For starters, I was going to purchase these two sandwich cutters from Williams Sonoma; they're in the shape of a heart and dinosaur. I thought for Russia, heart would work better. (As his nickname is Russian--I call him Misha and Mishka, depending. Russia doesn't seem so random now, eh?)
So, I'd start with answering "What is a Russian Sandwich?" and got this article. Mmmm, бутерброд! (Buterbrod for people who can't read Cyrillic.) I then remembered our culture viewing in Russian class, and how for morning, everyone ate bread plus butter plus hard-boiled eggs/ham/caviar/fish/sausage/cheese. Misha doesn't like fish, and I don't think he'll eat their eggs either.
So, the sandwich? Can't have greenies. He's a carnivore, not an omnivore. (Weirdo.) So, the bread would be Russian black bread, provided by Smitten Kitchen. Then, I'd let him cheese taste Edam cheese, and if he'd like that, we'd move on. If not, some havarti, swiss, and gouda. Maybe some Tilsit cheese. (That's a mild joke, it's sometimes labelled as havarti.)
To stay in line with the бутерброд feeling, I'd say to add in some salami and sausage. So far, the only thing I could say for sure is this Kiev dry salami. Other than that, I'd love to taste test. Particularly that hunter sausage. D:
I would -love- to throw in some saurkraut as well. I love saurkraut, and frankly, that's quite Russian. (About west of Germany is when the love of pickling seems to stop.) I would probably mix it in with this recipe of Russian dressing from copykat:
1 1/2 C. Mayonnaise
1/2 C. sour cream
2/3 C. chili sauce (this is a condiment typically sold near cocktail sauce)
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. minced dill pickle
1 Tbsp. minced green pepper
2 Tbsp. minced green onion
4 tsp. fine grated fresh horseradish or drained bottled horseradish
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. Tobasco
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. minced parsley
Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Blend until thoroughly mixed, but do not over blend. Refrigerate in a covered jar until serving time. Stir before using.
However that wouldn't fly from the Misha crowd-lines. (Frankly, once properly drained and mixed into a dressing, saurkraut is delicious. It's not messy and quite awesome.)
For the appetizer/side addition would probably be something like potato salad. And not that weak-ass stuff we get in America. Well chopped -good- potato salad. Or варе́ники (varenki), a variation of pierogi, or пельмени (pelmeni). This would probably beef-based.
For dessert? Blini, are obvious choices, as are some kasha fruit dishes, pirozhki, honey cake or honey mousse.
To drink, compot. Or if actually non-alcoholic (as seen by the American government), kvass. (I don't know what it tastes like exactly.)
-- As usual with these things, I get caught up and style more to my tastes...
