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A
Year of Russian Feasts
By
Catherine Cheremeteff Jones (Jellyroll Press)
When you first pick up A Year of Russian Feasts,
you might picture palatial spreads flanked by ornate
china and silver samovars. But, refreshingly, this
excellent book by Catherine Cheremeteff Jones is about
the power of the people and not the princes of past.
That's
clear from chapter one: Vegetarian Dinner in a Communal
Apartment. Here, Jones shares simple, yet beautiful,
recipes for beet salad with walnuts and garlic, Masha's
vegetable ragout, and two cabbage salads, as they
are staples on most zakuski spreads (the first course
of a Russian meal).
What
Jones—a chef of Russian background trained in
Paris—also shares, and it continues throughout
the book, is her knack for gorgeous writing (so often
an optional ingredient that's lacking in cookbooks).
Pertinent,
enchanting quotes and poems begin her chapters, followed
by passages such as: "We sat down to dinner.
Fresh cilantro added the perfect punch to the ragout
of vegetables. The shredded beet, walnut and garlic
salad, one of my favorites, and a fresh cabbage salad
with vegetables and herbs were exceptionally good.
Vegetarian by choice or necessity, this young family
had managed to create a tasty and ample meal.
"As
a worn, scratchy Ella Fitzgerald tape played in the
background, I sipped my tea and ate store-bought cookies
and Russian chocolates for dessert. The girls were
intoxicated by the presence of dinner guests; their
parents just wanted to sit and talk all night. Before
leaving, Paul and I read, and did our best to translate,
Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat to the girls,
who curled up on our laps. Brushing off our snow-covered
car to go home, I was reminded that a Russian dinner
is not just a bounteous meal, but a celebration of
companionship, generosity and the little things in
life that bring great joy."
The
rest of the vivid chapters mirror Jones's Russian
travels: a tea, a birthday party, a wedding, spring
at the bliny festival, Orthodox Easter services and
feast, mushroom hunting in autumn and a cozy Christmas
(featuring kutya, a sweet porridge akin to rice pudding
including wheat berries, raisins, poppy seeds, almonds
and cinnamon).
RECIPES
—Beet
Salad with Walnuts and Garlic
(Updated:
01/23/08 SB)
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