(Photography by Sarka Babicka) In honour of Shrove Tuesday, I thought I'd share another favourite from The Jewelled Kitchen (AKA Pomegranates & Pine Nuts). These semolina pancakes are known as beghrir in North Africa, which means “1000 holes”. The name refers to the multitude of holes that develop on the surface as they cook. I've added a levantine touch by sealing them as we do with qatayef ashta (beghrir's cousins really) and stuffing...
Candied Pumpkin Jam and Labneh Cheesecake Author: Bethany Prep time: 1 hour 15 mins Cook time: 40 mins Total time: 1 hour 55 mins Serves: 6 This recipe is inspired by three different dishes: the Turkish dish kabak tatlisi, the cheesecake and, of course, Thanksgiving pumpkin pie. I do prefer this to the traditional pumpkin pie, as it’s far less sickly sweet. The pumpkin really gets to shine and it also melds well with the zesty labneh...
Star Anise Yogurt Mousse with Fig Compote Author: Bethany Prep time: 4 hours 20 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 4 hours 40 mins Serves: 6 I'm gonna keep this post short and sweet (pun not altogether intended). I picked up the combination of flavors for this recipe early on from my grandmother. She loved infusing her fig jam with aniseed or "yansoun" as it's called in Arabic. Here, I chose to infuse the yogurt mousse rather than the fig jam...
Banana, Rum and Macadamia Cake Author: Bethany Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 1 hour Total time: 1 hour 10 mins Serves: 8 This versatile recipe makes either a sweet banana, rum and macadamia cake or (by reducing the sugar quantity) an equally delicious banana bread, just waiting to be spread generously with butter while it is still warm from the oven. Heaven on Earth! I find the sweetness of the cake just right, but you could add a rum drizzle...
Happy New Year! This is my first post for the year and it's a very special one. It's been a longtime dream to write an article about Lebanon and 2010 saw me realize that dream. Accompanied by Roderick Field, we flew to Lebanon where we spent five days gorging ourselves. In fact, on one of the days, we managed to visit 6 different restaurants, and it wasn't just tastings that took place. Part of Lebanon's great charm is the abundant hospitality...
The month leading up to Christmas always creates a warm and fuzzy feeling inside as I get more and more excited about the Christmas celebrations. Everywhere you look Christmas paraphernalia looms and while that can get a bit overbearing (given that they start filling shelves in October these days) it doesn’t stop my eyes from twinkling like Christmas lights. Food, of course, preoccupies a large part of my Christmas planning. I spend a lot of...
What's your idea of a perfect holiday? Mine? My bottom perfectly poised on a sandy beach, chilled music in the background, a good self-help book (because everyone needs help), a few tropical cocktails to set things in motion, and of course a good-looking charmer sweet-talking me all the way. Luckily, I'm married to one so that's already a given! And, where will my bottom be settling in the next 10 days, you ask? Ah, it will be on one of the...
I recently called my father in search of a ma'amoul recipe. A bit perplexed he proclaimed in Arabic: "Why do you want to trouble yourself with making ma'amoul. It's so much work and anyway I don't like ma'amoul. Really it's too much effort for nothing. Shou baddeek bi ha shaghle" See my father is not a baker. A fantastic cook but definitely not a baker. Also, the majority of people in Lebanon don't make ma'amoul anymore given the...
All good things must come to an end, and now here I am back in my kitchen, in my pajamas, my hair in tangles, listening to the chickpeas boil on the stove. I rub my eyes- was it all a dream? I am physically back from Rome where I've spent the last seven days playing Maid of Honor at my cousin Mel's fairytale wedding. Being a maid has never been so fun! It's been hard getting back into the groove after such an extravagant time. (picture courtesy...
I had a sudden inspiration to make panna cotta last week while my cousin Melanie was visiting. Before I talk about that, let me introduce Mel... Mel and I were born the same year, same day AND in the same hospital! Yea, pretty freakish! Have you ever noticed how many late August/September babies there are?! I've always put it down to the holiday spirit...If ya know what I mean ;) Anyway, one of the other things Mel and I share is our...
Ghraybeh are Lebanese butter cookies laced wonderfully with orange blossom flower then individually adorned by a piece of almond, pistachio or a pine nut. They are usually made into either S shapes, diamond shapes and most often shaped into wreath- like shapes where the ends are sealed together with a nut of choice. They are very delicate and melt in your mouth. Ghraybeh cookies are served around the holidays and are delicious with a cup...
For those of you that know me, you will perhaps know that I don't have much of a sweet tooth. However, I do absolutely love chocolate truffles as they are not sickly but more bitter sweet. These are the types of sweets I really enjoy. I couldn't really decide on any particular flavour to go with. I had several ideas lurking in my mind like Orange Blossom Flower and Pistachios, Chile and Vodka, Rum and Coconut, Brandy and Ginger, and simply just...
I want to begin by apologizing for the silence... I'm back! It has taken me a while to catch up with all my blogging duties after all the FBC happenings and another side project I've been working on. I'm still not fully up to speed but nevertheless getting there. Christmas is nearing and if you're anything like me in the gifting department, then you'll love the next couple of posts. I'll be featuring several homemade, edible holiday gift ideas...
My American grandmother introduced me to Jackass! She came into the room and whispered hysterically: " Beth you've gotta come see this!" So, I dropped whatever I was doing and followed her anxiously, wondering what she was going on about? Then... I saw two men with bleach white bums running wildly across the screen, yelling out obscenities while my grandmother was on the floor in tears! I was petrified. Well, I tell a lie. I was amused...Well...
Ayayay! Today is a day that's going to titillate your visual senses and change your lives, forever. Unless, you've already been to Mowie's blog and you've already begun receiving wholesome doses of visualgasms. I can never get enough! I am beyond thrilled to have the beautiful Mowie from Mowielicious.com posting here, today. I first fell upon Mowie's blog a few months ago, when Ms. Gourmet published a link back to his post: Self-Saucing...
Before I begin rambling on about bloggetitis, I would like to say that this post is dedicated to Halloween, Thanksgiving... And, a certain man in my life. This cake and post is dedicated to my brother Eli, because he's just turned the wonderful age of 19! There he is in the below picture, the youngest one, chewing grass at such a tender age. (From left; moi, Eli, Joslin, & Addie in Baskinta, Lebanon. Our parents had a weird thing for...
I always love a really good Lebanese rice pudding. It is so easy to make and a blend of some of my favorite flavors. This one in particular has one I don't get to use so often; mastic gum. Mastic gum reminds me of the Lebanese milk & mastic ice cream we used to have all the time growing up. It was and still is one of my favorites. I love how the ice cream gains a very light stretchy pull, as a result of the mastic gum. You can imagine how...
Sharab el Toot is one of Lebanon's most traditional drinks; a thirst quencher served to guests on hot summer afternoons. It is an exotic, revitalizing, wholesome drink that is sweet yet tangy and is rich with antioxidants. There is also a history that comes with Mulberry syrup, delving back into Lebanon's past... At the turn of the century, Lebanon was known for its high-quality silk industry. Bestowed with ideal climate and...
My friend Sacha came over the other day, to show me how to make this cake. It's one of her family favourites and was developed by her au pair, Maria. I've made it twice since Thursday and plan on making it again for my visitors this week-end! Revised 08/09: " keep making this, everyone is swearing the best summer cake they have ever had!" In other words, It's rocking my world. It's a fun, zesty, light and fluffy summer cake that uses no...
I love dates... The fruit, of course! And, what I love more are easy to make cakes. As date season has come to a start, I've met up with Bishnu, chef spectaculaire, to get his signature date cake recipe. We sat at the kitchen table and started de-seeding the dried dates which he brought back with him from Dubai. Bishnu says: It's important to use dried dates in this recipe because fresh dates will yield mushy results. Removing the seeds......