Monday, September 13, 2010

Baked Kibbee, Tahini & Tabouleh

I am so grateful that I found a man who likes to eat different things.  I was one of those people who would eat the basic foods.  After I met Steve I started to eat different foods, well it took a while to muster up the courage but I did it. 

One day he brought me to a restaurant (hole in the wall type) to get something to eat.  I ordered a sandwich with fries.  Steve ordered a Lebanese plate.  I looked at him with that expression on my face as "what the heck is that?"  I did try it but wasn't too keen on it at first.  Years later I tried it again and loved it. 

One day I decided to make my own Kibbee at home.  It came out bland and a bit dry.  I said I would leave it up the real cooks to make it. 

Well this past weekend I decided to make it again (don't know what made me do it but I did).  I found a recipe on-line and gave it a go.  My local grocery store did not have ground lamb so I used all beef.  The kibbee came out moist and tasty.  I was so happy. 

A little note:  Note sure if this helped with the moistness of the kibbee, but I used some of the bulgar that I had soaking in water for the tabouleh.

Baked Lebanese Kibbee

1 pound (500 g) lean ground beef or lamb
1/2 cup fine- to medium-grade bulgar (crushed wheat)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons pine nuts or walnuts
2 tablespoons dried parsley
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1/2 teaspoon dried mint
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Combine the meat, bulgar, onion, water, parsley, mint, allspice,
pepper, and cinnamon in a food processor. Process until doughy.

Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Lightly oil an 8 inch square baking
dish or a 9 inch round baking dish. Pat half of the meat mixture
into the pan. Sprinkle the nuts over the top. Then cover with the
remaining meat. While still in the pan, cut the kibbe into 1 1/2
inch square or diamond shapes. Brush the peanut oil over the top.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until firm and browned well. Serve
the kibbe from the pan or invert it onto a platter.

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I did make the Tahini & Tabouleh.  I used the recipe for Tahini from a previous post.  I love making Tahini.

I have made Tabouleh in the past and it was okay.  This time I really enjoyed it. 

Tabouleh

Ingredients:


•2 bunches of fresh parsley (1 1/2 cup chopped, with stems discarded)
•2 tablespoons of fresh mint, chopped
•I medium onion, finely chopped
•6 medium tomatoes, diced
•1 tablespoon salt
•1/2 teaspoon black pepper
•1/2 cup bulghur, medium grade
•6 tablespoons lemon juice
•6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:

Soak bulghur in cold water for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until soft.

Squeeze out excess water from bulghur using hands or paper towel.

Combine all ingredients, except for salt, pepper, lemon juice, and olive oil.

Line serving bowl with grape leaves or romaine lettuce, and add salad.

Sprinkle olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper on top.

Serve immediately or chill in refrigerator for 2 hours before serving.

Chicken Cordon Blue Bread Bowl


I found this recipe in a Cuisine At Home magazine.  Unfortunately I do not have this magazine right now to post the recipe (I lent it to my sister-in-law).

It was a tasty recipe but there was something that was off.  It could have been our taste buds but not really sure.  I loved the idea of making a bread bowl for dinner (my boys love the ones from Dominos Pizza).

I will post the recipe as soon as I get the magazine back.  In the meantime you can stare at the picture I took of it... lol...

Kathleen King's Double Chocolate Almond Cookies

I love chocolate cookies, especially if there are chocolate chips in there...  I was watching an episode of Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network and she had a guest on by the name of Kathleen King. 

I knew I had to make these cookies!!!

Kathleen King's Double Chocolate Almond Cookies

Ingredients

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) salted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup firmly packed dark or light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup almonds, chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream the butter and sugars. Add the egg and vanilla and mix together. Add the flour mixture and continue mixing until just combined.

Add the chocolates and almonds and mix until combined. Using two tablespoons or a small ice cream scoop, drop the dough two inches apart on sheet pans lined with parchment. Bake for 15 minutes.

Cool the cookies on the cookie sheets. The cookies should be very soft when they are removed from the oven. They will firm up as they cool.