Category Archive: Main Dish

Tenderloin Strips with Red Pepper

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December 14, 2011

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December 14, 2011

 

This dish has tons of flavors, ginger and garlic give the tenderloin strips a kick and the red pepper adds a fresh taste. Feel free to add other vegetables when you add the pepper and if you like it spicy add some red pepper flakes. This dish is also great for people who want to make a quick meal on a weekday.

 

 

Ingredients:

Serves 4

 

1 Lb. Tenderloin steaks cut across the grain into strips

2 tbsp. flour

6 garlic cloves minced

1 tbsp. fresh ginger minced

2 cups red pepper cut into strips

1 1/2 tbsp. vegetable or corn oil

1 cup beef broth

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. black pepper

 

Directions:


Combine flour, salt, black pepper, ginger and garlic. Toss tenderloin strips with the flour mixture until well coated.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add beef to the pan, sauté for about 3 minutes until browned on all sides.

Add bell pepper and beef broth cover and cook for 7 minutes or until peppers are crisp tender and broth is absorbed stirring occasionally.

 

Adapted from The Best of Cooking Light

 

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Pan Seared Salmon with Mushroom Sauce

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November 3, 2011

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November 3, 2011

 

 

Both my husband and I are from Lebanon and we used to live near the coast, so we are used to eat fresh seafood.  We now live in Tuscaloosa Alabama and before we used to live in Michigan and in both states we are not able to really get fresh fish from the ocean. I got used to eating frozen and sometimes what they claim to be fresh fish, but my husband still doesn’t like it, he still compares it to the fresh fish he used to eat in Lebanon and I agree with him there is no comparison between fresh and frozen fish. When we were on a vacation in Florida one time, all we ate is fish because we were happy that we were able to eat fresh fish again. Salmon is one of the fish that he doesn’t mind eating from time to time, that’s why you probably will see salmon the most in the seafood category. This dish is really good, I didn’t think the mushroom sauce with go that well with the salmon but it did and it was very delicious. I served it with some asparagus that I sautéed with garlic and lemon zest. Hope you enjoy it.

 

Ingredients:

 

 

5 Salmon fillets

3 caps portabella mushroom cut to big bite pieces

2 springs of fresh rosemary (leaves finely chopped)

1/3 cup finely diced onions

2 garlic cloves minced

2 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

½ cup heavy cream

1 ½ cups chicken broth

Salt and black pepper

 

 


Directions:

 

 

Salt and pepper the salmon fillets. In a large nonstick skillet over high medium heat, melt 1 tbsp. butter with 1 tbsp. oil.

Put Salmon fillets in the skillet, reduce heat to medium and cook until browned on each side about 4-5 minutes on each side.( Sometimes I cook mine longer cause I like the really well done).

When Salmon fillets are done, transfer them to a plate and keep warm.

To make sauce, heat the remaining 1 tbsp. butter and 1 tbsp. oil over medium heat.

Sauté onions until translucent about 3 minutes, the add garlic and keep sautéing about 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms; rosemary, salt and black pepper keep cooking until mushrooms are tender about 5 minutes.

Add broth bring to boil, cover and reduce heat back to medium. And let simmer about 5 minutes.

Add cream and let the sauce cook until thickened for few minutes. Put Salmon fillet and let them heat through with the sauce for couple minutes.

 

 

 

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Paprika Chicken with Rice Pilaf

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October 26, 2011

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October 26, 2011

I loved cooking long before I really started actually cooking and that was when I got married. Before that I used to cook every once in a while but nothing serious. My mom hated to see me in the kitchen because I used to make a mess while I’m cooking or baking something. I used to cut recipes from magazines and glue them to a notebook that I still have. This is one of the recipes that I kept for a long time, the original recipe calls for beans in the rice pilaf I omitted that because I’m not into beans that much, but you can sure add beans to your recipe. It is really delicious and you can eat with some Middle Eastern or Greek Yogurt on the side.

 

 

 

Ingredients:

 

Serves 4-5

 

 

For the Chicken:

 

2 large skinless boneless chicken breast ( about 1.

½ tsp. salt

3 tbsp. finely diced onions

3 tbsp. ground paprika

½ tsp. black pepper

½ tsp. chili powder or more

3 tbsp. vegetable, canola or corn oil

 

For the Rice Pilaf:

 

1 tbsp.  Olive oil

½ medium onion diced

2 garlic cloves minced

1 green pepper diced finely

1 cup frozen corn kernels

1 ½ cups white long grain rice (use 1 cup of rice if you like the vegetables and spices to be more noticeable)

¼ tsp. chili or more

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 tbsp. lemon juice

3 cups water or chicken broth

1 tbsp. olive oil

½ tsp. salt

 

 

 

Directions:

 

 

To make Chicken:

 

Preheat oven to 400°.

Mix paprika, chili, onions, salt, black pepper, and oil.

Rub the mixture on the chicken breasts and put chicken on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.

 

 

To make The Rice Pilaf:

 

In a pot, heat olive oil on a medium heat, sauté onions, garlic, corn, green pepper and spices for 3 minutes until fragrant.

Add rice, lemon juice and water or chicken broth. Bring to a boil then cover and reduce heat to medium low and cook for about 20 minutes until all water is absorbed and rice is cooked and tender.

To serve slice chicken  breasts and lay over rice pilaf.

 

 

 

 

 

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Beef and Potatoes Tagine Recipe

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October 15, 2011

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October 15, 2011

 

 

Believe it or not I have never had couscous before, so after buying two boxes in the market the other day, I was in search for a good Tagine recipe with flavors that my husband would like. I came upon this recipe and it looked good, so I was tempted to try it. And the Verdict: WE LOVED IT. The meat was so tender and the spices were so aromatic, and the olives were the perfect last touch. I didn’t have the tagine pot to cook it in, so I used a regular pot. I think it would also work great in a slow cooker. Enjoy this tagine with couscous, or if you prefer with rice.

 

 

Ingredients:

 

Serves 4

 

1 medium onion, minced or grated

2 garlic cloves minced

1/4 cup olive oil

1 pound stewing beef cut in big chunks

1/4 teaspoon chili powder adjust to your liking

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into thick wedges

1/2 cup black olives whole or sliced

 

 

Directions:

 

Place the onion, garlic, olive oil, meat, chili powder, cumin, ginger, turmeric, salt and pepper in a medium pot. Sauté the meat over medium heat, turning occasionally, 5 to 7 minutes.

Add the 2 ½ cups water. Cover with a lid and cook 50-60 minutes.

Add the potatoes. If all the water is gone add more water about 1 cup to 1½ cups.

Cover and cook, 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Add the olives a few minutes before turning off the heat

 Adapted from : Dinner and Dreams
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Spinach Pies (Fatayer Bi Sabanikh) Recipe

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October 5, 2011

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October 5, 2011

 

Fatayer Bi Sabanekh (spinach pies) are triangular shape pies that are stuffed with spinach, onions, sumac and lemon juice. These pies are popular in the Levant region. Don’t mistake them with the Greek spinach pies that is made with phyllo dough and stuffed with spinach and cheese. Sumac(comes from from small shrubs has a red color and is grounded and used in many Middle Eastern Dishes for its sour taste)is a major ingredient in this recipe because it gives the sour taste that pies need without adding a lot of lemon juice that you want to avoid, because if the stuffing is to liquidy it will make the pies open while baking in the oven. Some people even add some citric acid instead of lemon juice.  I remember when we used to make fatayer at home that is usually fatayer bi sababnekh and sfeeha (meat pies), It would be really like a half day of work for my mom. She usually made these during the weekend. My mom would be infront of the TV making the pies and my dad was in charge of the baking. I still remember how he used to put them in a big plastic red bowl when they came out from the oven and cover them with a blanket. Even food can sometimes bring memories back from your childhood.

 

 

Ingredients:

 

*** I used only 1/3 of the dough to make the spinach pies, I used the rest to make some meat pies and mini pizzas. 1/3 of this dough makes about 23 small spinach pies, if you are not going to use the rest of the dough you can freeze it for later use.

 

For the Dough:

 

6 cups flour

1 tbsp. dry yeast

2 tsp. sugar

2 tsp. salt

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 cup warm water

1 ½ cups warm milk

 


For the stuffing:

 

11 oz. spinach leaves

1 tsp. salt

1 medium onion finely diced (about ½ cup + tbsp.)

1 ½ tbsp. sumac

3 tbsp. olive oil

3 tbsp. lemon juice

** if you like it more sour you can add about ½ tbsp. of sumac and 1 tbsp. lemon juice)\

 

 

Directions:

To make the dough:

 

Sprinkle the dry yeast and the sugar in the warm water and let it rest for 10 minutes until foamy.

In a stand up mixer bowl, Put flour and salt and with the dough attachment, mix the ingredients for 30 seconds.

Add the olive oil to the yeast mixture and pour the over, the flour and salt . And then slowly pour the warm milk, (you may not use it all). Stop when the dough comes together. Change to the dough hook and knead for 10 minutes. Dough should be smooth and elastic.

***If kneading by hand, make a hole in the flour and pour the yeast mixture and the slowly pour the warm milk and knead until a dough comes together kne

ad for 10 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.

Divide the dough to 3 balls. Cover and Let it rest for 1.5 hours until it double in size.

 


To make Stuffing:

 

If spinach are not already washed and trimmed. Wash and trim stems.

Chop the spinach leaves, put them in a strainer and sprinkle 1 tsp. of salt over the spinach leaves. Wait 10 minutes. Then by hand take a handful of the leaves and squeeze all the liquid out of it. Put Squeezed spinach leaves on paper towel and dry any liquid left. *** This is an important step so the spinach pies don not open while baking.

In a bowl, mix the the spinach leaves and all the other ingredients.

 

To make the Fatayer:

 

Lightly spray your work space with some oil, Do not use flour or you will not be able to close the pies.

Roll your dough out in a circle, this dough can be easily stretched by hand.

Using a rim of glass or big cookie cutter, staring cutting circles as close as to each other so you will get use as much of the dough in one time as possible.

Take the extra dough that will come out after cutting the circles, roll in a bowl and let it rest until you are ready to use.

Put about 1 tbsp. of stuffing in the middle of the dough circles.

Lift the edges of the dough up and pull them against each other and seal pressing with your fingertips really tightly. Do not let the edges of the dough touch the stuffing because if the dough gets wet, you won’t get a good seal.

Repeat the same steps with the lefts over batch.

Place your pies in oiled baking sheets. Let them rest while you heat the oven.

Heat you oven to 400° and bake pies for 15-18 minutes until golden brown on the bottom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Beef Curry With Vegetables

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October 2, 2011

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October 2, 2011

 

The way I decide what I’ll be cooking for dinner is  narrow it down to a category, Like if we had chicken the day before, I try to do maybe beef the next, then vegetarian and then pasta and so on. So it will be way easier for me to decide what I’ll be cooking for dinner. So a lot of times I’ll just take out some kind of meat or poultry from the freezer to thaw although I would have no idea what I’ll be cooking. I think deciding what to have for dinner is one of the hardest things, because a lot of times you will just be out of ideas. In my case, taking my husband opinion doesn’t help much either, because if I leave the choice for him we will be having the same 4 or 5 meals all year round. In today’s recipe I made a beef curry with vegetables that I got from a Manal Al Alem an Arabic cooking show. This curry is inspired from the Gulf Area in the Middle East. You don’t have to stick to the vegetables I have in the recipe , you can use any  vegetables you really like.

 

 

Ingredients:

Serves 4

 

1 lb. beef cubes

4 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 medium onion (peeled and halved)

1 medium tomato (halved)

1 green pepper (seeded and quartered)

½ tsp. black peppercorns

1 cinnamon stick

1 tsp. whole cardamom

½ tsp. whole cloves

 

For the Vegetable Mixture:

 

2 medium potato peeled and cut in medium size cubes

10 baby carrots sliced in half

1 medium onion sliced

1 garlic clove minced

2 medium tomatoes diced

 

For Spice Mixture:

 

½ tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground turmeric

1 tsp. ground coriander

1 tbsp. curry powder

¼ tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cardamom

1 tsp. paprika

½ tsp. chili

 

 

Directions:


Over medium high heat, in a medium sized pot, heat 1 tbsp. of vegetable oil and sauté the beef cubes about 2-3 minutes or until browned.

Add the halved onion, halved tomato, quartered green pepper, whole spices. Sauté for another 30 seconds.

Add 6 cups of hot water. Bring to a boil. Cover pot and reduce heat to medium.

Cook for about 45 minutes or longer depending of your cut of beef. You want the cubes to be cooked but not overly tender because they will be cooked again with the vegetables.

With a slotted spoon, take the beef out of the pot. Put aside and keep warm. Strain the beef broth reserving the broth aside.

In a medium sized pot, heat the remaining 3 tbsp. of oil; add the sliced onions and sauté for about 4 – 5 minutes until golden in color. Add the minced garlic and continue sautéing for 30 seconds.

Add the spice mixture, continue sautéing, and then add the carrots and potatoes. Sauté for an additional 2 minutes.

Add cooked beef cubes, diced tomatoes. Add 1 – 1 1/2 cup of the reserved beef broth. Bring to a boil Cover and reduce heat to medium low and cook for 40 minutes until beef cubes are tender and vegetables are cooked.

Serve with rice.

 

 Source: Adapted from manal Il Alem Cooking Show
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Shrimp Scampi Recipe

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September 22, 2011

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September 22, 2011

 

The term “scampi”,  is  the name of a dish of shrimp served in garlic butter sauce  served either with bread, or over pasta or rice, although sometimes just the shrimp alone. Most variants of the “shrimp scampi” come on pasta. There are also other variants such as chicken scampi. This scampi is made of sauteed shrimps with peppers with lemon garlic butter sauce and served over angel hair pasta. If you are not a fan with strong lemon flavor, you can go ahead and decrease the amount of lemon juice.

 

Ingredients

Serves 4

 

3/4 pound angel hair pasta

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic (4 cloves)

1 pepper thinly sliced (I used a combination of red, yellow and orange pepper)

12 oz. to 14 oz.  large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley leaves

1/2 lemon, zest grated

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)

1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

 

Directions

 

Drizzle some oil in a large pot of boiling salted water, add the pasta, and cook according to the directions on the package.

Meanwhile, in another large heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic. Sauté for 1 minute. Be careful, the garlic burns easily! Add pepper and sauté about 3 minutes until tender Add the shrimp, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and the pepper and sauté until the shrimp have just turned pink, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat; add the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes. Toss to combine.

When the pasta is done, drain the cooked pasta and then put it back in the pot. Immediately add the shrimp and sauce, toss well, and serve.

 

 Source: Barefoot Contessa
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Lebanese Green Beans ( Loubieh Bi Zeit) Recipe

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September 9, 2011

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September 9, 2011

 

Loubieh Bi Zeit is a vegetarian Lebanese dish that is made from sauteed green beans with onions,garlic and cooked in tomatoes. It is  usually eaten cold or warm with pita bread as an appetizer. It’s  also can be eaten hot with rice as a main dish. Only use ripe juicy tomatoes for this dish, if  not available you can use canned tomatoes.

 

 

Ingredients:

 

Serves 4

 

1 ½ Lb. green beans (preferably wide Romano beans)

5-6 medium size ripe juicy tomatoes diced (you can also use canned diced tomatoes about 28 oz petite diced tomatoes)

½ cup finely diced onions

2 garlic cloves minced

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. black pepper

2 tbsp. vegetable, canola or corn oil

2 tbsp. olive oil

 


Directions:


Over medium high heat, heat oil and sauté onions for about 2 minutes.

Add garlic and continue sautéing for 30 seconds.

Add green beans, reduce heat to medium and cover pot. Cook for 12 minutes.(Keep stirring beans every couple minutes so the cook evenly.)

Add the diced tomatoes, salt and black pepper, cover and bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium low heat and cook for 1 hour or until green beans are tender and cooked through.

 

Note: Different varieties of greens beans need different cooking times, so greens beans might not need 1 hour to be cooked.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Grilled Chicken with Shitake Mushroom Cream Sauce Recipe

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September 3, 2011

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September 3, 2011

 

This dish is inspired from a dish we had at a local restaurant in Tuscaloosa,Alabama. They served it with sauteed green beans and crispy fried shallots. I served it with green salad since I’m not a fan of green beans.  I used chicken breasts,but you can choose a different cut of chicken

 

Ingredients:

Serves 3

 

For Chicken:

 

3 Chicken Breasts bones in

1 cup Greek Yogurt

Grated Zest of 1 lemon

½ tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

¼ cup vegetable oil

 

For Shitake Mushroom Sauce:

 

7 oz. shitake mushroom diced

½ cup diced onions

2 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. vegetable oil

3 tbsp. sherry

1 1/4 cup chicken broth divided

¾ cup heavy cream

¼ tsp. Salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1/8 tsp. Thyme

 

 

Directions:

 

Over medium high heat, add butter and oil to stainless steel pot.

Sauté onions for 2 minutes then reduce heat to medium and mushrooms.

Sauté mushrooms for 5 minutes, then add sherry. Wait few seconds until all sherry is almost done.

Add 1 cup chicken broth, bring to boil cover and reduce heat to medium and continue cooking for 5 minutes.

Turn heat off, add heavy cream and ¼ cup remaining chicken broth, put in blender and blend till smooth.

Keep sauce warm until ready to be served.

 

Whisk yogurt with black pepper, salt, lemon zest and oil. Rub chicken with marinade and let them marinade for at least 1 hour.

Shake excess marinade of chicken.

You can grill chicken directly on grill, but I like to put it in grill basket and press chicken.

Grill chicken over medium heat about 12-15 minutes on each side.

 

To serve put some mushroom sauce on the plate and place chicken over sauce.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Cheese Burgers with Caramelized Onions and Sauteed Mushrooms with Garlic Mayo Aioli

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August 26, 2011

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August 26, 2011

 

Who doesn’t love burgers especially if they are fresh out from the grill. These burgers are awesome ,the combination of the mushrooms with the caramelized onions and the garlic and parsley in the aioli makes these burgers burst with flavors.You can make these burgers with any kind of cheese you like,but swiss or provolone would be the best.

 

 

Ingredients:

 

Makes 4 burgers

 

 

For burgers:

 

1 lb. Ground beef ( I chose ground sirloin)

1 1/2 tbsp. finely diced onions

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/8 tsp. chilli

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

 

 

For carmalized Onions:

 

1 1/2 medium onions sliced

2 tbsp. olive oil

 

 

For Aioli:

 

1/2 cup mayo

1 tsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/2 tbsp. parsley

1 garlic clove minced

 

 

For Mushrooms:

 

8 oz. portabella mushrooms ( cut to 3 parts lengthwise and then sliced)

1/4 tsp. thyme

2 tbsp. butter

salt

black pepper

 

Other Ingredients:

4 Burger Buns

4 slices of provolone cheese

 

 

Directions:

 

To make Aioli, mix all ingredients with a whisk and place in fridge until ready to use.

To make the carmalized onions, heat olive oil over medium high heat and saute onions until golden in color about 6 minutes. Add  3 tbsp. water.Reduce heat to low ,cover and cook until all water is aborbed about 20 minutes.

To make mushrooms , heat butter over medium high heat saute mushrooms for 2 minutes, then reduce heat to medium salt and pepper mushrooms and  cook for another 5 minutes until mushrooms are tender.

To make burgers, Mix ground beef with onions and spices. Form into four patties. Grill on medium heat about 4  to 5 minutes ,flip and  top with cheese and continue grilling for about 4 to 5  minutes.

Grill buns until charred , spread aioli on the top half of the bun.

And put the burger patty on the bottom half topped with carmalized onions and mushrooms.

 

 

 

 

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