Although my kitchen's always open- my blogging has shut down for a while. I will be back!

Fruit Compote

This is my version of Mama's fruit compote - I don’t have an exact recipe but: the best thing is you don't have to be exact.If you like it sweeter-use more sugar. If you like plums more- use more plums. I like the red plums because they give a pretty color. You can use apples, strawberries- whatever is in season. Just remember- fruits like apples take longer to soften than the strawberries, so add them accordingly.

10 peaches

5 red plums (or yellow if they are sweet)

5 apricots

1-2 pears

½ cup blueberries

½ cup grapes

¼ cup sugar (or more to taste- depending on how ripe and sweet your fruit is)

Wash and cut the fruit into cubes about 1 ½ inches. If you cut the fruit into shapes that are similar in size- they will cook more evenly.

Put fruit in large, heavy pot Sprinkle with sugar and stir to make sure all fruit is covered. Add cinnamon or nutmeg if you like.

Cover with cold water- at least 2 inches above the first 4 fruits. Bring to a boil and lower heat and simmer until fruit is soft and the water tastes good.

Add the rest of the fruits towards the last 20 minutes so they don’t boil away.

You can add more sugar, or orange juice or any fruit juice to flavor. You can add any fruits you like, but remember to cook the more sturdy fruits first and the more the delicate last.

It’s better to have a little more liquid, than less because this is very refreshing on hot days and it’s a good way to get your 5 a day.

Chee Kufta

Love this recipe and love this site for recipes!

THE ART OF ARMENIAN & MIDDLE EASTERN COOKING

‎'' CHEE KUFTA ''
Armenian Steak Tartare

In Arabic : Kibbe Nayee

...Always grind Chee Kufta meat yourself.
Keep very cold while preparing and serve right away.
Leftovers should be refrigerated and may be fried or baked later.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound lean lamb or beef round steak (ground 3 times)
1 cup fine (#1) bulghur wheat
1/2 cup V8 juice mixed with 1/2 cup cold water
1/4 cup cold water (to be added as you work with the mixture)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Garnish
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1/2 cup onions, chopped fine (and/or scallions)
fresh dill (optional)


PREPARATION:

Soak bulghur in V8 juice. Add salt, pepper and mix. Put in refrigerator for 10 minutes.
Add meat and 1/2 cup of garnish greens. Knead for 5 minutes.
Mound in flat oval shape on serving platter or shape into small serving pieces.
Garnish with chopped greens and serve with pita bread.See more

APPETIZERS * MEZZE

Sunny Anderson's Shepherd Pie

I saw this on Food TV and tried it and it came out really great.

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 2 pounds russet potatoes, washed, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 clove garlic, smashed
• Salt
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (85 percent lean)
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 cup low-sodium beef stock
• 1/2 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, julienned
• 2 zucchini, julienned
• 2 carrots, peeled and grated
• 1 teaspoon Hungarian hot paprika, plus more for garnish
• 4 ounces Havarti cheese, grated
• Mushroom Onion Gravy, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan, cover potatoes and crushed garlic with enough water to cover by 1-inch. Add some salt and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium-high and cook until fork tender, about 15 minutes. Drain potatoes, return to pot, and mash together with 3 tablespoons of the butter and the heavy cream. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and set aside.

In a large pan on medium-high heat, combine 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil. When butter has melted, add beef, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper and salt and pepper, to taste, and cook until meat is brown. Stir in tomato paste and saute for a few minutes. Add stockzucchini, carrots and paprika. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. and bring to a simmer. Season and remove mixture to a bowl. In the same pan, add remaining butter and oil and saute onions until almost tender, then add red bell pepper,

To assemble, in a 9 by 12-inch baking dish layer half of beef, pressing down to pack in, then sprinkle the cheese on evenly. Pour the remaining half of the beef over the cheese and press down. Next, add the sauteed vegetables and top with the mashed potatoes, spreading out with a spatula or the back of a spoon to even out and to form decorative peaks and valleys. Sprinkle top with paprika and bake for 30 minutes or until edges on potatoes turn golden brown. Serve with Mushroom Onion Gravy.

Mushroom Onion Gravy:

nocoupons

• 1/2 large onion, chopped
• 8 ounces white button mushrooms, sliced
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup red wine
• 2 cups beef broth
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, saute onions and mushrooms in oil until tender and mushrooms release their moisture, about 5 minutes. Add flour and stir to evenly coat. Slowly whisk in wine and then the broth. Simmer until thickened and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Very Strange Salad!

I served this a while back. My Mom said it was a very strange salad-but she had 2 helpings! I have always loved the tastes of watermelon with feta cheese and when I saw this salad on " THE ART OF ARMENIAN & MIDDLE EASTERN COOKING " In was very happy to try it-and I liked it- and so did everyone at dinner!

WATERMELON, FETA & OLIVE SALAD

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Juice of 2 limes
Coarse sea salt and freshly
ground black pepper (OPTIONAL)

1⁄4 small red onion, thinly sliced *

1 2-lb. piece seedless watermelon,
rind removed, cut into 1" cubes
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled (about 1⁄4 cup)

In a large bowl, whisk together the first 5 ingredients. Add the onions then toss gently with the watermelon and cheese.

*I slice the onions then put them in a baggie with some sea salt. Then squeeze a few times to soften the flavor then strain the juice and add to salad.

**You can add chopped jalapenos or sliced black olives to the salad.

Hawawshy

(from Fifi's Deli)

This means 'spiced mince meat and bread'. This snack has different names throughout the countries in the Mediterranean, but I prefer the name, Hawawshy. This snack is perfect for picnics or banquet.

Ingredients:

1 Kg Beef Mince
1 Medium Yellow/Spanish Onion (Finely Chopped)
1 Green Bell Pepper (Finely Chopped)
1 Tomato (Diced into small pieces)
1 Bunch of Cilantro (Chopped)
8 Medium Sized Pita Bread
1/4 Cup Olive Oil or Rice Bran Oil for brushing the bread

Spices:

Approximately one tablespoon of each

Cinnamon (2 dried sticks)
Nutmeg (1/4 of a ball, because it is very strong)
Sweet Pepper(Allspice)
Cloves
Coriander
3 Bay Leaves
Cardamom

.Put all the ingredients, in a small pan and stir until fragrant.
.Afterwards, put it in a grinder to ground the spices.
.Take one heaped tablespoon from the mixture, and keep the rest in a sealed jar.

Method:

1. Combine the spices, vegetables and meat. Mix throughly together by hand, with a little bit of salt and pepper to season.

2. Open the pita bread, to form a pocket. Stuff the pita bread pockets, with the meat mixture.

3. Brush the pita bread with olive oil, and wrap them with foil.

4. Put the pockets, on a tray, into the oven with a temperature of 220 C, for up to 40 minutes.

5. Serve with a simple green salad

Julia Child's Turkey Orloff

For Champaign-Taste's Julia Child Challenge, I fixed Turkey Orloff, described in Julia Child & Company as

Turkey breast scallopini gratinéed with mushrooms, onion, rice, and cheese.

This recipe serves 8. (I halved it for my experiment.)

1/4 c. plain raw white rice
1-1/2 sticks butter
1 egg + 2 egg yolks
1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms
handful fresh parsley (enough to make 3 T. minced)
1/2 t. tarragon
pepper
12 or more turkey breast slices
1 T. vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
3 cups hot turkey or chicken stock
1/2 c. low-fat cottage cheese
1 c. lightly pressed down coarsely grated mozzarella cheese

Rice and onion soubise

Preheat oven to 325 deg. Drop the rice into a saucepan with 2 quarts rapidly boiling salted water and boil uncovered for exactly 5 minutes; drain immediately and reserve.


Chop onions roughly, and then mince in food processor. Melt 4 T. butter in a baking dish, stir in the onions, the drained rice, and 1/4 t. salt, mixing well to coat with the butter; cover the dish and bake for 1 hour, stirring up once or twice until the rice is completely tender and beginning to turn a golden yellow. When the rice is done and still warm, beat in the egg; taste carefully and correct seasoning.

Mushroom Duxelles


While rice and onoin soubise is cooking , trim and wash mushrooms. Chop into tiny pieces in the food processor, and remove. Mince the parsley in processor afterward. By handfuls, either twist mushrooms hard in the corner of a towel or squeeze through a potato ricer to extract as much of the juices as possible. Saute the mushrooms in 2 T. butter stirring and tossing until mushroom pieces begin to separate—5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the tarragon and parsley; season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir half of the mixture into the cooked rice and onion soubise; reserve the rest.

Preparing the Turkey Scallopini

Pound the slices between 2 sheets of waxed paper (I used Glad Press & Seal) to expand them about double, and thin them down to half.

Salt and pepper the slices lightly, dredge in flour and shake off excess, saute for about a minute on each side in 1 T. of oil and 2 T butter (more if needed), just to stiffen them and barely cook through. Set slices aside on a plate as you finish them.

The gratenéing sauce

Make a turkey velouté sauce as follows. Melt 4 T. butter over moderate heat; blend in flour, and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon until flour and butter foam and froth together for 2 minutes without turning more than a golden yellow. Remover from heat and, when this roux stops bubbling, pour in 2 cups of hot turkey or chicken stock and blend vigorously with a wire whip. Return to heat, stirring and boiling slowly for 2 minutes.

In the food processor or an electric blender, puree the egg yolks with the cottage cheese. Beat the hot sauce into the cheese mixture

Assembling the dish

Butter the inside of the dish, and spread a thin layer of sauce in bottom of dish. Make a neat and slightly overlapping patttern of the turkey slices down the center of the dish, spreading each, as you go, with the soubise. Spoon remaining mushroom duxelles down the sides. Spoon remaining sauce over the turkey and spread the mozzarella cheese on top.

Bake approximately 25 minutes in 400-degree oven.

Should be served promptly