Welcome Home Dinner Party

Thursday, 4 October

After a good night’s rest, I was up in time to see the sun rise over the distant mountains.  Mom and I were invited to have breakfast with Aylin and Murat in their apartment, so while we waited for the appointed time, we sat out on the terrace to enjoy the balmy weather and watch mom’s “wild” pet — a collared dove — peck at the bread crumbs mom had left for it.  Mom’s not much for feeding birds because they often leave their droppings behind, but this one apparently tugged at her heart strings.  (Funnily enough, this bird always pooped over the side of the railing, and never on the terrace!)

Eurasian Collared Dove

I puttered around the apartment today, helping with the preparations for the family dinner party mom was hosting to celebrate Mui’s and my arrival for another visit.  She always sets a nice table with colorful linens, fine china and glassware, and appetizing mezes (hors d’oeuvres; think tapas with a Turkish twist); this one was no exception.

If the guests — Mui and his Mom — arrive early, we’ll have cocktails on the terrace.
the dining room table is set for dinner; too cold to eat outside after nightfall.

The main course was a dish called Özbek Pilavı (Uzbek Rice), a dish made with layers of rice, carrots, and chicken — yummm.  Sorry no photo, I was too busy eating.  (The original recipe calls for lamb, but I think it tastes better with chicken; here’s a picture from the web to give you an idea of what the dish looks like.)

For the meze portion of the dinner, mom prepared fire roasted red peppers,
barbunya (kidney beans), and a couple of ezme dishes … one made with tomatoes
and peppers; the other made with zucchini.

Thanks go to Murat for taking pictures of the people at the dinner party.

Tomorrow, Mui and I take our turn hosting everyone for dinner.