Enature Russian Bare French Christmas Celebration -

A wintry patchwork of senses: imagine a Russian izba and a bare French chalet fused under a high, star-pricked sky — lanterns swung from frost-laced eaves, and the smell of pine and woodsmoke braided with sweet tangerines and clove-studded oranges. Voices rise and tumble: deep, rolling Russian toasts spill like warm kvass, then lighter French chansons curl through the air like cigarette smoke in old cafés. Children run between long wooden tables heaped with blini and crusty baguettes, bowls of borscht beside platters of pâté, and a mysterious dessert that tastes like both honey cake and tarte Tatin.