Georgian Supra Night

Hello everyone...less than three weeks to go! In honor of this benchmark (and since there's really nothing to do at home) I've decided to post an entry about Georgian food. This is one of the things that I'm most excited about. While I was in Russia, I ate at a number of Georgian restaurants. Georgian cuisine is delicious and will probably be responsible if I gain 20 pounds over the next two years.

A couple of weeks ago, my friends and I decided to have a Georgian food night. I spent most of the day preparing the meal and drove to Cary to buy some Georgian wine and mineral water from the international grocery store. It all paid off....I didn't screw up the meat or the khachapuri--Georgian cheese bread filled with 24 ounces (!) of cheese.

I'd highly recommend giving Georgian food a try, here's the recipe for khachapuri and check out russianfoods.com for some good recipes for other Georgian dishes. Here are a few pictures from the evening:

The Georgian plate (minus the meat)...the khachapuri is the big bread/cheese blob...

I've been told that Georgian supras (or banquets) last hours and hours with lots of toasts, wine and vodka. Our's took about 90 minutes and only one toast, but its a start. Of course, the benefit to having a supra in Chapel Hill is that I didn't feel obligated to clean my plate, lest I meet the wrath of an angry host mother. Good times...and a great way to end the year. I'll leave you with a traditional Georgian toast (many more found here):

"A donkey was crossing the desert. One day, two days, three, a week . . . how terrible was the heat! Suddenly he saw two large kegs. One was full of water, the other of vodka. From which keg do you think he drank? Of course, the water! So let's not be donkeys, and, drink vodka!"

Let's hope it sounds better in Georgian...