Good food for saying goodbye

I can't go home. I had a dinner party last night; took one look at the debris this morning and firmly shut the door vowing never to return.Serious debris. It was yet another farewell party for yet another friend who decided it was time to leave for yet another exotic location. This time London. Which is a lot better than the dinner party I had last week for my friend who was moving to the Solomon Islands.At least London has bad weather too, but the Solomons. The tropics. The heat. The fresh fish. It's the sort of thing that makes you dial travel agents phone numbers and get dozens of quotes.But back to last night, a far happier subject. We had Thai food. Spicy cucumber salad with macadamia nuts, potatoes and carrots in a coconut milk curry, beef in oyster sauce on a bed of chinese cabbage marinated in lemon juice and finally, steamed velvet chicken. Oh, yes plus hot just-baked date cake for dessert.There was nothing Thai about the dessert, but I have found that the nostalgia value for a cake from the oven far outweighs any quibbles about the selection. People instantly recall cakes from their childhood. A topic that kept everyone happy for hours, as we discovered during the course of these reminiscences, was that every one of us at the table of nine were the youngest children in the family. So here's the theory: test it on yourselves. The baby of the family is always happier living abroad. Ponder that as I give you a perfect farewell dish for friends who are leaving.A Georgian Satsivi chicken. Let's face it, you can cook them Russian blini and borscht, but every capital city in the world can give them that. And Thai food is a silly choice, because they are probably going to a Thai restaurant the first hour they get off the plane. There are not many Georgian restaurants abroad, so give them something they will always remember. The first step is to buy your fresh lavash bread from the lavash co-op breadshop in the courtyard next door to the Colognia Intercar supermarket on Ulitsa Bolshaya Sadovaya. They are usually open six days a week, but every now and then close for cleaning. If you can't get it fresh, buy it and freeze, then heat it for about 10 minutes before serving. All lavash-lovers will tell you there is a drawback to this delicious bread: it goes stale in about six hours, so plan well.Lavash will make a perfect filler for the satsivi. If this dish is done well, it is fabulous. It makes up for the dozens of awful satsivis endured in bad restaurants. Side dishes you could consider to make up the meal include Red Bean Lobio and Baked Eggplant slices.I am waiting for the spring before I go to Tbilisi to taste authentically made Satsivi, so in the meantime, here is my cobbled version. The main ingredient, of which you need just a teaspoonful, is khmeli suneli, a Georgian spice bouquet. It really is worth your while to store it in a jar as you will always need it in Georgian cooking. Don't be put off by the number of ingredients, it will make the difference between an ordinary dish and something with layers of flavor. Everyone has their variation of suneli, but make sure you have at least the following: Khmeli suneli1/4 teaspoon ground fenugreek (a seed that tastes a little like caramel) 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes2 teaspoons dried tarragon1 crushed bay leaf2 teaspoons dried thyme2 teaspoons coriander seeds1/2 teaspoon dried mint1 teaspoon turmericDo this in a coffee grinder or food processor. Start with the hard coriander seeds first, then add the rest. The turmeric will alter the color of the bouquet to yellow, so leave it out if you want your satsivi chicken to be more pale.Chicken Satsivi1 chicken, cleaned6 cups water10 peppercornsFor the walnut sauce:1 cup walnuts, finely chopped3 large cloves garlic, chopped2 cloves, crushed1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (which is better than black pepper because it is fiery)1 teaspoon ground coriander1/2 teaspoon cinnamon1 teaspoon Khmeli suneli powder3 medium sized onions, finely chopped1 tablespoon butter1 tablespoon plain flour2 1/2 cups chicken stock2 egg yolks1 tablespoon vinegarCoriander leaves to garnishPut the chicken into a large pot with the water and peppercorns, bring to boil and then simmer slowly for about 40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked. Skim the fat from the surface occasionally. While this is cooking, start making the sauce. Grind together the walnuts, cloves and garlic, then add the cayenne pepper, coriander powder, cinnamon and suneli powder. Mix well and set aside. Melt the butter in a heavy based saucepan and add the onions, cook on very low heat for about 15 minutes. By this time your chicken should be cooked. Remove it from the pan, leave to cool and strain the stock. You will need 2 1/2 cups for the onions. When the onions are very soft and just starting to take on some color, stir in the flour, and cook for a few minutes, making sure the flour doesn't stick. Gradually pour in the chicken stock, stir well and leave for about five minutes on low heat.Next add the walnut mixture to the onions, stir to combine and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Whisk the egg yolks together and gradually add to the sauce. This will thicken it to the right consistency. After about two minutes, remove from the heat, stir in the vinegar and allow to cool to room temperature.All you need to do now is break up the chicken into small pieces, taking off as much fat as possible (the curse of the bad satsivi dish) and coat them in the sauce. Serve the dish on a large platter with a garnish of coriander leaves. Make sure you have plenty of lavash bread to sop up the sauce.