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 last few months have been extremely hectic. Thankfully I have been kept very busy with different projects and prospects although this has meant a little less time for blogging. Holiday season is nearing and I'm really looking forward to more recipe creations and new inspirations. One thing that has also been on my mind is creating football friendly food, like these cauliflower fritters with tahini dressing. So, over the next couple of...
I'm in love with green bean casserole! Not any green bean casserole, however. Dish me up the classic green bean casserole invented in 1955 by Campbell's Soup Company using canned ingredients and beware the dragon fire. As I've mentioned before, I like to use fresh ingredients and to build a dish from scratch. There really is nothing more satisfying, more delicious, more virtuous, more necessary. I realize that for some, the mere mention of the...
Roasties are what the English call roast potatoes. I had never heard of them till my early 20's when I learned the following technique from my father in-law. He's a fantastic cook. When Jim served these up, I went completely bonkers with delight or as he simply calls it-crazy Arab. The secrets to getting roasties perfectly crisp are: A) Roughen up the edges by shaking them well. B) Let them dry out a bit (which makes them great for...
It seems as though all I've been talking about recently is Kebbeh and that's because I really never tire of it, especially as they're are so many variations of it. The below recipe is just one other example.I recently gifted my friend Sacha a Middle Eastern cookbook entitled "Turquoise" authored by Greg and Lucy Malouf and full of tales about their journey through Turkey. The book is exquisite; from the turquoise cover (which happens to be my...
This feisty dip is prepared in several ways in Lebanon, where it’s known as toum. It's an icon of the Lebanese culinary repertoire and I can remember my love for toum beginning early on, when as a child I would make secret midnight trips to the fridge and snack on it by dipping in with some Arabic bread. Usually, at home, pounded garlic is emulsified with olive oil and finished with a squeeze of lemon. In the north of the country, mint may...