Russian Night, or Who knew caraway had such a noble purpose?

We recently got together with some friends for "Russian night."

What you see here in the photo is caraway-infused vodka (served in actual Russian glasses one of our friends had picked up on her travels).

Really, it was better than straight vodka ought to be. You drink it chilled, and the smell and taste is amazing. It isn't until after you swallow that you realize you are drinking undiluted vodka.

The menu...
H'ors d'ouevre
Smoked salmon (Alaskan, but we figured since you can see Russia from Alaska, that was close enough)
Chopped egg paté (Iaichnyi Pashtet)
Russian potato salad (a la Mendoza)
Beverage: Caraway-infused (tminnaia) vodka

First course
Borscht
Beverage: Old Rasputin stout beer

Main course
Chicken Satsivi (Tsyplionok Satsivi)
Hungarian wine (it's as close to Russian as we could get here)

Dessert
Blini, with various toppings including honey and preserves
Tea

I had actually tried to Google for info on Russian cuisine, but I didn't love the resources I was finding. So to the trusty library went I, and I found The Art of Russian Cuisine, by Anne Volokh with Mavis Manus. (I also found another book, Joyce Toomre's adaptation and translation of the Russian cookbook A Gift to Young Housewives, by Elena Molokhovets, who was sort of the 19th-century Russian Escoffier. Amazing, but not useful for our purposes.)

B and I made the egg paté, the chicken Satsivi, and the caraway-infused vodka. I would definitely make any of these again. The egg paté turned out to basically be a pretty typical egg salad, chopped really finely, with an emphasis on dill. I did follow the recipe explicitly in the arrangement: a mound of egg in the center with slices of cucumber, oil-cured olives, and sprigs of parsley alternating around the mound. The chicken Satsivi was awesome -- both texture and flavor. The Satsivi sauce is, as the Volokh book describes it, "a cold walnut sauce whose exquisite bouquet enhances poultry, fish, or vegetables." We settled on it partly just because it is recommended to serve it room temperature -- an ideal quality if you are carrying it to someone else's home for dinner.

Tminnaia Vodka (Caraway Seed Vodka), from The Art 0f Russian Cuisine

2 tablespoons caraway seeds
1 quart vodka

Mix the caraway seeds and vodka, seal, and leave for one week or more at room temperature. Strain through several layers of cheesecloth [we used a coffee filter], reseal, and refrigerate before serving.

Everyone's contributions were delish and we had a great time. I'm only sorry I ended up being too tired to stay and have a postprandial glass of tminnaia vodka!

As always with this kind of themed meal, I ended up learning heaps about a culture and cuisine I previously had known very little about.

And let's hear it for libraries!
(See, the internet is simply no substitute for books.)