FoodMan

I always use Dutch Process for nearly everything. I think, and this is purely a personal taste issue, that it does make a big difference in taste. It is much smoother than regular cocao and you can really feel it if you are using it in large amounts in a recipe. The end product tends to taste more chocolaty to me when using Dutch Process, and I like that. I say go ahead and use it in your recipe, it should not be a problem. Elie

I know it's not exactly the same but I made a bitter chocolate ice cream with chuncks of homemade sea salt pistachio brittle in it. It was awsome, and I really had to keep myself from eating the salty sweet brittle before I added to the ice cream. To make the brittle I used regular coarse sea salt not the much more expensive and fine/flaky textured Fleur De Sel. If you want a more assertive salty taste try doing that. For the brittle just use equal amounts of toasted pistachios to sugar. Make a dry caramel with the sugar, add maybe a tablespoon of salt to the caramel, then add the pistachios. Stir to combine. Dump the whole thing (CAREFUL!! VERY HOT!) onto a baking sheet sprayed with Pam, spread with a spatula and let cool. Enjoy. Elie

Forgot to add, when you go there ask for Michael. I'm pretty sure he's the owner and will help you out with any requests. Elie

Sunday- A traditional Colombian dinner at my in-laws house. Braised beef tongue served with rice, avocados, limes and fried plantains. I love the stuff, too bad my mother in law does not make it more often. Monday- crockpot dinner of pork and beans with tomato paste, lots of onions and garlic. Elie

Pete's fine Meats is what you want JPipes, that's what Fifi is thinking about. It's also close to where you are at. I merged JPipes pos tinto this older thread. X-mas is around the corner so it might be time to bring this thread up anyways, in case y'all are looking into buying a nice prime rib or maybe some bear chops for the big night . Elie

The fluff topping you mention is used to top a variety of pastries and is indeed traditionally made from the mallow root. So really it is good old marshmallow fluff. ARGHHHHHH!!! The horror, The horror!! Thankfully I do not think I encountered those last time I was there, this past May. Thanks for sharing M. Lucia. Elie

I have not forgotten my promise to post the recipe. I just had no time to type it up yet. Swisskaese- I have seen Akawi cheese at middle eastern stores. It is usually sold frozen. Just ask for Kanafi cheese. Elie

I like THAT very much. I can also see some kick-ass Bloody Marys in my future. Elie

I cannot believe I forgot this, but I just remembered I made several jars of peach "syrup" this summer. I am positive I can use those in the ice cream or even some in the hot sauce.

Ok, right after the hot sauce, a habanero peach ice cream is on the list. It sounds great. Since fresh peaches are not available, I might have to use peach preseves though. Elie

Where can we sign up? ← Well I have to make them first and make sure they came out ok, then we'll see how many I have to give away . Elie

I suppose it's an option. Do you think I should make them sign anything? you know I would not want to be charged with attempted homicide . Actually I think a good hot sauce is the way I would go, like Jason suggested. It is tasty and lasts a good while. See, no one in my famlily would come near the stuff (so I cannot just use for cooking) so it is all mine, mine, mine..unless you folks would like a sample ? I am thinking about adding some orange juice/zest to the hot sauce. What kind of proportions of pepper to vinegar to salt to citrus am I looking for with long term storage in mind? Should I store in small mason jars or actual bottles? Elie

maybe not very traditional, but a little ricotta cheese mixed in is wonderful. Elie

I have one Habanero plant in the back yard and that thing has to be the most prolific thing I ever planted. This is what I picked a couple of days ago... ...and I have like three times that in the freezer. I can never eat all that as is sliced on top of food and I am not going to make jerk seasoning with all of it. So what do you suggest I do? I am thinking some time of chili jam or a thick hot sauce maybe. However any suggestions are welcome. So let's hear it. Elie

Did you wrap a foil around the ramekin for that height? ← Nope. No foil around the ramekin. Elie

Saturday: a sort of put-together-from-whatever-I-had-around dish: Rigatoni baked with roasted butternut squash, sausage, mozzarella and feta cheese. the whole thing was layered with creamy bechamel sauce. It was very good with and seemed perfect for a rainy day like saturday. Dessert: buttermilk pie Sunday: Laban Ummo, a wonderful middle eastern beef stew with yogurt. Dessert: A fluffy light bannana souffle (I had a lot of bannanas lying a round and some extra egg whites.)

Laban Ummo, literally means “It’s Mother’s Milk” is a wonderful stew made with lamb or beef in a rich cooked yogurt sauce. The name refers to the fact that the young tender lamb or veal is cooked in it’s own mother’s milk! Kind of gruesome, I know but as far as we are concerned the meat will not be cooked in it’s own mother’s milk or even a relative’s milk for that matter, and this is one elegant and delicious stew. In my recipe I add chickpeas even though they are not traditionally added to this dish. I just think they go great with it and add a little more body to the finished product. This dish is very easy, well almost very easy. The yogurt sauce is a little tricky and needs constant attention and stirring or else it will curdle and turn very nasty. So, clear a good 15 to 20 minutes of your time and do NOTHING but the yogurt sauce and you will be rewarded with the most unusual, creamy and delicious sauce that could be used for many applications and this stew is one of the classical and best ones. To make the sauce I use whole homemade yogurt. If you are using store bough yogurt, just make sure it is fresh and not too sour tasting. I like to serve this with white rice or basmati rice cooked with some clarified butter (Samen). As for the garnishes, the crushed mint and melted Samen are a must. The preserved lemon on the other hand while certainly not traditional in Lebanon, and my mom will never use it, will add a wonderful flavor that goes great with the tender meat and slightly tangy sauce. 4 Tbsp. Samen (clarified butter) 1.5 lbs. beef chuck or lamb shoulder 1 Cup chopped onions 4-5 peeled small shallots 10 cloves garlic, chopped 2 bay leaves 1 can chickpeas drained, or equivalent dried cooked chickpeas Cooked Yogurt Sauce: 3 cups plain whole milk yogurt at room temperature 4 Tbsp. corn starch 1/2 cup water (or more if needed) Garnishes: Crushed dried mint Melted Samen (about 1 Tbps. Per serving) Chopped preserved lemon - Prepare the meat by trimming any excess fat and sinew. Cut into 1 inch chunks and season with salt and pepper. - In a heavy pot over medium heat melt half of the Samen and sear half the meat on all sides. Remove to a platter and repeat with the rest. - Add the onions, shallots (left whole), garlic and bay leaves to the pot. Cook while stirring until they are translucent but not brown. - Put the meat back into the put and stir to coat with all the aromatics. Add 3-4 cups water to the pot. The water should be barely cover the meet. - Bring to a boil on high heat and remove any scum. Reduce the heat to simmer, partially cover the pot and let cook for about 1.5 hours until the meat is almost tender. Raise the heat to medium and remove the lid. Let the mixture cook till the liquid is no more than 1 cup. - Add the chickpeas and continue cooking/reducing until most of the water is gone. You still need some liquid in there though so do let it dry out. Now turn the heat to the lowest setting. Cover and prepare the yogurt. - Put the yogurt in a sauce pot and whisk till smooth. - Make a slurry by whisking the corn starch with the water. Add to the yogurt. - Put the pan over medium heat and gently stir CONSTANTLY in one direction. Do this until the yogurt is hot, with steam coming out of it and tiny bubbles appear on the edges. Do not expect it to come to a boil but it will get a little thicker than it was. If you did this right and did not stop stirring or raise the heat, you should end up with a smooth creamy hot yogurt sauce ready to be used. Turn the heat off. - Carefully pour the yogurt sauce over the beef stew. Stir everything thoroughly, cook for no more than a couple of minutes to get everything to the right temperature. Season with salt and pepper if needed and serve immediately with rice and top with the above garnishes if desired. The meat right before adding the water Getting ready to add the cooked yogurt to the stew Plated and ready to serve! Elie

Yeap, the one on the left is Asmaliya, phylo layers stuffed with cream and soaked with syrup. The ones in the center is I believe Basma or some might call it Kenafi, the shredded phylo stuffed with cream. I am not sure about the white one on the far right, but is could be "Halawit El Jibin", a sort of cheese dessert. Elie

The discussion about Ataiif started in the Middle Eastern pastries topic. However these wonderful pancakes stuffed with nuts or cream deserve their own thread with recipes and pics. Hmm…can you please elaborate on this: “There was some deal about having to get rid of the leftover milk because it is poisonous so I've always hesitated to do it. Is this something you've heard of?” Yes I do make my own cream. Unfortunately, it is not Ashta, the fantastic thick cream they use in the middle east and is near impossible to make at home. It is rather a cooked cream, thickened with starch and flavored with sugar, rose water and orange blossom water. I will be more than happy to post the recipe as soon as I get back home. Hopefully tonight. Elie

Thnaks for these mouthwatering pics. This thread is going straight to my waist , since I want to make a bunch of stuff now! A note about Kenafi: If you wander to any Lebanese joint and order Kenafe, whether in Beirut or in Tripoli (the sweet capital of the middle east) you will not get cream filled shredded phyllo. Instead of the phyllo shreds the cream is topped with a buttery crumbly semolina "dough". The one in the picture will be called "Basma" in Lebanon, never Kenafi. However, if you look in Roden's book or in Sonia Uvuzian's book they both have the shredded Phylo rendition not the semolina one. Probably because it is easier to make? the only book that has the Kenafi recipe I am talking about is a Lebanese book written in Arabic. The recipe is tricky to make and I am still trying to get it right. Don't get me worng, I love the crispy crunchy Basma, but to me it just is not Kenafi. Elie

I always fill mine with the cream you are talking about. Walnuts is another popular filling but the cream is my favorite. Elie

Those gummy pistachio things are called "Herissa Bil Fustuk" or Pistachio Herissa. Kataiif or Ataiif as well as Znood El Sit are wonderful things. Here are some pics I took of Kataiif I made a while back. The holes in the "pancakes" were a little too big which means I need to make the batter a little firmer next time. Boy am I craving those now. Elie

I would agree with Jason, the names I might give them might vary wildly from the ones used in Egypt, Israel or Turkey. The generic name for pretty much all of them in Lebanon is Baklawa. Thi si what is classically called Baklawa (Baklava) That very first one with cream I think is called "Ithmaliya with Ashta(cream)". I cannot really tell what the ones in the background are. The closest one is "Barma bil Fustuk Halabi" (Barama with Pistachios). This could also be fille dwith pine nuts and will then be called..you guessed it Barama with Pinenuts. The one right behind it is made with shredded phyllo soaked in rosewater and orange blossom water and filled with pistachios. This is called "Bullawriya", roughly translated as "crystal" due to it's color. I am not too crazy about this one and it is a little too sweet and chewy for my taste. I am not too sure but I think the top tray all the way in the front is called "Mamduda bil Fustuk Halabi" Semolina, sugar dough filled with pistachios and topped with another layer of dough. I do not know what the very first tray is, but the second one goes byt either "Namourra" or "Herissa" I'll update the names if I learn anything else. Elie

I just have to thank you for posting these wonderfull pics. I will take some time to look at them and hopefully have some identification for you. Elie

Saturday Hot and sour stir fried chicken with steamed rice Sunday Brined roast chicken with sweet potato gnocchi in apple cider sauce Elie