The Rite of Spring (kind of...)

So, minus any and all ritual doinking or riotous outbursts based upon musical excesses committed upon morally repressed peoples, dinner last night was a smashing success. Sister missed out, as she had a volunteer shift in New Glarus at the EMS, though Terra Firma did make it for part of dinner. Bulgaria and Mr. Hockey brought dessert in the form of baklava, made from an original Turkish recipe, courtesy of a Bulgarian cookbook. They also brought a bottle of wine, which bumped the total number consumed in the evening up to 4. This was rather a feat, as poor Mr. Hockey had a liver flare-up, and couldn’t drink any at all.

We started with cored mission figs, wrapped in procciutto and stuffed with a mixture of crushed pine nut and pistachio, crumbled feta, finely minced shallot, pepper and paprika, then sprinkled with fresh-squeezed orange juice and run under the broiler. They were fantastic. Next was an invigorating garlic soup. I know it sounds dicey, but #1, it didn’t taste like garlic, and #2, was drop-dead delicious. I served this with a Spanish Albarino, a stout, dry, fruity white wine which also paired well with the next course, a couscous salad with minced onion, a touch of shallot, and chopped green bell pepper, tomato, fig and fresh mozzarella, seasoned with paprika, pepper, sea-salt, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and a splash of the Albarino for good measure. Next was the lamb. It didn’t work out as a roulade, but rather as more of a roast. It was marinated for a full day in red wine and garlic, then spread with roasted red-pepper, eggplant and garlic spread (baba ganoush), couscous, pine nuts and crumbled feta, and a whole mess of thin-sliced onions and roasted. It was sliced thin and served on a bed of couscous, with a red wine/baba ganoush reduction as a sauce, and onion from the roasting pan piled on top. The pairing for this was a bold Spanish Grenache, the same wine used for the reduction sauce and marinade. Damn, was that fine lamb.

Finally, we had the baklava paired with a Mondoro Asti… Not the finest of dessert wines or anything, but the demi-sec was a great match for what can be a cloyingly sweet dish. Most of us had second helpings. The best part was that, though this was about a five-hour kitchen job, I got to do it over three days, and cleanup was a snap. Loaded the dish washer, did about five dishes by hand, and was done. Easy-peasy one-two-threesy. Also, even though she’s a vegan and HATES the smell of cooking meat, Terra’s GF came in and complimented me on the way the apartment looked during the dinner. She was wincing a little at the time, but did make google-eyes at the couscous salad, at least. ;-)

All in all, GREAT dinner. And because it went off with nary a hitch, I’m expecting tender green shoots any time, now. I mean, I didn’t sacrifice a lamb for nothing… J/K, I left that to the good people at Artemos Meats! Hope there were good readings in the entrails. Incidentally, I also had a very convoluted dream about being arcanely related to Julia Child last night, and getting to talk to her father almost as an ancestor spirit. I think it was the interaction between all the wine, the touch of coffee before dessert, and the camomile tea I had just before bed. Any way you look at it, I'm taking it as a smashing omen. Spring, HO!!!