FoodMan

Now I know what to do with the leftover corn bread other than stuffing! This really is a very cool idea. Elie

Monday- Whatever was left from Bouchon's Pork Trotter with gribiche Last night- Made Marcella Hazan's Bolognese with spaghetti. I so wanted to make fresh pappardelle for this but unfortunately, I did not have time. Still it was excellent. Dessert: Prune ice cream

Thanks! I did in fact follow the recipe exactly - something I always do on the first run. I don't think I would change anything in terms of ingredients. Just keep in mind Ms. Wolfert's recipe feeds 12. Her suggestion to cut the recipe in half would have been a good plan. Even though bisteeya should be served hot, and I get a sense it does not reheat well, I could not bring myself to discard the leftovers - so I put them up in the fridge and will try to rewarm in the oven - I will let you know how that turns out. Now, Elie, come to my house to teach me to make khoubz! I am so intimidated by anything requiring yeast... ← Just keep telling yoruself "yeats is my firend"...give it a name if you want , ok that is a little weird. Serioulsy, just follow my recipe for Pita bread, it has been very well "tested" by many on the boards. Now to cut it in half, should I still end up with the same number of "layers", but with a smaller diameter pie? or will it even be shorter? Elie

I would say yes, even for some breakfast items like this one or like stewed fava beans with lemon and mint or hummus. I can think of many other examples as well. Eli

Great Job!!! This looks fantastic. I just printed the recipe out and now I want to try it as well. Any tips or suggestions hazardnc that we should know? Did you follow the recipe instuctions exactly? Elie

This all looks great Elie, do you actually mix all these ingredients to garnish your manaish?? I generally like the combo of zaatar/tomato alone or zaatar/olives (green lebanese ones)/labneh. I never thought of combining mint with zaatar, will try that next time... ← Yeah, I sort of do mix them up in the following order: smear of Labneh, then onions, then tomatoes, then olives and mint leaves. You can get them like this at lots of bakerys in Lebanon, especially the ones that use the Saj to bake the pies. Most of them actually also add sliced fresh cucumbers as well. This is know as "Manoochi bil Khodra" or meaning Manooshi with veggies. I like to drink either hot tea with them, Ayran or ice cold 7UP Elie

I really have no single favorite preparation for those. I usually never cook them but like fifi mentioned try and keep them raw. I love a thick crunchy slice in a burger, as well as the crunch and sweetness they add to a salsa. I'll have to try tossing them with Tabsco though, that sounds pretty good. Elie

I made the discs last night. My problem was that after I piped the discs, I had only enough meringue left to pipe maybe 10" worth of sticks. Probably, I made the discs too thick. I suppose I'll make some more meringue to make sticks. Also, I note that the sticks in the photograph in the book are different from the sticks that result from the recipe. The sticks in the photo are much lighter in color, are much more cylindrical in shape, and have been powdered with cocoa. So, I'm thinking I'll make another batch of meringue sticks using less cocoa and sugar, so I can get them to look like the ones in the book. The final texture of the meringues was, like the last batch, shatteringly crisp. I tried a stick of meringue at the end of the baking time, and it had a slightly chewy center, which I liked. But after the end of hte drying in the oven, they were ultracrispy. I kinda liked the chewy center, so next time I might skip the post-baking cool-down in the oven. ← I'm looking forward to see how this turns out. I noticed the same thing about the sticks. Also, the ones in the picture seem thicker than 1/4 inch. BTW, the meringue will lose that ultra-crispiness after the cake is assembles, frozen and defrosted. Elie

Well, I simply did not read the recipe properly and for some reason thought that the baking sheet with the single circle on it is meant only for the meringue pipes not for a third layer , since the recipe says 'pipe as many meringue pipes as you can on the sheet with the one circle' (and I kept wondering why on earth we need to draw a circle for ). So I actually ended up with too much piped meringue when I noticed during the assembly phase that I need a third layer. what to do? what to do? I put most of the pipes in the middle making a semi-layer between the two rounds. This caused the cake to have too much of a space and jagged edges on the sides, that's why I took my picture from the top. And I ended up with too little pipes to put on top (BTW, they would have come out a lot better if I had a 1/4 piping tip instead of a plastic ziplock bag). Just had another slice and this thing keeps on getting better.... I freeze egg whites in small ramekins, two in each. Then remove and keep in a ziplock bag. Like Patrick said, they work great after they are brought to room temp. I cannot believe you were throwing these magic workers away! Elie

To clarify, the recipe on page 699 is a recipe made with Burgul and tomatoes and he calls it "Madfoona" and claims it is known by another name that he is too embarassed to mention, something indecent apparently. Unfortunatly, I have heard of "Madfoona" which means buried, but not of the other name . Elie

Nora- Welcome to the egullet Society, sorry i did not notice your question till now. Next time feel free to PM or email me if you need to. However, I really do not have much to add to what Behemoth already said, all was great advice. Sorry about your meat pies. Stuff like that needs a little practice. Next time if the circles are too small, just put in less filling. Elie

Am I the only one who actaully thought the chili gravy on page 74 tastes good on it's own? I use good pork or bacon fat and chicken stock (both manufactured in my kitchen) to make it. That could be the reason I guess. BTW, those cheese enchilada's look perfect. I guess no Velveeta for you, huh . Elie

I am not sure if you read through the trotters' recipe or not but basically when all is said and done and before pan frying, you should have a thick sausage of pork hock meat and skin, no bones. Then it is sliced coated with dijon and bread crumbs and pan fried and roasted. What you end up with is a very refined pork's foot. the crust is crunchy and the gelatin holding the meat together softens, so the inside tastes very porky and metlingly tender (no chewy or rubbery skin at all). If you did not know, it really would be hard to guess that this dish is made from the humble hock. You should try it at least once. I have some left, and you can guess what will be tonight's dinner. I have a simple Krups ice cream maker like the one Alton Brown uses on Good Eats. It's very affordable (< $60 I think) and has never failed me in the three years that I owned it. I just keep the ice cream bowl in the freezer all the time, so I have it when I need it. Elie

Yesterday was is affectionatly known in my house as "cheese-pie Sunday". The reason for that is because whenever I make those, it inevitably is a Sunday. So, now it is a tradition . Here are the three types of breakfats pies (or manaish) I typically make: the one in the front is the traditional Za'atar pie, the one with the white topping is the cheese variety. The orange one is topped with Kishik (or Kishk). For those who do not know, kishik is similar to the Greek Tarhana. It is made by mixing yogurt with burgul, letting it ferment, sun drying it and grinding it into a semi-powder. Need I say that I did not do all that myself? The Kishik is mixed with chopped tomatoes, onions, chilies, salt and olive oil and spread on the dough. It really is divine. hmm...I think a kishik thread is in order Here are my favorite garnishes that go with the za'tar manaish: Labneh, tomatoes, onions, mint and olives. Elie

Wendy, everything looks good. I have to try that tartine with the remoulade. This weekend I cooked form Bouchon both Saturday and Sunday as well. I made the pork trotters with gribiche sauce early last week and served them on Saturday. These truly do justice to the pigs foot. They are amazingly crispy, rich and soft at the same time and the taste is full of flavor. Here are a couple of pics, the first is a cross section and the second is the plated dish. I also made a simple roasted chicken and served it with a salad and this cauliflower gratin. Truly, one of the best cauliflower dishes ever. One other thing I made but was not too impressed with was the Prune ice cream with Armagnac. The taste was ok, but the texture was a little on the "powdery" side if you know what I mean. It was not nice and creamy. Anyone else tried this? Elie

Jen- Happy boirthday and this does look great. I actaully love how the ham added that red accent as the bottm/top layer. Elie

Friday- Stuffed eggplant, a recipe from the last issue of Food and Wine. The eggplant is stuffed with a mixture of veal, eggplant, Romano cheese and bread crumbs. Saturday- Pork trotters from Bouchon cookbook with celery leaf salad and sauce gribiche. This is another great recipe from this book, the trotters are crispy on the outside from pan frying and soft on the inside. Dessert: Prune ice cream with Armagnac Sunday- More stuff from Bouchon, I roasted a free range organic chicken and served it with red leaf lettuce salad and a cauliflower gratin. I have to say, this was the first time I pick up one of these chickens at the farmer’s market and the taste and texture is way better than supermarket bird. I was very impressed, It actually does not taste like “chicken”. Here is the gratin, Dessert: Concord cake from Herme’s chocolate book.

I always seem to have an excess of egg whites, safely tucked away in the freezer. This weekend I defrosted some and made the Concord. I love a good Daquoise and this seemed similar without the nuts. Due to a mistake in the procedures (mine not the reicpe’s) which I am too ashamed to tell what it was, my cake did not come out as amazing looking as the picture. However, one taste of this cake blew me away. It really is awesome with great texture and strong choco taste. The meringue turns soft and very lightly chewy, it almost melds with the mousse making a nice compact chocolate delight. It is one of those cakes that if I did not make it myself, it would have taken me a while to figure out what it is that makes it so good. Next time I will make sure to read the recipe more carefully though . Elie

A "chicken shawarma" is called a Shish Taouk (pronounced TA-OOK) everywhere in the Middle East. Also, the highest grade shawarmas I have eaten are typically lamb or mostly lamb with a little beef mixed in. ← I cannot speak for all the middle east, but I will have to disagree with your statement concerning the Lebanese definition. Shish Taouk (or Tawook) in any Lebanese restaurant refers to chunks of marinated chicken breast (marinade usually includes tomato paste, garlic and spices) on a regular metal or wood skewer (8-12 inches long), grilled over charcoal. In the US, unfortunalty lots of restaurants try to pass it as shawarma, which it is not. Chicken Shawarma refers to the huge vertical metal skewer we have been talking about, with layers of mrinated chicken meat. The meat is sliced off as it cooks. Elie

This looks pretty nice. Great ingredients and color. Tell you the truth, it probably has more fat than most of the vegetable/fowl terrines we've discussed. I am sure it will taaste as great as it looks. I do have a small question though, shouldn't the ham (great looking marbled ham as well ) be placed right AFTER the chard not before? I would think it will just come off the way you have it. Then again, what do I know. I've only made one measily terrine so far. Elie

For a fine dining experience Aries is a good place to check out. Here is a recent chat we had with the chef/owner Scott Tycer. I also would recommend T'afia for a more casual experience, and you are correct the chef/owner Monica Pope's cooking is very much like Chez Panisse. Very simple, local, and delicious. Elie

I guess not everyone feels the same way about Fertitta. Here's a quote from today's W&D: I presonally cannot stand Disney Land, but I will be forced to go there in a few fo years when my toddler is old enough to whine Elie

Volume 2 for sure. It's the one I have and covers Lebanon by region or county, starting from Beirut. I flipped through the first volume when I was in Lebanon and was not too impressed. It seems to be not just Lebanese food but more or less international. I am not saying it is a bad book, I just think that we have too many of those already. Regional Lebanese food on the other hand....I hardly even heard of many of most recipes. Elie

Here are quotes of what has already been discussed- Behemoth: Foodman: Zeitoun: YES!! My mother is flying back from Beirut next week, I'll ask her to bring me a copy! Which book is it specifically, volume 1 or 2 or you guys have both? I hope this book will be available in English and in the US soon, we certainly need it! ← Behemoth:

Let's use this thread to discuss recipes, ideas, thoughts and criticism of Chef Ramzi's cookbook(s). Elie