FoodMan

Ok, just finished a Wendy's Chilli bowl. It's supposed to be rich and meaty, it was more like rich and bean-y. Doctored up with some hot sauce from the first drawer of my office desk, it did the job nicely. Elie

Thanks for sharing the recipe Paula. One question, why scrape the skin? How much "scrapings" do you actually get from a Magret? Elie

Lunch: leftovers from last night's chicken and rice dinner along with some more "mtabla". There was very little leftovers and I am still pretty hungry. I hate to run over to the closest fastfood joint within walking distance (Jack in the Box or Wendy's)...but I just might do that. Elie

Houston Chronicle's Food Section: Sushi State Janice Schindeler discusses America's and houston's fascination with this food. Tips and recipes are included as well as an address for a Hosuton Japanese grocery store, I know I will check this place out. Sake lovers thrill to the chill Would you like some Sake with your Sushi? Janice Schindeler explains this Japanese beverage. Elie

Ok so after a long wait, I tried my first attempt at this cured ham this weekend. My first thought was…boy this needs some fine tuning. I could taste two problems, it had a very strong wine/alcohol taste from the long two week soak AND it was way too salty. The texture and dryness were perfect. For this batch, the first and more serious issue could be sort of remedied by cutting the outside “skin” off the slices. The second however is not as easy to fix. So, for this batch I can only serve it in very thin slices on top of salads, or with other mild flavored ingredients in a sandwich or pizza. So eating it as is, is out of the question. For next time here’s what I was thinking about doing: Reduce the wine by boiling off the alcohol then cut with a little water. Soak the meat for a shorter period of time. Use less salt. Or maybe I should try a whole new recipe???? BTW, I did take some pics but did not have the chance to download them yet. Hopefully I will get to doing that tonight. Elie

What's that?

That's what I do as well. I made the mistake of not rinsing once, and they did come out way too salty. Elie

I have never thought about this. How does it work out? What I mean is, do they rise the same as making and baking right away? What kind of flour did you use? (I am on the hunt for a source of White Lily.) Well, I am not going to lie, there is a small difference, a very small one. They are not as fluffy and do not rise as much as fresh formed and baked ones. For this reason I only make the dough the night before during weekdays when my wife has to be out of the house by 6:15. So, for a non-morning person like myself a little loss in dough rise is a fair trade-off for another hour's worth of sleep. I use unbleached Gold Medal or King Arthur flour. I've never seen White Lily, so let us know if you find it. Elie

I am assuming that the mixture has to be frozen in an ice cream maker after this step. right? Just want to be sure. looking forward for more leftovers Elie

Breakfast: My wife asked for homemade buttermilk biscuits, so last night I made the dough and cut the biscuits. This morning all I had to do was heat the oven and bake them. I had mine with apricot jam and Plugra. My one year old loves his with a scrambled egg. My wife had hers with starwberry preserves. -Black tea sweetened with honey. Elie

A place called La Madelain (sp?), I believe they are a TX chain. A sort of French bakery, sandwich shop and restaurant. Elie

Tonight's dinner: Southern Chicken and rice. The chicken is browned then cooked in water and aromatics, then the rice is added and cooked along with the chicken pieces in the broth. this plate was my brother-in-law's, mine had some thin sliced habanero on it . We have this thing in my house where if someone is not feeling well, the other usually buys/makes some dessert for him/her. I have a mild cold so my wife surprised me with this on her way back from work: A Creme Brulee tart (my favorite), a Napoleon (hers), a Sacher Torte (she wanted to try it out, turned out pretty lame) Elie

Afternoon snack: The rest of the bagel form this morning Watermelon Elie

A very sweet and enjoyable article Monica. I could tell it comes straight from the heart. I also love the line that Gifted Gourmet quoted. very well done, Elie

Elie, thats a brilliant idea. How 'bout some kind of chicken kofta kebab burger? We could call it Kofte Keburger! Although of course a lamb burger would be natural for kofte. Maybe a Lamb and Chicken hybrid, so it wouldnt be so dry? Chicken and Pork would work too, but then it wouldnt be in the spirit of the Halal dietary tradition. Chazzir kofte doesnt sound right I'd go spicy, with chiles in it. Maybe some sort of sauce made with tahini. Or a spicy eggplant salsa. You pretty much read my mind. I was thinking a “Shish Tawook” marinade (fresh oregano, garlic, tomato paste, olive oil and lemon juice). The patty made of ground dark chicken meat or at least a mixture of white and dark The sauce will be a Hummus aioli made with a proportion of regular hummus ingredients to egg and olive oil. We’ll see how it turns out, and I do like the idea of a lamb/chicken combo. But for the sake of keeping this thread on topic maybe we’ll start a new thread about this since I am sure many will have suggestions and ideas. Elie Link to the thread

lunch at the office: A bowl, a plastic tupperware bowl, of cold "mtabla". that's a cold refreshing thick yogurt and wheat kernel soup. It's a childhood Lebanese favorite of mine especially during the hot summer months. Here's a pic I took yesterday of this batch: Elie

It is relatively mild these past couple days, but I would not call it a cool spell . Elie

Do you mean the milk was still very liquidy?? this has happened before to me and the best explanation I have is that the temperature was not warm enough. You can add more starter but you might get a more sour yogurt. Thanks everyone for the kind comments, I hope this will be interesting to all of you. I'm off to a meeting now. later, Elie edit to add: I did make yogurt this past Sunday.

For breakfast this morning: half of a Raspberry chocolate bagel with peanut butter Black Coffee

Looks wonderful. Congrats. May I ask how much did it cost you? Elie

Elie, thats a brilliant idea. How 'bout some kind of chicken kofta kebab burger? We could call it Kofte Keburger! Although of course a lamb burger would be natural for kofte. Maybe a Lamb and Chicken hybrid, so it wouldnt be so dry? Chicken and Pork would work too, but then it wouldnt be in the spirit of the Halal dietary tradition. Chazzir kofte doesnt sound right I'd go spicy, with chiles in it. Maybe some sort of sauce made with tahini. Or a spicy eggplant salsa. You pretty much read my mind. I was thinking a “Shish Tawook” marinade (fresh oregano, garlic, tomato paste, olive oil and lemon juice). The patty made of ground dark chicken meat or at least a mixture of white and dark The sauce will be a Hummus aioli made with a proportion of regular hummus ingredients to egg and olive oil. We’ll see how it turns out, and I do like the idea of a lamb/chicken combo. But for the sake of keeping this thread on topic maybe we’ll start a new thread about this since I am sure many will have suggestions and ideas. Elie

I guess I should’ve mentioned this, my home base is Houston, TX. However, I was born and raised in Lebanon. My Quick meals in a rush tend to be some sort of pasta with herbs, evoo, parmesan and whatever else is available in the fridge/pantry. Other quick favorites include my mom’s scrambled eggs with potatoes and mint and anything rolled in or spread inside pita bread. Elie

Ok, so it’s on me to try and log my daily food habits. I am not sure how interesting how they will be. The problem is I really hardly ever plan my weekly meals, I more or less have a general idea of what we might have. Something along the lines of “hmm…I have not had any Indian at home in a while AND I have some yogurt, I need to do something with that” or “that basil is getting out of hand, I think some pesto might be in order” and so on. I honestly always envied the planners, you know those who have a set menu for everyday of the week. I tried that a couple of times, never works for us. The main hurdle is that I am pretty much the only cook in the house and both my wife and I work. We also have a one year old who needs to be dropped off and picked up from daycare. So by the time I get home which could be as late as 8PM dinner plans might have to be seriously re-vamped. This week, here’s what I am “planning” on: -I want to enter a recipe into the Food and Wine burger contest and I have a vision of a chicken burger with some type of Lebanese twist on it. Thought it might be fun. -I DO have a tree of basil so pesto might make an appearance in some form or shape. -I’ve been meaning to test a braised short ribs recipe with mushrooms. Hopefully it will happen this week. -A homebaked bread is a weekly must have. I also plan on having some pictures posted, mainly of dinner items. Since lunch is usually at my desk in the office and breakfast is usually nothing more than a cup of coffee except on some weekends. So, hopefully my log is half as enjoyable as the other ones have been so far and I look forward to some interesting discussions. Elie

I don't think I've ever gotten a "tip" from this section. I actually look forward for the "whines are moronic" part. Elie

They are on the corner of Bellaire and Boon. I think they have another location (that I've never been to), and it might be at Belliare and 8. Elie