It started with a chance comment from my friend Bryan that his knowledge of food in the Slavic countries north of the Middle East was limited, and that as far as he knew the people of Russia silently starved. I was in the room, and our friend John Morse was there as well. As I prepared a reply, John quickly said that there a lot of really interesting Russian food and that Bryan and his wife should have a Russian feast at my house!
So I adjusted my reply from a somewhat dry anthropological review of Russian food ways to a hearty invitation while I mentally scanned the calendar and my opportunities to get the the right markets. I enjoy putting on these feasts, but they take planning and shopping, and the holidays were approaching. The Russian feast in particular has many components that are unfamiliar to western diners, so it can have great impact for culinary explorers if it's planned, supplied, prepared, and executed carefully.
It took a few weeks, but we finally did it last night, 17 November 2024. Guests were Bryan Gregory and his wife Bridget, and our friends Don Nicholson and his wife Jen. Don and I have known each other for 25 years, but this was his first feast at our house.
We had five courses: