When I was in high school, I dated a Persian (Iranian) guy for a few months. I don't remember much about our relationship, but I do remember his mother's cooking! After we'd been dating for while, his family invited mine over for a Friday night dinner. All I remember is a chicken/rice/currant/nut casserole that was absolutely delicious. This recipe is my attempt to recreate the dish from my memory (and with the help of several websites). It may have nothing to do with what I actually ate, but hopefully it will taste good nonetheless.

I made this salad with miscellaneous asian ingredients we had lying around, and it turned out great! There's no need to follow the exact amounts here - first wash as many greens as you want to use, and adjust the quantities of everything else to taste.

Salad:

4 cups washed and torn greens - combination of whatever lettuce, spinach, etc. you have + sliced cabbage
5-10 snow peas, washed and sliced into 1/2" wide pieces
5-10 thin strips red pepper
10-20 thin slices carrot (made on grater/peeler)
10ish thin slices cucumber
2 green onions, sliced

Based on this Epicurious recipe.

2/3 cup vegetable oil (add in other fats for extra flavor)
2/3 cup all purpose flour
2 large onions, chopped (about 4 cups)
2 red bell peppers, seeded, chopped (about 2.5 cups)
3 celery stalks, chopped (about 1.5 cups)
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon cajun seasoning mix

For the shrimp:
8 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 T butter, melted
1 T cajun seasoning
dash Old Bay
dash Celery Salt

For the grits:
1/2 cup grits
2 1/4 cups water
2 T unsalted butter
1 t salt
1 t minced garlic
1/2 cup grated cheese (a 50/50 mix of cheddar and jarlsberg works great)
dash paprika