Ben and I hosted our supper club yesterday, for a dinner with the intended theme of "Turkish Delight." Since one of the members of the club is actually Turkish, Ben modified the theme to be "Tourist Turkish" -- covering our bases in case we delivered an inauthentic meal. During our preparation, Ben formulated a guideline for ethnic dinners -- when trading off between authentic or yummy, choose yummy. So our borek, mentioned below, had considerably more feta in it than we got in Turkey.So -- here is the menu and recipes for Turkish night at the Brumfield's:
Mezzes:
cigarette borek(fried pasty with feta cheese in it)
yogurt dip (hidari/haydari) served with olives, cucumber slices and radish flowers
kisir (turkish tabouleh, basically) served with pita wedges
fish sandwiches (one of the istanbul street foods, served on the banks of the Bosphorus. Basically, grilled fish on a roll. Cristi didn't let Ben buy any -- "soviet era heavy metals" -- but it flung such a craving on him that we've had them for dinner many times since we returned.
Soup:
Red Lentil Soup
Salad:
lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers w/pomegranate dressing
Mains:
Kofte (someplace between a meatball and a hamburger, flavored with cumin and other spices)
Rice Pilaf
Manti (really small ravioli like pasta)
Dessert:
Rice Pudding (Sutlac)
Credits: Picture above and many of our recipes came from the fabulous TurkishCookbook.com. Check it out -- lots of wonderful recipes.
