Another Arabian Night

The lighting in my dining room is whack.

Middle Eastern food is perfect summer fare - there's a lot of grilled meats and cold dishes. There is also the added benefit of their diet traditionally being low in fat and high in fiber, and rich in olive oil - good for your heart! I've been ready for a flavor change - as I've been doing a lot of Tex Mex, Asian, and pizza (the Holy Trinity in our house) - and I love the complexity of Middle Eastern cuisine. Pungent spice blends, fresh herbs, tangy yogurt, earthy grains; it's all wonderful.

On the menu last night were kofta (a grilled spiced meatball), cucumber/carrot/onion salad with yogurt dill dressing, and lemony boiled potatoes with carrot greens.

I've never made my own kofta, so I spent quite a bit of time looking up different recipes to see if there is a hard and fast traditional spice blend to use. Turns out that it varies by region, like barbecue here in the states, so I made up my own. There are also a few different ways to cook the meatballs, including skewered, baked, and directly on hot coals. I went with making little slider-sized patties on the grill. The only thing I forgot was some pita or lavash type bread, and I didn't feel like going to the store, but these would also be great stuffed into a pita with the carrot/cuke salad on top.

Spice Blend

This makes more than you need for the recipe - save the rest to rub on meat or fish - with a little olive oil - for the next time you grill!

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp allspice

1 tsp good quality paprika

1 tsp cardamom

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp cracked pepper

********************************

Kofte

1# ground beef or lamb

1 T minced garlic

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

1 tsp fresh mint, chopped

1 handful chopped fresh parsley

2 tsp spice blend

Combine all ingredients, shape into meatballs or small patties, and grill to preferred temperature.

Carrot Cucumber Feta Salad w/ Yogurt Dill Dressing

Dressing

2T mayo

3T yogurt

1T lemon juice

1 tsp raw sugar

handful fresh dill

s/p

Salad

2 cucumbers, seeded and sliced

3 -4 carrots, sliced

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

4 oz feta cheese, cubed or crumbled

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add carrots, cook for 1-2 minutes until bright orange and al dente (tender to the bite). Drain, then drop carrot slices into large bowl of ice water. (This arrests this cooking process and retains the nice bright color of the carrot as it flash-cools them.) Drain well.

Toss all ingredients with the dressing, chill for at least a half hour to allow flavors to blend.

You know in the movies when someone goes to the grocery store and they leave with the paper bag that has a baguette and the fronds of a bunch of carrots sticking out of the top? Yeah, what is that?

I am going to assume that if you have ever purchased a bunch of carrots that still have the tops attached, you have cut them off and thrown them away. Big mistake! They taste a little like carrot and a lot like parsley, and are chock full of vitamins. I used them straight up in place of parsley in the following recipe, so if your store only carries carrots in plastic bags just use parsley instead.

Lemony Potatoes with Carrot Greens

2# red potatoes, quartered and boiled

1 bunch carrot greens

1/4 c olive oil

2 T lemon juice

Toss, serve warm or room temperature.

Infinity Tacos

How many different ways can one family eat tacos? The answer is infinity. (Infinity Tacos is the name of my Los Lonely Boys/Evanescence cover band.)

I had a small beef brisket from our CSA, and decided to slow cook it for taco filling. Since I don't give a frig about authenticity, I rummaged around in the cabinets and came up with a melange of ingredients to throw in the crock.

I rubbed the roast with Lime Pepper and Kitchen Bouquet, and let it sit while I chopped a head of garlic. I sautee'd the garlic in a few tablespoons of oil, and then quickly seared the meat on all sides. I then transferred the meat to the crock and topped it with a can of roasted green chiles, a couple of quartered tomatoes, a sliced onion, a half a jar of pizza sauce that I had in my fridge and some agave syrup to balance out the acid in the onions and tomatoes (probably about 2T?). Then I set it on low nd came back to it eight or nine hours later. I took the roast out, shredded it by ripping it apart with a fork in each hand, and returned it to the pot, mixing it back with the cooking juices.

fig. 1

fig. 2

The results were tender and flavorful, peppery without being too spicy. I used a jarred tomatillo salsa and smoked shredded cheese to complement the meat.

The reason that I didn't write this up in my traditional recipe format is that I don't intend this as a strict recipe (which it certainly can be), but more of an example of how I take what I have and wing it from there. I know a lot of people don't feel comfortable cooking without a recipe, and I don't blame you! When I was first teaching myself to cook, before I was working in kitchens and learning from more experienced people, I didn't trust myself to experiment. Even now - when dealing with flavors and cooking styles that I am unfamiliar with - I will stick hard and fast to recipes until I get the feel. Eventually I get to the point where I instinctively know what something will ultimately taste like as I'm composing a dish.

Maybe we don't all have this ability, and I'm taking it for granted. Maybe it's kind of like how anyone can be taught to play the guitar, but not just anyone can be Clapton. I'm certainly no Keller (the food world's Clapton), but I'm just as good as half the hacks on Food Network (eff you Bobby Flay) and I think that anyone with a love for interesting food and some core knowledge can throw together an impressive meal any day.

Here is another example: pasta salad. Like Taco Guts (what we refer to taco filling as), the possibilities are endless. Do you have pasta? Good, you're halfway there. I made the following salad for a pot-luck at E's school. I wanted something a little different but not "weird", and something that the parents could enjoy in the sea of mac and cheese and meatballs that everyone always brings to these events.

Chicken Chipotle Pasta Salad

Dressing:

3 cloves garlic, minced
zest + juice of 1 lime
3/4 c mayo
3/4 c sour cream
1 scant tsp chipotle powder

Blend together, set aside.

2 c corn
1 bunch scallions, sliced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 whole chicken - roasted, boned and chopped (can you say "rotisserie", boys and girls? I can, especially in summer.)
1 c chopped fresh cilantro
1 # pasta

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain, and then immediately rinse in cold water. Drain off as much water as possible.

Toss pasta with remaining ingredients and dressing. Chill for at least one hour to allow the flavors to blend.

"Would you like a bite of my Sloppy Joseph?"

Nostalgia kicked in the door again today, and reminded me about Sloppy Joes. How could I forget? Just as all-American as the hamburger and twice as hard to eat in public. Notice that you never see Sloppy Joes on restaurant menus? It's because they are more unattractive to watch someone eat than buffalo wings - and watching someone eat buffalo wings can be a friendship killer.

But if you are eating them in the privacy of your own home, who's going to judge? Your kids? Your cats? The Sex & The City re-runs that you watch while you eat so that you don't feel lonely? None of them will judge. They all got problems, too.

Sloppy Joes, also known as "Manwiches" usually come out of a can. You buy a hunk of ground beef, open a can of sauce, add sauce to beef and slap it on a burger bun. The sauce not only has high fructose corn syrup and various dehydrated vegetables (gross), but it is crazy high in sodium. Sure it's easy, but so is my recipe. It doesn't take that much longer to cook these from scratch - I had dinner ready in about a half hour and that includes throwing together the salad.

I have not had a 'Joe' in many years, so I basically winged this from memory. It doesn't taste just like a Manwich, but it tastes really good! We always used to have them with Ruffles potato chips (also terrible for you), so tonight I served them with our favorite kettle-cooked salt and pepper chips and a basic salad. Everyone loved it, and actually finished their meals. Hooray for......

Sloppy Josephs

1 bell pepper, diced
1 small red onion, diced
8 oz mushrooms, chopped fine
3-6 cloves of garlic to taste, chopped fine
splash of red wine
1# ground beef
16 oz tomato sauce (I like the roasted garlic flavor, but plain is fine too)
2T ketchup
2T steak sauce (like A1)
1/2 tsp chili powder (I used chipotle, regular is fine)
1 tsp paprika
1/4 c brown sugar
s/p to taste

Saute' the onions, garlic, mushrooms, and bell pepper in about 2T of oil on high heat for 2-3 minutes. When the vegetables are soft and the mushrooms have released their moisture*, deglaze the pan with the red wine. Cook down the wine (about 1 minute) and then add the ground beef. Brown the ground beef in with the vegetables, frequently chopping it up with a wooden spoon as you go. When the beef is evenly browned, add the chili powder and paprika. Give it a quick stir and then lower the heat to med-low and add in the tomato sauce, steak sauce, and brown sugar. Let simmer for about 15 minutes, season with salt and pepper to taste.

I served this on toasted bulkie rolls with melted smoked Gouda cheese.