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| Big shout out to Jen T for hosting N.I.C.E.#1 - Check out the decor she pulled together! |
Well, it's been a couple of weeks now, since our culinary trip to Morocco and what an overwhelming success it was, if I may say so myself... (sorry for being so slow to post details it's been a busy month).
Here's how it went down....
We brought together a small inaugural group of 7 girlfriends, and asked everyone to find a Moroccan recipe online or in a cookbook (preferably one they had never tried before) and bring it out for everyone else to sample - an international potluck if you will. |
| N.I.C.E.Girls: (clockwise from the front:) Paige, Carrie, Jen T, Julia, me (in the empty chair), Jen H, Juanita, Cassandra |
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| Hummous, pita and fresh cut veggies |
The resulting menu was inspired and everything tasted AMAZING! The evening started off with an appetizer of Hummous, pita and fresh veggies - served to a background soundtrack of World Music (courtesy of Galaxie Radio - thank you Satellite TV).
The hummous we served this evening came from the deli - but if anyone is interested, I have a super easy recipe that I will post on the recipe page.
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| Moroccan Carrot Soup |
Our next course was a heavenly Moroccan Carrot Soup. It was a beautiful warm Orange colour, gently spiced and soooooo creamy!
After the soup we laid everything else out for a major main course consisting of:
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| Tomato and Bell Pepper Salad |
A fresh light lettuce-free salad, perfect for summer!
This recipe is taken from "A Taste of the Mediterranean: Vegetarian Style" by Mary Salloum. According to the cookbook "Salad in Morocco consists mostly of crunchy vegetables rather than lettuce."
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| Maakouda Batata |
Maakouda Batata (Moroccan Potato cakes)(click for the recipe link)
These are "a popular street food in Morocco, where they might be eaten plain or used as a sandwich filler. They can also be served as an appetizer or as a side."
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| Moroccan Style Mussels |
Moroccan Style Mussels (click for the recipe link)
"Chickpeas transform saucy mussels into a meal that's as hearty as it is seductive"
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| Moroccan Carrot Orange Salad |
Moroccan Carrot Orange Salad (click for the recipe link)
"This delicious Moroccan salad blends fresh oranges, grated carrots and orange flower water. Serve it as a starter, side dish, or as a refreshing follow-up to a main course."
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| Couscous with grilled vegetables |
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| B'stilla (chicken pie) |
B'stilla (Chicken Pie)
I found this recipe in a cookbook that my parents brought back with them from Africa, when they travelled there about 15 years ago. The cookbook is called Cooking from Cape to Cairo
, and each chapter is dedicated to recipes from a different African Country. According to the book: "B'stilla is one of the great dishes of North Africa. It is served hot as a first course, and is best eaten using the fingers. In Morocco, the crust is made of tissue-thin warka, for which phyllo pastry is the most practical substitute" I was a little nervous about preparing it - the spice combination was particularly foreign to my tastebuds - BUT the whole point of N.I.C.E. Nights is to try new foods, so I gave it a whirl and I'm so glad I did. What a pleasant surprise it was - although mine didn't turn out looking like the photo in the cookbook, nevertheless, the sweetness of the cinnamon and icing sugar sprinkled almond layer perfectly complimented the savoury chicken, onion, ginger, coriander, parsley and scrambled egg filling. It was a fair bit of work to make, but I would definitely consider trying it again! |
| Mediterranean Lamb Chops |
Mediterranean Lamb Chops (click for recipe link)
Lamb is always delicious, and this recipe's combination of Mediterranean spices is a PERFECT compliment to the meat's distinctive flavour.
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| Pastilla with Milk |
The pastilla with milk I prepared was supposed to be dessert - but we were all so stuffed by the end of our main course(s) that we never cut into this dish.
I ended up bringing the dessert home with me and tried it the next day. Although it looks like it should taste absolutely fabulous, I was a little disappointed. The filling was kind of bland - sort of like weakly spiced rice pudding, without the rice, and the mixed nuts on top were overpowering and bitter... now if they were candied praline-type nuts I might have felt a little differently :). In any case, I'll post the recipe for Pastilla with Milk in case anyone wants to give it a whirl - perhaps try to enhance it a bit. But for me, I think I'll cross it off my "make again" list, unless someone can show me a tastier way to prepare it.
- Beef Tagine with Prunes.... Sorry, this dish didn't photograph very well (see 4 o'clock in the photo below) - it was pretty rich and probably not one that I would make again.
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| Our Moroccan Feast! MMMMMM |
We rounded out our evening by watching one of my all time favourite movies..... Casablanca
. Being set in Morocco during the second World War, and starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, it was a perfect ending to a "no boys no babies" dinner.All in all I declare our first N.I.C.E Night to have been an overwhelming success! Much better than any restaurant I've been to in a l-o-n-g while! I look forward to trying out many more fabulous dishes with the N.I.C.E. gang, as we continue our culinary world tour..... next stop: MEXICO!!!!
