Yiamas!

I am somewhat of a stay-at-home-at-all-costs bod at the moment, so I have to ask my social life to come to me. What better way than to have a pot-luck dinner with a group of girls? I decided on a Greek theme after Googling the date and discovering that it was the calculated date of Odysseus’ return from the Trojan War. Time to celebrate, pot-luck style!


Turns out having a theme is a rather good idea, if I do say so myself. It meant everyone stepped outside their comfort zone to try something new, with most excellent results. It also created quite a cohesive dinner, as opposed to the hotch potch of a true pot-luck dinner. My guests embraced the theme and by 8pm the table was groaning with the flavours of Greece: feta, tomatoes, lamb, eggplant, yoghurt, olives…

Some standout dishes included lamb-stuffed peppers, cumin meatballs, and a mouth-wateringly delicious starter consisting of grilled haloumi on slices of bread with cherry tomatoes.



When I was in Greece in 2001 I lived on a diet of bread, feta and tomatoes (and, oddly, Nutella). Rather than stick to those old favourites I tried something new – walnut-topped baklava wafers with yoghurt and lemon honey syrup. Although a bit fiddly, they were very easy once I got the hang of it, and looked and tasted great. I recommend Puhoi Greek Yoghurt, which is silky smooth with a hint of sweetness in the aftertaste. Delicious.

We discussed ideas for another themed dinner – Mexican, Thai, Indian? Or maybe we could think outside the box a bit and do something like ‘breakfast for dinner’ or ‘only 3 ingredients’. We thought maybe next time we should organise it so that half the guests bring food and the other half bring wine, as we didn’t even touch the sides of some of the dishes. Not that I minded the next day – leftovers from that kind of meal are welcome any day. And I somehow scored two bowls out of the affair, too. Sweet.