Middle-eastern feastern

Possible thoughts for my upcoming middle-eastern birthday dinner:

Watermelon, rosewater and mint salad
Cumin / cardamom lamb meatballs on a platter
Rice pilaf with cinnamon, pine nuts, almonds and currants
Yoghurt and cucumber salad (with....something)
Flat bread (hmm)
Mint tea (gotta find a proper old Moroccan teapot to go with my green glasses)

The birthday cake could be something like figs with honey on a pastry base, spiked with candles.

I want to do a scarlet or red tablecloth with some ornate striped fabric as a runner. Touches of gold would be good too: maybe in a centrepiece or napkins.

I need to consider appropriate music, too.

I bought the latest issue of ABC Delicious today and there is a big section on middle-eastern flavours. That should help me along.

My biggest problem is: a) the DAMN oven (it totally screwed up the pork roast I made for Pete on Sunday...took nearly an hour longer than it should have), and b) my continuing pooritude. Car rego and car insurance have both gone onto the credit card this month, plus rent and normal groceries. Choir fees are due and I still haven't done my tax return. The volunteer unpaid work doesn't help either. I just want to be able to cook and make what I want ( within reason, or course), without feeling resentment towards my dinner recipients, or stressing myself out with ten tons of planning and super-control-freakiness.

So I will try to relax and think about why I am doing it: for the love of friendship, for my own interest and experience and to see my friends enjoy themselves.

***update***

It went well. I made the dishes as above. For the dessert, I used frozen filo and baked it with a filling that I made by soaking dried figs and dates in a syrup of honey, orange juice and orange blossom water. I set some little pieces of rose and almond turkish delight around the edge of the platter, and sprinkled the fruit with pistachios.

I additionally made a platter of carrots and beans chopped into matchsticks, which I poached briefly in lemon and orange juice. They were good, quite tart and still crunchy.

To nitpick, I thought that the overall effect was quite dry. I made the meatballs that morning and then reheated them in the oven, but they dried out a little, and without a dip or a sauce, with the savoury rice and the plain pita bread, I found it a little dry. Next time I will make a tahini or hummus sauce on the side, as well as the cucumber yoghurt.

The table setting was great. I used a scarlet tablecloth from Spotlight, with a orange striped placemat on top. I arranged a vase of oranges, a few tealights in coloured holders and a vase of sand with a tealight inside. I had little dishes of salt and coarse ground pepper, and one of finely chopped lemon peel.

I found a CD of bellydance music at Toombul Music for ten bucks, and had that on repeat. It was effective.