Well, that's over. The Wichita Peace Center came up with an idea for fundraising: that volunteers would host dinner parties at their houses, invite guests, and charge them $20+/head donations, figuring it works out to about what a restaurant dinner would cost. That's what's I did, what's over, except for the leftovers and the cleanup. Once again, I got a little carried away, which may be why I'm tired and down now. Actually hosted two dinners in quick succession -- made enough meze for both, then pilaf and two entrees that could be popped into the oven to finish them. Had 18 people. Discounting labor, we probably came out ahead, but labor was a big discount.

Menu:

• Turkish pide bread
• Muhammara -- a dip with roasted red peppers, walnuts, garlic, hot pepper, cumin, olive oil, lemon juice, pomegranate syrup
• Mast va khiar -- a cucumber-yogurt salad with spring onions, mint, walnuts, golden raisins
• Macedonian salad -- grilled eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, garlic
• Black olive, orange and onion salad
• Red beans cooked with sweet spices and topped with feta cheese
• Shepherd's salad
• Bulgur pilaf with peppers and tomatoes
• Baked shrimp with feta cheese
• Lamb-yogurt kebabs -- bread, tomato sauce, yogurt, grilled lamb chunks, butter
• Yogurt cake -- lemon, topped with syrup, served with whipped cream
• Baklava

Some of these recipes are online. They originate from Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, and Iran, with Turkey the focus point. Some are things I've cooked in the past, while others were first-time experiments -- the bread and desserts are in the latter category. All turned out well. Only complaint I have is that the muhammara came out too viscous -- looks like I left out a little water -- and I may have throttled the pomegranate and hot pepper back a bit too much. Could have used more tomatoes in the yogurt kebab sauce -- seems to me that the recipe doesn't call for enough, but I didn't remember that until I ran out. Didn't do it all myself: had a few helpers, which made a big difference. One reason for doing stuff like this is that it helps explain how the world works. I had to fend off several queries as to whether I'm Turkish. Nowhere near. Just like the food. But I've found is that you can cook damn near anything if you can find the ingredients, or reasonable facsimiles, and can follow instructions.