The BEST meal I ever cooked!
I'm not saying it was the best looking plate OR the best table I ever set OR the best single dish I ever made . . but IT WAS - HANDS DOWN - THE BEST MEAL I EVER COOKED!
So, this was the menu:
- Appetizers that blew everyone's socks off. However, menopause has zapped the details of what they were from me - so you'll just have to trust me - or if you don't, I'll give you a few contact numbers for the guests that were in attendance that night!
Lamb shanks braised for 3+ hours in syrah wine with prunes & Moroccan spices. They were so tender & truly the meat just fell off the bones. When everyone finished, the bones looked like something from the Flintstones - they were BARE and I mean BARE - what you call "cleared to the bone"!
- An aromatic & sinfully delicious rice ring cooked with cardamon pods, saffron & a rich assortment of nuts (again, I can't tell you how good this stuff was - though I felt like I was channeling a Moroccan grandma speaking to me from her kitchen).
- Tunisian spiced carrots with caraway & cumin seeds; spiked with harissa paste - yummy!
- Grilled eggplant lemon, parsley & TONS of garlic!
- A Greek salad inspired by the daily offering of fresh ingredients we were served each & every day of our honeymoon on the islands of both Santorini & Crete. Large slabs of my favorite Israeli made "sheep's milk feta cheese" that you can only get at Trader Joe's. (**If I haven't turned you on to this yet - go get a slab of Pastures of Eden feta cheese at TJs today - look for the green & yellow packaging.)
- And for dessert . . these baked apples that I can only describe as sinful! Stuffed with brown sugar, walnuts, cinnamon & cardamom and drowned in this ogeat (almond) syrup, the were baked to velvety perfection and were completely out of this world. I topped them with honey-sweetened, thick Greek yogurt and we all licked our plates (I mean literally, we picked up our plates & licked them)!!!
Now, of course, I haven't mentioned one of the best parts - which is our good friend, Bob Delf & his wife (now, ex) were in attendance. Bob just happens to own a pretty successful winery up here in Washington and of course brought a LOT of wine. I won't say that's what got us in the mood to lick our plates - but I wouldn't rule it out either!
Truly . . the BEST meal I ever cooked!