Kebbeh

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Kebbeh

Since I moved to Miami (in 2005) and started cooking, I have been on a mission trying to re-create one of our family favorite dishes: Lebanese baked kebbeh. During this laborious process, I was lost between my mom's recipe, my mother in law's ever changing recipe and the Lebanese cookbooks. I was left with a big question mark on my face. Actually, it is not “that” complicated but the results would constantly vary with some recurring "symptoms": the shrinking kebbeh, the chewy one, the grainy dinner, etc... After countless trials, I concluded that two factors are important: the ingredients ratio and the meat mixing process.
I know that lebanese people are very picky about their food and some recipes are sacred! You don't mess with the kebbeh. You just don't. Same goes for the hommos. It's a religion. When I was considering writing about the kebbeh and debating sharing the recipe I asked a very good friend of mine for his opinion and his answer was: "Of course you do!! Kebbeh is the new crab cake!!!"

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Orange and Radish Salad

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Orange and Radish Salad

Fruits for salad: what a brilliant idea!

I love, love, love this colorful salad. Such a happy sunny healthy combination of flavors! The main ingredients are simple and wholesome. The originality is in the dressing: a lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil base with a surprising mix of spices: cumin, paprika and coriander. This mélange is elevated by a hint of orange blossom water.
It is festive and looks gorgeous on a buffet, when you’re entertaining. A pure satisfaction for eyes and palates!

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Sfouf

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Sfouf

It is a traditional Lebanese cake with anise, a hint of turmeric and orange blossom water. Some tahini (yes!) and sesame seeds give this wonderful dessert the magic it deserves. It has a deep yellow color, which makes it sunny and whimsical at the same time.
My youngest son calls it "smouf". We found it so cute, that we renamed the dessert. And smouf it is!! Hahahaha
My mom used to make this cake during the war, when shortage of ingredients was very common and the lack of electricity made perishable ingredients hard to keep. This is why the list of ingredients calls for powdered milk instead of the regular liquid version, vegetable oil and not butter... But since the recipe works perfectly fine like that, I didn't want to change it.

I believe there are a lot of versions of this cake because lebanese people are very picky about their food, and their family recipes. I'm sharing this one, because it's the one I like the most and it is very emotionally charged. When you go with your heart, you can't go wrong!

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Ratatouille

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Ratatouille

The word “ratatouille” is French for “mix”. This recipe claims to follow the traditional way of cooking this dish: each ingredient being fried separately before the final simmering.
“The secret of a good ratatouille is to cook the vegetables separately so each will taste truly to itself” Joël Robuchon.

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Shaved Carrot Salad with Olives and Almonds

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Shaved Carrot Salad with Olives and Almonds

Carrot? "yes please!". Carrot salad? And it’s “NO thank you!” well,... until this recipe came along. The colors and surprising patterns of shaved carrots give a beautiful dimension to this dish. You won’t be able to resist it. The texture is way better than the shredded version one (please no!) and the taste validates it all. It’s a sunny, happy, curly and crunchy salad; healthy and gorgeous.
It is great to make it with multicolored carrots if you can find some, but I am sure it will turn out pretty too in orange only! The ribbons will do the trick.

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