So, as I said yesterday, I created a middle eastern feast for my family to ring in the new year.  This is was a feat because neither I, nor my family are middle eastern; which means I had to rely soley on the cookbook I checked out of the library to guide me.  However, I am pleased to say that it came off well; although I can definitely see where I will make some improvements the next time I try this.

So, without further ado–here are photos of my dishes:

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Hummous with some homemade pita chips.

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Olives, cheese, and tahini (homemade).

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Cucumber yogurt salad.  This was difficult to photograph because everything was white.  But it is basically hothouse cucumbers mixed with a nice, tart yogurt and some fresh mint and parsely. 

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Potato Salad.  White potatoes with a dressing of olive oil, fresh lemon juice, parsely, garlic, and salt.  Simply, but yummo!

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Ok, this is a very traditional Arab dish (according to the book).  It is layered with fried, crispy bread on the bottom, a layer of Basmati rice, a layer of garlicky yogurt, and a top layer of baked chicken sprinkled with pine nuts.

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Kabab 'burgers'.  They are ground beef with seasonings, cooked into little patties.  Mine turned out too chubby I think.  Next time I'm going to make them much thinner.

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Fried Cauliflower.  Ok, don't laugh, but this was freaking awesome–and it was so simple I can't believe we never even tried it before.  It's just cauliflower, deep fried.  No batter, no seasoning.  Just deep fried cauliflower sprinkled with a garnish of parsely.  It is PHENOMENAL, especially with a little tahini sauce drizzled atop.

So, there you have it.  My first official foray into the world of Arabic cooking.  I actually love this style of food and eat it out in restaurants whenever I can; so I'm going to be working on building up my repertoire of dishes from here on out.  I've spent the last nine years pretty much devoted to Pakistani cooking, and I feel like I could use something new and exciting in my culinary life.