Saturday, April 18, 2015

A Books & Bakes Chechen Feast




That's what I looked like several hours before last night's Books & Bakes, mainly because Saint Mirtha wasn't there yet to help me and also because what the hell was I thinking when I decided to concoct a Chechen menu?  Here it is:



Moscow Stinger

Eggplant Walnut Dip with Lavash
Sliced Radishes with Yogurt
Dates and Almonds

Yogurt Cream Soup with Herbs

Vegan Stuffed Grape Leaves
Beef Manti
Chechen Peppers and Mushrooms

Halvah Ice Cream
Dark Chocolate Sauce
Salted Peanuts


It was actually not entirely Chechen, but I stuck pretty close to the cuisine of the Caucasus with some Russian and Armenian borrowings. The Moscow Stinger was a very bracing cocktail made of vodka and white creme de menthe, shaken and poured over ice. I ran around Los Angeles visiting several liquor/package stores to find the white creme de menthe. I am being perfectly honest when I say that I have never been to a liquor store in Los Angeles -- not because I'm chaste or a teetotaller, but  -- you know -- any liquor that I drink is usually already at my house and has been there for at least fifteen years or someone brings it to a party. I found a very dusty bottle of the stuff at a place on Melrose and Vine, and it cost $7.99. Frankly, it might have been mouthwash (and I imagine mouthwash costs a hell of a lot more), but the combination of the vodka and that was bracing and very refreshing. We all had a swig or two while eating the eggplant dip and admitted that prior to reading A Constellation of Vital Phenomenoa, none of us had the remotest knowledge of Chechnya beyond the vague wars fought there and the recent brothers who bombed the Boston Marathon. If you haven't read Anthony Marra's novel, you must. It's a novel in which you can get lost -- lots of tragedy and drama and horror -- but it's also a novel of hope and dark humor. You will learn about Chechnya. It does feel a bit odd to be celebrating the food of the region and exulting in Marra's writing, particularly as the events and story described are so brutal and so far removed in any real way from our own. We talked about that, about the presumption and pretension of it, about the relatively pampered lives we live here. There's no getting round that discomfort, I guess, and I don't have any wise words to do so. I am grateful, though, to love like I do the words of others, for my eyes to be opened to places and situations that are different, true, but that also shed light on what it means to be human. 

That's a whole lot of cliche and folderal, though. Here's the food:








Denise wrote a wonderful blog post about last night. Read it here.

19 comments:

  1. Look! I'm the first one commenting!

    I'm now going to try to have enough energy that I can read your blog in some sort of common-ish way (meaning that I hope to be here on a regular basis). So for this comment I can say that the food looks astonishing. Your face at the beginning is how I'd look if I were making 1/8 of what you made.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I always love when you visit Alison. You're never far from my mind --

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  2. You have so many gifts! Hospitality, intellect, cuisine, beauty, humor, imagination...you are a marvel. Those lucky, lucky women in your Books and Bakes group!

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  3. Well, I just made a toasted cheese and tomato and red onion sandwich on rye for my mom and me with a side of leftover deli potato salad. I pretty much want to kill myself. Right fucking now. Last night was fabulous.

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    Replies
    1. Denise -- One of these days you and I are going on a trip together.

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  4. Ah, child. If you're trying to convince me I'm missing a lifetime opportunity, you're doing well.

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    1. I think we should have a Books & Bakes in Lloyd and cook together.

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  5. Yum and yum. I had collard slaw I made yesterday for lunch. And some water from my camelpack that tasted like, well, like it had been there since my last hike. So your dinner was awesome and amazing and completely over the top.

    Thanks for sharing it.

    ~Beth

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    Replies
    1. Beth -- My son Oliver has one of those camelback things, and I just don't get them. How could water ever taste good in that?

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  6. I would have sliced the radishes, burst into tears, texted everyone that I was going to bed, grabbed the vodka and white creme de menthe and slept until noon the next day.

    You deserve and award for pulling this off. I am jealous of your hospitality and your Books and Bakes group!

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    Replies
    1. Birdie -- But you don't have Saint Mirtha to help you!

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  7. A true salon in a bygone sense. Just looking at the stuffed grape leaves, knowing the work of that one dish. Yes, I would have taken to my bed, probably after getting out the soup spoons before anything was slices, let alone cooked. What a gracious gift, what a rich and not-at-all-ordinary way of being in the world. You so rock. xo

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    Replies
    1. Marylinn -- You need to come sometime! And thank you for your kind words!

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  8. Rolling those grape leaves is impressive enough! I wish L.A. were closer.

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  9. I am impressed that you even TRIED to serve Chechen food. I wouldn't know where to begin! And it looks good, too. Bravo for culinary adventurousness!

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  10. Love, love, love.Someday, I'm winging my way down to LA just to go to one of your events. For now, though, I'm consoling myself by reading the book. I started it a few days ago and am reading slowly to savor it. Thanks for the recommendation.

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  11. I shared the photos of your amazing spread with the hubby - actually shouldn't have, now that I think of it. What impression will my next meager, one-course meal make on him after viewing that?
    I just can't figure out how you excel in so many areas. And the longer I follow your blog, the more baffled I am. But I'm thankful to be among your fans.

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