History Staff Luncheon

Twice a year, the UCI History Project, History Department, and Humanities staff are treated to a delicious lunch at Bob and Lynn's home. Past offerings have included grilled salmon and Mediterranean faire, a variety of Indian dishes, and a Mexican feast. Yesterday, when I entered their home the smell of curry and cumin greeted me and I knew we were going to be able to enjoy Bob's delicious Indian cooking! We started off with some wine and conversation and then moved into the dining room that was set up with a large selection of Indian dishes. There were so many options--luckily there were big plates--lamb curry, grilled tandoori chicken, cucumber salad, chickpeas and tofu, curried rice, yogurt sauce, and my favorite spinach dish (for the recipe, check the comments section). Since it was buffet-style we could pile our plates high and then return for more, which I did. The lunch was such a treat, it is a wonderful opportunity for us all to get together and enjoy each others' company. Chatting and catching up over great food is one of life's pleasures. Thank you Bob and Lynn for hosting such a wonderful lunch!

The New Bookclub: Theme Spain

For months the bookclub has been meeting, but many of us have been "bad girls" and not been able to keep up with the hectic reading schedule of one book every two months.  We decided we had to keep getting together and wanted to do something where everyone can contribute.  Erika suggested we have a themed eating and drinking meeting replace reading a book.  So, last week, we kicked off the new bookclub with a Spanish theme.  

As you can see we had a wonderful selection of Spanish red wines to choose from as well as some delicious sangria that Andrea made in honor of our theme.  These paired perfectly with the delicious cheese and olives that Lauren brought.  Lauren marinaded a mix of green and black olives in oil, garlic, herbs, and red pepper flakes.  These got our tastebuds ready for our first course, gazpacho.  I used a variation of this recipe, which included tomatoes, grilled red pepper, red onion, garlic, and marjoram.  It was just the right amount of spiciness--luckily for me the onion and garlic had a bit of a bite.  

As we sat around Erika's beautiful dining table and enjoyed each other's company we were served chicken Marbella and Spanish rice family style.  If you have not eaten or prepared chicken Marbella, you should.  The chicken is marinaded for hours with sugar, wine, prunes, olives, herbs, and garlic.  All the sweet, tart, and salty flavors come together while baking to create the Marbella flavors, yum!  Chelsea made her jazzy Spanish rice with tomatoes and peas, a perfect accompaniment.  In my book, the new take on the bookclub was a success!