I made baba ghanouj for Pei 2's sushi dinner party last night (in attendance: Pei 1, Jolie, Selena, Doug, Kyoko, Rolando, me, Rahul, Kyle, Kenny):
Thoroughly blacken 1 eggplant under the broiler, then let cool and peel off the charred skin. Don't forget to prick the skin or it will explode with steam when you try to turn it over!

Mince 2 cloves garlic and soften in a pan with olive oil over medium-low heat. (I ended up adding 1 small minced raw clove to up the garlic factor--and my mouth still tastes OK today)

Puree the eggplant pulp and garlic with about 4 tbsp tahini, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp kosher salt, 10 large basil leaves, the juice of 1 lemon, and 3 tbsp EVOO. (All measurements approximate.)

Eat with pita or veggies.

Pei supplied the chopped veggies (carrots, celery, cucumber, broccoli, blanched asparagus) along with sesame soy salad dressing and Japanese mayonnaise. Also spicy tuna rolls, California rolls, inari, gourd/pickle/avocado/cucumber rolls, and tuna sashimi. I think Selena made teriyaki chicken breasts. Pei 2 had "colonization cake"--white cake mix with white chocolate chips from a box, topped with dark chocolate chips. Yum, what a feast!