Antep Usulü...in Paris!

Each time I went back on holiday to Paris, I was happy to bring with me some edible gifts to share with my family and friends. Having thus exhausted the list of  all varieties of Lukum, baklava, helva, dried-fruits, nuts, simit, salty cakes, börek, paskalya, herbal teas,  akide şeker, chocolate candies and badem çikolata.

This time, as everyone was busy preparing and helping for my cousin's wedding, I needed a gift, that could be shared among many persons and more importantly  that could stay fresh as I had no idea when everyone would be available to gather.

 

So, guess what I end-up buying.......Kuru  Patlıcan!

Yes, and I made my very-first  'Antep Usulü Kuru Patlıcan Dolması' (Dried Aubergines Dolmas, Antep style), at my aunt's kitchen, a quite challenging task I must admit as I had to master the flavor, the quantity, the surprise aspect and  not to mention finding my way in someone else kitchen!

 

And here is the proof:

A French wedding.....Menu!

Summer season often rimes with wedding....

 

 After the Turkish Wedding we attended in Istanbul (see previous post), we flew to Paris to attend two other weddings.

The very first one, was my dear cousin Marie-Noele, who added a new "flavor" to our international family :)

The wedding was a typical Parisian wedding held in a Château outside of Paris. As a contrast to the Blue of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, there was all about the Green of the surrounding garden and forest.

The guests' list was quite international and mutli-cultural. And the groom nicely and genuinely thanked in his speach the guests, by asking first the ones who came form Far-East Asia/North Africa/Middle-East to stand-up and to be applaunded by the other guests, then was the turn of  the North and Latin-American guests, then the European guests excluding France and finally it was the guests from France.

It was quite thoughtful indeed as we all cheered and applauded one another. Additionally, it was the bride's sister birthday, so we sang "Happy Birthday" and cheered once more.

As for the menu, French flavors were at their best, matched with delicate wines and a bubbly Champagne!

The garden cocktail had three varieties of  "amuses-bouches" to nibble on:

       - a selection of  warm and meaty samosas, shredded chicken phyllo-triangle...

       - a selection of cold cuts and smoked meat, salmon bouchées and delicate cheese rolls...

       - and a very tasty foie-gras presented with either fig jam, caramelized almonds or mango chutney and beautifully decorated with edible violets flowers

The four-course menu was nicely combined with wines "pour le plaisir du palais", as follows:

- Gambas Marinées en persillade, accompagnées d'un palet de brousse aux deux pistou

(Marinated Gambas-Shrimps with a parsley-based sauce, over a bed of greens seasoned with two types of pistou -basil sauce)

&

Vin Blanc. White Wine: Bordeaux AOC - Château de La Chèze 2009

- Filet de canette en basse température, accompagné de légumes et de champignons des bois, jus perlé

(Filet of duck cooked at low temperature, accompanied with forest vegetables and mushrooms with their juice)

&

Vin Rouge/Red Wine: Bordeaux AOC - Château Angélique 2009

- Fromage affinés à souhait à l'anglaise

(Selection of Cheeses)

- Assiette gourmande  (trio chocolat, framboisier pistaché)

(Sweet delicacies: Trio of chocolate and Raspberry-Pistachio Pastry)

&

Champagne Blanc/ White Champagne: Brut réserve de la maison Taittinger

The final note of the evening was the Wedding Cake, which was a wonderfully arranged 'Tour of Ladurée Macaroons' in all the most delicious flavors: chocolate, vanilla, rose, pistachio, caramel ....(I was too busy enjoying them so I forgot to take a picture).

Wishing the beautiful bride and the handsome groom all the Happiness, from:

Oups I ate some "Shark"!

On a hot July day and after an afternoon wandering in Kadiköy Fish market. I decided to cook some fish for dinner.  To keep up with my reputation of always trying things I have no clue about, I bought some shrimps and an unknown fish called "Keller" from Mersin Coasts.

I discovered the fish is 'Squatina Squatina' (Wikipedia entry: Squatina Squatina), a relative to Shark, yummy! The texture was somehow firm and chewy with a flavor reminiscent to Lobster (or at least for me).

The menu end-up being quite simple:

• a nice summery salad with tomatoes, greens and scallions
• homemade fries
• shrimps in a thick tomato- sauce generously flavored with bay leaves
• grilled "Keller" fish with a homemade Aioli sauce

The Aioli sauce was too garlicky unfortunately. I actually used some "Ail violet de France" a very fresh and pungent garlic, with large cloves that my Mom sent me. The recipe was taken from one of my favorite culinary book collection as seen below:

Cooking halfway through:

 

 

A Turkish Wedding.....Menu!

Two weeks ago, we were invited to my husband's high-school friend wedding.

As a "typical Istanbul" wedding, it was held in a beautiful mansion-type on the Asian side overlooking the Bosphorus. The view was absolutely amazing!

The guests matched somehow the upscale setting and table decoration. After the civil wedding part, we were invited to our tables, "sumptuously" decorated for the occasion. Oh and please please please, excuse the bad quality of the pictures as it was obviously night-time and I took the pictures with my Iphone.

The funny thing was that the guests at our table were surprised by me taking pictures of the food :) So I explained..." well I write a food blog....oh and I am a foreigner..." (the second part of my sentence was more satisfactory it seemed).

The four-course menu included a nice variety of dishes and flavors, although it seemed quite "standard" as a  wedding menu  (so to speak):

Saray Lezzetleri Tabağı: üçgen peynir, çerkez tavuğu, somon, enginar dolması, fava, domates patlıcan salatasi

(Palace-style plate: triangle of Turkish white-cheese, Circassian walnut-chicken spread, artichoke dolma, broad-bean purée, tomato-aubergine salad)

***

Ispanakli, tulum peynirli ve cevizli vol au vant, domates sos eşliğinde

(Spinach, Tulum-cheese and walnut vol-au-vent with tomato sauce (typo error in "vol au vant")

***

Kuzu Tandır, iç pilav, ve beğendi ile

(Lamb Roast with Pilav and aubergine purée)

***

Hurmalı Incir Tatlısı

(Date and Fig Dessert)

Unfortunately, I only thought about taking pictures after the second course. The first course, the "Palace-Style Plate" was a nice assortment of mezze in small portions. All were quite tasty except for the tomato-aubergine salad which had a strange smoky flavor that I didnt' quite like.

The second course, was the spinach vol-au-vent, (wikipedia entry vol-au-vent, which explains the name reference to the crispiness and lightness of this puff pastry,  that can be "blown by the wind", nice no?). 

I liked the Tulum cheese-spinach-walnut stuffing but the dish needed more of the tomato sauce, as overall this entry was a bit dry.

The third-course and main dish, was the traditional Kuzu Tandir (TR) - Lamb Roast (EN) -  Gigot d'Agneau (FR) - خروف محمر (AR).

A typical wedding meal in both Turkish and Arab cultures. The meat was tender to perfection, although slightly fatty but it is lamb so......

The accompaniment was a perfect Pilav rice with black-currant and roasted pine nuts. In addition,  one of my favorite Turkish recipe Patlıcan Beğendi. This latter consists of roasted eggplant, that are skinned, seeded off and pureed. Then a béchamel sauce is prepared with flour and butter, and mixed to the aubergine purée.

Finally, the last course was surprisingly delicious, as as I told my husband "this is MY type of dessert". A perfectly sweetened and smooth mix of dried figs and dates, topped with vanilla ice cream, and an almond-flavored cream.

As for the pictures, as we say in French "je me suis bien amusée", I had indeed quite of lot of fun taking different pictures as the spot lights were changing colors....Disco!

An enjoyable evening indeed, with nice food and drinks, good music and dance. 

Wishing E & D all the happiness!

Summer Time, Summer Time

It is hot again and  I must say, I like it!

So to freshen-up, here are three nice recipes:

- My father's recipe, homemade frozen strawberry sorbet

Recipe: 

Blend about 500g of strawberries, with juice of  half lemon (or less), sugar to taste, and 1-2 fresh mint leaves (optional)

In order to obtain a smooth texture, do the following: blend the sorbet - freeze it - blend  it - freeze it :)

- a homemade fresh-mint lemonade

Recipe: completely up to you, as long as you mix freshly squeezed lemons, water, fresh mint and sugar then refrigerate and serve cold!

- a homemade peach flavored ice-tea

Recipe: very important to start with boiling water in order to infuse the tea, drop some peach slices and sweeten with some sugar or preferably some Üzüm Pekmez  ("grape molasse", my ultimate discovery in Turkey and absolutely loved ingredient)

Cool down to room temperature (by letting the tea infuse for 4-5 min max) then refrigerate before serving cold.

Traditional Turkish Breakfast

Breakfast is essential for all of us. Each culture has its own habits to start the day with either a sweet breakfast, savory one or a combination of both.

 

For some foreigners, Turkish breakfast can be surprising as "how can a person starts the day eating tomatoes and cucumbers". For me too, I had to adjust, but I now enjoy very much my breakfast a la Turca.

Though, I must say that some morning (especially when I am tired) nothing can replace Café au Lait et une tartine beurée au miel ou à la confiture.

Turkish breakfast, as illustrated in this picture taken in Göcek, is eaten in two parts:

a first savory part with beyaz peynir, kaşar peynir, olives, tomatoes and cucumbers.

a sweet part with bread or ideally Simit, honey, butter and jam (sour cherry, strawberry as pictured here).

And of course, a glass of freshly brewed Turkish Çay (Tea)

 

Food memories while travelling

Like many people, I have been quite often traveling, sometimes for work, sometimes on vacations, alone or with my family. 

So below is a list of the amazing, unforgettable, month-watering memories I had while traveling (you should do it as well, it's quite fun).

Here is list without any ranking per se:

- When I learned the word "tsouvlaki" in Athens and that Taverna dinner we had just before leaving Greece, back in 2000

- when I was 12 or 13, the amazing month-watering Artichokes and green peas Tajine in Morocco

- April 2001, my trip to Brazil, nibbling on Salgados (chicken , meat or cheese empenadas), drinking Asucos (exotic fruit juices) or Guarana in Rio de Janeiro streets.

- 1996 or 1997, the ammaaazzziinng grilled chicken we bought with my parents in Firenze - Italy, and ate in a small park. We literally licked our fingers

- ohhhhhh and the indescribable, 8 or 10 course and wine pairing dinner a Le Bernardin (3 stars at the Michellin). Thanks again Orhan!

- that very first bite when I am craving sushi (every time the same pleasure)

- Hungary, summer 2004, a completely and surprisingly delicious Paprika-flavored grilled chicken bought in a Budapest market

- Lebanon, summer 1999 that early dinner in a restaurant outside of Beyrouth in the garden with kebbe, lahmajun and other savory goodies

- wandering in the Bastille market in  my hometown Oran in 2008, and having Karantita that took me back into my childhood (check the Farinata entry in Wikipedia)

- The lovely vegetarians and fish mezze along with grilled fish in the Island of Cunda in Turkey (Sept 2008)

- London 1996 or 1997, that short week-end trip to London and that great Indian dinner

- Toronto and the tasty French restaurant with Işıtan way back then (pre-marriage that is), that I can't remember anything except the sensation and the memory of adoring my food

- Paris, the cheese platter my mom used to make me when I get back from New York 

- and not to forget, the most amazing capital of food (forget about finance) New York-New York, all the food discoveries I made and memories I have.  I simply can not list them all!

For My Ela

Just for my little angel (sometimes monster) Ela......or how we say in Oran, Fi Khater Ela....Sec!

Savory Bits!

Just to share some pictures about these two savory bits:

A light salad made with Turkish Beyaz Peynir (feta cheese), tomatoes, Arugula or Roka in Turkish, spring onions, drizzled with an earthy olive oil and  Xérès Vinegar from Spain.

My Humus recipe, simply consists in 300-400g soaked overnight and boiled chickpeas (with the outer skin removed for the humus to be smooth), blended with the juice of half a lemon, olive oil, 3 tablespoons of tahin, cumin, salt, sumac and paprika.

Sweet Tooth!

Try to please a 3-year old kid with a variety of mezze, boeuf bourguignon, homemade guacamole, lamb rogan josh or anything that is savory, veggies-based or green in color!

Noooo, you need to talk sweet, powder sugar, chocolate, caramel...that my friend will do the trick.

So for Ela's sake and request, I had to improve my baking skills: me who was awe-full when it comes to dough, measurements, preciseness in cooking! Moi Rym, who loved to randomly toss, sprinkle, add, drizzle, adjust the ingredients, come up with substitutions, changes........until I realized that you can not do much of that when baking.

Yes baking is an art, a true knowledge and a precise science, that requires you to follow "scrupuleusement" the recipe, the measuring and the baking method. Some of you may not agree, but I learned by experience and I started taming my approach when its comes to baking.

So here are few of my "modest achievements":

- a  Strawberry tart with a  base of crème pâtissière flavored with some almonds, and dusted with little powder sugar

- an almond-cake topped with caramelized apricot and peaches. A light summerish dessert.

- and the ULTIMATE BROWNIE recipe, I have to share the recipe (see below)  if you are like me and Ela, a CHOCOLATE FAN!

The Ultimate Walnut Brownie recipe:

Ingredients:

-          180g butter

-          175g Dark Bitter Chocolate

-          4 eggs

-      175g sugar

-          90g flour

-          70g walnut heads

-      1 pinch of salt

-          1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-          butter for the baking pan

-          parchment paper

Preparation:

Preheat the over to thermostat 6 or 180° C.

Melt the chocolate with butter in a bain-marie, by steering regularly. Cool down to room temperature.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with sugar and vanilla extract to obtain a frothy light mixture. In a separate bowl, mix the flour with salt.

Once the chocolate melt has cooled down, incorporate it to the eggs mixture. Add the flour, then the walnut. Mix well.

Lay the parchment paper at the bottom of the pan and butter it up. The paper will help keep the brownie moist from the inside while baking. Pour the batter over the pan and bake for 25 min. The Brownie will be crusty from the outside and wonderfully soft and moist inside.

Una Pizza Per Favore

Somehow and not intentionally, we end-up having a rule in our young family tradition to eat home-made  comfort food on Sunday evenings.

We eat very casually in the living-room watching TV, listening to music and chit-chatting, as a farewell to the week-end that had just passed and a welcome to the week ahead.

That day, it was actually a Saturday  March 19th, and I had a craving for home-made pizza, an ode to the summer days we spent at my grand-mother in Oran (Algeria), when we end-up being at least 12 people at the table. When we had homemade pizza or lasagne, we (the third-generation kids) were soooooooo happy!

So back to Istanbul year 2011, my craving for homemade pizza led me to my favorite Italian book  " The Ultimate ITALIAN Cookbook" by Carla Capalbo, edition Smithmark.

First and foremost,  I started by kneading the dough, which was fun yet a bit hard then let it rest for few hours. In the meantime, I prepared the topping for two kinds of pizza:

A round-shaped one for Ela, with bay-leaves flavored and sweet paprika tomato sauce, lightly spiced ground beef and caramelized onions, topped with melted Turkish Kaşar Cheese and Italian (that was bought from Italy) Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

Ours on the other hand, was a more meattier-spicier pizza, with the same ingredients as above in addition to spicy Turkish Sucuk sausage and some Tabasco drizzled on top.

 

And Işıtan would probably remember the old Italian Pizza place Di Fara  (check out the Wikipedia entry!!!) in Brooklyn, run by a (very) old 70-something Italian man who was making this amazing old-style, thin-crust pizza for the last 50-60 years...No Kidding!

The love of the Princess

Chronologically, these are not the first pictures I took, but they represent the most important ones........for my daughter Ela!

Ela around the age of 2,5 years old, has developed this obsessive "love" for Snow White (Blanche Neige - Français / Pamuk Prenses - Türkçe). Everything was about her: the DVD, the puzzles, the books, the outfit, the stickers...

Oh Boy!, it drove me craaazzzy but since I love my daughter and my daughter loved Snow White, I had to love ..."baking snow white".

On a quite Sunday afternoon (20-Feb-2011), Ela and I went on baking a Hazelnut-cookie in the shape of Snow White. The recipe was simple, a soft cookie dough with hazelnuts for extra flavor (I may have even made up the recipe from my mind), painted using the appropriate food coloring to match Snow White's outfit.

Here are the pictures (please don't laugh), in 5 steps:

1- Making the cookie dough and shaping it by hand

2- baking 20 min in a medium-hot oven, and yes Little Princess became "tombiş" as we say in Turkish (she looks like those 19th century well-fed farm-girl with great fatty cheese, milk and home-made bread)

 

3- oh and we had to paint it, yellow please for the skirt as Miss Ela insisted on

4- a bit of arrangement for this "delicacy"

5- et sans scrupules, Ela l'a dévoré avec un verre de lait froid