there's something so satisfying about entertaining your friends at home around a warm table while enjoying a nice meal together. as enjoyable as these gatherings can be, sometimes it's hard to come up with a menu that fits your mood while considering your guests likes, dislikes, and dietary restrictions. recently, i find myself gravitating towards recipes and menus reminiscent of the lebanese food i was introduced to while living in france. this was back in the early 80's, and we were teenagers when my lebanese friends exposed me to my first tastes of their wonderful food. i remember tasting (and loving) hummus for the first time- i'm convinced it was something altogether different than what we call hummus today. late in to the evenings, we'd often pick up (from a shack that stayed open in to the morning) these delicious chicken kebob or falafel sandwiches wrapped in warm pita bread with tahini sauce, parsley, and chopped tomatoes (i wish i had the recipe for that particular tahini sauce...it was tasty, tangy, and perfect). there was also fattoush, taboule, kebeh, and generally more pita bread than i'd like to admit. these days, in remembering those amazing meals shared with good friends, i often find myself planning menus around a combination of several small dishes, or "mezzes" rather than one or two main dishes. although this type of food is more time consuming to prepare, it's much easier to serve, and somehow more enjoyable to consume! this is the menu i'm planning for a small gathering: