Not sure if you can see this, but giving it a whirl...

T

traca

Well-known member
Once a month, I gather with friends for a potluck based on a single cookbook. Usually I'm too busy with logistics and last minute preparations, but this month, I finally got a chance to use my camera and get some shots. I missed getting images for 4 or 5 dishes, but you get the idea.... This is based on "Foods of the Greek Islands" and there were some real winners in the bunch. Notably a bean salad (not pictured. I've posted the recipe here before), the salad, pork loin, and the meatball dish. And the fish terrine. The recipe says you can skip the gelatin, add potatoes and spinach and make it a soup. I'll do that next time.

And in case you pick up the book, here's the final menu:

FOODS of the GREEK ISLANDS (Aglaia Kremezi) ­ May 2014 

­ - Blue Cheese and Roasted Tomato Spread w/ Mint

­ - Eggplant and Parsley Spread 

­ - Yellow Pea Skordalia 

­ - Wheat Barley Biscuits 

­ - Terrine of Fish with Leeks, Orange, and Lemon  

­ - Mixed Green Salad from Lesbos 

­ - Bean Salad with Lemon Caper Mayonnaise 

­-  Lentils and Rice 

­-  Roasted Potatoes with Garlic, Lemon and Oregano 

­ - Spinach, Leek and Fennel Pie 

­ - Baked Meatballs with Walnuts, Almonds and Prunes 

­ - Baked Chicken with Orzo  

­ - Baked Pork Loin with Olive Oil, Garlic, Thyme and Oregano 

­ - Citrus Syrup, Yogurt and Almond Cake 

https://www.facebook.com/tsavadogo/media_set?set=a.10152102529474786.1073741855.591494785&type=1

 
It's a link to a public album on Facebook. Any chance you're on a computer where FB is blocked?

 
All the photos are labeled if you click on them. It's Coiled Spinach, Leek, and Fennel Pie.

 
I'd recommend looking into this book. The author owned a resto in NYC, now runs a culinary school

in Greece. She is considered a leading authority on Greek food and is just lovely. (Linked)

On Facebook, she runs a Greek, Balkan, and Mediterranean group board and it's just lovely to see the food people share. It's a great spot to get a Greek 'fix'!

http://www.keartisanal.com/

 
M, I love this line "once a cucumber turns into a pickle, it can't go back to being a cucumber."

 
We've been doing this for 20 months now, and it is one of the greatest joys of my life. Up until a

couple months ago, we'd Skype with the authors as well. I'll never forget Paula Wolfert joining us on a Skype chat after attending a long 3 day conference. She stood up...and was dressed in pajamas! Love that woman.

I always try to pick a dish I've never eaten or made before, or if I were on my own, I'd never make. For the Greek month, I nearly made pickled octopus, but ended up making the fish terrine. It was lovely and I truly enjoyed the flavors. Will enjoy it even more as the alternative method the author suggests...in a soup. Cheers! To trying new things, and discovering favorite dishes. smileys/smile.gif

 
Such a great group and lovely rec's. Sounds like a great time! How did the group form? I have

often thought of introducing the concept to our tea group, but they really do not enjoy the kitchen.

 
I've done this twice now.

The first group I had more or less dissolved thanks to careers, people moving away, etc. But we had a good run and I learned a lot.

A couple years ago, I was recovering from a serious bout of depression. After some deep soul searching, I asked myself, "What makes me happy?" I finally realized that I missed this format, and threw out an invitation. To my delight, I had some friends jump in, and it's evolved from there. The first 6 months or so, I was still battling depression and even though inside I felt numb and overcome with a cloud of funk, I'd get up, take what was often my first shower in days, and get busy. People were coming. Slowly but surely, this brought me back to life.

The origins: Basically, I have a ton of cookbooks and know that it will take 12 lifetimes to make a dent. Combining my love of cooking and cookbooks, I asked a few friends if they'd be interested. So...here we are.

The thing that surprised me the most is who's up for the challenge. I have friends who are very good cooks, and never come. Then there are people who don't consider themselves cooks, and rise to the challenge. There are 70 people on the list, and I'd say about 15+ spouses are regulars. Not everyone comes every time, but we tend to hover around 15 people/month. I should add that a large number of the folks actively involved...I 'met' on Twitter. smileys/smile.gif I extended invitations and voila! It's amazing how things turn out sometimes.

What's been truly lovely is the desire to include spouses, or even family members. 2 months ago, a friend brought her mother. Last month, the person who shot our group photo was my friend's 18 year old son. It's become like a family gathering of sorts, and I love that there's a desire to share with them as well. Eventually we'll expand beyond anyone's table capacity and move to a cocktail-style format. smileys/smile.gif

As things have evolved, it's fun to see how things have taken a life of their own. The author chats via Skype? I thought that would be totally cool. Eventually I had to realize, people were more interested in socializing with each other than pausing for 20 or 30 minutes. That was a favorite thing of mine, but in the end, it didn't work as well as I'd hoped. Live and learn....

What has worked, is we've covered a lot of ground when it comes to ethnic food. One book, "Asian Dumplings" sat on my shelf forever. When we finally covered it, people really dove in! We had so many fabulous dumplings--Andrea Nguyen is the author of that book and several others. I'd swear by her books.

The only dud we covered was Nigella Lawson's first book, "How to Eat." Everything was very blah, no vibrant flavors, nothing really beyond average. The guy who suggested that book has a crush on Nigella and has gotten a fair amount of good natured grief over that book!

Long story short, It's been a fabulous journey and truly the joy of my life.

 
Wow! How fun is that?! And the the group looks terrific and fun

and those meatballs sound delicious. Is there a recipe for them?

 
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