A Most Civilized Dinner - Autumnal Geekquinox 2018

Due to some travel timing, Geekquinox was 1-2 weeks later than normal this year, but that is nothing but a good thing, for a couple of reasons.

The biggest reason is that it not only allowed all the usual suspects to attend, but permitted Rob to jet in from Ottawa for the first time ever, which was delightful!

Pete had sent out the theme, "Cradle of Civilization" a couple of weeks earlier. Not knowing how to incorporate Mesopotamian fashions into our dinner wear, I assumed this meant that Audrey and I would not be able to dress up like we often do.

Audrey had other plans, and leaning on the Fertile Crescent of the Nile region instead of the intersection of the Tigris and Euphrates, she glommed onto a couple of Egyptian outfits courtesy of a co-worker with a costume dependency (like I should talk!).

Suitably attired, we were treated to a number of old (really old) world dishes by our host Pete. I was too busy having a good time and being impressed and rolling my eyes at the tastiness of what was being served to photograph all the dishes, sadly, but here they are in his own words and my commentary:

We started out in Lebanon, for Tabbouleh and Grape Leaf Rolls. I love tabbouleh, but it does involve a [shit]-ton of chopping, let me tell you! And since you want it fresh it's always a bit close to guests arriving. (I like tabbouleh, but would have put myself down as a 'meh' for grape leave until this night. Pete's version had firm, well-packed leaves that not only didn't fall apart when you bit them, but were brilliantly savoury as well.)

Then off to the North Mediterranean for some Saganaki, or flaming Greek cheese. They say you can do it with feta, and I tried, but at the last minute I also found some halloumi cheese at Superstore. The lesson here is stick to one kind of cheese; the feta was well liquefied and the halloumi wasn't gooey enough in the middle when I stopped. (To my mind this simply proves what I have long suspected: that it is nearly impossible to go wrong with toasted cheese, frankly. Very tasty, especially after squeezing some lemon juice onto it.)

Then some Roasted Eggplant with Tahini, Pine Nuts, and Lentils. It's kind of like a deconstructed baba ganouche. Tasty, and (though I didn't realize it until after I made it the first time and deemed it worthy) actually vegan. Not that I care, but you know. It's true. (Vegan food is not only edible, but can be tasty as well! Tell your friends. Seriously though, I was not expecting the creamy richness of the tahini; well done Chef Pete!)

After that it was the Middle East & Africa for Kofta & Aliyyeh, the beef-and-lamb kebabs with the cilantro walnut "pesto" sauce. A repeat, but thematic and really tasty so I didn't feel bad bringing it back. Followed by Ostrich in Blueberry Sauce. (The aliyyeh made a most welcome and appreciated return, but the ostrich was a real treat. The blueberry sauce also involved jalapenos so it was both sweet and spicy, and made a great complement to the meat, which I never would have guessed came from a birde; much closer to venison in both taste and texture than any chicken.)

The main course was from Ethiopia, which was Doro Wat (chicken stew), Sega Tibs (beef in onion paste), Injera bread (a kind of sourdough spongy flatbread), and finally Zebra... pasta in garlic and oil. There's probably zebras in Ethiopia, right? Actually it was just black-and-white-striped pasta, which I saw in the Okanagan in the spring and thought would be fun to use for Geekquinox. In fact it's probably the source of the whole Africa theme in the first place. (The zebra pasta made me uneasy only because it so strongly reminded me of the sandworms from the movie Beetlejuice. The Ethiopian dishes were tasty, spicy and saucy, so having a sourdough pancake on hand for wiping one's plate was ideal.)

Finally dessert came courtesy of Africa, specifically South Africa, in the form of koeksisters, essentially a wheat and corn flour braided donut, covered in a ginger cinnamon syrup. ("I ate the doughnut from Aaaaafrica  /Gonna take some Tums because it's almost two ay eh-hehe-hehe-hemmmm...")

The dining went until well past 1:00, another tradition, and the drinking and socializing a couple hours past that, for some of us anyways.

Pete always outdoes himself in terms of food and hospitality, but this time managed to get every single course to the table with no eliminations or substitutions, which is a most difficult trick (possibly the Geekquinox equivalent of a triple-play). More importantly, he delegated the late-night deep-frying to the two teetotallers in attendance, and even left himself enough time to sit down with a glass of wine in the middle of things (possibly a first).

In many ways, Thanksgiving is a perfect time for a Geekquinox - it's a time for family and friends,and friends who feel like family. Certainly I am thankful for both the friends and the opportunity, and most especially, the host - well done once again, sir!