Any good russian recipes for a dinner party?

[zaskar]

Does anyone know any good Russian recipes that could be used for a dinner party? App., main course and a desert?

Thanks,

Z

[Carrot Top]

Kulebiac or coulibiac is so darn traditional that it leaps immediately to mind.

Not a bad thing, either.

Served with a clear borscht and some good vodka, I'd be happy.

[Rehovot]

How about...blini?

You could top with smoked salmon, if there's no caviar on hand....

(I'm sure a Russian would find this heretical, but oh, well....)

[anzu]

Since no one mentioned desserts or appetizers, my answer will deal with them.

As far as appetizers go, zakuski are Russian appetizers. They are the equivalent of mezze or antipasti, there are numerous varieties of these, and serving just one thing as an appetizer is a less Russian thing to do. Ideally, you should be offering a selection. Try looking in the 'appetizers' section of the second link I give below. You could try, for example, eggplant 'caviar' (nothing to do with caviar, it's mashed eggplant salad, along the lines of baba ghanouj), vinegret (the original 'Russian salad').

There are also some ideas for zakuski here.

Pate would also count as good zakuski material, and so would the blinis mentioned above.

All should, of course, be washed down with vodka. Russian etiquette demands that a bottle of vodka, once opened, should be finished. No wimpy small quantities of vodka here.

Desserts.

These are suggested keeping in mind what is in season at the moment, and choosing things which can be made ahead with minimal effort (important especially if you ARE going to serve a lot of zakuski)

Sharlotka, , i.e. Russian apple charlotte which, while invented in France, is extremely popular in Russia. The recipe here would be even better if the bread were not white, but instead sourish rye bread.

Alternatively: kisel, made with any sourish berry of your choice, no need for them to be the ones given here, but they should ideally be sour. The amount of cornstarch in this recipe might be a bit excessive. Some people like their kisel quite thick, but I personally think it better if just very slightly thickened. Serve well chilled with generous amounts of cream.

This is popular in Germany, too, under the name 'Kaltschale'. If you search for that as a keyword, you'll probably get more hits and ideas for it (though I haven't looked to verify this).

Or: Gogol mogol. Not the recipe given on this site (that recipe is NOT gogol mogol) Try this one instead (scroll down to find it). Essentially, it's the Russian version of sabayon/zabaglione, however its also very popular in Russia.

[Carrot Top]

Yes. I would make a meal of eggplant caviar if it were here in front of me. Oh yes.

[piazzola]

yes ruscuisine.com

or russianfoods.com

or cookery art ru http://cookbook.rin.ru/index_e.html

[Hector]

Would like to add my own very great Borsch!

Carl's Lovely Lamb Borsch from RecipEgullet