dinner with oblonsky and levin

I'm carryng two fillets of turbot,
two dozen oysters and a nine pound
capon. there's a pound of parmesan
too. It has the word parmigiana on
the yellow rind. I'm on my way home
to cook the lunch that oblonsky and
levin have in anna karenina. It's
been driving me nuts, this lunch.
They arrive and the waiter pours
them a vodka with a piece of smoked
fish. Then a fresh tablecloth is
laid over another tablecloth. And
they sit and eat oysters, champagne,
vegetable soup, turbot and capon.
Roast beef is mentioned in the menu,
but the waiter does not read it back
to them, the things theyve ordered.
And I have a woman arriving for lunch
who will not eat mammals. The turbot
sauce has absynthe in it. The oysters
are malpaeques. The champagne is from
a man who I was on a shortlist with,
and just before the winner was announced
he suggested whoever wins gets the other
a bottle of champage. It's Krug champagne.
There's also white wine. And dried fruit.
But when the capon hauls itself out
of the oven, my guests are a little
overwhelmed. They have dressed as
Russians, but they have not brought
their Russian appetites. I serve it
on a plate made in the USSR. I'm
telling you there's barely a dent
out of it.