Banquet Reflection

 I had a very good time at the banquet and thought that it was a great idea. I made kefta kebabs and some rice for the banquet. While kebabs are originally from the Middle East, the kefta kebabs I made are Moroccan. I think that it is a Mediterranean dish. This dish is traditionally served for dinner, but can be made for other meals. I bought all the ingredients for the kebabs at Aldi, but had to go to Food Lion to get the skewers for the kebabs. I did have some difficulties making it because I had to put the kebabs in the oven with no hard tray. I also cut my finger when I was chopping the cilantro, which really hurt and is something I will not forget. I will probably have a scar to remind me of what happened. The kebabs were all done and looked very good, which I was excited about, so I was chopping cilantro to put in the rice and cut myself because I was doing it too fast. One thing that I would end up doing differently would be to either eat them right away when they are the most juicy or buy ground beef with a higher fat percentage, so the kebabs would not dry out as fast. However, I got the idea to make these kebabs from the book Evil Eye by Etaf Rum. Yara was making this dish for her family with a side of yellow rice. In the book is said that she had this 3-course meal being prepared for her family, and there was no mess in the kitchen at all. Yet her mother-in-law still found a little bit of dust on a chandelier. I found it funny in the book that she still found a way to see what Yara was doing wrong, despite there being no mess in the kitchen after making all this food. I wanted to try and make the kebabs and rice with no mess in the kitchen, just like Yara had. I quickly saw how difficult this was and made a huge mess when preparing the dish. There was trash all over the place and food on the floor. I wanted to put myself in her shoes, and I now realize how hard it is to cook and not make a mess. I respect Yara much more now that I see that she has the skill to cook all the food and still be tidy. I liked the idea of doing a banquet over an exam. The reason I say this is because I think I get to learn so much more just through the process of cooking and eating people's dishes. I learn how other people make their food and how Dr.Esa makes tzatziki and bread, which I would not get from a final exam. Which is why I was super grateful to be able to have this experience in this class. I also just really enjoy trying new foods and eating, so this is an overall better option in my opinion. My favorite dessert was the baklava Julina made, and my favorite main dish was the kefta lamb with potatoes Dr.Esa made. 

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