This year, we decided to do a Celebration of Identity instead of regular Thanksgiving. We regularly hold Celebration of Identity days which means we eat tons of hard-core Soviet-style food. The menu for this year’s Identity Day is:
1. A salad called “Herring in a Fur Coat.”
2. A salad called “Mistress.”
3. A salad called “Olivier.”
4. A cake called “Ho Chi Minh’s House.”
5. A traditional Jewish dish called “Forshmak.” (Forshmak means “pre-taste” in Yiddish.)
6. Eggs stuffed with Mushrooms and caviar.
7. A salad called “Fishes in a Pond.”
These are all real names of very popular Soviet dishes. This will be the unhealthiest meal in the world but it is very tasty to a Soviet palate. I’ve never done Ho Chi Minh’s House and I’m notoriously lousy with cakes but if it comes out at least half well, I will post a picture.
Damn, now I’m curious about recipes. Such strange names some of these dishes have.
LikeLike
Yes, the names are the best. 🙂
LikeLike
IINM Olivier salad is usually called “Russian salad” or “Russian potato salad” in other places (although in Poland it’s called vegetable salad or spring salad). IIRC it was called Russain salad when I had it in Bucharest.
LikeLike
Olivier was a French chef who invented this salad in the XIXth century for Moscow nouveau riches.
If it’s called spring salad in poland, it must have very different ingredients because the way I do it, it’s a very heavy winter dish.
LikeLike
Does this look light to you?
Some people like to cover the whole thing in an extra layer of mayonaise and decorate it :
Usually it’s just called salad (sałatka) or vegetable salad. I always thought maybe the alternate name spring salad was supposed to be a joke, like mizeria (misery salad) which is fresh cucumbers in cream with fresh dill
LikeLike
Jesus. No, even mine looks more spring-like. 🙂
LikeLike
I want to try the cake!
So that Russian colleague of mine came to me the last day and said that she hates my name because it reminds her of the USSR:)
LikeLike
Happy Thanksgiving Clarissa and N!.
LikeLike
Thank you, my friend! Same to you and your daughters.
LikeLike
Thanks Clarissa. This is what daughters suggested for you. They are all 3 with me.
LikeLike