Swisskaese

Bom dia Filipe. We had a cook-off for Dan Tarts which you may be familiar with as the Chinese custard tarts that are based on the Portuguese custard tarts. Maybe we should do a cook-off for Portuguese tarts. Dan Tart Cook-off Here is a recipe that is similar to the famous Antiga Confeitaria de Belém tarts: Portuguese Custard Tarts Yours look very nice. I have tried the Antiga Confeitaria de Belém tarts and they are to die for.

What type of cake are you trying to bake? Maybe we could suggest something else.

What time does it begin?

I usually reduce the sugar by half in all of my American recipes. 3 cups of sugar is outrageous. It has never affected the moistness in the cakes I have made. But, the professionals may have another opinion.

Glatt Kosher only refers to how meat is slaughtered. If someone only eats Glatt Kosher meat, then obviously they will only eat at Glatt Kosher restaurants. Glatt Kosher restaurants are only meat restaurants. If 2nd Avenue Deli was open on Shabbat, then that means that the restaurant did not have Kosher certification and therefore, they are not a Kosher restaurant. It is possible that all of their meat is Kosher, but strick Observant Jews do not eat in restaurants that do not have Kosher certification. Glatt Kosher has nothing to do with Shomer Shabbat. Most Shomer Shabbat Jews do not keep Glatt Kosher. So, I do not understand why this definition was made. Furthermore, there are Jews from other streams of Judiasm that are Shomer Shabbat.

Do they look like these? burekas ← No, they are a coil of phyllo. The filling is placed lengthways on the phyllo and rolled up and then rolled into a coil in a round baking dish and baked. Here is a recipe for the pastry that GiftedGourmet was referring to: M'hanncha (The Snake)

I do not make most of the dishes that I used to make in the US because I cannot find the same ingredients here. Most of the ex-Pats here struggle to find ingredients to make their "comfort food" from their respective countries and have set-up news groups to ask other Anglos where to find x, but I did not have food culture-shock when I moved to Israel. I fell in love with the dishes here and the produce is outstanding, so I find that I am making dishes that suit the produce I can find. With that said, why couldn't I call my dish authentic Italian, if I can find the same ingredients here, for example, imported Italian cheese or buffalo mozzarella made by Italian buffalo that happen to live in Israel or 00 flour from Italy, etc.?

Where is this restaurant in Willesden Green? I have never seen it.

Actually, it is a cake plate.

All of the restaurants that Daniel mentioned are good, but most of them do not have Middle Eastern food. Are you looking for an eBulli Middle Eastern experience or are you looking for the real thing? If you are looking for the real thing, then they are not fancy restaurants. Let me know and I will make some suggestions. For top class dining go to: Arcadia: Agrippas 10, Jerusalem. (02) 6249138 (approximately 100NIS - 150NIS per person). Here is Daniel's review of Arcadia. Carmella ba Nachala: HaTavor 46, Tel Aviv. (03) 5161417 (I am not sure, about the same as Arcadia) Food Art: Shaul ha Melech 23, Tel Aviv. (03) 6966255. Catit: Kibbutz Netzer Sarini. (08) 9278050 (Unfortunately the website is only in Hebrew, but if you click on the spoon with the black spoon symbol on the bottom-left hand side and then click on the right arrow underneath the picture of the egg, you will see some of their dishes. Then click on the next two after the black spoon.) Catit is approximately 20 minutes south of Tel Aviv.

Welcome to eGullet Sara! I am a big fan. I grew up reading Gourmet magazine. Look forward to seeing more posts.

They look good Ling. Would you suggest adding more ginger to the first recipe to give it more of a kick?

Very interesting blog John. I have never had cassoulet, because I don't eat pork and I didn't grow up eating cholent. My family is from the German-Dutch border and they had never heard of it. The problem I have with cholent is that they tend to dry out. I think that this is due to the fact that it stays in the oven overnight. I don't know what the solution is to keep it from drying out.

My parents would set up the fondue for New Years. It was a lot of fun. I think I am going to search for their fondue set and bring back with me in April!

I forgot to mention that I too used to be a Peet's stockholder. I had a monthly delivery. Obviously, this was when I lived in the States. I loved their coffee. Let me know how the stuffed dates turn out. I like matza brie. The first time I ever had it was when I joined a Jewish sorority in University. I had never heard of it before then. Then again, my family didn't know what Gefillte Fish was until they moved to the States.

I just remembered what this is. It is actually called a burek, just like burekas. It is a sweet version of what most people know as the savory burekas. These are made in Turkey and all along the Balkans (Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia, Serbia, Bulgaria, etc.) Maybe they called them bagala in Ladino. I don't know.

Bagalaas I know it here are little round crackers that resemble a bagel. They are as fat as a bagel. They are really called Kaak. Some people also call these bagala, but they are called Simit. I will see what I can find out about what you are describing. I will also take a look a Turkish cookbook that I have. I am glad you enjoyed the blog.

Thank Marlena for a wonderful blog. I had a lot of fun. Your dinner sounds delicious. That macaroni and cheese sounds obscene. Keep in touch.

I just got back from a very interesting lecture, but it is not food related, so I can't discuss it. Dr. Shakshouka is still in Jaffo, going strong. It is very good. Here is the recipe for the stuffed dates: Dates Stuffed with Lamb This is a specialty of the Jews of Fez 24 large, pitted dates 3 oz. boneless lamb shoulder, ground very fine 1 egg white 1 pinch of salt 1 pinch of pepper 2 Tsp. olive oil 3 Tbsp. pomegranate juice 3 Tbsp. water Preparation: Mix the meat with egg white, salt and pepper. Carefully enlarge the cavity in each date with a clean pencil-shaped tool. Fill the dates. Mix the water and the pomegranate juice Place the dates in a frying pan and cover them with the pomegranate juice. Simmer on low for about one hour, adding water if needed, then drain off the liquid and fry the dates in olive oil on low, until they swell. Serves 4-6

I misunderstood from the title of this thread that you wanted to make a ginger cake, but it seems that everyone is making gingerbread which is different. I can't find any molasses here. I will have to go to one of the Anglo stores and see if they have any. This recipe looks interesting, Fresh Ginger Gingerbread

Marlena, what are some of your favourite Middle Eastern dishes?

One of the best spices would be to season the minced lamb with Ras el Hanout.

I have a recipe for it, but I am work. I will look for it tonight and post it. You will also need some sort of boring tool to remove the seed and keep one of the sides intact.

Feel better Helen. Thanks again for a very interesting blog.

Thanks Helen for bringing us into your kitchen. I learned a lot about everyday Japanese cooking.