EDIBLE REFLECTIONS
Celebrating the evolution of my family’s Thanksgiving meal.
WRITTEN AND PHOTOGRAPHED
BY YULIYA PATSAY
W hat I love about being Russian, Jewish, and growing up in America is that my family celebrated Every. Single. Holiday.
International Women’s Day? Buy flowers, pamper the ladies, and throw a feast! Hanukkah? Peek inside a synagogue and ready yourself for eight days of merriment! Flag Day? Hoist ’em up and drink ’til you see stars and stripes!
When I was a kid I thought all this celebrating was because my parents were eager to embrace our new country, immersing themselves in American culture while remaining mindful of our Russian roots and Jewish traditions. Now that I’m a little older and wiser I realize they just like to party.
When we first adopted the American holidays, including Thanksgiving, my parents would invite friends and family over, cook a huge Russian feast (a minimum of 17 dishes), and observe the one all-important tradition: plenty of ice-cold vodka.
Despite my begging, pleading, and incessant screenings of Leave it to Beaver to show what an authentic Thanksgiving meal should look like, no consideration was given to the American food typically served for this holiday. I’m pretty sure the only reason we even had a turkey was because it was on sale.
As for the trimmings, we served positively un-American things such as fur coat –– a dish made by layering pickled herring, onions, beets, and lots of mayonnaise. There was my grandmother’s infamous egg, cheese, and garlic salad. Also gracing the table were blintzes with sour cream and caviar, and on and on, with plenty of dill on top.
Then as the years went by, the American turkey was joined by a sprinkling of traditional Thanksgiving fare such as green beans or a solitary sweet potato. By the mid ’90s, our table began to resemble a Las Vegas-style buffet dinner with its hodgepodge of culinary concoctions.
It bordered on the ridiculous.
The poor cooks in charge of this holiday meal began to grumble … “We’ll never eat all of this” or “Herring and turkey really don’t go together …” And while they were met with resistance at first — “It’s just not a proper feast without gefilte fish” — slowly but surely, one dill-topped dish at a time was phased out.
And then the first child in our family, my cousin, was born in America. She was a real American. (She could even run for president or Miss America!)
That’s the year my aunt (her mother) bought a Martha Stewart cookbook and took over the Thanksgiving meal. She did it all –– the turkey, the yams, two kinds of cranberry sauce, and even a homemade pecan pie.
We’ve had my Aunt’s Thanksgiving dinner for nine years running now. We won’t let her change a thing on the menu. It’s all tradition now.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday for many reasons, with the meal being high on the list. And while I am so grateful for this country and my family, my only Thanksgiving wish is that my aunt will make stuffing this year. But, apparently, some things still are just too American.
Born in the Ukraine and raised in San Francisco, Yuliya Patsay considers herself a novice cook but a professional eater. She blogs about her life and dispenses (unsolicited) advice at Shesuggests.com.
RECIPES
RUSSIAN BEET SALAD
(serves 4 to 6)
INGREDIENTS
Mixed greens
2 medium-sized beets, boiled
½ red onion, sliced into thin slivers
4 ounces herring
Several sprigs cilantro, coarsely chopped
Sprigs parsley (either as garnish or mixed into salad)
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Pepper, to taste
DIRECTIONS
Wash and dry mixed greens. Slice one beet and cube the other.
Mix cubed beets with herring and onions. Add olive oil and lemon
juice and toss with greens and cilantro. Add pepper to taste. For
presentation, layer mixed greens on the bottom and then add
sliced beets. Then place premixed greens, beets, herring, and
onions on top.
SALTED SALMON
(estimate 1⁄3 pound of salmon per person if served
as appetizer)
INGREDIENTS
Salmon (recommend King salmon)
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar per pound of fish
½ cup vodka
Olive oil, a few drops
DIRECTIONS
Rub salt on salmon. Place on a baking sheet lined
with wax paper and cover with foil. Leave for two
nights in a cool, dry place. After this, rinse with
water, dry with paper towels, then make a mixture
of ½ cup vodka and three drops of olive oil and
drizzle on top of salmon. Place back onto the
baking sheet with wax paper and cover with foil.
Put in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Serve.
