Chicken meatballs with dipping sauces
I was checking the fridge and freezer and noticed a few ingredients that needed to be turned into ..something, and that something was a dipping sauce. And rather than buy bags of chips, I decided to make some meatballs with chicken breast meat. One sauce is a simple version of...
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Batersh
This recipe is an ode to Syria, one of the most beautiful countries in the world, home of wonderful, kind, hospitable, refined people. So much has been published about Syria the last few years, all of it depressing and tragic, but the real Syria is a glorious land, filled with...
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Vegan chocolate cake
This was a cake made for a neighbor who was needing a vegan cake. I told her I would make it with tahini and she liked the idea (and loved the cake). I used tahini, grape molasses (to add sweetness) and some semi-sweet chocolate chips. I topped the cake with...
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Mujaddara
Eleven years ago when I first published this recipe, I was struggling with the Arabic title: Should I include it or should I call it “lentil and rice dish”. Now that our Near Eastern food has become mainstream, I can just call it by its name: mujaddara (pronounced mjaddra in...
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Biscuit au chocolat
This is called Biscuit au Chocolat in Lebanon, and is offered in coffee shops or cafés or in the home, to go with coffee or tea. It is easy to make, is a no-bake dessert, and keeps in the fridge. What is neat about it is that it is versatile,...
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Carrots stewed in butter and honey
This was how my mom used to cook carrots and I loved it for two reasons: It was yummy, and it was super easy. All it takes is throwing the carrots (peeled and cut) into the pot, adding a chunk of butter, a swirl of honey (or a dash of...
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Potato kibbeh pie
This is a very rustic kibbeh found in the villages; I became acquainted with it when I lived in the Chouf Mountains and befriended local farmers like Oum Elias. She used potatoes, onions and walnuts from her field to make a similar pie, and would take portions of it to...
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Oatmeal cookies
This time of year, people are busy making maamoul in Lebanon (and outside Lebanon as well if you are Lebanese), the Easter/Eid cookie par excellence; this is a suggested cookie for those of us who are not able to set aside the hours needed to make maamoul .. The photo was taken...
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Kibbeh Sajiyeh
This type of kibbeh is called kibbeh sajeeyyeh in Lebanon. The kibbeh is shaped like a saj , the concave cooking grill shaped like an inverted wok used in almost every corner bakery throughout Lebanon. Oum Elias using a saj to bake bread in her garden using sticks from pine trees in...
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