Birthday Feast

I was privileged to be invited to a friend's birthday party. When I asked her how many people she was having, her response was: " Just a little dinner party of 15 people". I got to their house at 5:30 p.m. A beautiful table of assorted hors d' oeuvres immediately caught my eye. Everything on the table went well with my glass of champagne which was refilled promptly before my glass went empty.

It was nice to see my fellow gym friends, some whom I haven't seen in a long time. Zohreh's family was present which included 2 darling little girls and a toddler boy. It almost felt like Christmas because of the celebration and family milling around.

Zohreh cooked several dishes. She made a dish called Fesenjoon, chicken made with walnuts and pomegranate sauce. It was reminiscent of a chicken mole only this was more delicious. She also made a green salad. The other item she made was Baghali polo which is rice with dill and fava beans. The crusty part of the rice is called Tahdig. We have something like it in the Philippines, which we call tutong. This was better since it carried the flavor of the dill and fava beans.

There was a dish of square items which looked like brownies. It was Kookoo Sabzi which was made with herbs, parsley, cilantro green onions, eggs, salt & pepper. I have never had any of these and what a great introduction to "new" cuisine. Since it was her birthday, her family did not want her to slave away in the kitchen so they ordered some food which was delivered.

I have never seen so much food for 15 people. These would easily have fed 25! We had Beef and Chicken Koobideh, Kebabs, Salmon, a Creamy Eggplant dish which was so good. At the table, she had a bowl of Sumac which is a Middle Eastern spice. I never knew what it was for. It is supposed to enhance the meat and it balances everything according to Zohreh. I didn't want to leave her house limping all imbalanced so I sprinkled that baby all over my meat.

There was an abundance of berries and gigantic grapes and an assortment of sweets decorating the table; it was as beautiful as it was delicious. Of course, I sampled everything. Then a birthday cake made an appearance. It was a Tiramisu from Assal Pastry. Zohreh was once again 29! The tiramisu was nice and light and not at all too sweet. Even her granddaughters loved it

After 4-1/2 hours, it was time to go. Parting was such sweet sorrow. I wasn't sure if I would be able to go to sleep as I felt like a pregnant hippopotamus! I had to relax for a few hours before I went to bed. That was some birthday party. Happy Birthday again to Zohreh.