

Afterwards, many people will make their way to Red Square and the Moscow River, from where they will watch the fireworks.

Appetizers:

Blini with caviar	Crab meat salad
Salad Olivier Salad Olivier is often also called ‘Russian Salad,’ but in fact it was created by a French chef, Lucien Olivier, at his Hermitage restaurant in Moscow, in the 1860s	Babushka’s piroshki
	Cheese salad served on a slice of tomato Mixed cheese and vegetable canape
Marinated Vegetables

Main Course:

Suckling pig Stuffed chicken with mushrooms, onions and cheese served with mashed potatoes and vegetable	Plov (rice with meat and vegetables)

Dessert:

Pavlova In 1935, the chef of the Hotel Esplanade in Perth, Western Australia, Herbert Sachse, created the Pavlova to celebrate the visit of the great Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova.

Fruit:

Persimmon