With a tight international economy, the declining value of the dollar — and air-travel horror stories more the rule than the exception — fewer Americans are wandering the world this year in search of exotic cultures and cuisines. But on Nov. 8 a fortunate group of Santa Feans can get their foreign fix — without leaving home — at the Museum of International Folk Art's Fabled Tables Russian Evening.

Joan Maynard — chair of the Russian event and co-chair of the Folk Art Committee, which organizes programs to raise funds for the museum's educational programs and exhibits — lived in Russia for a year in the mid-1970s. Because of her familiarity with and fondness for the culture, she decided to focus on the former Soviet Union for the organization's first Fabled Tables fundraising event in several years.

They are breaking from Fabled Tables tradition, though, Maynard says, because while the meal will be served buffet style, it is a sit-down dinner this year — not a series of tables people can wander through, nibbling as they go.

To help set the mood, Maynard has gathered 10 Russian samovars from private collectors in Santa Fe that will only be on view during this dinner. There will also be live music by The Rebbe's Orchestra, an Albuquerque group, playing during the vodka tasting. The four members of the group play the balalaika, accordion, guitar and violin — "which is very Russian," Maynard says. "In Russia, it is common to call a small group an orchestra."

The Russian dinner will be prepared by Walter Burke Catering Inc., which also operates the Museum Hill Cafe. The menu includes stationed hors d'oeuvres — buckwheat blini with sour cream and American caviar, chicken Kiev bites and eggs à la Russe — each paired with a different flavored vodka selected by the wine and spirits shop at La Casa Sena.

The buffet features salmon coulibiac with cucumber sauce; beef Stroganoff (with beef donated by Omaha Steaks), parsley egg noodles, creamed spinach, chopped Russian salad (red and white cabbage, carrots, onion, etc., with apple cider vinaigrette); and sliced black bread or rolls; dessert is the famed — but rarely prepared these days — Charlotte Russe, a Bavarian cream (or custard) set in a mold of ladyfingers.

"The cool thing about this menu," says Stacy Pearl, executive chef at Walter Burke Catering in a recent e-mail, "is that we have tried to stick to the classics and make it contemporary at the same time. By just twisting the original recipes a bit, we turned chicken Kiev into a mini-bite of buttery chicken with lemon and pepper filling. The coulibiac will be made in individual packages with puff pastry decorations on it. Due to the limited availability of vegetables in Russia, we chose a cabbage-based salad with a simple fresh cider vinaigrette. The dessert, which was invented for the Russian Tzar Alexander, will be served in individual home-made lady finger-lined molds."

Wine will not be served with the dinner, Pearl says, "because wine is not a big part of the Russian diet." Still, she says, "the whole experience should be very elegant."

After dinner, Maynard says, there will be a "Ruble-less Russian Raffle." Guests will be given a raffle ticket when they arrive, and they need not buy another to participate — "unless they want to," Maynard says. Additional tickets will be available for $5 each or 5 for $20.

Included in the raffle are several Russian lacquered boxes donated by Dianna Lennon of the Art of Russia Gallery; a hand-carved wooden Russian Santa Claus, courtesy of the Museum Shop; flower arrangements, gift certificates and "many surprises that I don't want to give away," Maynard says. "The generosity of the community has been wonderful."

At end of evening, everyone will be given a little bag of Russian chocolates and hard candies to take home.

In another break from tradition, partygoers may not be able to make a last-minute appearance at the door and expect to walk into the event. "Because it is a catered sit-down dinner this time," Maynard says, they really need to have reservations in by Oct. 31.

This will probably be the last time Joyce Ice, director of the Museum of International Folk Art since 1999, will be attending a public event sponsored by the Friends, Maynard says, so it's a good opportunity for people to thank her for her service.

The support that Fabled Tables provides the museum "is just essential," Ice says. "It's a really important piece of our funding every year. Without this private funding and the generosity of people who attend these events, we wouldn't be able to function at the level that we do." The museum has been fortunate, Ice says, to have a such a group of dedicated, talented volunteer fundraisers — who also throw a great party.

"I will be forever grateful for everything they have done," Ice says. "I will be thinking of this group as a model as I begin to work with new volunteers in my next position. I know they will continue and I will watch with great interest from afar."




WHAT: An Evening in Old Russia — a Fabled Tables fundraising event for the Museum of International Folk Art. The evening includes hors d'oeuvres and vodka tasting; sit-down dinner catered by Walter Burke; entertainment by The Rebbe's Orchestra; one-time exhibit of 10 Russian samovars; and a raffle (ticket included in price of admission). Reservations required by Oct. 31.

WHEN: 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8

WHERE: Museum of International Folk Art, Museum Hill, Santa Fe

PRICE: $125 per person ($50 tax deductible)

FOR RESERVATIONS OR MORE INFORMATION: Call 505-992-2715 ext. 3