Ezo the Bride Soup Ezo Gelin Çorbası

Ezo was a real person who lived in the south eastern part of Turkey, close to Syrian border, in early 20th century. She had two miserable marriages, and died in Syria, homesick. There are films based on her hard, unfortunate life. But I have no idea why this soup is named after her.

The most important trivia about Ezo Gelin soup is that you cannot find a single Kebapçı (Kebab Restaurant) in Turkey that doesnt serve this soup. Its the best starter before kebap-you have to have the soup, and whatever you do at home, Ezo Gelin soup is always better at a Kebapçı, even at a sloppy one. Also, its famous for being a perfect hangover cure, after Tripe Soup (İşkembe Çorbası).

traditional ingredients:
1 cup red lentils
1/3 cup rice or bulgur
1 tbsp pepper paste
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 tbsp dry mint leaves
1/4 tsp black pepper
pepper flakes, as much as you want
1 tbsp olive oil
salt
60 oz water

optional ones:
I usually add 1 small potato and 1 carrot

-If you have a pressure cooker and a hand blender, put everything in pressure cooker (chop onion, potato, and carrot in reasonable pieces) and cook for 25 minutes on medium heat. Then, use the blender to smoothen the soup.

-If you dont have a pressure cooker, you can still boil everything together until lentils and rice are soft.

-If you have neither a pressure cooker, nor a blender then you need to finely chop the onion; make sure its really finely chopped. You can also finely chop the potato and carrot, but I prefer grating them. Garlic should be minced. After all the chopping and grating, recipe is the same: put everything in a pot and cook until lentils and rice are soft. Stir every 5 minutes.

For the sauce:
-Heat olive oil or butter (1 tbsp for 2-3 servings) in a skillet
-When oil starts sizzling (if youre using butter, try not to burn it) add 1/2 tsp paprika and after approximately 30 seconds remove from the heat. Pour over the soup.

-Squeeze lemon on the soup before you eat

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The best Eggplant Salad Recipe Десятка

Did you know eggplant is actually a fruit (though served as a vegetable)? With it’s deep, glossy purple skin and wobbly egg or pear shape, it’s quite a unique looking food item! This is the best salad ever for people who love eggplants. Its awesome to bring to a party or put it in cans and use it at any time. I usually make half of this recipe for my family.

       Ingredients:   
10 Eggplants 
10 Bell Peppers
10 Tomatoes
10 Onions
15 cloves garlic 

1 cup distilled vinegar
2 cups oil
3 tablespoons salt
6 tablespoons sugar

Print 


  "Десятка" Print In Russian


You will make it in layers; 
First tomatoes, 2nd onions, 3rd eggplants, last bell peppers . Follow the directions step by step.

•  Slice eggplants longwise 1/3in thick (leave skin on)  sprinkle salt on top of each piece. Put aside so all bitterness comes out, for about an hour. 

• Then slice tomatoes into circles and put in a non stick cooking pot.

•  Cut onion into circles add to the pot. 

• The eggplants will have liquid all over, so take a paper towel and tap until dry. Cut the eggplants (that you put aside to let out all of the bitterness out) in smaller pieces about a 3/4 of a inch of the finger thick size and add to the pot. 

• Cut bell peppers into small pieces and add to the pot. Next pour brine mix into the pot. 

• Boil for 45 min. 

• Turn off and add minced garlic. 

• The salad can be canned right after you boil it.

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Sausage Stuffed Cherry Pepper Poppers – Because the Party with the Best Food Wins

Whether you want to admit it or not, its getting close to holiday entertaining season, and as far as Im concerned theres really only one measuring stick by which all holiday parties are judged – the food.

You can have the best DJ, the coolest place settings, even those novelty ice cubes in the shape of shapes, but none of that matters if your food is lame. Thats where these sausage-stuffed cherry pepper poppers come in.

The foundation of all great holiday party menus are the hors doeuvres and appetizers. Most people will be drunk by the time the main courses are served, but when the party begins, and senses are yet to be dulled, a bad or boring array of small bites will not go unnoticed.

These super-simple, but memorable cherry pepper poppers will get the party started right. The next day, instead of talking about you trying to moonwalk with a lampshade on your head, or how you spilled a Bloody Mary on the bosss wife, people will be raving about "those little, red, spicy sausage pepper things."

By the way, the hardest thing about this recipe is finding these Peppadew peppers. Except for a few annoying exceptions, you know I like to use easy-to-find ingredients, but these gorgeous peppers, from the Limpopo province of South Africa, have such a wonderfully unique, sweet/spicy/tangy flavor that I wanted to use the real deal.

I was having a hard time finding them myself, but it was my mother-in-law Peggy who came to the rescue (again), and mailed these down to us as part of our anniversary gift. You can get them online for sure, and they are often found at the better gourmet grocery stores, but if you cant find them, most supermarkets do carry some type of jarred cherry peppers. Enjoy!

UPDATE: While I was making this recipe, I couldnt for the life of me remember where I saw this done for the first time. Well, I just talked to my mom Pauline, who informed me these were my Uncle Bills invention. I should have known! Thanks Uncle Billy!




Ingredients:
8 oz Italian sausage
2 jars Peppadew peppers (about 32)
1 tsp olive oil
chopped parsley

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Paleo Shepherds Pie Minus the Shepherd Part

Kyle and I started watching Boss a few nights ago OnDemand. Right now, were on episode 5 and Im sorry, but this show is fighting hard to be qualified as pornography. HARD. Whos seen it??? I mean, am I right, or am I right? I bring this up to make the point that Kyle has just started another episode as I attempt to slap up another delicious paleo recipe for you, so Im gonna make this one quick.

This is your basic sherpherds pie recipe, only topped with mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes. Theres absolutely no difference in taste. Theres only one word that comes to mind to describe this dish: incroyable! Zut alors! Literally, there just isnt a word in the English language that adequately describes it, so there you go.

If you brush a little egg wash on top of the mashed cauliflower and then broil it, it creates this rustic, golden topping. Besides, we all know the best part is always the golden brown stuff.

I served this with a lighter side of marinated cucumbers and tomatoes (balsamic vinegar, olive oil, dill, salt and pepper), because I figured if I eat a cold weather main dish, I might as well eat a summer side dish. IM CRAZY LIKE THAT, YOU GUYS!!!!!

Technically, theres no lamb--I dont know how thats a technicality, since like, you either did or did not use lamb, but everyones butchering the English language these days, and if youll remember above, sometimes I dont even use it--since I used beef but whatever. I think Shepherds Pie is kind of like risotto: its more a style of cooking rather than a thing itself. Or something. I dunno, Im multitasking right now. And quite badly, I might admit.

Heres what I do know: Make this dish. Youll love it.

Especially those little crusty brown bits.

Paleo Shepherds Pie, Minus the Shepherd Part
Makes about 9 servings

• 1 1/2 lb ground beef (or meat of your choice)
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1/2 large yellow onion, finely chopped
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 3 medium carrots, finely diced
• 3 stalks of celery, finely diced
• 3/4 cup of frozen peas
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 small can tomato past
• handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped

• 1 large head cauliflower, chopped into large chunks
• 2 Tbsp butter (optional)
• 1/2 cup of canned coconut milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 egg (for egg wash)

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

2. In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium and saute onion with a pinch of salt until soft and translucent. 

3. Add garlic and saute another two minutes, then add carrots and celery. Saute until carrots soften, then add peas.

4. Add beef to veggie mixture and brown on medium high. Season with salt, pepper, Worcestershire, and oregano. Stir to incorporate.

5. Add tomato paste and mix until it slightly melts and absorbs into the meat. Add chopped parsley and stir to combine. Turn heat down to low to make the mashed cauliflower.

6. In a large pot, steam cauliflower until tender. About 10 minutes. 

7. Drain cauliflower.

8. Put cauliflower back in the pot with the butter, coconut milk, and salt and pepper. Using either a hand masher or an immersion blender, mash until the cauliflower is smooth. You may need to add more milk.

9. Once the cauliflower is prepared, spoon the meat mixture into a square casserole dish (you can use a larger rectangle, but your filling will be thinner). Then, either spoon or, using an icing tip, pipe the mashed cauliflower on top of the meat. Make sure you create lots of peaks and crevasses--these are what will brown in the oven. 

10. Lightly beat the egg, then very lightly brush over the mashed cauliflower.

11. Bake the pie for about 10-15 minutes. Then turn on your broiler and broil another 2-3 minutes, or until topping is lightly golden and brown. Serve warm.

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Let Your Chicken Fingers Do the Walking

I sure hope you enjoyed that phone/Yellow pages/chicken finger pun as much as I did. The chicken finger video has finally been approved and uploaded to YouTube, and Id love to say it will be worth the wait, but Im not sure.

This video recipe is more of a technique tutorial (yes, some people dont know how to bread things), and you more advanced foodies may be underwhelmed. Having said that, this is a really tasty, and pretty easy, appetizer to whip up for your Super Bowl party (and be sure to check out the honey mustard sauce video here).

The secret is the panko breadcrumbs. These larger, flaky crumbs get much crispier, and stay crisp much longer than conventional breadcrumbs. By the way, I can already hear some of you grumbling about finding panko, but its very common these days (thank you Food Network and Bravo), and youll find them in every large grocery chain.

As far as the phone goes, I really enjoyed giving it a test run and it performed very well. Its very fast, feels great in your hand, and the voice activated feature for basically any text input field is perfect for someone like me.

I should also probably state for the record that I was kidding about the Nexus One apps – Im really not developing smart phone programs that chop onions and peel potatoes. Im sorry to disappoint those of you that thought that part of the video was real, but then again, if you were fooled, you have other more important issues to address. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
4 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch strips
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon chipotle pepper
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
4 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon milk
3 cups Japanese-style panko bread crumbs
canola oil for frying

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My Great Northwest Cheeseburger Experience The Seattle by the Cheese Burger Society

When I was asked by the Cheese & Burger Society to be one of ten food bloggers brought together to celebrate ten distinctive cheeseburgers, each representing unique regional flavors of some of our countrys greatest food cities, I couldnt say yes fast enough. There are few things I enjoy more than a great cheeseburger.

I was expecting to make "The San Francisco," but since that was already spoken for, I decided to take on "The Seattle," which was described as, "a cheeseburger generously topped with Wisconsin Brie cheese, Pinot Noir-glazed mushrooms, sautéed onions, arugula, and coffee-spiked mayo on a whole grain bun." Now that was a cheeseburger I wanted to try.

Did it work? Yes, yes, and yes. I thought it was a wonderful combination of flavors and textures, and one Ill definitely be making again. The coffee-spiked mayo was the biggest surprise, as its subtle bitterness really pulled the other sweeter, richer elements together nicely. By the way, due to a time limit, this is a pretty quick presentation; so if you need any more info, just ask!

Please Note: This video recipe was sponsored by the Cheese & Burger Society and Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. To see all ten "Cheeseburgers Across America," featuring Wisconsin Cheese, check out the official Cheese & Burger Society website here. Enjoy!

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Welp I Got The Tory Boots On Sale!

{Blouse: Equipment; Cami: Tibi; Leggings: H&M; Boots: Tory Burch; Bag: 3.1 Phillip Lim;
Shades: Thierry Lasry; Bracelets: J.Crew, David Yurman; Ring: YSL}

Member when I was lusting over these Tory Burch boots? Yeah, well, they went on MEGA sale, so I bought them. Merry Christmas to me and noone else, because I spent all my Christmas money on them.

I decided to wear them a couple weekends ago to celebrate the trying on of the first wedding gowns at Hitched in Georgetown with my MoH, Ashlee! We werent cray about any of the dresses, but it sure was fun getting nekkid in front of a stranger in the dressing room. Haha, jk, that was one of lifes most painful moments. Afterward, we celebrated absolutely nothing over brunch with the rest of the ladies from book club, where I enjoyed that fried chicken benedict I told you about yesterday.

HAHAHAHA, Hair, youre so funny!

*Big thanks to my bridesmaid Laura for playing photographer!
**And also shoutout to my other bridesmaid Jenna because she felt left out! Now you know the whole bridal party!!

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Nigel Slater Dish of the Month January Round Up

Many thanks to all the wonderful bloggers who entered Januarys Dish of the Month. This is the first blog challenge I have run, other than occasional hosting for others. My co-host Sue from A little bit of Heaven on a Plate has been very active tweeting and pinning to our shared Dish of the Month Pinterest board.  Im not promising that there will be a round up every month but as this is the first month of the challenge, I wanted to say thank you and feature the amazing variety of Nigel Slater recipes you have all made.

One of the things I like best is that many people have made the dishes their own by adapting them to the ingredients they had or their own personal tastes.  This is a feature of Nigels cooking philosophy, which I think makes his recipes so appealing to me and it seems to you too.

First up is Camilla from Fab Food 4 All with this tasty looking Bacon Wrapped Salmon

A creamy parsley risotto and delicate parmesan crisps is the offering from my co-host, Sue at A little bit of heaven on a plate

A soup of bacon and celeriac is my recipe which comes from The Kitchen Diaries II is my offering from Farmersgirl Kitchen.

This Mincemeat Cheesecake attracted the attention of Mr Nigel Slater himself when Claire at Foodie Quine tweeted about it.

 In Elizabeths Kitchen, a beautiful dish of Shetland lamb was slowly cooked, to Nigels instructions,  until it fell off the bone. 

Choclette at Chocolate Log Blog made Nigels Chocolate and Hazelnut cookies which she describes as "chocolate brownies in biscuit form".

 Karen at Lavender and Lovage made a Winter Salad and said "My salad is a VERY loose adaptation of Nigel Slater’s recipe from “The Kitchen Diaries”, the first one."

 Rachel at Marmaduke Scarlet made these delicious looking Almond, Marzipan and Berry Cakes from The Kitchen Diaries II.

Chickpea Fritters with Beetroot Tzatsiki is the entry from Jane at Onions and Paper, its a recipe in Nigel Slaters Tender volume 1 and was found by Jane in her search for a different recipe altogether!

The fabulously named Hangover Salad is the recipe made by London Busy Body which was served as an accompaniment to venison rather than with the beef in the original.

The lovely Dish Dom over at Belleau Kitchen made his own version of Nigels aubergine and bean hotpot, adding a cheesy broccoli and cauliflower crust.

These tasty looking rolls are made with wholemeal Spelt Flour from one of Nigels Guardian Lifestyle online recipes and were added to the challenge by Kate at Turquoise Lemons

Dal and Butternut Squash Soup is the warming Dish of the Month for Karen at Use it up, wear it out.

 

I love the way Kavey of Kavey Eats,  has made this Beef Stroganoff from Nigel Slaters Real Fast Food and served it in Yorkshire Puddings, I think this is such a great dish.

This zesty Lime Tart comes from Susie at Fold in the Flour, who found the recipe in the January Chapter of  The Kitchen Diaries 1.

Laura of Laura Loves Cakes was having a bit of a crisis with her new oven but came up trumps with this no bake Tropical Tumbler Trifle

Making Plans with Nigel was the clever title of this article at edible things and features a version of Nigels Bright Vegetable Stew

Cream of Mushroom, mustard and tarragon soup is a combination of two of Nigels recipes, you can find out which ones by visiting Linzi at Lancashire Food.

Maggie at Kitchen Delights whipped up a Creamy Crunchy Fruit Sundae which Nigel featured on Simple Suppers.

 

At Nyssapod blog we were treated to Onion Soup without Tears from Kitchen Diaries.

Honey and Mustard Sausages and Carrot Mash  is another Simple Supper dish, this time from Jo at Jos Kitchen.

Marzipan and Berry Cakes were featured along with Mincemeat Hotcakes and Brandy Butter at Cookies Cakes and Bakes and dont they look great, obviously a popular choice.

The February Dish of the Month Linky will be posted on 

Saturday 2nd February.

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Cream of Cauliflower with Blue Cheese Fritters – The Best Soup Ive Ever Made

I arrived back to San Francisco late last night, weary from traveling, and my very busy week in NYC, and despite planning to sleep in, I woke up very early, excited to finish this amazing cream of cauliflower with blue cheese fritters video recipe.

Either that, or Im still on east coast time. Soup is not usually a subject associated with thrilling culinary experiences. Soup is comforting, soothing, soul-warming – not something that chefs normally day-dream about. This soup was a different story. It may be the single greatest soup I have every made.

Sometimes an idea for a recipe pops into my head and even before I make it, I have a pretty good idea on what the results will be like. But, when I went over this combination in my head, I really had no idea how successful it would be. To say I was happy with the results would be a serious understatement.

I was pretty sure blue cheese would be a nice addition to cauliflower soup, but the challenge was what would be the best delivery system for the sharp, funky cheese. I looked at many fritter recipes, but nothing was inspiring me. Then, for whatever reason, I thought about Pâte à choux.

Pâte à choux is an old-school, eggy pastry dough used to make things like éclairs and cream puffs. I though this would make a much lighter fritter than the traditional flour and baking powder versions, and that certainly turned out to be the case.

The dough fried up perfectly – beautifully golden brown outside, yet tender and moist inside – the perfect enclosure for the molten blue cheese. The combination of these light puffs and the earthy soup was magnificent. I cant remember ever being so happy eating a soup.

I really hope you give this a try, and even if you cant summon the courage to make the fritters (whats wrong with you?), I still think the soup alone is well worth making. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
For the fritters (a small batch - about 12 fritters):
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup flour
pinch of salt
1 egg
2 oz crumbled, very firm blue cheese

For the soup:
1 onion
2 tbsp butter
1 clove garlic
salt to taste
1 head cauliflower
1 quart water or stock
nutmeg to taste
cayenne to taste
1/2 cup cream

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What the Cook is that

I found a great blog, with cooking challenges on a Friday, but also a Monday Sweet Treat and a Mid-week Muffin! I havent made any of them yet, but Im following this blog and I am planning to make some of the recipes soon.

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Karinas Enchiladas Win the Whole Foods Budget Recipe Challenge

Enchiladas photo courtesy Whole Foods Market © 2008

I am very excited to announce that my recipe for Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas has won the Whole Foods Market Budget Recipe Challenge. Thank you all who voted for the recipe- and highlighted this gluten-free vegetarian entry. I am overwhelmed by the support. Over 1,300 of you took the time to vote! And I appreciate it with all my heart.

Congrats to the other talented finalists who participated with their mouthwatering array of unique dishes- Jaden of Steamy Kitchen, Rachel of Coconut & Lime, Hannah of Bittersweet, Michael of Cooking for Engineers and of Katy of Sugar Laws. Your recipes rocked.

To celebrate I am going to give away:

Five $25 Whole Foods Market Gift Cards!

To participate in this random drawing leave a comment below.


Five lucky winners will be picked out of hat
by my favorite little burro, Sparky
on Friday October 31st.


Good luck!

Contest is closed- Sparky picked the winners-

see the winners here.

Here is the winning recipe on Gluten-Free Goddess:

Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas

Visit the Whole Foods Market Blog

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