[Sca-cooks] My Middle Eastern Feast...how it went

[Jenn Strobel]

I am still terribly disappointed that we ended up not being able to
make the event, mostly because I knew that the food would be
incredible.

I'm so happy to hear that it went well and I will definately be
looking up recipes...and the almond paste.

Odriana

On 2/27/06, Elaine Koogler <ekoogler1 at comcast.net> wrote:
> OK, Urtatim wanted a report on how it went...here goes:
>
> Based on feedback from those who were there, it appears that it was a
> success.  We had a couple of "oops!" moments...seems my brain wasn't
> functioning on all cylinders, so I forgot things like the recipe for the
> Jazr (looked at the ingredients list and "winged it), the flour and
> cilantro (fortunately there was a Safeway nearby) and putting one of the
> ingredients in the Thumiyya (called for murri or soy sauce...forgot it,
> but think it was actually better because the soy sauce seemed to make it
> a little too salty).  But, with the assistance of some incredible cooks
> (Dame Hauviette and Laird Muirghen, to name two whom some of you may
> know), we pulled it off.  Far and away the most highly praised dish was
> the Lauzinaj...Dame Hauviette played around with the recipe and we came
> up with a really easy way to make it:  we used wonton wrappers and
> rolled them around almond paste (found an AA brand...American Almond
> company or some such, premade for $38 a #10 can...and wonderful!!),
> baked them until they began to brown, then poured a
> sugar/rosewater/water syrup over them and sprinkled them with ground
> pistachio.  People RAVED over them.
>
> We did a mezze during the afternoon, putting out dishes in three
> groupings.  The following made up the mezze:   /Zaitun Mubakhkhar/
> (Smoked Olives),/  Hummus Kasa / (Chickpea/Tahini/Pistachio Dip), /Sals
> Abyad/ (Spiced Walnut Sesame Spread), Stuffed Eggs (from the /Anonymous
> Andalusian Cookbook/), /Badhin/ (Cakes stuffed with dates/poppy seed),
> /Barad /(Fried Pastry), /Rutab  Mu'assal /(Stuffed Dates), Minted
> Grapes, Fresh fruit, dried fruit and nuts.
>
> The feast was served in one course:  /Badhinjan Buran/ (Princess Buran's
> Eggplant), /Isfanakh Mutajjan/ (Fried Spinach), /Jazr/ (Fried Vinegared
> Carrots), Minted Cucumber Fresh Pickle,  /Lauzinaj/ (Stuffed Pastry),
> /Marwaziyya/ (Lamb Stew, named for the Central Asian city of Merv),
> Couscous, /Thumiyya / (Chicken with Garlic, Lavender and Spices).
>
> Some of the recipes came from Lady Urtatim's Web site...and from recipes
> of hers that were in the Florilegium.  I also used a couple from the
> Flory-thingey that were not hers.  A couple of them (the Hummus Kasa and
> what we did with the Lauzinaj) were created by Dame Hauviette d'Anjou.
> The remainder were redacted from the Medieval Arab Cookery Book (Baghdad
> Cookery Book and A Description of Familiar Foods) by either my lord
> husband or me.  I had done the stuffed dates and lamb stew for a cooking
> competition a couple of years ago and remembered that they turned out
> pretty well.
>
> This feast was a prime example of how much being on this list has helped
> me improve my repertoire of recipes!!  Thanks, guys...
>
> Kiri
>
> PS:  The almond paste is available online...I don't have the URL at
> hand, but you can "google" American Almond and find it.
> PPS:  I didn't post the recipes as it would take a lot of room.
> However, many of them are already either on Urtatim's page or in the
> Florilegium.  If anyone wants a specific recipe, let me know and I can
> post that...or send it privately, as needed.
>
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