Mediterranean Dinner Party

Having a dinner party for 10, under any circumstances, is a bold move. When you factor in the fact that I'm living in Kenya, it becomes classified as a stupid move. I'll be honest -- finding ingredients for a dinner party was NOT the easiest thing in the world. I mean, honestly, what kind of grocery store doesn't carry ARTICHOKES?! (Answer: Every single grocery store in Kisumu. I would know, because I walked up and down every aisle of all five stores.)

BUT. I was up for the challenge. Here's the menu for my Mediterranean-themed Birthday Dinner Party!

Appetizers:

Hummus Dip

Cheesy Spinach Dip

Pizzas:

Margherita

Pesto, Tomato and Meatball

Onion and Pepper

Meatball, Onion and Pepper

Main Course:

Mediterranean Chicken Pasta

Dessert: 

Tiramisu Cupcakes with Kahlua Cream Cheese Glaze

I suppose we'll start with dessert first! These are the cupcakes, taking a little Kahlua bath and soaking up the flavor.

One of the ingredients in the Cheesy Spinach Dip is white wine. How did I transport it to my friend's house? In a Nalgene bottle. Only the classiest chefs employ this technique. 

Oh, what a lovely cake! No, wait. It's frozen pizza dough! Partially thawed! And certainly not ready to be made into a pizza pie! This sight put me on the brink of a minor panic attack. (Read: Major panic attack.) But with some quick thinking, I stuck a chunk of this sucker in the microwave to thaw it, and it actually turned out fine! If Kenya has taught me one thing, it's improvisation. 

I never said I was a clean cook... And luckily, we chose to host our dinner at a house with a live-in maid.

Ah, pizza success! No one would know that this came from that weird holey chunk of dough. 

Yum on yum

And some more yums

My friend Ryan brought a cell-shaped cake, complete with golgi bodies and endoplasmic reticuli! What a fantastic cake : )

The main course: Mediterannean Chicken Pasta

My roomies, all looking snazzy and sharp!

The finished Tiramisu cupcakes

Zach loves him some cupcakes... 

Another birthday cake from Mitch! It used to say "H" on top, but a certain someone couldn't wait and ate a piece of chocolate : )

Here are the recipes I used:


Appetizers:


I cobbled together this hummus recipe from different sites. Unfortunately, no grocery store carried tahini (surprise!), so I had to do without. 

1 can chickpeas, drained (juice reserved)

1 clove garlic, chopped well

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp cumin

2 tbsp sesame seeds (or tahini)

2 tbsp lemon juice (to taste)

Mix in a blender, adding more chickpea juice for a smoother hummus dip. Or, if your blender is not such a great blender, you can smush the whole thing by hand. I would know. 

Cheesy Spinach Dip

Adapted from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/hot-cheesy-spinach-dip/detail.aspx

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 bunch baby spinach, rinsed
• 1/2 cup white wine
• salt and pepper to taste
• hot sauce to taste
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup half-and-half

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, baby spinach and white wine. Cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes, until spinach is wilted. Mix in salt and pepper and hot sauce. Remove from heat and transfer to a medium bowl.
3. Mix cheeses, mayonnaise and half and half into the bowl with the spinach mixture. Transfer mixture to a medium baking dish.
4. Bake in the preheated oven 20 minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned.

Note: This took longer than 20 minutes; perhaps it was that I didn't use enough spinach, or that my oven was hot. My dip turned out a bit runny, so I sprinkled in about 1/4 cup flour to thicken it and it was perfect!

Pizza: 

Dough (adapted from How Sweet It Is)

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon dry active yeast

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp lukewarm water

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon honey

(Note: 1/2 cup water wasn't enough to get all the loose flour off the bottom of the bowl, so I added a bit more).

Combine flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Add water, honey and oil, mixing with a spoon to form into a ball. Continue mixing with your hands and knead for about 60 seconds. Lightly oil bowl and add dough back in. Cover and let rise for 2-3 hours.

Roll out dough on a well-floured surface. Top with sauce and preferred toppings. Bake at 375 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. 

I tripled this recipe, and had enough for four medium-sized pizzas. 

Main dish: Mediterranean Chicken Pasta

Adapted from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/mediterranean-pasta-in-minutes-recipe/index.html

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts, sliced diagonally
• 1 (8 1/2-ounc) jar sun-dried tomatoes, julienned (1 cup)
• 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
• 1 pound fresh angel hair pasta
• 1/4 cup fresh basil
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted (1/4 pound)
• 6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Boil water for pasta in a pasta pot, fitted with a strainer. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Brown chicken strips until no longer pink -- about 3 minutes each side. Add sun-dried tomatoes and garlic to skillet. Saute for 2 minutes. In the meantime, add the fresh pasta to boiling water, cook until al dente, about 5 minutes.

Now add the basil, olives and feta cheese to the skillet. Saute 1 minute then stir in the cream. Strain the pasta and transfer to a large pasta bowl. Add the chicken saute to the pasta and toss. Season with oregano, salt and pepper before serving.

Unfortunately, this recipe called for artichokes, which would have been delicious. Alas. Sigh. Woe is me.

Also, I was a little flexible with the proportions... I one-and-a-halved the recipe, roughly. It turned out to be too much pasta, so next time I'd just made one pound of pasta with one-and-a-half times the chicken and sauce. 

Dessert: Tiramisu cupcakes

One of the most crucial ingredients in Tiramisu is the mascarpone cheese. 

Do Kenyan grocery stores carry mascarpone cheese?

No. 

Do they carry sour cream, so you can make a substitute for mascarpone cheese?

No.

So is this cupcake really a tiramisu cupcake?

Of course it is! Just run with it. 

Recipe:

16 Basic Vanilla Cupcakes (I used http://www.eatliverun.com/tiramisu-cupcakes/, and added 1 tsp cinnamon)

When cupcakes have cooled, poke 6-7 holes in the top of each using a toothpick. No toothpick? You can use a piece of spaghetti! (I told you Kenya made me creative.) Brush the top of each with about 1/2 tsp of Kahlua. Let sit for an hour or so.

Glaze:

12 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp instant coffee

3 tbsp Kahlua (or more, to taste)

Mix all ingredients until smooth.

Here's the truth: I wanted a real, thick frosting to pipe on my cupcakes. But I kind of forgot that you need to add butter into a cream cheese frosting. So, I ended up with a glaze. Delicious? Absolutely! But next time I'd make a Kahlua frosting instead of a glaze.