6th of September
You’d think nothing would be more disturbing – as dinners go – than being served grasshoppers and squirrels to eat. But you’d be wrong.
Having Premier Putin open Idit’s apartment door was much worse, and scared the bejeezus out of me.
Well, Idit in a Putin mask. But it was still bloody creepy.
Aaanyway. It’s Idit’s turn to host, and after her triumph with the Monaco Casino, our expectations were high.
We were not disappointed.
Though I think her initial plan was to have a Dracula-themed Romanian dinner (Transylvania), Idit ended up taking us further east, to Mother Russia:
The table was laid with Champaign flutes adorned with tiny Matryoshka’s, and menus on each plate sporting the Soviet Hammer & Sickle, written in Cyrillic alphabet . The entire playlist of Russia’s Eurovision songs served as a soundtrack (I protested but was immediately shot down by Dorottya & Lianne).
She started us off with beautiful, light Blini (fluffy buttermilk crapes) served with sour cream, salmon roe and seaweed ‘Caviar’ , and a sweet version with cranberry preserve, accompanied by shots of vodka (British vodka, which was surprisingly good and really smooth).
In all honesty – I could have just had these all night… the mouth-watering saltiness of the caviar, with the freshness of the sour cream and the mild sweetness of the blini was so perfect… but there was so much more goodness to come:
As a middle dish/ second starter we had delicious, succulent stuffed cabbage, alongside little piroschki or Pelmeni in butter-fried onion. I arrived in time to help with those – so I can testify that they were really fiddly to make, even with the form-grid. But they were worth it (Shapo Idit!); and of course, no Russian meal could be complete without Olivier salad!
We were rather full after this, but the mains was yet to be served: deeply aromatic Beef Stroganoff made by Idit’s hubby, Oliver, served on buckwheat (a grain more common in Russia than rice). It was so good, so we ate it despite being stuffed to the brim.
Mercifully, Idit made a small yet punchy dessert: Chocolate Salami: dense dark-chocolate ganache with bits of biscuit and walnut, chilled, rolled, and sliced. It went very well with light tea served in perfect little cups.
What can I say? By the end we were all thoroughly happy, if quite immobile. It was delicious, authentic, and shared with the best bunch of people.
Next week it’s Lianne’s turn with S, and she’s currently hovering between Slovenia, Scotland, and Spain. I can’t wait!
