Kafta (Kofta)

What do you do when you're bored of hamburgers, meatballs, tacos and your husband doesn't eat meatloaf? 

You hunt around for other ideas. Desperate for something fairly easy. And the Lebanese kofta from Silk Road Recipes was! You can make it with lamb or beef, and since we had ground beef, why not? 

I have a pretty extensive spice cabinet in my house, which made this even more simple. I was able to put together the Lebanese 7 Spice Blend that's critical to the flavor of this. You can find the link for the blend on Silk Road Recipes.

I served it with fresh naan, and a variation of tzadtziki sauce (basically all the ingredients, but no cucumber). It's going on the replay list! 

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Ingredients

• 1 lb lean ground beef or ground lamb
• 1 cup diced yellow onion 
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley leaves
• 2 tsp Lebanese 7 spice
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil only if cooking in skillet
• 1 large tomato or 2-3 Plum or Romas sliced

Instructions

• Put the ground beef in a large bowl with the chopped onion, parsley, Lebanese Spice Blend, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly using hands.
• Divide the meat mixture into 6 to 10 patties or long fat fingers depending on the size you prefer. Feel free to use skewers if you like or grill without.
• If grilling, clean and oil the grill. Grill on medium heat for 10-12 minutes. Make sure to keep turning the kafta to get grill marks on all sides (See Note 2). If using a skillet over medium heat, cook and brown on all sides (8-10 minutes).
• If desired, add sliced tomato to the grill and cook along with the meat for a few more minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve immediately with rice, salad, wrapped in a lavash (flatbread) or khubz (pita).

Notes

1. For a smoother kafta feel free to finely grate the onion and squeeze excess liquid out before adding to the meat.
2. If cooking in a skillet, add the oil to the pan and saute in a large skillet on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Turn the kafta over and cook for another 5 minutes.

Flatbread (Naan)

Flatbread is just about universal. You can go anywhere and get these delicious little Frisbees of goodness. I never realized just how easy they were until tonight. 

This particular flatbread is naan, the Indian variety. I think I made a northern Indian variety because these are hardy and heavy and you'd need that in the higher elevations. Total speculation, of course. They weren't as light as some others I've had. But tasted... well, the hubs ate three with the kofta I made it for. 

This recipe come from Easy Weeknight Recipes. Please check out their blog for more insight on this recipe.

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Ingredients

• 1¼ cups lukewarm water about 105˚F
• 2½ teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ¾ cups plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon salt
• ½ tablespoon dried basil
• ½ tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• ½ cup olive oil for brushing

Instructions

• In a large mixing bowl whisk together water, yeast, and sugar; set aside for 8 to 10 minutes, or until foamy. Whisk in the yogurt, olive oil, salt, basil, oregano, and garlic powder.
• Add flour and parsley, and stir everything together with a wooden spoon until dough comes together.
• Generously sprinkle flour over your kitchen counter or work-area and turn dough onto the floured surface; turn to coat and then knead for 4 minutes. Sprinkle more flour if the dough is sticky while kneading.
• Cut dough into 10 equal pieces and form each piece into a small ball. I use a kitchen scale to weigh each dough ball so to make sure they are all equal. Lightly sprinkle each dough ball with flour; cover them with a kitchen towel and let stand for 15 minutes.
• Preheat a frying pan over medium-low heat. Take one of the dough balls and, using a rolling pin, roll it out to about a 7-inch circle. Lightly brush the top of the rolled out dough with olive oil.
• When the pan is hot, pick up the rolled out dough and place it in the pan, oiled side down, and cook for about 1 ½ minutes, or until the top surface is covered with bubbles. While frying, brush the opposite side of the flatbread with olive oil. Flip the flatbread and cook for 1 more minute, or until golden on the bottom. Remove from pan and transfer to a plate; keep cooked flatbreads covered with a kitchen towel while working with the rest of the dough. Repeat the process with the remaining balls of dough. Make sure to keep the other dough balls covered while working. Serve warm or cold.

Homemade Hot Pockets

So I saw this on Joshua Weissman's YouTube and I wanted to try it. 

Now, the thing is that he uses guanciale (gwan-chee-allee), and that requires an Italian store. I tried a few different places for it, and I was almost sure I was going to have to order it from a deli in the Bronx. On a whim, I decided to try a small Italian deli in Whitehall, PA called Stravino's. 

Y'all, a kid in a candy shop. All authentic Italian products, good American substitute, and unique pastas. Cheese to die for, and Ta-da! Guanciale! Not cheap, didn't expect it to be. 

If you're not lucky, you can order online from Amazon, but I'd actually order from DiBruno Brothers in Philly or from Vincenzo's meats in the Bronx. You need just a 1/4lb, so don't balk at the price per pound. 

If neither of those options work, I'd probably go with a belly cut... just look for really fatty original bacon. (Not hardwood or Applewood smoked, plain.) Don't use salt pork, that's gonna mess with the flavor.

I used Peppridge Farm Puff Pastry, but if you can find something a little more upscale, go for it. 

And allow time for the sauce! That was my downfall-- I started late for sauce. 

Ingredients

- 1/4 lb guanciale/fatty bacon, diced

- 6 oz tomato paste

- 3 to 5 cloves of garlic, sliced thin

- 1 to 2 tsp of sugar

- 1 tbls italian blend herbs

- salt to taste

- olive oil

- shredded mozzarella (about 8 oz)

- shredded gran padano or Parmigiano (4 oz)

- pepperoni (diced or mini rounds)

- 1 pgk puff pastry

- egg wash (1 egg and 1 tbls cream)

- 1/3rd cup butter 

Directions

Sauce

- add a tsp of olive oil to a skillet and heat. Add diced guanciale and cook until rendered and browned, stir often

- add garlic and toast for about 2 to 3 minutes, stir constantly

- add tomato paste and 1 6oz can of water, stir to combine

- add sugar, salt and herbs, mix to combine. Set to low, cover, and let cook for about half an hour, stirring occasionally. Taste occasionally and adjust herbs, sugar and salt. 

Assembly

- Preheat over to suggest temp on pastry box. (Mine was 400°) 

- unfold pastry and using a rolling pin, stretch the pastry out, as much as you feel comfortable. (I wound up with six.)

- using a pizza cutter, divide evenly into about 3 by 5 squares

- brush edges with egg wash, then start layering: 

Sauce - cheese - pepperoni - sauce - cheese

Weissman says to brush the other half with the wash, but I found those difficult to seal well. Your call. 

- Seal WELL. Otherwise its all over the place. I used a fork, he used a pasta cutter. Whatever works.

- place on a line baking tray, brush with egg wash, poke some small holes in the top so they don't explode, and place in the over for 15 to 20 minutes. 

- Brush with melted butter once you remove them from the oven. 

Enjoy, but be warned, they are called Hot Pockets for a reason! 

Tartiflette

This is potatoes. 

I mean it is the pinnacle of potatoes. 

I saw this recipe when I first joined TikTok, just over a year ago. I've thought about it ever since, and good gravy was it worth it. 

We served it with unexciting ham because the star was actually these potatoes. 

Be warned: if you live in the US, the cheese you need is NOT imported. Please use a brie or similar super soft cheese. 

Tartiflette

Ingredients

- 4 to 5 medium yellow/Yukon gold potatoes, sliced thin (use a mandolin if you're good with it.)

- 5 or 6 rashers/slices of bacon, or about 4 oz uncut, sliced into lardons (tiny strips)

- 1 medium onion, diced

- 4 cloves garlic, diced 

- 1/4 cup white wine

- 1 tbls butter

- 1 cup heavy whipping (double) cream 

- mixed herbs (I used herbs de Provence)

- 1 lb reblochon or brie (or like), sliced in long strips, preferably thicker.

- salt and pepper to taste

Directions

- Preheat over to 375°F

- crips bacon in a pan (lightly brown), remove lardons, leave bacon fat

- add butter to pan, stir in onions and garlic, sweat down until just translucent

- add wine and bacon, dash salt, pepper and herbs, cook for just 3 minutes or so

- layer potatoes on the bottom of a casserole, add 1/3rd of the onions and bacon, add another layer of potatoes, keep going until everything is used up, ending with potatoes on top

- pour over cream

- lay the strips on cheese on top, dust with herbs. 

- bake for 1 hour

Enjoy! 

Tomato Boursin Soup

I'll bet you didn't know that there are soup pendants in the world. 

There are. 

This incredibly delicious soup has quite the debate going on in the comments on TikTok. It's a little weird, and people are arguing this is a puree or a dip. 

Since I've clearly made the thing and eaten it, it's soup. So soup. So good. I couldn’t get over how good it was. This is going to be a staple this winter. In the upper right is a half slice of fresh, homemade Polish Beer Rye. 

This whole damn meal was amazing, and go ahead and make this soup (it's soup. Good Soup!) for yourself. 

I'll include the bread recipe too, but it's a bread machine recipe. 

Ingredients

1 lb tomatoes (cut on the equator, seeded)

1 onion OR 1 large shallot, peeled and quartered

1 head of garlic, bottom sliced off

1 pkg of Bousin (I used garlic herb)

4 tbls olive oil

1 tbls paprika

1 tsp oregano (or Italian herb blend)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

-Drizzle 1 tbls olive oil on the bottom of a baking dish and place the tomatoes cut side down.

-Add paprika, herbs, salt, pepper, drizzle 3 tbls oil, toss to coat.

-Add onion, garlic bottom up (with a little oil rubbed on the exposed cloves) and whole cheese wheel.

-Bake for 30 to 35 minutes at 400°f

-Remove garlic, squeeze cloves on to tomatoes, and mash a bit with a fork. 

-Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. 

-Serve hot with croutons (or saltines if you're bougie like me). 

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Polish Beer Rye (Bread Machine)

*always add wet ingredients first

8 oz (1 cup) flat, room temperature Beer

3 tbls apple cider vinegar

2 tbls honey

1 tbls melted butter

1 tbls minced shallot

2 cups bread flour

3/4 light or medium Rye flour

1/4 whole wheat flour

2 tbls yellow corn meal

2 tsp caraway seeds 

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tbl SAF yeast or 1 tbls + 1 1/2 tsp bread machine flour

Set machine for basic loaf, 1.5 lbs loaf, medium crust. Not suitable for delay cycle. Remove and place on rack. Allow to cool to room temp before slicing. Enjoy. 

Dutch Baby

This is a fun, but large, German style pancake. I put apples and cinnamon in it. If you're going for sweet, I'd use unsalted butter. If you're going for savory, use the salted butter. 

INGREDIENTS

• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 tablespoons butter
• confectioners' sugar, for dusting

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1. In a blender, combine eggs, milk, flour, sugar, and vanilla. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated. Let the batter rest as you preheat the oven and heat up the skillet.

  2. Add butter to a 9-inch or 10-inch oven-safe skillet (I used a 10" pie plate) and place the skillet in the cold oven. Preheat the oven to 425°F.

  3. Once the oven has reached 425°F, carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven. Melt butter in skillet/pie plate. Pour the batter into the skillet and place it back into the oven.

  4. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes.

  5. Serve warm, dusted with confectioners' sugar.

  
  

Apple Filling: 
1 apple
1/4 cup brown sugar 
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbls butter

Peel and slice apple thin. 

Melt butter in pan, add brown sugar and cinnamon to combine. 

Add apples and toss coat. Cook on low for about 15 minutes. 

Pour into center of hot Dutch Baby after removing from oven.

Jollof Rice

I've been dying to make Jollof Rice for months. But it's hard to find the "right" recipe for this. It's a Nigerian dish and there are certain steps that must happen. 

Finally, on TikTok, I came across one that seemed to have all the right steps, and the comments confirmed it! Tons of Nigerians were delighted by it, so I wrote that bad boy down. 

The original recipe makes 9 cups of finished rice, so I cut it in half for the recipe below. This still makes 5 cups, so feel free to cut it half again. 

Enjoy!

Jollof Rice: 

1/2 onion chopped fine

2 tbls oil (I used evoo) 

6 oz tomato paste

1 red bell pepper, coarse chopped

1/2  15-oz can of diced tomatoes

1 1/2 onion, coarse chopped

1 small habeñero (sub out for milder, or eliminate if you don't like heat)

2 Maggi cubes (or one large one) (Find them in the Latino section)

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tbls Curry powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder (or measure with your heart)

1/2 tsp thyme

1 cup chicken broth

1 1/2 tbls salt

2 1/4 cup rinsed rice

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Use a large pot if your doing the full recipe!

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-- Cook fine chopped onion in oil for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Add tomato paste, cook for 10, stir often to avoid burning.

-- blend (in a blender or by stick blender) bell pepper, spicy pepper of choice, coarse chopped onion and diced tomato until smooth. 

--add to pot with onions 

--add maggi, all spices, stir together and simmer for 30 minutes

--add salt and chicken broth, simmer about 10 minutes

-- add rice and about 2 cups of water. (The water should be above the rice slurry, about 1/4")

--layer aluminum foil over the top.of the pot and cover with lid. Cook about 30 to 40 minutes on a low boil. Stir once or twice.

Check out more pictures on IG