Savory Soviet Celebration or What Should I Serve At My Book Launch?

A Literal Literary Loser Goes Gastronomic

In case I have been too subtle about it up to this point: I AM HAVING A BOOK LAUNCH FOR “GO ON PRETENDING” ON SATURDAY, MAY 3 IN BROOKLYN, NY AND YOU SHOULD ALL COME AND IF YOU CAN’T COME IT WILL BE STREAMING LIVE SO PLEASE RSVP AT THIS LINK EITHER WAY IT’S FREE AND THERE WILL BE SNACKS.

Now to the important part: the aforementioned snacks.

What does one serve at a party celebrating the debut of a book which winds its way through the Spanish Civil War, Madison Avenue, the USSR, the Upper West Side of Manhattan, the Upper East Side of Manhattan, Brighton Beach in Brooklyn, the libertarian communes of New Hampshire, and the Women’s Revolution of Rojava, Syria?

Because My Biblioteka, the store hosting “Go On Pretending’s” debut, specializes in Russian and Ukrainian language books, as well as English language books on Soviet and post-Soviet subject matter (that’s where I come in), the cuisine of the USSR is obviously the appropriate theme.

But what should it be? May 3 means it could be everything from 32 to 92 degrees outside. And what’s appropriate for one isn’t appropriate for the other.

A cauldron of borscht would be too unwieldy for me too lug on my lap on the subway. (Yes, we glamorous authors travel to our glamorous book launches via glamorous means of transportation like the NYC subway.)

I suppose I could serve “kotelte,” made not from beef or pork like the Russians do, but from ground chicken, and use lots of garlic, so everyone will know it’s “Jew food.” (Yes, there is a story behind this. Come to the book launch and I’ll tell it to you!)

Should we serve hot tea from a “samovar?” Where does one procure a “samovar” these days? How about “Salad Olivier,” which calls for potatoes, carrots, pickles, eggs, peas, sausage, and mayonnaise. Lots of mayonnaise. All the mayonnaise you have in the house. And then run out and get some more.

Or maybe “kholodetz,” vegetables and anything else you can think of covered in aspic, i.e. meat jelly made from boiling animal bones, skin and cartilage? That should go over well with the American guests, don’t you think?

Yuliya Patsay, who wrote the culinary-themed memoir, “Until the Last Pickle,” helpfully shared the list of foods she served at her own book events:

• Half Sour Pickles

• Farshmak (pickled herring salad) on black bread

• Salmon mini bagel with cream cheese, cucumber and dill

• Sprats on baguette

• Gripozni salad (mayo, egg, cheese, garlic) in tartlets

• Charcuterie board with Russian style dips: eggplant caviar, beet dip, cheese

• Pirog with cabbage or mushrooms

• Waffle cake

• Russian candy

• Also pirozhki work well!

So these are some of my options. What will the final selection be? Come to the book launch on May 3 and find out! (You can also RSVP on Facebook! I live to make your lives easier!)

In the meantime, check out my daughter and I reviewing Yuliya’s book, and let me know in the comments what food you think pairs well with a post-Soviet book launch!