My hosting ‘debut’ was on 10.7.19 with the letter C – and I chose Chad (a Muslim country in north-central Africa).
I admit I was a bit nervious, keen to make a success of it. I tried to br hard-core and soundtrack the meal with authentic Chadian music, but after a few tracks we all gave up and switched to the radio.
Dorottya brought with her a couple of friends – fellow NHS therapists – one of whom was terrified of cats. This absolutely did not stop my cat, Carrot, from expressing his usual interest around meal time; she did not find this amusing, but she was the only one 😉
For starters I served Sweet potato Fritters (we added chopped fresh Coriander to the recipe, which Bernhard made) with a west African Peanut Sauce.
For mains – Maharagwe: a bean & coconut stew which, like many north African recipes, starts with frying off onion, garlic & chilli – there was much crying involved (Maharagwe recipe):
and for dessert – African Loz: Citrus, pistachio & almond dough balls.
The Fritters & peanut sauce were delicious, and the bean stew too. The Loz balls were a bit too ‘marzipany’ for my taste, and because I used limes instead of oranges they had a slightly medicinal after-taste; I had quite a few left over when the night was over… oh well. My fault for messing with an old recipe.
Still, I think, for the most part, I can call my first International Dinner a success!
