Rakı Night....

My wife and I had the great pleasure of introducing our really good friends to Rakı, the national alcoholic beverage of Turkey. I prepared most of the food, Jen helped me out with a few dishes. And some I got them from Anatolia Mediterranean Cafe. Rakı table is full of mezes, small dishes similar to tapas, and they are usually followed by a main course. Below are the pictures of some of the cold dishes that got us started...

This is dolma, stuffed grape leaves, from the Anatolian Mediterranean Cafe.

Several different kinds of bread, namely, rustic sourdough baguette, french baguette, olive bread.

Another dish from the cafe mentioned above. A deliciously spicy tomato paste, we call it "ezme".

An incredibly simple, yet delicious and refreshing salad option: grated carrots with lemon juice!

Fried eggplant, which is than sautéed with garlic, onions, tomatoes and tomato paste.

And, of course, the star of the show....