(All photos: Mary, of TPC's Mediterranean Madness)
Okay, so I overdid it. Ana's entry really got me thinking about a style of food that I haven't prepared nearly enough, and it was time to correct that a bit. Ana's salad featured homemade falafel and pita bread, so I had to make those, but what else? Part of the charm of Mediterranean cuisine is all the wonderful side dishes- dips, spreads, salads, so I had to make some of those, too.
This was getting to be a lot of work, and I hadn't even gotten to an entrée yet! To keep it simple, I decided to grill a bunch of kabobs, chicken, shrimp and lots of veggies. Something for everyone, and some low/no carb options for those who requested it. I'll post some recipes later, lots of pics and comments are posted below. Thanks to Mary, a great photographer friend of mine, who took all these great pictures, despite inadequate lighting and all of us trying to steal food off the plates before she could shoot them.
TPCs Mediterranean Madness
Menu (all from scratch):
Pita, served with hummus, tabouli and tapenade:
Grilled shrimp, marinated in lemon juice, tons of garlic, oregano and Survival Spice™:
Chicken, squash, zucchini, red and yellow bell peppers, and red onion kabobs marinated in organic Tibvrtini Olio Extra Vergine di Oliva and Aceto di Vino Bianco, garlic, onions, organic oregano and thyme, kosher salt, and cracked black pepper, and lemons:
I was really happy with the way it all turned out.
YUM!!!!! You SHOULD be happy with the way it all turned out! It looks great. I'm happy FOR you, but would've been more happy if I'd been there to eat it!
Um, so, I'm coming over after work for left-overs. Plane tickets can't be that expensive...
That meal looks incredible. I CAN'T believe you made your own pita! Was it hard? Was it good? Was it worth it?
Come on down!
The pita was easy, the recipe I got from Ana worked really well. I have to say I was a bit surprised that it called for AP flour, if I was going to nitpick, I think I might try it with some bread flour next time, or maybe I'd knead it longer to develop the glutens a bit more. The texture was just a touch on the "bready' as opposed to the more 'pizzay' type of crust I wanted.
I'm going to do some more posts on this meal once the Food Fight entries are in, maybe I'll do the pita first, since I have quite a few pictures of it in progress.
Wow! That looks great!
Wow! That sure does look good. And your pita is beautiful.
Thanks, all. Everyone's coming over next time!
When are you coming to Seattle? That's my question. We could make a gluten-free version of this, and there are plenty of Seattle foodies for you to meet....
I'd love to do that, Shauna, but where were you when it was 118º here! :©)