Sunday, May 29, 2011

Tuna Salad Sandwish Recipe


This is one of my favorite lunch sandwiches. Tuna salad is usually made from canned tuna mixed with mayonnaise and other ingredients. In the States 52% of canned tuna is used for sandwiches. I prefer solid fillet in olive oil because I think it tastes better than the ones in water.I used ciabatta roll for this sandwich but you can use your favorite bread.

Ingredients:
makes 2 to 3 sandwiches

1 can Tuna ( 4.5 oz)
1/4 cup mayo
2 tbs of canned corn
2 tsp finely chopped fresh chives
1 tsp finely chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 Jalapeno seeded and finely chopped
salt and black pepper to taste
 ** if you used canned tuna in water add 1/2 tsp of olive oil

Topping for Sandwich: Dijon mustard, lettuce,tomatoes and red onions.

Directions:

Mix all ingredients until well combined and mash a little bit while mixing with a fork.

Assemble sandwish with your favorite toppings.


Saturday, May 28, 2011

Strawberry lemonade Recipe


What's more refreshing than a a lemonade during the summer season. There is nothing I hate more than when I go to a restaurant and order a lemonade and they give me those fountain drinks labeled as lemonade but they are far from even called a lemonade.Making lemonades is easy so don't bother by buying those powdered drinks.In the Middle East hot lemonades made with  honey are used as sore throat and cold remedy.I made strawberry lemonade, because strawberries are in season now and I like any fruit flavored lemonade anyways.



Ingredients:
Serves 2

1 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
10 small/medium strawberries
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp orange blossom water (optional)

Directions:

Over high heat , add sugar,water and lemon zest in a saucepan and heat until it boils.
Turn heat off and let it cool.
Strain the sugar syrup and add it  with the strawberries in a blender, and blend until smooth.
Strain again ( you can skip this step if you like to have tiny strawberry bits in your lemonade). Add orange blossom water.
Add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of water depending on how much sweet you like.
Chill and serve.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Baked Kafta Recipe or ( Kafta Bi Sayniyi) كفتة بالصينية





Kafta or Kofta as pronounced in some Arabic countries , is ground meat ( beef or lamb) that is mixed with parsley, onion and spices. It is the base for many Middle eastern dishes. Well at least it is the most frequent dish  served at our house because simply my husband loves it. Sometimes he even asks for it at breakfast with eggs. Kafta is so easy to make as well as the different dishes it comes in. You can make it in batches and freeze it , but of course fresh tastes better. If you are lucky enough to  live near a  Middle Eastern butcher , you can buy it already made.Baked Kafta can be served with rice or with pita wedges or even just with a fork.


Ingredients:
serves 5-6

2 lbs of Kafta recipe posted before Kafta recipe
2 medium potatoes peeled and cut in 1/2 inch slices
3 large tomatoes sliced thick
1 1/2 tbs tomato paste
1 1/2 cups hot water
1/2 tsp Middle Eastern red hot pepper sauce ( made from crushed red hot peppers,water and salt it comes very thick in consistency) it can be substituted with regular hot sauce.
1/4 tsp salt less or more as desired

Directions:

Deep fry potato slices about 10 mins or about half way done.
Heat oven to 450 degrees.
Spread Kafta in baking dish, follow with a layer of potatoes and then a layer of tomatoes.
Mix water, tomato paste, salt and hot sauce.
 Pour over the kafta until water covers the kafta and barely covering the potatoes.

Cover with aluminium foil and bake for 40 min covered ( make sure it is boiling before taking the foil away) then uncover and continue baking for 30 mins.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Eclair Recipe


An eclair is a pastry made with choux dough filled with a cream and topped with icing.The dough  is piped into an oblong shape with a pastry bag and baked until it is crisp and hollow inside.It can be filled with pastrycream, custard,whipped cream and chiboust cream. Then it is dipped with chocolate ganache or chocolate fondant icing.The first memory that comes to my mind  when I think about eclairs is our school cafeteria, and of course it wasn't a great memory because they weren't good eclairs. I think the key to good eclair is in the pastry cream. This recipe has the best tasting pastry cream ever. This is recipe is from the the book  Baking by James Peterson, I like this book a lot and plan to make more recipes from it.


Ingredients:

Yields 12 eclairs
1 recipe cream puff pastry dough ( below)
egg wash
2 1/2 pastry cream ( below)
2 cups chocolate Ganache (below)

Pastry Cream:
 
makes about 2 1/2 cups
2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup plus 1tbs sugar
1 egg
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup cornstarch.

Bring the milk to a simmer in a heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium heat and add vanilla.
In a bowl whisk together the sugar, egg, egg yolks, and cornstarch until smooth. When the milk comes to a simmer , stir half of it in the egg mixture. Pour the egg mixture back into the sauce pan containing the rest of the milk, place over medium heat and stir the mixture . When stiring reach the for the sides of the sauce pan so the mixture doesn't dry on the sides.
When the pastry cream boils and thickens, Transfer to a bowl cover with a plastic wrap touching its surface so a crust doesn't form on the top. It can be refrigerated up to 4 days.

Cream Puff Pastry Dough: ( Choux)
makes about 1 1/2 lb dough
1 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter sliceded
1 tsp sugar
1 cup flour sifted
4 eggs
1 egg white plus more as needed
Combine water, salt, butter and sugar in a saucepan and bring to simmer over highheat.There is no need to stir. Turn the heat to medium and add the flour all at once.  Stir with a wooden spoon for about 3 mins, or until mixture forms a cohesive mass and pulls away from sides of the saucepan. Transfer the mixture to a bowl or to a standup mixer beat with a wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment for 1 minute until slightly cooled.
beat in eggs one at a time until you added four. Check the consistency of the batter by pulling a wooden spoon through the batter, when the groove it makes slowly closes on itself, then you added enough eggs and the mixture is ready to use. If not add egg white at a time until it passes the test. Another way to test  the mixture is by holding the spoon sideways and see if it drips( the dough should drip from the spoon and not stick straight out). Another test would be if you are using a stand up mixer the dough should pull away from the paddle attachment in a thick rope.The mixture is best when used immediatly , but it can be refrigerated for several hours and used later.



Dark Chocolate Ganache:
makes 2 3/4 cup to 3 cups
12 oz bitter sweet chocolate
1 2/3  cups heavy cream

Break the chocolate into pieces and process in the food processor until very fine. Heat the cream to the boiling point and while the motor is running  pour it through the feed tube in a steady stream. Process few seconds until smooth.
Source: Cake Bible

Directions:
preheat oven to 425 degrees.
fill pastry bag fitted with 1 1/2 inch tip with the pastry dough. Pipe tiny dots on the corners of  the parchment sheet and turn over  and press to baking pan to hold the sheet in place.
Pipe the 12 strips and brush with egg wash. ( strips should be at least 2 inches apart and about 4 1/2 inches long).depending on your pan size you might use two baking pans.
Turn down the oven to 400 degrees bake eclairs for 20 min until golden brown and puffed. Turn down the heat again to 300 degrees and bake for 25 min until eclairs feel light. If they get too brown turn down oven to 250.let them cool.
Use a 1/3 inch fit to make holes in each end at the bottom of the eclairs. Fill eclairs with pastry cream until filled. Warm chocolate until it reaches consistancy of cold maple syrup. Dip eclairs and turn upward right away to drip any excess chocolate ganache. Let them cool for 30 mins before serving.






Thursday, May 19, 2011

Chicken Taquitos Recipe




Taquitos are rolled tortillas that are usually stuffed with some kind of filling made from beef or chicken. I"ve always seen these in the freezer section in the grocery store, but never really cared from them. I don't think food that have meat in it taste good when freezed. So when I read this recipe thought about giving it a try and they turned out to be really YUMMY, next time I will be trying these in beef. Traditionally Taquitos are fried but these ones are baked ,and believe me after you have these you won't even want to eat a fried Taquito. Although I never tasted one before but I can imagine it being so oily if fried. The baked version is really crisp without being oily and fattening what's better than that.


Ingredients:

Yields 8 Rolls

1/3 cups (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 cup green salsa
1tbs fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder ( more or less adjust to your taste)
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp  garlic powder
3 tbs chopped cilantro
2 tbs sliced green onions
2 cups shredded cooked chicken  ( I made spanish Style grilled chicken - see recipe below)
1 cups grated pepperjack cheese
8 large flour or corn tortillas ( I used flour)
cooking spray


Directions:

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.
Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it’s soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.
Place 2-3 tbs of chicken mixture on the tortillas and roll.
Place in Baking sheet seam side down.
Spary with cooking spray and bake  for 15- 20 mins.

Source: OurBestBites






Spanish Style Grilled Chicken:

2 small Chicken Breasts ( makes about 1 cup of shredded chicken)
1 tbs lemon juice
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 minced garlic clove
pinch of cayene pepper
pinch of black pepper

Mix all ingredients except chicken combine well.  Place chicken in marinade and and marinate in fridge for at least 2 hours. Grill until well done.









Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Homemade Burger Buns Recipe and Lebanes Style Burgers



I've been craving  Lebanese style hamburgers. They usually come in buns like these not sweet like the usual hamburger bun with a coleslaw, pickles, fries, ketchup all inside the bun. Since I usually buy Kaiser rolls when I want to make these burgers , I looked for a Kaiser roll recipe to use for the Bun. The recipe actually yields 16 rolls  but I divided mine to 8 Rolls because I wanted the buns to be huge. ) You can tell I was really craving these burgers :) The buns are soft and fluffy inside, if you eat them while fresh from the oven, it will have a crust or you can cover them and wait until they are all soft. I will also include the recipe Lebanese style patties.



Directions
  • In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Add 1 tablespoon sugar; let stand for 5 minutes. Add the oil, salt, remaining warm water and sugar and 4 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
  • Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
  • Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 16 pieces. Shape each into a ball. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
  • whisk egg with milk to make egg wash.
  • Brush the rolls with egg wash and sprinkle sesame seeds.
  • Bake in a 400 degree oven, for 20 mins.

Source: Taste of Home


    Lebanese Style Patties:
    1 1/2 ground beef
    1//4 cup bread crumbs
    1/4 cup ketchup
    1/2 tsp salt
    1/2 tsp all spice
    1/4 tsp ground cloves
    Mix all ingredients together , form about 6 to 8 Patties depending on your preference of thickness and grill.
    I usually empty the pockets of the buns, put coleslaw ( just shredded cabbage plus Mayo) pickles, Ketchup and fries.
      *** You can use the bread you take of from the bun to make bread crumbs , by toasting it and put it in the food processor.

    Tuesday, May 17, 2011

    Moist Banana Bars Recipe



    I had some ripe bananas yesterday, so I thought about making some Banana Bars. After looking at the recipe that called for 2 cups of sugar I knew that will be too much sugar for me . So I went ahead and read about baking formulas and ingredient percentage in cakes before going ahead and reducing the sugar, because I didn't want to affect the overall cake texture. So I safely removed 1/2 cup of sugar and the recipe till turned out really delicious, moist and tender.




    Ingredients

    makes a 10x15 baking dish

    1/2 cup butter, softened
    1 1/2 cups sugar ( original recipe called for 2 cups)
    3 eggs
    1-1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    2 cups all-purpose flour
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    Dash salt


    Directions


    Transfer to a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

    In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, bananas and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into creamed mixture just until blended.

    Source: Taste of Home









    Saturday, May 14, 2011

    Lebanese Chicken Over Rice Recipe


    This is a traditional dish in Lebanon and also in other Arabic countries. Usually it varies from country to country in the spices used. Some also add ground beef to the rice. This is an easy dish that you have to try if you hadn't yet.


    Ingredients:

    Serves 6

    For Chicken:

    1 lb Chicken Breasts trimmed
    1/2 a medium onion ( cut in half)
    4 Cinnamon sticks
    4 whole nutmeg
    5 bay leaves
    10 whole cloves
    10 whole cardamon
    1/2 tsp all spice
    1/4 cup white vinegar

    For Rice:

    2 cups Basmati Rice
    2 Cinnamon sticks
    2 Whole cloves
    2 Bay leaves
    6 whole Cardamon
    2 tbs vegetable oil
    1/4 almonds or pine nuts or a mixture of both that is roasted in a 1 tbs of vegetable oil until golden.

    Directions:

    Trim Chicken Breast and cut each breast in half. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup of  white vinegar and 1 tsp salt over chicken, Rub chicken well and then wash with water .
    Put in a pot , cover with water and put over medium heat.
    Before it comes to a boil , you should see a foam forming on the top, with a spoon collect this foam and disregard. After removing all foam put the whole spice , all spice and onion.
    Cover Chicken and cook over medium heat  about 40 mins or  until chicken is tender and cooked.
    Keep warm
    ** we will be using the water that we cooked the chicken in to cook the rice.
     
    Wash the basmati rice with cold water until water that comes out is no longer foggy.
    In a pot, over medium high heat, heat oil and stir in rice and saute for couple minutes. Add 4 cups of  the water we cooked the chicken in earlier, salt and the whole spices bring to boil. Cover pot cook on very low heat for about 20 minutes. Uncover and let it stand on the stove for couple minutes.

    ***If you don't have a pot that has a heavy lid that won't get the steam come out. Using your regular pot place a kitchen towel under the lid and securely close it. Make sure the towel doesn't touch the stove.

    To assemble : Shred chicken over rice and top with the roasted nuts. Serve with salad and Greek yogurt.




    Collecting foam

    After removing foam

    Spices for chicken

    Spices for rice

    Roasted nuts


    Cooking rice





    Friday, May 13, 2011

    Baked Kibbeh Recipe كبة بالصينية


    Kibbeh or kibbe is an  Arabic dish made of bulgur (crushed wheat) and chopped meat. The best-known variety is a torpedo-shaped fried croquette stuffed with minced beef or lamb. Other types of kibbeh may be shaped into balls or patties, and baked or cooked in yogurt. It is widespread in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt(where it is called koubeiba) and Palestine. Usually I don't make my Baked Kibbeh this thick but  I broke the baking dish I wanted to use while I was getting it from my cabinet, so I had to use a smaller one the one I used is 11x7. So the size of baking dish you use depends on your preference of thickness.


    Ingredients:

    Serves 8

    for the Kibbeh:

    2 lbs finely ground lean beef
    2 cups fine bulgur wheat
    1/2 medium onion
    1/2 roasted red pepper or fresh pepper
    1/2 tsp paprika
    1 tsp cumin
    1 tsp  dried basil
    1 tsp dried mint
    1 tsp marjoram
    1/2 tsp salt
    1/4 tsp black pepper
    *** you can use fresh herbs substitute each 1 tsp to 1 tbs of fresh herb .I prefer fresh herbs but I didn't have any :(

    For Stuffing:

    1 lb ground beef
    1/2 cup chopped onions.
    2 tbs vegetable oil
    2 tbs pine nuts
    1 1/4  tsp all spice
    1/4 tsp ground cloves
    1/2 tsp salt

    Directions:

    To prepare stuffing

    Over medium heat, heat vegetable oil in a large skillet  ,cook pine nuts until golden in color ( keep and eye on them they burn easily) take the pine nuts out from skillet and set aside.In the same skillet saute onions for 2 mins, add ground beef and spices and cook until browned. Turn Heat off, add pine nuts and combine.Set the stuffing aside


    For The Kibbeh:

    In food processor combine, Bulgur , spices, onions and peppers.






    Mix everything is chopped and well combined. The mixture will look like red wet bulgur wheat.



    Now is Stand up mixer , Mix the fine ground lean beef  with 3/4 the bulgur mixture ( I wrap the rest and put in the freezer for other recipes) until well combined , while mixing add about 4 tbs of water.



    Now for the assembly:

    Using a 13x9 Baking dish with result in a medium thickness baked Kibbeh.
    Line the baking Dish with aluminium Foil paper and leave the sides of the foil hanging outside the baking dish.
    spread half of the kibbeh mixture on the foil. Now hold the foil from the two sides and take it out and set is aside . This will be the top part. This is the easiest way in forming the top layer instead in working it in patches.


    Now spray the baking dish with oil and spread the other half of the kibbeh. follow with a layer of stuffing.




    Now gentley put the top layer we set aside on top. With a knife cut the Kibbeh in the shapes you like diamonds or rectangles.


    Cover with Aluminium foil and bake in 450 degrees oven for 30 mins, then take the foil and broil for about 5 min or until browned. Serve with salad or  Greek yogurt.



    Manicotti Recipe


    Usually this dish is made with Manicotti or also known as cannelloni, but instead I used pasta shells. The stuffing is made from three kinds of cheese and parsley topped with homemade marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese. You can make some variations to this recipe. Instead of marinara sauce use Alfredo sauce or a Bechamel and instead of parsley use spinach. Enjoy this dinner with a salad and garlic bread.


    Ingredients:

    Serves 3 to 4

    15 Pasta Shells
    3 cups Homemade Marinara Sauce
    1 cup Ricotta cheese
    3/4 cup Parmesan cheese divided
    2 cups Mozzarella Cheese divided
    1 egg
    1 tbs dried Parsley or 1/4 cup fresh Parsley


    Directions:

    Whisk egg well until pale yellow. Add 1 1/2 cups Mozzarella Cheese , 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese ,1 cup Ricotta Cheese and parsley.



    Bring a pot of salted water to boil, splash with some oil so shells do not stick together. Cook shells until al dente about 10 -12 mins.



    Stuff shells with cheese Mixture.

    Spread 1 cup Marinara Sauce in a baking dish. Line Shells and top with the remaining 2 cups Marinara sauce and 1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese and  1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese.





    Cover the baking dish with alumnium foil. Bake in a 350 degrees oven for 40-45 min or until bubbly.
    Take foil and broil for 5 min until cheese melts.


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