Cumin Scented Pork Kebabs with Red Pepper-Walnut dipping sauce, Corn on the Cob with Mint-Feta Butter and Greek Salad

As I've said before, I spent the majority of my childhood in the Middle East and as a result, my family has a strong affinity toward international flavors and cuisine. This menu from the August issue of Gourmet magazine jumped out at me when I started thinking about what to do for Sunday dinner this week. It is a compilation of Arab and Mediterranean cooking which I knew Mom and Dad would enjoy, yet the dishes are also relatively simple and easy to prepare which meant we weren't going to be tied up in the kitchen all day.

Cumin Scented Pork Kebabs The Kebab recipe was actually for beef but I had some pork tenderloins on hand that I wanted to use instead. We put the tenderloins (whole) into the marinade late morning to ensure that they had plenty of time to soak in all of the flavors. Later in the day, my Dad cut them up into large cubes and skewered them. He cut the tenderloins (3 of them) in half length-wise and then cut each half into chunks, about 2inches x 2inches. The larger size worked beautifully for grilling. They were perfectly toasty on the outside and still tender and cooked to a medium temperature inside. Let's just say that 5 of us polished off almost three whole tenderloins...a pretty good sign of a keeper recipe.

My mom brought some gorgeous sweet banana peppers grown in her garden so we drizzled them with the remnants of the pork marinade and then grilled those as yet another accompaniment. A nice extra Mediterranean touch!

Red Pepper-Walnut Dipping Sauce This is a dipping sauce almost like a hummus that was a great compliment to the flavors of the pork and was best scooped up with warm garlic naan bread alongside the meal. Gourmet says that it is a take on Muhammara (a Turkish and Syrian specialty). It is similar to a hummus but with an extra zing to it. Mom quadrupled the red wine vinegar, toasted the walnuts, and used a heavier hand with the cayenne. I would highly recommend all three alterations, it was just right. The complexity of the flavors was really fantastic. You could definitely serve it as an appetizer with bread and crudite or eat it for lunch with pita.

Corn on the Cob with Mint-Feta Butter

My friend Heather from San Francisco also made this menu for a dinner party a few weeks ago and she said that corn was the biggest hit. I like corn, but I certainly don't think of it as a show-stopper side dish by any means. Well you could schmear this mint-feta butter on just about ANYTHING and I would eat it. It.is.amazing. I boiled whole ears of corn for just a quick three minutes and served next to the butter. I went with a whole stick of butter (upped the feta and mint a little bit too), added some fresh oregano (about 2 Tablespoons) and one clove of minced garlic to kick it up a little bit more and YUM. Once you have it all mashed together, I put it onto a piece of saran wrap and roll it up like store bought cookie dough, twisting the ends to pack it tightly together. It can then go back in the fridge to be sliced for a nicer presentation before serving. A scoop of this would be fantastic over a grilled steak, alongside fish or shrimp, or even on a baked potato.

As I said, I purchased some garlic naan bread from the grocery store which I wrapped in foil and warmed in the oven before serving. I also made a huge Greek style salad. I went off-menu with this one though. I am kind of passionate about Greek salad and I had to stick to what I know works (no offense to Gourmet).

The Perfect Greek Salad:

*One bag of Italian mix salad (romaine and radicchio) *2 cups of fresh Arugula *3 small tomatoes (two red and one yellow) fresh from Mom's garden *1 cup seeded, sliced cucumber (also from mom's garden) *1/3 to 1/2 cup real deal Greek feta sliced into large cubes *handful of pitted kalamata olives

For the dressing:

*1/4 cup olive oil *1/4 cup combined, equal parts fresh lemon juice and red wine vinegar *1 tsp chopped fresh oregano *1 tsp chopped fresh mint *a pinch of salt, freshly cracked black pepper *a small squeeze of dijon mustard to help it emulsify I also peeled a garlic clove, cut it in half and let it soak in the dressing that afternoon to sneak in some subtle garlic flavor. I LOVE a good Greek salad. John and I often eat this one for dinner topped with grilled chicken or shrimp.

Our friend Tripp joined us (a regular at Lacy Sunday dinners). He brought a fantastic bottle of french wine. It was a light/medium bodied red and paired just perfectly with all of the different flavors. (I'll have to ask Tripp to fill me in the specifics as I don't pretend to be a French wine guru.)

*Unfortunately, the two Maker's Mark Old Fashioned's that I had before the meal slightly impaired my ability to remember to get some good close up pictures of the dishes. Thus I borrowed some photography (the sauce and corn) from Gourmet.com to give you a better visual.