There Ain't Nothin' Like a Home-Cooked Meal

Joe and I went to Seth's parents' house to eat last Thursday. It was the second time I have been invited over there for a meal, and, both times, I came away having eating a delicious meal. Seth's mom is a great Lebanese chef, and I couldn't wait to see what new foods I was going to get to try!

That evening was one of the first actually chilly ones of the fall season, much to my relief after such a hot summer, and the air was full of autumn mist. Thankfully, the house warm and comfortable with the heat from the oven, and the Alwan family was as welcoming as always. Eating with us were Seth's brother, George's, family and Gabe.

Pan of shawarma, with tahini and
pita bread on the side.

Once a prayer was said, we sat down to a table full of intruiging dishes. The first thing I put on my plate, shawarma (shuh-wore-muh), was actually familiar to me. I had it the last time I ate at the Alwans',  in the summer of 2011. It is a dish that consists of shavings of meat (in this case, beef) that are plated, topped with tahini sauce, and then picked up with a piece of pita bread to be eaten.

The next dish I tasted was also familiar. It was kibbeh (ki-beh), which is beef that is rolled into a ball with grain and onion, kind of like a meatball. As I've said, I have had kibbeh before, but the first time I had it it was raw. This time it had been cooked. Either way, kibbeh is a very hearty, tasty food.

Rolled, cooked kibbeh.

The final dish I had was one that was totally new to me. It was shishbarak (shish-ba-rek), a ravioli-like pasta stuffed with meat and spices, served in a yogurt sauce. We ate it like a soup, and it was the perfect food for such a cool day! After learning that Seth's mom hadn't made it in about a year, I totally understood why his family was so excited to have it for dinner.

A large, steaming pot of shishbarak.

Leave the Newtons for nursing homes.

After the meal was done, and I was ready to just go lay down and digest, Seth's mom brought out a tray of brownies. While I was too full to even consider dessert, I did take Seth up on trying a fig out of his dad's garden. I had never had a fresh fig before, only in Newton form, and they were not on my list of favorite fruits. That totally changed, however, once I ate this one. The flavor was bright at summery, with a perfect blend of sweet and tangy. Whatever Nabisco uses in there cookies tastes nothing like what I had popped into my mouth.

Once dinner was over, Seth, Joe, Gabe and I hung out in the basement for a while, watching Netflix and trying not to fall asleep from our full stomachs. After Joe made us watch Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, a shoddily-made Writers' Strike-era Neil Patrick Harris show, I knew it was time to go before I wasn't going to be able to get up. 

Joe and I said bye to Gabe, who was leaving for home in Baltimore the next day, and thanked the Alwans when we got back upstairs. It had been such a relaxing evening, and I was grateful for the non-Bradley meal. It's times like that when I really appreciate family and really appreciate the Lebanese sense of the term. To people like the Alwans, family is everything!

Seth, his brother's family, Joe, Gabe and me after dinner.