That's What Jenni Said

I’ve started a cookbook discussion and dinner party group that meets regularly (1x a month or so) at my apartment in Alexandria to discuss cookbooks and enjoy a shared meal cooked by the members from recipes published in the monthly selected cookbook.    Each year we work our way through an eclectic mix of cookbooks, including time honored classics, rare finds from every corner of the globe, and current up and coming advanced evaluation copies. For our July cookbook discussion and dinner party, we reviewed Suzanne Husseini's 2012 cookbook   Modern Flavors of Arabia   (Random House). قائمة طعام (Menu) Halloumi & Feta Cheese Bread Rolls Labneh Three Ways Shamandar (Beet Dip) Hummus Beet & Purslane Salad with Citrus Dressing Kofta with Sweet and Sour Cherry Sauce Roasted Cauliflower with Citrus Tahini Sauce Lemony Braised Stuffed Vine Leaves Shish Barak (Lamb Ravioli in Herbed Yogurt Sauce) A Thousand and One Nights Pistachio Ic...

Tonight marked the first evening in over a month that my husband and I were both in town for Sunday dinner. We held our usual open house dinner party and I decided to take a culinary risk betting on recipes out of a cookbook I’d not used before. It’s a minor gamble to rely on a recipe you’ve never made out of a cookbook you are well familiar with and have used for other recipes to success. It’s a major gamble to source recipes from a book you’ve never worked with before. Luckily the risk resulted in reward as each of the dishes were met with enthusiasm and praise after tasting. We had three guests join us for dinner so with Jonathan and I that made five around the table. All recipes excluding dessert are from Holiday Fare : Favorite Williamsburg Recipes . This is the souvenir cookbook Jonathan chose for me from our visit to Colonial Williamsburg – he presented it to me as a Christmas gift a few years back.  We opened dinner with Candied Pecans and Leek-y Brie . I am not a leek fa...