Message: | Seems really pricey. I go to the one in Torrance which is held on Tuesdays and Saturdays. As an example, last weekend I cooked a 14-course Moroccan feast for 18 people. Here's my shopping list (and those from the Farmer's Market with an asterisk) - spices and pantry-items excluded:
* 8 bell peppers
* Dozen onions
* 1 butternut squash
* Whole garlic
* 3 yellow squash
* 2 waxy potatoes
* 2 dozen carrots
* 6 yams
* 3 sweet potatoes
* 1 head of cabbage
* 6 eggplant
* bunches of radishes
* celery stalk
* 6 lemons
* 6 oranges
* 1 bunch mint
* 1 bunch parsley
* 1 bunch cilantro
* 3 pomegranates
3 chickens
1 leg of lamb
2 boxes instant couscous
4 cans garbanzo beans
2 cans chopped tomatoes
2 cartons vegetable stock
1 cup dried lentils
12 dates
12 olives
1 quart labne
1 jar pomegranate juice
2 bags pita
1 long flat-bread
1 box Middle Eastern cookies (I cheat and buy those)
1 quart Faloodi (an odd "ice cream"
Here's my menu -- the whole thing cost me under $175 and I only spent around $40 to $50 at the Farmer's Market for fruits and vegetables:
1. Moroccan soup with lentils and garbanzo beans
2. Eggplant Chermoula
3. Roasted Bell Peppers with Cumin
4. Sauteed sweet potatoes with Turmeric
5. Spicy carrots with cumin and coriander
6. Yellow squash with cinnamon and saffron
7. Roasted chicken couscous with carrots, yams, onions, garbanzos topped with dates and raisins
8. Marinated lamb skewers
9. Baba Ghanoush with Pita
10. Labne and Za'tar (a Middle Eastern cheese with herb blend) with flatbread
11. Radish salad with oranges and mint
12. Olives
13. Cookies with Middle Eastern coffee
14. Faloodi with Moroccan mint tea
By-the-way, I do this feast three or four times a year, so I consistently spend between $150 and $200, depending on the number of diners and the quality of lamb I decide to cook. I've got it down pretty pat by now...
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