Hosting a Birthday Dinner at my Home
My very close friend, Michael Rips, was celebrating a birthday and I decided to host a dinner party in his honor. Michael is a lawyer, an op-ed page editor, and author of 'Pasquale’s Nose: Idle Days in an Italian Town’ and ‘The Face of a Naked Lady: An Omaha Family Mystery.’ I called another good friend, Chef Pierre Schaedelin, who said he would be available to prepare this meal. Pierre and I settled on a Moroccan theme and came up with a menu of bisteeya, Moroccan ‘pigeon’ pie - couscous served with lamb, Merguez saucisson, and garden vegetables – harissa, Moroccan hot sauce and preserved lemons – passion fruit sorbet served with almond tuile and salade d’oranges.
Morocco, located in North Africa, has been influenced by the trade routes that pass through it, creating the unique Moroccan culture. Moroccan food is very distinctive as it melds the flavors of savory and sweet, using rich and fragrant spices, dried fruits, and nuts. It also makes for great party fare, providing guests with something quite unexpected.
1 The evening was lovely and guests enjoyed the beautiful spring weather outside on the terrace.
2 I brought out these beautifully starched napkins for the cocktails.
3 The dinner menu - I love the sycamore trees growing on my property and decided to make the sycamore the logo of the farm. I had a beautiful engraving done and from that engraving, rubber ink stamps were made.
4 The menu was a delicious Moroccan fare.
5 Pierre blanched these plum tomatoes to remove their skins. They are neatly cut and seeds discarded.
6 The vegetables for the couscous.
7 Celery, onion, rutabaga, white turnip, red and yellow roasted peppers, chick peas, zucchini, celery, carrots, eggplant, and peeled and seeded plum tomatoes.
8 After cooking the vegetables, Pierre strained off the rich broth.
9 To form the bisteeya - Moroccan 'pigeon' pie - Pierre lined a baking dish with sheets of tissue-thin phyllo dough, brushing each sheet with melted butter, which makes it especially flaky.
10 Instead of pigeon, Pierre used meat from whole poached chickens. The chicken was nicely seasoned with fresh cilantro and parsley.
11 The bisteeya is filled with layers of the chicken and these curdled eggs, again, wonderfully seasoned. For a unique flavor, I asked Pierre to add a bit of preserved lemon to the eggs - very Moroccan!
12 Once filled, the bisteeya was enclosed using more layers of buttered phyllo. It was then baked to a golden brown and dusted with confectioner's sugar and cinnamon.
13 On a serving platter, Pierre placed a bed of couscous and topped it with perfectly roasted tender lamb chops and Merguez saucisson, a red, spicy sausage from North Africa. The garnish is fresh oregano.
14 The couscous was served with the fragrant vegetables seasoned with ground cumin and cinnamon.
15 This colorful dish consists of a total of eleven different vegetables.
16 I love this photo of Michael Rips - a great portrait.
You have some very lucky guest's! That moroccan fair looked absolutely fabulous. I definitely want to try making the pigeon pie! Thanks so much for a glimpse into your home!
Dan Viger
http://www.meandmartha.net
Hollis Center, Maine.
Posted by: Daniel Viger | May 19th, 2010 at 12:28 am
Once again, you did good!!! I hope Michael enjoyed the party you gave him.
Gloria!!
Posted by: Gloria | May 19th, 2010 at 12:58 am
That food looks amazing! And healthy! What a wonderful way to show love. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Karen | May 19th, 2010 at 2:28 am
As always, a gorgeous setting, delicious food and such lovely guests. An awe-inspiring evening! Thanks for sharing the beautiful photos.
-Sara.
Posted by: Sara Monzo | May 19th, 2010 at 3:43 am
WOW - Nice party! I'll be 50th the end of the month Martha do you want to throw me a party LOL
Posted by: Ann | May 19th, 2010 at 6:50 am
mmmmmmm! just wonderful!
Posted by: miss holly | May 19th, 2010 at 7:38 am
WOW! My mom turns 70 day. Full day of celebration starts soon. I was wondering if you are planning any book signing this summer? And will you post them online.
Posted by: Teresa Touey | May 19th, 2010 at 7:51 am
Hi Martha,
I just took a look at the hotel you're staying at in Malaysia and the view of the towers is great. I hope I can keep up with your tweets.
~
I heard about the 'pigeon pie' from @JoeMartha but your pictures are much better than hearing about eating it as a leftover. I envy your guests! They are so lucky to be able to attend one of your dinner parties. As usual, you and Pierre planned and prepared a masterpiece. Everything was so nice to see. Trish
Posted by: Trish | May 19th, 2010 at 8:30 am
I spy with my little eye something 80s rockerish.
Posted by: angrynikki | May 19th, 2010 at 9:10 am
Is that Ric Ocasek and his lovely wife Paulina I see?
Posted by: Linda | May 19th, 2010 at 9:16 am
ric ocasek, with martha??? wow. wonders never cease.
Posted by: chris | May 19th, 2010 at 11:16 am
What a delightful meal! I have not seen Paulina and Ric Ocasek in a very long time. They are probably the smart ones disappearing from the spotlight.
Posted by: bunkycooks | May 19th, 2010 at 12:28 pm
Hi Martha, Happy birthday to Michael Rips! What a lovely and delicious looking birthday dinner you and Pierre provided for your dear friend. Martha, you are so thougtful and generous for the wonderful things you do for your friends and for sharing with all of your devoted fans. The view from your terrace is spectacular! Hope you had a great flight to Malaysa and that you are having a fantastic time there. Listened to Kevin Sharkey on Sirius Radio today and he did a fabulous job! Love his tweets, also! Love, Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | May 19th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
Something VERY surreal in seeing Rick O standing in the midst of Martha's home with the other guests. 25 years ago, who'd have thought that!
Posted by: Carmen | May 19th, 2010 at 5:50 pm
Oh Martha, this just looked liked a lovely celelabration of Michael. I'm keeping up with your tweets on the trip. Keep them coming enjoying them so far. Be safe and have a safe journey back. Keeping you and your team in prayer.
Posted by: KLBrown | May 19th, 2010 at 9:28 pm
Thanks for sharing your dinner party.. I would have loved to have seen the pie cooked & sliced.. the idea of it is just heavenly!
Posted by: Maria A | May 20th, 2010 at 12:06 am
The food looks wonderful.
Posted by: Norma Durr | May 20th, 2010 at 10:16 am
The farm is beautiful. I'd love it if you did some shows from the farm on a regular basis.
Posted by: Barbara | May 20th, 2010 at 10:00 pm
You twittered that there is a WHOLE LOT MORE about your travels to far off lands. Waiting.... Thanks.
Posted by: http://twitter.com/Geotravel | May 21st, 2010 at 12:31 pm
The foods and settings looks GREAT. Yumm!!
Posted by: Handmade Diva | May 21st, 2010 at 10:13 pm
Dear Martha, Our family love your cupcakes recipe.
I bought your Martha Stewart cupcakes book and gave to my 16 yrs daughter and she bake us a delicious and almost same as kenny rogers cupcakes that we all love to ate. Now we can make a cupcake just like K.R.
Maybe with God help we want to start a cupcakes bisness..A Martha Stewart Cupcakes finest in the world.
Posted by: chem | May 23rd, 2010 at 2:17 pm
Such a lovely event. I saw the 2nd to last photo and thought that you might really impress such a crowd with a new gift I received from a loved one" Reclaimed Apothecary Matchstick Bottles" (from Jen Pearson Designs). She makes glass bottles that ignite matches! The crowd and the candles will both be impressed with this magical little treat! ;P
Posted by: Ohlone | December 18th, 2010 at 10:34 pm