Bethany et al,

I would love to come to the party, but unfortunately it starts at what will be 2:30 in the morning for me. I'm still way young enough to party until 2:30, but not to wait until then to start!

I would have loved to wow you all with the jalabiyya and bisht I bought in Dubai a couple of years ago, topped off with my jaunty Palestinian kefiya, but ...

Sadly, you'll also have to go without the "Syrian hamburger thingies" I recently learned to make. But for anyone who hasn't thought of something to take, you can have a go at it yourself:

"Syrian hamburger thingies"
Printer version of this recipe

500 gr (about one pound) ground lamb one medium onion 4 or 5 spring onions handful of parsley 2 cloves garlic 2 tablespoons ground cumin 2 tablespoons basil 3-6 small medium-hot chili peppers (optional) 75-100 gr soft goat cheese (must melt) 2-4 tablespoons olive oil salt and pepper

1. Finely chop the onions, parsley, basil, garlic and chilis and gently sautee them in the oil, with salt and pepper, stirring in the cumin. The mixture should NOT be fully cooked.

2. Take half of the ground lamb and make a very thin pattie on a grilling pan. Separately, make a second pattie of the same size with the remaining meat on a piece of cling film.

3. Evenly spread the sauteed mixture over the first pattie. Over that break up the cheese so that it is also evenly distributed.

4. Carefully place the second pattie over the first one, then seal the edges so that the mixture remains inside.

5. Broil to desired degree

You've got about a pound and a half of food there, so I guess you could stretch it to four people.

Caveat: I basically cook by sight, smell and intuition. You may want more or less of any of the ingredients.

Have a good time!

From: Albion
To: anglican@stsams.org
Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2006
Subject: Re: [Anglican] P*A*R*T*Y time!