Recent Posts

Roasted Chicken Fattoush with croutons roasted along with the chicken makes for a decadent/healthy combo! My take on the dish that put Zuni Cafe on the map. Get the ingredients that will make your fattoush divine at MaureenAboodMarket.com. Roasted chicken fattoush may not be the first thought any of us has when we think “Fat…

Everything about this Raspberry Buttercream Cake says “happy”! Happy Valentine’s Day, Happy Birthday, Happy Spring, Happy Summer, Happy to be Happy! The secret to the all-natural deep pink color and true raspberry flavor is freeze-dried raspberry powder. Total dream. I don’t know if I love Valentine’s Day because it falls during my birthday week, or…

Avocado tahini dip is a Lebanese-style Mediterranean classic…who knew? Probably plenty of people, but I was excited to discover this healthy-yet-rich dip just recently and add it to my regular rotation. A Lebanese friend of my brother’s told him that his Arabic—the effective if small grab-bag of words we learned growing up as second-generation descendants…

Lightly poached broccolini with pine nut sauce is full of bright, nutty flavor and texture. What a great way to get your green vegetables in, with pleasure. I consider this broccolini with pine nut sauce recipe a study in what is most exciting for me in the kitchen right now. Broccolini—baby broccoli—inspired a switch for…

This savory phyllo galette — crisp, buttery phyllo with creamy labneh, seared tomatoes, and briny olives — is gorgeous showpiece to serve as an appetizer, or as a centerpiece for a light meal along with a salad.  It’s true that when Aunt Rita told me her quick-make method for baklawa, I was a fast and…

Classic chocolate crinkle cookies with orange blossom is a perfect combo: deep, double chocolate flavor with the gentle addition of orange blossom water. Make ahead the dough and freeze the balls to bake off when you’re ready. I haven’t seen a chocolate crinkle cookie on a holiday plate, or made them myself, in a long…

Olive oil baklawa is a fabulous alternative to classic baklawa, or baklava — the Mediterranean pastry traditionally drenched in butter and flower water syrup. How exciting to have a vegan baklawa (vegan baklava) option that tastes so very good! I won’t say that olive oil baklawa tastes exactly the same as if you’ve made your…

 Hummus with olives, pine nuts, and crostini make for a beautiful, holiday-worthy appetizer. Healthy and luscious and lovely, all in one! Get out the good china! Hummus is rightly an everyday or at least an every-week food. And sometimes the everyday gets (rightly) set aside for the special times, the feasts, the celebrations. But smooth…

Someone asked me recently, what are my top three pantry items? The first was easy: great extra virgin olive oil. The second: infused extra virgin olive oil. The third: kosher salt. We cook and drizzle and bake and drizzle some more with olive oil, every single day and even more when we’re cooking for a…

Za’atar Roasted Carrots are a simple way to give roasted carrots a boost of exciting flavor with za’atar spice, the Lebanese spice blend of wild thyme, sumac, and sesame seeds. Dust carrots with za’tar both before and after roasting. Perhaps like you, I do a good bit of cooking for a crowd. Even if it’s…