Vegetables
Cranberry Sauce with Rose Water & Pistachios
Cranberry sauce is such a natural with rose water, which brings out the cran-flavor and balances the sweet-tart beautifully. Be sure to use the rose water with restraint! We had a trial-run of Thanksgiving dinner recently, making good on what we say every year on Thanksgiving—which is: why don’t we eat this delicious meal more…
Read MoreRoasted Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Hazelnuts
Roasted Brussels sprouts with mulberry syrup and toasted nuts are a knockout on your holiday menu. Use any toasted nut you like. I love roasted, salted hazelnuts, a great balance with the tangy fruitiness of the mulberry syrup (or pomegranate molasses). I find it shocking when I hear, usually from one of the nieces or…
Read MoreMom’s Special Lebanese Rice
Lebanese rice is such an essential part of our table that I’m sheepish that I haven’t shared it here before…. My mom’s version is so special and delicious that it’s as at home on your weeknight menu as it is the holiday table. The attributes my mom has passed on to me are legion. Among…
Read MoreLebanese Eggplant Boats, another Sheik al Mehsheh
Lebanese eggplant boats are the traditional way to make Sheik al mehsheh, a meal “fit for a king”! Serve the eggplant over a bed of cinnamon-scented rice with a crisp, lemony romaine salad on the side. This dish is easily made ahead, as well as casserole-style. For some reason, our Lebanese eggplant, or Sheik al…
Read MoreTomato Kibbeh
Tomato kibbeh is a flavorful mix of fine bulgur, onion, herbs, and ripe tomatoes with kibbeh spices. So good, tomato kibbeh might just make you forget the raw meat version…. When he told me he was more or less done with meat, I didn’t believe him. It was last spring, and the brother of mine…
Read MoreZa’atar Roasted Tomato Crostini with Labneh
Za’atar with summer’s cherry or grape tomatoes, slow-roasted, are incredibly good! These delectable little bites of za’atar roasted tomatoes and labneh atop crostini stole the show at many of my events promoting my cookbook when I was on tour, and often make their appearance for cocktail hour at our house. Try substituting the crostini with…
Read MoreSpicy Lebanese Salsa
Among the many well-known Lebanese flavor makers (the za’atar, the cinnamon and allspice, the mint, and so on), there is a whole world of spicy Lebanese, including spicy Lebanese salsa, that did not find its way into the kitchens Abood (Dad’s family) and Abowd (Mom’s family). My dad was quite clear about where he stood…
Read MoreSauteed Spinach with Toasted Pine Nuts
Whether I’m baking the baklawa, or browning the butter, or toasting the nuts, the question is always there. That question: how dark should the baklawa/butter/nuts be? Actually, this isn’t my question at all. It’s the question of those around me. (Dan.) For me, Deep Golden Brown (DGB) is a given. It’s a fundamental need that…
Read MoreLebanese Cabbage Slaw, Malfouf Salad
This is a seriously delicious Lebanese, no mayo cole slaw — one we can’t get enough of for its flavor, crunch, and super-duper healthy qualities! While there are many great things to love about living back in Michigan where the extended Lebanese clan is . . . extensive . . . perhaps among greatest of…
Read MoreLebanese Fattoush Salad
A Perfect Fattoush Salad I could eat this salad every single day and still want more! See how it’s done in my video, right here! Get the Fattoush Kit for the vinaigrette here! Find the recipe for the pita chips here. You can add cucumbers and any other vegetables you have on hand to this…
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