Getty Villa, part 2: The Inspired Dinner

I have a fairly irrational love of the Mediterranean, and the Getty Villa just brought all those ushy-gushy feelings of long lost familial connection to all things Greek. 

(By way of explanation-yes, I know that the Villa is Roman, but I haven’t been to Italy yet, so I don’t know if I have a Roman/Italian connection.  This also explains why I must classify my love here as irrational, since there is more Mediterranean land still unexplored by me than land which I have seen, by a looooong shot.  But I still hold fast to my love, love which I choose to think of as some how familial, due to the fact that I have one grandmother of unknown heritage.  Her closed adoption has provided various children and grandchildren the fun of picking the heritage of the month.

This really is all related to the Getty and the dinner I made on Sunday.  After I returned from our field trip, I started planning our Sunday dinner, and I knew it had to be Mediterranean inspired. No other dinner idea would satisfy my Greek love.  It was delicious.

For your own culinary trip to the Getty Villa:

Honey Orange Pork Kebabs

2 Tbsp fresh rosemary leaves

the orange peel from one orange (sliced, with the white pith removed)

1/2 cup olive oil

6 tablespoons honey

6 tablespoons orange juice

3 garlic cloves, crushed

3 dry bay leaves

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

2 pounds cubed pork loin       

1 red bell pepper, cubed

1 red onion, cut into chunks

Preparation-

Combine rosemary, orange peel, olive oil, honey, orange juice, lemon juice, and garlic in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add pork, stirring to coat with marinade. Cover; chill at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Thread pork and vegetables onto skewers. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill pork until cooked through, turning frequently and brushing occasionally with marinade, about 12 minutes.

Potato Sald with Olives, Tomatoes, and Capers from epicurious.com

Greek Island Rice Pilaf 

3 cups brown rice, cooked

1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped

1/2 cup Greek yogurt, plain

3 Tbsp. fresh mint, chopped

chopped pistachios

salt and pepper to taste

Simply stir everything together and enjoy!

Field Trip to the Getty Villa

Outer Peristyle at the Getty Villa

The Getty is absolutely incredible and entirely worth the trip to Malibu.  I have no doubt that this over-night trip was a wonderful capstone to our year of Ancient History.  Getty turned his summer home into this villa, modeled from a partially uncovered home near the Bay of Naples.  The Villa provides us with such an inspiring picture of some many things Roman-the architecture, murals, sculpture, gardens, home design.  The Villa allows us an opportunity to walk in a disctinly Ancient Roman dwelling.

Gardens

This was the scene the night before…It was certainly busy, fun and crazy at times, but totally, completely worth it.