The Holidays

Whether it's Halloween, Christmas, The Eid, Winter Solstice, New Year's Eve, or any one of the many religious holiday celebrations in the Middle East, there's always a delicious array of dishes to be savored. As is the case with the rest of the world, the people of the Mediterranean are willing to go to great lengths to impress others with food, and that is especially true during the holidays.

I was a fat kid, and fat kids are constantly thinking about food. I remember, I used to sit in church on Christmas Eve dreaming of the the meal that was to follow the seemingly never-ending Mass.

Of all the culinary occasions of the year, Christmas Eve's dinner was by far the most sumptuous and memorable dinner event at our house. The worst part about that meal is that dinner did not begin until after we come back from MIDNIGH Mass. I don't know why they don't just call it "Christmas Morning Breakfast" instead. Believe me, though. It was worth the wait.














From Zucchini Fritters to Shish Barak, an intensely flavored dish of very small meat-stuffed turnovers, smothered in a rich yoghurt gravy, to Bird's Nest, the famous Lebanese dessert made of pistachio and pastry, and so much more. I'd eat and eat and eat and stuff myself some more with all that is savory, sweet and almighty delicious. And for dessert, the Christmas Log Cake, fashioned after the French holiday dessert by the name of "Buche de Noel.



Have so much fun cooking during this fun, festive season! I hope all your wishes come true and that you get to make all of your beloved recipes and try new ones.

Happy Holidays!

Maroun Antoine Alsayah

Zucchini Fritters

1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon salt
4-6 yellow onions
1 pinch pepper
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 cup zucchini pulp, mashed
5 eggs
3/4 cup self-raising flour
3/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint or 1 teaspoon dried mint
olive oil

Crush the garlic in a bowl with salt. Mix in the onions, pepper and allspice. Add the mashed zucchini and the eggs. Beat well with a beater, and then thoroughly mix in the flour. Add parsley and mint.

Spoon the mixture into a pan of hot oil and fry until the fritters are golden brown on both sides. Repeat this procedure until all the mixture is used.
Makes 8-10 appetizer servings

Shish Barak

Filling

2 Large Onions
3 Tablespoons of Sunflower oil (or vegetable)
75g (2.5 oz) Pine Nuts
500g (1.10 lbs) Lean minced Beef/Lamb
Salt and Black Pepper to taste
2 Teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1-2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses*
*click on the previous blog for a list of grocers that carry it, its bottle is pictured there too.

Pastry

6 sheets of filo pastry(about 170g)
85g (3 oz) Butter, melted

Sauce & Garnish

700g (1.5 lbs) Plain Yogurt
salt
2-3 cloves garlic
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of crushed dried mint

For the filling fry the onions until golden. Add the meat, salt, pepper, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, then pomegranate molasses and cook for a couple of minutes. In a small pan fry the pine nuts in a drop of oil for a short time then add the meat and let cool.

Cut the filo pastry sheets into half, into 2 rectangles approx 30×24cm (12x9.5 in)and pile on top with long side nearest to you. Brush the top sheet with melted butter. Put a line of filling about 3-4 tablespoons, along the long edge, to about 2cm (3/4 in) from each end, and roll up into a long thin roll. Then shape the roll into a tight coil, creasing it a little as youo do, so the pastry does not tear, and place it on a piece of foil (not greased) on a baking tray. Repeat with the remaining filo and the filling, placing the coils next to each other so that they are held tight. Brush the tops with melted butter.

About 30 mins before you are ready to serve, bake the pies in an oven pre-heated to
(200 c) 400f gas 6 for about 25 mins until golden.

For the sauce, beat the yoghurt with a little salt and the garlic, for the garnish, mix the olive oil and the dried mint. Serve the pies as they come out of the oven. Pour about 3 tablespoons yoghurt over each, and dribble a little of the minty olive oil.
Makes 6 main-course servings

Put on your body armor…We’re going shopping at the Middle Eastern food store!

If you’re reading this blog, you probably have at least a minor interest in things culinary and are somewhat curious about edumacating yourself more on Mid-Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine.

Now, I know I have been giving you recipes to try out on your own, but I have not yet told you where to go to buy the ingredients you need, such as the essential spices or the Labneh yoghurt or the cheapest Tahini, or the best deal in town on Pita bread!

Well, the wait is over. The time has come to open Ali Baba’s Cave and reveal the treasures of authentic – and inexpensive – Middle-Eastern food items and where to find them.

Don’t be scared! While the experience is certainly exotic, you won’t be going into a real cave, and no, there won't be a scary Bin Laden look-alike waiting for you by the door, waving you in with a flashlight. And once and for all, I assure you that the cashier will not scream out “Li Li Li Li Li Li!” at you upon checkout. That’s ALL in your head.















Au contraire, mon frère. If anything, your pantry will thank you for transforming it into a multi-cultural gastronomic stockroom. You’ll get to expand your culinary horizons by cooking something new and exciting, and impress yourself, your family and your friends with lesser-known but delicious creations. More easy recipes to follow in the next post. Stay tuned!















When you get to your local specialty store, I want you to pretend you’re at the Souk in Marrakech, or at the Farmers Market in downtown Beirut. Close your eyes for a second, and let the smells of the spices and fresh produce take you there!

So I have researched for you a list of places where you can grocery shop for authentic Mediterranean & Mid-Eastern goods to make all those great meals. If you know of additional such stores in your area and would like me to add them to the list, email me the full location info and I’ll be happy to update it accordingly. I have also included online stores at the bottom of this post, for added convenience.









Happy Shopping!

Maroun Antoine Alsayah















California –
Parkside Farmers Market
555 Taraval Street (at 16th Avenue)
San Francisco, CA 94116
(415) 681-5563

Samiramis Imports, Inc.
2990 Mission Street (at 25th Street)
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 824-6555

















International Food Bazaar
2052 Curtner Ave
San Jose, CA 95124
(408) 559-3397

Farm Fresh Produce of Santa Clara
805 Scott Blvd
Santa Clara, CA 95050
(408) 260-7710

Fairuz Middle Eastern Market
9124 Foothill Blvd.
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
(909) 948-4312

Italian Middle-Eastern Market
13246 Riverside Dr.
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
(818) 995-6944















Alabama -
Nabeel's Cafe & Market
1706 Oxmoor Rd
Birmingham, AL 35209
(205) 879-9292

Arizona –
Baiz Market
523 North 20th Street
Phoenix, AZ
(602) 252-8996

Connecticut –
Fattoush Market
272 Meriden Road, Suite 1W
Waterbury, CT 06705-2002
(203) 753-2221

Vivianne Middle East Food
36 Tamarack Ave Suite 4
Danbury, CT 06811
(203) 798-8804















Georgia -
Dania's Gourmet
26 Peachtree St NW
Atlanta, GA 30303
(404) 588-0069

Illinois –
Middle East Bakery & Grocery
1512 W Foster Ave
Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 561-2224

Kentucky –
Afg Middle East Grocery Store
2018 Brownsboro Rd
Louisville, KY 40206
(502) 891-0912















Massachusetts –
Alladin Imports
472 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 354-8238

New York –
Holon Middle East Grocery Store
527 Kings Hwy
Brooklyn, NY 11223
(718) 336-7758

Kalustyan's
123 Lexington Ave. b/w 28th and 29th Sts.
Manhattan, NY 10016
(212) 685-3451















Middle East Market
1919 S State St
Syracuse, NY 13205
(315) 478-6253

Washington State–
International Foods
3021 E. Mission
Spokane, WA
(509)466-4784

Byblos Deli
14220 NE 20th St
Bellevue, WA 98007, USA
(425) 455-4355















Washington DC Area –
2M Mediterranean Market
Dumbarton Square Shopping
7103 Staples Mill Road
Richmond, VA 23228
(804) 262-9950

Below are some of my favorite Online Food Stores

www.cedarsky.com

http://shamra.com

www.buylebanese.com

http://aldoukkan.com

www.zamourispices.com

www.daynasmarket.com

Note: Click on photos to enlarge.

All Work And No Food...

I am incredibly homesick and it's starting to become slightly annoying to deal with me. I am pouty and frowny and moody, and like an angry, stubborn child, I cross my arms, and shrug my shoulders in disapproval of my current state of mind. [insert annoying baby shriek here]

I'm angry because I wanted to go back to Lebanon this year and spend a nice, relaxing summer there and party and eat, like a rockstar and a pig respectively. But I can't. I have to stay here and work because I don't have enough days off to spend, nor do I have the $4,000,000,000 it now costs to fly anywhere outside the US. Ugh.

We work a lot here in the US, me thinks. Especially, for instance, compared to the Lebanese working class. During the summer months, people in Lebanon saunter into work at maybe 9:30 in the morning until maybe 2:30 in the afternoon. I'll have you know that the summer season, according to the "special" Lebanese workers' calendar, runs from May through OCTOBER. Now, of course, in the more serious months of winter, those poor sods work their asses off from 9:30 in the morning until FOUR in the afternoon. Such long hours! I wonder how they do it! Oh, did I mention they also get a two-week break twice a year? Yeah, that's right! They break more than they work. Bastards.

But that's what life should be all about, shouldn't it? Time to spend. Good Food to eat. And plenty of sun in which to play. And those are precisely the things that the Lebanese and the rest of the Mediterranean aliens are currently enjoying, while you and I are sitting on our butts at work, cooped up inside company walls, breathing badly-conditioned air, in the middle of summer. No wonder I'm pouty! What kind of mad working class system is this?! I say this is unacceptable! Injustice, I say! Unfairness!

REVOLUCIÓN!

juuuust kidding, Big brother!

OK, seriously. Before someone shows up at my door and hauls me away in an obscure-looking van or a black Ford with tinted windows, let me leave you with a couple of delish summer recipes. I hope you enjoy making them. I picked out a couple of easy ones for you this week.

Happy Summerin' & Bon Appetit!

Don't work too hard.

Maroun Antoine
San Francisco

Tabbouleh


The “National Salad of Lebanon”, always proudly displayed in a huge bowl in the middle of any Lebanese dining table.










4 bunches Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, finely chopped
3 medium tomatoes, finely diced
2 medium yellow onions, finely diced
½ cup bulgur (aka crushed wheat) – choose the finest grind: the “#1” variety*
½ cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
¾ cup fresh lemon juice
¾ cup olive oil
1 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. all-spice

In a large salad bowl, place the tomatoes & parsley on one side of the base of the bowl. Add onions on the other side.

Rinse the bulgur once in a small bowl with water then immediately drain well by squeezing the water out and place in a small salad bowl or a measuring cup. Add lemon juice, olive oil, salt & all-spice to the bulgur and mix using a whisk. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes so the bulgur absorbs the liquid. When ready to serve the Tabbouleh, add the bulgur mix to the ingredients in the large bowl and toss well. Chop and add the mint at the last minute and mix. Taste for salt and all-spice and adjust accordingly.

Serve with fresh, crisp lettuce leaves and enjoy.

Makes 6 servings.
*bulgur can be found in mid-eastern specialty markets and in health food stores.

A Note On Tabbouleh: NEVER buy the pre-packaged, dry tabbouleh that comes in a box, unless you want to eat a hydrogenated, dried salad! Think about it: take a look at the above ingredients for a real Tabbouleh that I've listed. The packaged so-called Tabbouleh requires you to add water and mix. Would you buy a dried up Cesar Salad and just add water to make it edible?! It's a cooking crime, my friends!

Labneh Dip with Mint & Garlic

Labneh is another name for strained yoghurt, which is regular yoghurt with the whey removed. The liquid has been strained away and the consistency that remains is somewhere between regular yoghurt and cheese. Creamy and delicious. Labneh can be found in specialty stores worldwide and at Whole Foods Markets (USA).



2x 500-gram containers of Labneh
3 cloves of Garlic, crushed
2.5 tbsp. Olive Oil
2 tbsp. dried Mint

Mix all the above ingredients well with a wooden spatula and serve in a nice bowl used for dips. Drizzle over a tiny bit of olive oil on top and a sprinkle of mint for garnish. Enjoy with Pita Crisps (see previous blog for that recipe).

Makes enough dip for about 10 people.

Summery Starters

There is nothing more important in life than being around great company and good food, and folks from all Mediterranean countries have lived by that motto since forever. And in my small Mediterranean country, this hedonistic food-and-parties lifestyle is extremely prevalent, especially in the hot summer months.

In preparation for the hot season's festivities, each year, around the beginning of May, my parents religiously partake in a ritual to restore the summer feel at the house and hide any reminders of the cold winter that had just passed. That includes rolling away and storing all the carpets inside and bringing out the summer furniture onto the veranda: giant yellow-and-white sunblocking curtains, swinging chairs, benches, the outdoor dining table. Even a TV comes out to play! And thus begins the season of good times, marked by twice-monthly veranda parties, where food is the star of the show.

Even though I now live about 7282 miles away from my Lebanese home, this year I intend to do my best to replicate this feeling of summer bliss, right here in my tropically hot, muggy, unbelievably humid city of San Francisco, CA.

For those of you who didn’t catch the sarcasm, you should know that I am currently wearing a wool jacket and it’s freezing cold and overcast today; typical of a San Francisco July. So, yeah. Not really tropical. But, like everywhere else in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s still summer. My summer. And dammit, it's MY party. And I’ll fry if I want to!

So let’s showcase 3 starters, perfect for a summer soiree anywhere. I encourage you to make these at home; they’re simple and just delicious! Let me know when you do!

Maroun Antoine
San Francisco


Hummus – the correct pronunciation is “hum mas”, not “homos”. Gays have nothing to do with this dip. Hummus is a simple, healthy, creamy garbanzo bean delight that can be made in a variety of ways.


Baba Ghannoush – literal translation: “The Spoiled Daddy.” Maybe this is the gay dip?! Baba G is an equally popular appetizer made with grilled eggplant and Tahini paste.


Pita Crisps – quick to make. Delicious with any kind of dip.







Sundried-Tomato Hummus
2 cans garbanzo beans, rinsed once in the can and drained
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup loosely packed sundried tomatoes – big fan of the Trader Joe’s brand
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. cumin
1 ½ tsp salt
Pinch of black pepper

In a food processor, mix garbanzo beans, garlic, sundried tomatoes, lemon juice, cumin, salt & pepper. While mixing in processor, add olive oil slowly and mix for 1.5 more minutes until a creamy consistency is obtained.

Serve with pita crisps. Makes 6 servings.

Baba Ghannoush
4 medium globe eggplants (the fat-looking ones)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 tbsp. tahini (aka sesame paste), found in supermarkets such as Safeway in the ethnic isle.
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. black pepper
1 pair of long tongs

Using the tongs, roast the eggplants as they are directly over the stovetop flame on medium-high heat, for about 4 minutes. Keep turning every 10-15 seconds, make sure eggplants get roasted evenly. When you get the hang of it, you can roast 2 eggplants at a time! If the eggplant looks deflated and is soft to the tongs touch, it’s done. Place roasted eggplant in a bowl with ice water to stop the cooking process.

Peel the skin off the now-cold eggplants and then place them in food processor. Add garlic, tahini, lemon juice, salt & pepper. Add the olive oil while processing. Taste for salt/pepper.

Serve with pita crisps. Makes 6 servings.

Pita Crisps
1 bag fresh pita bread – I prefer the kind that is thin/large to the fat/smaller kind.
Safflower or corn oil for frying

Tear the pita into triangular-shaped pieces then fry in 350 F (180 C) oil for about 15-20 seconds or until golden brown. Let drain on paper towels. Enjoy with the Hummus & Baba Ghannoush or your favorite dip!

Makes 6 servings.



Photos courtesy of the lovely Ms. Marcia (aka The Tablehopper, link at the top right hand corner) - Thank you, Marcia!


Got questions about recipes, etc? Email me or leave a comment.