Middle Eastern Beef Kebabs and Dolmades

Alright. It was bound to happen. Not a good experiment.  Crazy tons of work.  One of those meals that you don't quite realize what you're in for until you've started...and not terribly good.  Ok, pretty bad, actually.

It started with a startlingly expensive cut of meat at the supermarket -- beef tenderloin (which, as it turns out boys and girls, is just fillet mignon.)  Then a homemade marinade...onions, a million fresh herbs and spices...and a date with a food processor.  Then, while my retirement fund marinated in the refrigerator I made the dolmades. 
Dolmades are cigar shaped rolls made of grape leaves and a savory stuffing.  The recipe I used included carrot, garlic, lots of dill, lemon and lemon zest, chicken stock and rice. They were incredibly time consuming and irritating to make! Unrolling the pickled grape leaves was a meal prep in itself!  Upon removing the smooshed wad of leaves from the jar, I had to peel them apart, unroll them, sort through them..Ugh!  I don't mind this kind of work for something fantastic, but as it turns out...these do not fit the bill!
Then spooning the rice filling and rolling them into baby Mediterranean burritos, followed by steaming them for another 1/2 hour.

The kebabs turned out to be lacking also.  The gas tank for the grill was empty after a long winter, so I broiled the kebabs instead, which turned out fine, though there was not much of a sear on the meat. I had high hopes for the homemade marinade, but it turned out to be weird tasting.  I think it was too many combinations of unfamiliar spices; specifically Dill, mint, cumin, cayenne, thyme, tons of onion, lemon juice and lemon zest and olive oil.  I may be forgetting something.

The entire family agrees that the best part of dinner was the veggie and hummus tray I served as an appetizer. Oh, well.  As it turns out, I'm a bit more all-American when it comes to cuisine than I may have once thought.  And so is my family. The final word: save your time...save your money, and if you must buy an un-godly expensive cut of meat throw it on the grill, serve it with a salad, a baked potato some A-1 bold and spicy and a good beer.