Middle Eastern cooking for beginners --Hushwee

As I've grown older my hearing has declined. However, my sense of smell seems to have become more acute. The fragrance and smell of food transports me to specials places, times and memories. I am able to vividly imagine the smell of a favorite dish by simply viewing an item of food. On a recent trip to the grocery I spotted ground lamb. It's a hit or miss item in my local Kroger. Ground lamb is favored in Middle Eastern cooking. When I saw the package of lamb and my brain immediately smelled Hushwee, referred to as 'rice-meat stuffing' by my Lebanese friends. 

Hushwee with cranberry sauce

More than 20 years ago a small pizza shop opened in my Toledo, Ohio neighborhood. The pizza was good, but I discovered they served Lebanese food. My favorite was Popoff's stuffed grape leaves. I became a regular, and the owner Michelle became my friend. During one of my all to frequent visits, I opened the door and the fragrance of cinnamon and allspice wafted through the tiny restaurant. Begging to know the source, I was presented with Hushwee, a Middle Eastern comfort food and a side of laban (yogurt). I fell deeply in love with Lebanese food. Sadly, my favorite little spot closed before I could purloin the recipes for the dishes I craved.

A couple of years later, I met a man of proud Lebanese parentage. We began dating, and I became the grateful recipient of Middle Eastern Sunday dinners lovingly prepared by his mother. Learning to eat raw lamb (known as kibbe) was my proudest moment! During a Thanksgiving Holiday we made a visit to his sister's home near Chicago. Diane prepared Hushwee with our turkey dinner. It was nirvana! And I discovered it didn't need to be covered in laban, but tasted just as good with cranberry sauce. The dating relationship only survived a year, but my love of Lebanese food has continued to grow. My recipe is derived from a Syrian-Lebanese church cookbook purchased while I lived in Toledo, Ohio. My Lebanese friends will be able to smell this dish by simply looking at the photos. For the rest of you; step out of your comfort zone and try this one. You'll love it.

Hushwee (Rice-meat stuffing) Serves 6 as side dish, 4 as main dish

Total time: 40 minutes
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients for Hushwee

Ingredients:
1- 1/2 cups white rice, rinsed. (place rice in bowl of water and soak for 15 minutes, strain)
1 pound ground lamb (or organic ground beef)
3 T butter
1/4 cup pine nuts
3 cups homemade chicken broth (or store-bought if necessary)
1 tsp ground sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp good quality cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice

1. In a large 10-12" saucepan (with a lid), sauté the pine nuts in butter until golden. 

2. Remove with a slotted spoon to a small bowl and set aside. 

3. Add the ground meat to the remaining butter and cook until slightly browned. 

4. Add rinsed rice, browned pine nuts, chicken broth, salt, pepper, cinnamon and allspice.

Combine Ingredients

5. Stir ingredients and bring to a boil. (About 5 minutes)

Hushwee

6. Cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer about 15 minutes until liquid is absorbed.


7.  Serve with laban or cranberry sauce.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Martini

This post happens to be on Valentine's Day. February is also synonymous with cherries thanks to a president who couldn't tell a lie about chopping down the cherry tree.  In a recent quarterly trip to the ABC store I was overwhelmed with the sheer volume of flavored vodkas.  In a weak moment I purchased one named 'S'mores' and it was a huge mistake. It did not taste like S'mores; it tasted like alcohol. 

My quest for the chocolate covered cherry martini was born from a friend's Facebook post and a picture of what she called a "Marilyn Monroe." She said it had chocolate and cherry. Of course I Googled! But the Marilyn Monroe drinks in my search did not have chocolate or cherry. It lead to a search of drinks with chocolate and cherry. BINGO! The recipe I found was for a shooter, but it seemed pretty easy to turn a shooter into a martini. And, there is no strange flavored vodka. Then again, there is no cherry except for the garnish. Four simple ingredients and you have a martini with the taste of a chocolate covered cherry. No kidding!

Chocolate covered cherry martini

Serves 2 (or not)

2 shots Amaretto

1 teaspoon Grenadine syrup

2 teaspoons chocolate syrup

2 teaspoons heavy cream

Fill martini shaker with ice. Add all ingredients. Shake and strain into 2 small martini glasses. Add a maraschino cherry for garnish .

Cheers!

Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato and Bacon Pasta

Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato and Bacon Pasta

On Saturday I have the luxury of sleeping past 6:00 a.m. It means luxuriating under warm blankets long after a socially accepted time. When I finally descended the stairs at 10:30 this morning, it seemed too late for breakfast and I wasn't in a brunch mood. The refrigerator is uncharacteristically empty. These are the moments I love. Few ingredients to choose from brings out my creativity. My tastes can be rather enigmatic. Lately I'm favoring salty and sweet. A five ingredient lunch was born. So very simple and perfect--at least to me. Unfortunately this creamy delight is not photogenic, nor is it heart healthy. Today I didn't care. The salty bacon, silky rich cream and sweet tomatoes combined with pasta and parmesan was the best 11:00 a.m. lunch I have enjoyed in a very long time. This recipe will serve two--maybe

Note to self--when playing with food, write down the measurements so you aren't guessing when writing these recipes...

Ingredients:

6 oz Angel Hair Pasta
4 slices of bacon, finely chopped
1/2 cup oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and finely chopped
2/3 cup of heavy cream
1 oz freshly grated parmesan cheese
pinch of pepper

Directions: 

1. Cook pasta al dente and drain (reserving a bit of pasta water). Place in bowl with a bit of reserved pasta water and cover with a plate to keep warm.

2. Cook bacon in frying pan until crisp. Drain grease reserving about a teaspoon in the pan. (At this point you could add a chopped onion and garlic and fry them in the bacon grease. I don't like onion and it was too early for garlic)

3.  Add sun-dried tomatoes, bacon, cream and a pinch of fresh ground pepper. Cook and stir on medium low heat until the mixture becomes thick and begins to bubble, approximately 6 minutes.

4.  Spoon sauce over cooked pasta and top with fresh grated parmesan and a sprinkle of bacon. 

Decadent French Toast

It's Saturday; two days after Christmas and there is an entire loaf of homemade bread left over from the gourmet dinner prepared by my sister. I freely admit the bread was my only contribution. There is an extra loaf because my thoughts wandered while I was measuring flour and I ended up making two loaves in case the first was an epic fail.

It's time for breakfast and there is no milk in my refrigerator. But I have a quart of whipping cream. My decadent self is thinking of French Toast made with whipping cream! My empirical self is thinking how many ways this can go wrong. My foodie self is going for it! The French Toast is wonderful; reminiscent of creme brûlée, the perfect Saturday brunch with a Mimosa, and worth every single calorie! There is one caveat. Use dense, homemade bread, or a good, heavy bakery bread. Don't even think of using a wimpy bread purchased in a plastic bag! And if you do--please don't tell me...

INGREDIENTS:
1 to 1-1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 extra large eggs
1 tsp sugar
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp freshly squeezed orange juice
6 slices (approximately) homemade bread, sliced 1/2 inch thick

Add all ingredients in medium mixing bowl. Whisk until blended. The mixture will be thick.
Place the sliced bread in 13 x 9 inch baking dish (as close together as possible). Pour the cream mixture over the bread and press down lightly with a spatula to help the bread absorb the mixture. Flip the bread with the spatula to allow both sides to absorb the cream mixture. At this stage you can cover the baking dish and refrigerate overnight, or you can cook it immediately.

I recommend frying in a large skillet. This recipe is pure calorie overload, so why not fry it up in unsalted butter? Serve with fresh berries, a sprinkle of powdered sugar, and maybe a bit of maple syrup. Then again, you can always add a big dollop of whipped cream! It's the holidays, calories don't count.

Bread Pudding

Bread pudding with vanilla pastry cream

My introduction to bread pudding came at the age of twenty-one while working in a restaurant.  The chef was gifted; his training received at the Culinary Institute, Hyde Park.  His bread was homemade artisan bread, not pasty grocery store bread purchased in plastic bags.  The pastry cream was made from scratch. It was decadent, sweet and rich--the way dessert should be.  In his version the bread pudding was baked, cooled, cut into bite sized pieces, folded into vanilla pastry cream and topped with copious amounts of whipped cream.  The recipe was probably in his head. He left this world too soon, but I think of him when making bread pudding.  

Preheat oven  to 350 degrees and have 8" square baking dish ready

Bread Pudding ingredients: 

6 - 1/2" slices crusty artisan, preferably two days old

2 T butter, melted

4 beaten eggs

2 cups milk (or as I prefer, 1 1/2 cups milk and 1/2 cup heavy cream)

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup raisins (optional) 

1.  Break or slice bread into cubes and place in 8" square baking dish.  If desired, add raisins. Drizzle with melted butter

2.  In medium mixing bowl combine beaten eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Stir until combined.

3.  Pour over bread cubes. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap and press down with fingers until the egg/milk mixture is absorbed by the bread cubes.

4.  Bake uncovered, approximately 45 minutes at 350 degrees until the bread is golden brown and springs back to  the touch.

Serve immediately with vanilla pastry cream or vanilla sauce.

Vanilla Pastry Cream ingredients:

2 cups milk

1/4 cup sugar

2 egg yolks plus one whole egg

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/3 cup sugar

2 T butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

1.  In medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks and whole egg. 

2.  In small bowl, stir together cornstarch and 1/3 cup sugar, then stir into eggs until smooth.

3.  In heavy saucepan, stir together milk and 1/4 cup sugar. Bring to boil over medium heat, whisking constantly.

4.  When the milk comes to a boil remove from heat and drizzle into egg/milk mixture in a thin stream to avoid "cooking" the eggs. Return mixture to saucepan and slowly bring to a boil whisking constantly to prevent the mixture from curdling and scorching the bottom of your pan.

5.  When mixture boils and thickens, remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla until butter is completely blended. 

6.  Pour in heat-proof bowl and cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate at least one hour.  For faster cooling, place pan in a bowl of ice water and stir gently.

Vanilla Sauce ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

1.  Combine all ingredients except vanilla in small saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 5-8 minutes until mixture becomes thick and comes to a full boil. Stir in vanilla. Spoon over bread pudding. Store remaining sauce in refrigerator.   

Marinated Six Bean Salad

Saturday is my favorite day of the week.  I normally sleep in and have a big breakfast because there is plenty of time to relax and cook.  Healthy eating is not on my Saturday menu most of the time because I love having a day to "cheat and eat."  Instead of a big breakfast today, I had a banana split with Reese's Peanut Butter ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, toasted walnuts and topped it with a maraschino cherry. For lunch I had popcorn. Of course, by now I'm feeling guilty, so I redeemed myself and made a six bean salad for dinner.  Low calorie, full of protein and fiber and oh so yummy.  

Six Bean Salad

Marinade:

1 cup olive or canola oil

2/3 cup apple cider vinegar

2/3 cup white vinegar

1 cup sugar or sugar substitute

2 teaspoons celery seed

Combine all marinade ingredients in a large bowl and whisk until sugar is dissolved.  

Drain and rinse the following:

1 can green beans (1 gram fiber)

1 can wax beans (1 gram fiber)

1 can Cannellini beans (6 grams fiber)

1 can light or dark kidney beans (6 grams fiber)

1 can Garbanzo beans (5 grams fiber)

1 can black beans (7 grams fiber)

Add to marinade. Stir to combine. Cover and allow one hour for flavors to meld.  Yield 18 servings

Feel free to use any combination of beans.  These just happened to be the six types of beans in my pantry today.  Of course the recipe calls for onions, but my absolute loathing of onions means they are optional.  And I opt out.  

Fried Cornmeal Mush

   Our family grew up in Ohio and one of our greatest pleasures was eating Grandma Fletcher's fried cornmeal mush with butter and maple syrup. Cornmeal mush is not to be confused with southern style grits, but rather compared to Italian polenta. A simple explanation is--cornmeal grits are coarsely ground, polenta is a finer grind and mush is made with an even finer ground cornmeal.
   One rule of thumb; don't buy cheap ground cornmeal in a round cardboard container on the grocery store shelf unless you like bland mush with no flavor. If possible, buy from an Amish store. If you must buy from the grocery I would recommend Anson Mills fine ground cornmeal and store in a plastic bag in your freezer.
   The recipe is simple because there are three ingredients: Cornmeal, salt and water.  My grandma used to shred leftover ham and blend it with the mush while cooking. I'm a purist, and prefer mine fried in Crisco in a large skillet, turning once when the edges start to get golden and crispy. My family prefers our fried mush buttered and covered in maple syrup; just like a stack of pancakes. If you prefer not to do it yourself, there is always Bob Evans--but it isn't the same as homemade.

Fried Cornmeal Mush

Ingredients:

1- cup fine ground cornmeal
3- cups cold water
1- teaspoon salt

Directions:

1.  Mix cornmeal in one cup of cold water and set aside.

2.  Boil two cups of cold water in a medium-size, heavy gauge pan over high heat and add salt when water is boiling briskly.

3.  Remove pan from heat (because it is going to bubble up) and slowly whisk the cornmeal/water mixture into the boiling water until smooth.  

4.  Reduce heat to medium and cover. The mixture will continue to bubble. I recommend wearing long sleeves and using a long handled wooden spoon when stirring to avoid getting burned (speaking from years of experience). Continue cooking and stirring frequently for an additional 10-12 minutes until the mixture is thick.  

5.  Pour into a loaf pan rinsed in cold water, or two clean soup cans rinsed in cold water for round loaves. Allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate overnight.

6.  When ready to cook, remove from loaf pan or soup can and slice thinly. Heat Crisco or oil over medium high heat and add slices of mush to hot oil with a pancake rather than your fingers to avoid getting burned with hot oil. Don't crowd the slices because the edges will stick together and become difficult to flip. I recommend covering with a splatter guard while the mush is frying because it is like frying bacon! When mush is golden around the edges, flip with pancake turner and continue frying until crispy. 

7. Transfer to serving plate and serve with your choice of toppings. (I usually drain on paper towels to removed excess oil before transferring to a serving plate-just like cooking bacon). By the way, fried mush is excellent with bacon...