At the end of dinner #2, we had all done an entree, and decided to go with a new rule- after every one has done an entree, we will pick three countries for the following dinner, and have a very eclectic menu.
We seem to still be slightly stuck in the Eastern European bloc, with the Czech Republic and Croatia- but hopefully Iraq is the start of a new direction for us.
It looks like the CR, Serbia, Croatia and the Ukraine all have the same emphasis upon meats...Czech Rep cuisine has "both influenced and been influenced by the cuisines of surrounding countries. Many of the fine cakes and pastries that are popular in Eastern Europe originated in the Czech lands. Czech cuisine is marked by a strong emphasis on meat dishes."(we have definitely noticed this trend among the eastern bloc!) Croatian cuisine: "heterogeneous, known as the cuisine of regions, since every region has its own distinct culinary traditions."
And surprisingly, Iraqi cuisine is not going to be the odd one out. From the descriptions of Iraqi foods, it seems that the Mesopotamian cuisine had far-reaching effects which can be traced in the Mediterranean cuisine as well, and because of this, in Serbian, Croatian and Czech cuisine as well.
***Menu***
Appetizer from the Czech Rep: Vegetable Salad (Will & Tara)
Appetizer from the Czech Rep: Vegetable Salad (Will & Tara)
Entree from Iraq: Timman Z'affran (Saffron rice with meat)
Dessert from Croatia: Bajadera (Amaly) a chocolate pie sort of thing
Vegetable Salad:
Kara chopping eggs and preparing the appetizer...
Bajadera:
Follow this link to the Bajadera recipe. We found it pretty tasty, but rather difficult to eat- we may not have let it cool long enough. Making it was easy- here you see the dark chocolate being layered onto the first layer of nuts, butter and sugar.
And the final product:
