Baba Ganoush, Lebanese Style

My friend Paula and I threw a Middle Eastern dinner party on my rooftop last Saturday evening. It was really all Paula’s idea. You see,  her dad once ran a Lebanese market in Worcester, Mass. Paula inherited not only her father’s butcher block kitchen table and meat grinder, but a real love for the foods of her ancestors. I can tell you that enthusiasm is highly infectious, having caught it from her last year while sitting at the table at our cottage rolling grape leaves under her tutelage. So when Paula proposed a joint party – she’d provide the food and I, the venue and sous chef duty – I jumped at the idea. The menu was perfect for the warm summer evening – Appetizers of fresh feta, olives, baba ganoush and pita served with red Lebanese wine, followed by a dinner of grilled lamb kabobs, rice pilaf, stuffed grapes leaves and green salad. The lamb for the grape leaves? Paula ground it herself that morning.The mint? Dried on her dining room table just a few weeks ago.  And the recipes? Handed down from her father’s generation to her – via the parish cookbook of the St George’s in Worcester. With a few gems culled from May Bsisu’s wonderful cookbook The Arab Table. We culled the guest list from the ranks of our friends we knew would appreciate the lemony pepper bite of the baba, the saltiness of the feta and the earthy flavors of the lamb, but would also be open to sampling my first attempt at homemade pita br...
Source: The Blog That Ate Manhattan - Category: Primary Care Authors: Tags: Appetizers Baba Ganoush Babaganoush Eggplant Bitahini Lebanese Lemon recipe Source Type: blogs