J's parents visited us and had a dinner together. I needed to come up with a menu for the day... something easy and comfy: meatloaf, mashed Yukon Golden potato, Dijon-braised Brussels sprouts.
In fact meatloaf was not just easy and comfy. One of jars of
our favorite meatloaf starter from Williams-Sonoma was a gift from J's parents who had not tasted the starter. It was a good chance to share it with them. We still enjoyed meatloaf made with the starter and it seemed J's parents liked it too!
Before the dinner, we had an appetizer time: veggie sticks with Greek roasted red pepper & feta dip,
Htipiti and Baba ghanoush, which was my first try - roast eggplant directly on the stove, mix with roasted garlic, tahini, lemon juice, a pinch of cumin, adjust taste with salt, garnish with parsley. I liked the output. I also baked Greek sesame bread sticks,
Kritsinia. Since
the bread sticks that I made last time were pretty crunchy, I would like a bit less crunchy and reduced baking time by 5 min. Then, they became somehow chewy. Well, honestly I liked the chewy version very much while J would like somewhere between crunchy and chewy. I will bake a few minutes longer next time.
No matter how full we were, desserts should be always served after dinner at our place. Desserts this time was one of the easiest-to-make desserts: Tiramisu.
I followed the same recipe from
the last time, except adding 2 and 1/2 tbs Marsala instead of 2 tbs, making my delicious
Tiramisu - no eggs secretly boozier. Surprisingly J immediately scented the extra Marsala!
