party prep

So, Tony (I think,) Ann, Michelle, and Christine are coming over on Tuesday night for a "Too Cool for Valentine's Day" party. :) I had one last year, and we had a lot of fun. To quote Ann, during last year's party,

"Hey -- I almost forgot it was Valentine's Day for a while there!"

So, we're partying again this year. I'm making a buffet of Greek appetizers. This is what I'm going to serve:

Stuffed Grape Leaves: I made them from scratch and, let me tell you, that was no small job. I had never had stuffed grape leaves before, until I tried one of the ones I made this evening. They are pretty good! The outer part is kind of salty and briny, even after a good rinse in warm water, and the filling is a slightly sweet, spicy rice mixture with dill, currants, and pine nuts. Yum!

Spanakopita: I actually made spinach pie using bread dough instead of phyllo, because I wanted at least some whole grain in the meal. (I have had it this way at the Holy Land Deli -- very good, indeed.) I made eight half-circle pockets stuffed with spinach, lemon, dill, oregano, mint, tofu, a little crumbled feta, olive oil, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper. THEY ARE BLEEPING AWESOME! They are creamy and delicious, and contain almost no cheese. (I probably could have skipped the feta all together, but I had a slight moment of panic just before I started stuffing the pockets, and I added a little cheese at the last second.) They were incredibly labor intensive, however. I may have to adjust the recipe for the cookbook, because they took me the better part of two hours.

Tabouli: I haven't made this yet, because the first two things took so long. However, I have made it many times before, and other than a lot of chopping, it pulls together quite quickly. Tasty, too!

Also, I bought some hummus (!!! I usually make my own, but with everything else I'm making, I thought I'd give myself a break,) grape tomatoes, cucumbers, whole-wheat pita bread, and kalamata olives. Christine's bringing wine, and I'm serving . . .

BAKLAVA FOR DESSERT!

(I made the baklava last night.) It's tasty. It's also fussy. What is it about Greek/Middle Eastern food that's so fussy? Or is it just the recipes I've chosen?

Tomorrow, I have to clean my apartment. (Well, I cleaned the kitchen today. But everything else needs a good scrub-down.) Why is it that every weekend gets filled up with chores and errands? Does anyone else have this problem?