There is no doubt that bright yellow is the accent color in my home this Spring. With giant yellow tulips blooming in both my front and backyard, many are now cut and in vases in almost every room. As I moved all my plants back outside this weekend, it was nice bringing in a touch of Spring back in.

With yellow as my backdrop, I decided to put together a meal based around the preserved lemons my friend Brenda brought me this week. I did a good deal of research on the varied uses of preserved lemons and decided that creating a Moroccan themed meal would be a fun experiment. My friends are terribly courageous and agreed to come over for dinner on Saturday night (they didn’t have much of an excuse considering you can’t get a dinner reservation in Greensboro during the High Point Furniture Market). I enlisted my friends Jamey and Andrew to help out – bringing appetizers, dessert and wine. We entertained a friend in town for the Furniture Market who was also brave enough to try my Moroccan experiment.

To somewhat of a surprise, the meal came out wonderfully (I’m waiting for the day when I have to pitch dinner and call out for pizza). The addition of turmeric to the chicken and cauliflower gave the food a hint of yellow too. The dinner was inexpensive, light and came together in less than an hour. And, everyone seemed to love the introduction of new flavors. I highly recommend stepping out of the box and trying this menu!

Moroccan on Mendenhall Menu

• Andrew’ Moroccan Meze
• Moroccan Chicken with Preserved Lemon
• Couscous with Dates and Scallions
• Moroccan Roasted Cauliflower
• Jamey’s Espresso Chocolate Bars