dinner for friends

There were five of us for dinner last night. We had, with drinks before dinner, a country Greek eggplant salad that included fresh mint and oregano, roasted eggplant, onion , a touch of dry mustard and olive oil and red wine vinegar. We scooped it onto toasted pita chips topped, before baking, with zaatar. At the table, we started with a chopped curly endive salad and went on to a classic Greek dish of shrimp and tomatoes, fresh dill, onion and garlic and topped at the last minute with crumbled feta, then popped into the oven to let the cheese soften. With this, a terrific pilaf that included broken vermicelli, artichoke hearts and saffron, with arborio rice. This, along with lively conversation and a crisp and faintly floral white wine, made for a lovely evening, which we topped off with a bread pudding baked with a layer of bittersweet chocolate at the bottom. Before serving, I sprinkled sugar over the top and hit it with a blowtorch for a nice caramelization. We were happy - and full.