AND FOR DESSERT....

I don't bake. I find that baking is too restrictive for my capacities..there is no room for tweaking, or changing the techniques as you please. Also, I find that our needs for baked goods are rather limited, so I did not venture into the field to start with. Sometimes I bake a cake from a mix, we never finish it and I always end up giving away a large portion of it. If we need baked goods, I buy just what we are actually going to consume, nothing more. On the other hand, I can assemble a very mean dessert: I make trifles, a large platter of sweets or fruits, a dessert table of cakes, ice cream and toppings. They are always a success when I have guests. It gives them the opportunity to make their own desserts, add or leave out ingredients. On occasion, I've made some Oriental desserts: konafa and baklava. This is the only dessert that you can tweak and change the ingredients as you wish. I usually follow the main idea, but put less butter and different combinations of ingredients or fillings. They also turned out to be a success. 

But there is one dessert that my husband liked and I couldn't make because its main ingredient could not be found in the States. The dessert is called "Oum Ali" (literally The Mother of Ali), and is basically made of a kind of bread soaked in milk and filled with sugar and nuts, then baked in the oven until browned. It is usually served hot, right out of the oven. Lately I've been thinking of Oum Ali, mainly because it is served hot. It's getting cold and I thought it would be nice if I can serve it for Christmas. So I decided to try a new version, my own version. I started early and tried several versions until I got it just right. 

The main idea of the dessert is to mix bread and milk. This particular kind of bread, called "Rokak" meaning very thin, is more like a very thin tortilla and is sold dry. You can use it to make this dessert or make a savory dish if you fill it with ground meat. Since I cannot get the kind of bread used originally in the recipe I started looking for alternatives. The obvious solution came from the idea of bread pudding. I'll use the same basic principle and see what will happen. My first experiment was with the savory version, the sausage pudding I made a few weeks ago. It was delicious, and I was encouraged to keep trying. The second try was a real Oum Ali, then another try with apples and the final one with all the works. 

I'll give you the final basic recipe to which you can add all what you want. You'll need:

6 cups Challa bread cut into 1 inch cubes

4 eggs

1 cup half and half 

2 cups skim milk

A dash of vanilla

1 to 1 and 1/2 cup sugar, depending on the extra ingredients you'll add

WESTERNIZED OUM ALI 

                                                        

                                                                                                                 

That was the second experiment. I know that the traditional recipe calls for heavy cream and milk, but I thought that would be too much. After making the sausage pudding with heavy cream (1 cup to 2 skim milk) I felt it was still heavy for our taste. So I decided to go to the other extreme: I used only skim milk. It came out OK, mainly because it was full of nuts and raisins. So you can make it with the basic recipe that I finally approved and add to it:

1 and 1/2 cup hazelnuts toasted and coarsely chopped

1 and 1/2 cups raisins

1 cup coconut, grated and sweetened

1/2 cup sugar, optional according to taste

Beat the eggs and mix them in a large bowl with the liquids, half and half and skim milk, and the vanilla. Add the sugar and stir to dilute, then add the bread. Mix to wet , then add the other ingredients. Mix to incorporate. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Transfer to a low baking dish and bake in a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until set and lightly browned on top. Let stand for 5 minutes and serve.

APPLE AND RAISIN DESSERT

                                                          

With the success of the second experiment, i got the courage to try again, this time with apples.

I used 1 cup of regular milk and 2 cups skim milk. It also came out delicious, but I still thought why not try to improve it further? So I tried the last version in a dessert that I took with me to a dinner at our daughter's house. Everybody loved it. You'll need to add to the basic recipe:

3 apples cored, peeled and very thinly sliced

1 cup each: raisins and coconut

1 can crushed pineapple

1 cup extra bread cubes

A pinch of cinnamon

Follow the same instructions as above, but add the crushed pineapple to the liquids. When you mix the bread with the liquids, you may add some more because the crushed pineapple has some liquid too. We don't want the dish to be running. Add the other ingredients and follow the instructions. Serving suggestion: you may add a scoop of ice cream, it will be a la mode.

                                                   

CHRISTMAS DINNER: LET'S HAVE SOMETHING DIFFERENT

                                             

Merry Christmas everyone. We just finished dinner, watched a movie and here I am. This year I made something different. My husband first suggested that we cook the duck I bought the other day. He just wanted the regular duck we usually have with couscous and veggies. But I had other plans. My friend Batta was coming from Minneapolis with her daughter, and they were spending the day with us. Duck sounded good, and I already wanted to make something different. I was reminded the other day by an article in the NY Times of a duck recipe my mammina used to make. But as I remember, it was rather complicated. This is probably why I never tried it before. But Christmas seemed a good occasion to try something new, especially that my husband has asked for duck, and I happened to have two at home. As usual I had no intention to follow the recipe mainly because it was complicated: it called for roasting the duck pieces in the oven, then cook them in the sauce, then put them back in the oven to finish cooking. I was definitely not going to do all that. Also it kept the skin on the duck pieces, something I had decided long ago I would never do. Too much fat. The obvious solution was to tweak the recipe as much as I could in order to have duck, but my way. It came out perfect, light, tender and delicious. Most of all it was easy to make.

ITALIAN DUCK WITH OLIVE GREMOLATA

                                                         

The basic idea of this dish is not difficult, but the original recipe is. You should roast the duck pieces in a hot oven in order to allow them to render the fat, then after you cook them in the sauce, you cook them again in the oven, and during all this process, you keep skimming the fat...that's too much work for me. Since I decided to prepare dinner the day before, my tweaking idea was just the right idea for this dish. I decided to cook it until the very last step, then finish cooking it on Christmas day. That made things easier for me: I will not be working in the kitchen while my friend sits outside with my husband and mom. I had two ducks of about 5.40 lb each. The recipe calls for duck legs, but I'll use the 4 legs and two breasts. Will it make a difference? we'll see. So, I prepared everything the night before, and left only the veggies and the gremolata for today. They will be done in minutes. You'll need:

6 duck pieces (it should be 6 legs, I used 4 legs and 2 breasts)

1/2 onion, plus 4 garlic cloves

1 and 1/2 carrot very finely chopped

1 heart of celery finely chopped plus a few sprigs of thyme

Peel of 1 small orange, no white part

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp toasted, coarsely ground fennel seeds

2 bay leaves

3 oz tomato paste, plus 1(14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes with liquid

1 cup red wine, optional

2 cups stock

1 tbsp oil

Salt and pepper

Remove the skin from the ducks with a sharp knife. For best results try to do that while the bird is still firm, not completely defrosted. With sharp kitchen scissors, cut the legs and the breasts. Keep 2 breasts to use later. Make sure that you remove all the visible fat from the pieces. Use the neck, wings and carcass  to make stock while you prepare the other ingredients. Rub the duck pieces with the spices and salt and pepper, and let stand for about 30 minutes while you chop the vegetables. In the small chop chop, process the onion and garlic to a fine mix. Remove to a small bowl, then chop the carrots and orange peel. Also finely chop the celery and the thyme. In a large non stick deep skillet heat 1/2 tbsp oil and brown the duck pieces on all sides. Remove the pieces to a platter. Add the remaining oil to the skillet, add the onion and garlic and stir for about 4 minutes until fragrant. Add the carrots, celery, thyme and orange peel and cook until tender, about 4 minutes more. Add the tomato paste and stir to combine. Add the diced tomatoes and the wine if using it. If not, substitute with a cup of stock. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes until the sauce if formed. Add the duck pieces with any juices accumulated in the plate, stir then add 1 cup of stock. Adjust seasoning. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and keep cooking covered for about 45 minutes. Check every now and then in case it needs some  more stock. When the duck is tender when poked with a fork, turn the heat off and keep it for the next day. When you are ready, transfer the duck pieces to a low baking dish that would hold them all in one layer. Ladle the sauce over the pieces and bake uncovered in a 375 degree oven until the sauce is bubbling and the duck pieces lightly browned on top, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with olive gremolata and serve with yellow rice and a side of sauteed asparagus.

                                                    

The duck breast turned out as delicious as the leg!

OLIVE GREMOLATA

It's very easy to make. Just make sure that you prepare it not more than one hour ahead. Just mix together :

1 cup of fresh flat leaf parsley

1 can (6 oz) black olives, pitted and finely chopped

1 small jar (2.5 oz) of green olives, pitted and finely chopped

2 tbsp capers, chopped

1/2 tsp each orange zest and lemon zest

1 garlic clove very finely chopped

This may be a bit more than what you'll need to top the duck dish, but I didn't mind, I had something in mind for it. I'll use the leftover tomorrow.

                                               

TIP: If you have leftover sauce, the next day , zap it in the blender until smooth, thin it a little bit with some stock, add some angel hair pasta and cook until the pasta is done. You'll have a delicious vegetable/duck soup for lunch. I served it with a toasted slice of bread.
For the leftover gremolata: cook some green lentils in water until tender, let cool, add the gremolata, a drop of oil, lemon juice, cumin and salt  to taste. Serve with a mixed salad, and you'll have another delicious lunch.

A FISH CALLED DINNER

This is the last test for the new electronic controls of the oven: we're broiling a fish. This could be the easiest way for you to cook a fish, whole. I know that many of you never cook fish at home, let alone a whole fish, head and tail and everything. There is a myth that cooking fish will stink your house, and you may think it's yucky, but really it isn't. It is much simpler than you think, or than you've been told. And believe me once you've tried my way, you'll always like to have fish at home. You just have to know how to buy a good fresh fish, ask the fish monger to clean it for you and you're good to go. You've probably heard many pointers about how to choose a fish, but I'll say it again: the first thing to look for is smell. If a fish smells, stay away from it. Better yet: if the store smells, get out immediately and look for another one. It is not fresh. Other signs to look for: the eyes. They should be clear, not cloudy. The flesh of the fish should immediately bounce back when you put pressure on it with a finger, and finally the gills should be vivid red. Now that we know how to choose a good fresh fish, you just have to know that for this recipe you should  get one with white flesh. I chose a red snapper, but a whole tilapia or a mullet can do. The main thing is that you should get a fish at least 12 to 13 inch long. Bigger would be fine too, it will serve more people.

BLACKENED WHOLE FISH

                                            

This is a traditional Egyptian recipe for grilled fish. In the old days, when ovens could not be found in every kitchen, they used to prepare it and send it to the bakery around the corner to be cooked there. Then it became a habit: today this dish is mainly a take out one. You go to the market, choose the fish and ask the store to broil it for you. They have everything that you need for that: the seasoning, the fresh herbs, the onion and garlic. You can even get side dishes, mainly fish rice and salads. In New York, I found some Egyptian restaurants who serve this kind of fish, but I love to prepare it at home: I like to be in control of the spices. You'll need:

1 whole red snapper, about 13 inches long

1/2  small onion

2 to 3 garlic cloves

1/2 small bunch each: parsley and dill

Juice of 1 lime

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp each: coriander and celery salt

Salt and pepper to taste

Bran, about 3 tbsp

Ask the fish monger to clean only the inside of the fish. Cut the fins, but leave the scales, they will protect the skin from burning. Sprinkle some salt and pepper inside and out the fish, drizzle some lime juice (about half a lime) and let stand. In the small chop chop process the onion, garlic and herbs until very finely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a small dish, add the spices, salt and pepper and the juice of the other half of the lime. Mix. Fill the cavity of the fish with the mixture. If the fish is big, you can make a cut in the thickest part of the flesh, and insert some of the mixture in it. If it is really huge, make a long cut along the spine and put some of the mixture in it too. This way you'll infuse the whole fish with the spices. Let stand until your broiler comes to the right temperature (I set it on high). Place a sheet of aluminum foil on the broiler pan, and put the fish over it. Cover the fish with bran. Pat it down to make sure that it sticks to the skin.

                                                   

 Broil for 5 minutes. Don't panic when you find that the fish is completely black, it's the bran. Carefully turn the fish to the other side. Cover with bran and broil again for another five minutes. If you have a bigger fish, give it more time. The biggest fish I made took 10 to 12 minutes for the first side and 10 max for the second. I like to serve it on its foil: this way you can remove the skin, serve the flesh and get all the skin and bones in the foil and into the garbage. No mess.

                                             

FRIED WHOLE FISH

                                                 

It's also a tradition when you serve fish to have grilled and fried. So I got another 2 whole red snappers, but asked the fish monger to clean them inside and out. And since I was cooking both of them the same day, I prepared  the ingredients together. This time get a smaller fish, but not too small, it will have more bones than meat. You'll need:

2 red snappers, whole, cleaned and gutted

3 garlic cloves

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp each: coriander and celery salt

Salt and pepper

Lime juice

Flour and bread crumbs (2 to 1)

Oil for frying

Sprinkle some salt and pepper inside and out the fish, and drizzle some lime juice. Set aside.

Finely chop the garlic, add the spices and salt and pepper to it and mix. Add some drops of lime juice. Fill the cavity with the mixture, make a slit in the thickest part of the fish and fill it with the spice mixture. Mix 2 tbsp of flour with one tbsp bread crumbs, salt and pepper and spread on a shallow dish. Dip the fish in the mixture on both sides, pressing down to make sure that it sticks to the skin. Fry in vegetable oil until golden brown on both sides. Remove to a dish lined with paper towels, then serve with a tahini salad.

                                                

WHY DID I BUY SO MUCH OF THIS, MEALS

Sometimes I go overboard. Yes I really do. At the market, when I find an item that we like, I tend to get a big package of it simply because it was fresh, in season, or looked particularly good that day. You may think that this is not very economical, but believe me when you have to make less trips to the supermarket, you'll feel that your life is becoming a lot easier. My regular shopping trips for food are now reduced to once every two months, with some shorter trips to the store around the corner or the farmers' market for fresh fruit or salad. During these trips I usually get the basic staples, cleaning items and whatever I find appealing that day. I always end up with a lot of items, usually freezable, that I can use later on. I like to call them "my strategic reserve". They help me whip up a good meal in times when I did not go shopping for a while. Lately I noticed that our rate of consumption is slowing down. We started eating less, and I feel that my strategy has to change accordingly. But until then I have to think about the triple Polska kielbasa I bought during my last trip. I had used only one of them when I bought it, and now I still have 2 to go. You also have to know that it's my husband who usually goes out and get it, to have some with eggs on week-end brunch. But now that we have two of them in the fridge, he doesn't think of having eggs for breakfast anymore. The golden opportunity came today: after Thanksgiving's meal and its leftovers, we needed something new, something different. That's when my kielbasa comes in.

SAUSAGE PUDDING

                                                   

I thought of this dish mainly because it can be considered as some kind of omelet, with all the ingredients already in it, even the bread. To be honest, I've seen many cooks make a sweet version of it on TV. The dessert version reminds me of a traditional Egyptian dessert that also uses a combination of milk and bread. But I am not that much into baking desserts, so I thought of making it savory. I thought all I needed was simply to add cheese and something salty to the basic recipe and be done. Well, it worked!! You'll need:

1 whole (14 oz) Polska kielbasa, cubed (I used turkey, but I guess any kind would be OK)

1 cup heavy cream

2 cups skim milk

3 stalks celery, thinly sliced, plus some sprigs of dill, chopped

2 tbsp frozen onion/garlic mixture

1 tbsp oil

4 eggs

6 cups Challa or brioche bread, in 1 inch cubes

1 to 1 1/2 cup grated cheese (I used Parmigiano, but Cheddar would be OK, or a mix of both)

Salt and pepper

To cube the sausage, cut it in half, then cut each half in two, lengthwise. Cut it again lengthwise and then slice it. Cook the kielbasa in the tbsp oil, for 3 to 4 minutes, then add the celery and onion/garlic mixture. Keep cooking stirring often until slightly welted. Add the dill and stir for a couple of minutes more, then remove from heat. In a large bowl mix the eggs, the cream and milk. Sprinkle some salt and pepper (don't go overboard, the sausage and the cheese are salty enough). Add the bread cubes, fold in the sausage mixture and half of the cheese. Transfer to a baking dish and refrigerate,covered, for about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the dish and bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with a salad.

AND NOW, THE ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS

While waiting to fix the oven, I started to lose patience and got nervous: time was running out and we were getting too close to Thanksgiving day without knowing if I will be able to cook our traditional dinner. I thought I could cook many items on the stove, even grill meat on the outside grill, but what about the turkey? A first option is completely out of the question: I cannot fry a turkey..I don't have the proper utensils, nor a big enough pot, and of course I cannot take the risk of setting the place on fire, as we see on TV. I had to think and think fast. I have a rotisserie, but it's rather small, it can take two chicken, but a very small turkey. So, no good. Can we have something else? No way, said my husband. Even so, I will still need an oven. So, one day while reading the Sunday papers and carefully studying all the ads and fliers that come with them, I came upon something very interesting: an electric roaster big enough to cook a 22 lb turkey. It seemed to have many other functions, but what caught my eye was this huge capacity. The next day at work I was talking about it with my dear friend Sonia, who immediately offered to get it for me. She insisted that the store was close to her place, that it wasn't a problem for her to bring it over. She did, and I had the machine at home two days later. The next week-end I decided to give it a try. It was really big, looked like a slow cooker, probably it has also this function, and had a rack inside it to hold the turkey. I had a rather huge chicken ready to start the experiment. All I did was rinse it inside out, remove the extra visible fat, and sprinkle some Adobo seasoning inside it and on it. I set the roaster on 350 degrees, put the chicken in and covered it. I went on with my life, to prepare a nice side dish. I didn't touch it for a whole hour. Then my curiosity prevailed. I removed the cover to check on it. The chicken was barely pale yellow. I returned the cover, feeling a bit let down. Was it going to work? I really didn't know. But I decided to give it more time. I gave it 40 more minutes. A quick peek confirmed that it was done. The result? Fantastic. The meat was falling off the bones and it tasted delicious. Mom said she never had chicken like that before, "it was like butter", she said.

                                            

BLACK AND WHITE FRAGRANT RICE

I had thought of this dish for Thanksgiving, but when I told my husband about it, he insisted that I make my regular fragrant rice with nuts. It's tradition, he said. OK, can we have it today? I asked. He agreed and promised that he'll give it a chance. Actually if you know how to cook rice, you'll be able to do this. It's very easy, it doesn't even need a recipe. It all depends on your taste: you can use a little more of this or a little less of that. The only thing you have to take into consideration is the ratio of wild rice to regular rice. Wild rice tends to expand when cooked, so it has to be in a smaller amount than the white rice. You'll need:

1/2 cup wild rice
1 and 1/2  cup white rice (I used long grain)
2 tbsp frozen onion/garlic mixture
4 to 5 baby carrots, pulverized in a food processor
1/2 small bunch each: parsley and dill, very finely chopped
1 container white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

In a sauce pan, cover the wild rice with water and bring to a boil. Add some salt to the water. Keep cooking until the rice has opened up and is al dente. You will have to add more water to obtain the needed result. Drain and set aside.
In a non-stick pot cook the onion/garlic mixture in the oil for 3 minutes, then add the carrots and stir. Cook for another 3 minutes and add the dill and parsley. Rinse the white rice, drain and add to the pot. Stir for a couple of minutes, then add liquid (water or stock) according to package directions and salt to taste. Cover  and let cook over high heat, until all the liquid is absorbed. Add the sliced mushrooms and stir to combine. Lower the heat and let it cook for a couple of minutes before adding the cooked wild rice. Stir to combine. Let it cook over very low heat, preferably using a heat diffuser under the pot, until the rice is tender and done.

NOTE: I had tried a different version of this rice before, but made the mistake of adding the mushrooms when I added the other vegetables. I ended up with a barely visible sliced mushrooms. When you add them when I did this time, they will cook and you'll be able to see them with the colorful specks of green and orange from the other veggies.