chicken wings

Chicken Wings (Makes 30 wings)

Ingredients

4 lbs fresh or frozen chicken wings
2 sticks butter melted
3 cups parmesan cheese
(or 2 cups parmigiano/reggiano and
s1 cup pecorino/romano blend)
1/2 cup dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground oregano
1 tablespoon paprika


Directions

Heat oven at 350 degrees F.
Melt two sticks butter.

Cut chicken wings into three parts, slicing through the joints, discard the wing tips.
If using frozen wings, thaw first.

Mix all the other ingredients together in a big bowl.
Dip the chicken wings in butter and then roll in cheese mixture.
Place wings in a baking pan (spray with Pam first)
Bake in oven uncovered for 1 hour or until the wings start to brown.
Pour off the excess butter liquid and return wings to oven to crisp up
for 15 to 20 minutes.

Can be reheated.

Can be frozen for later.

I reheat frozen chicken wings
covered at 170 degrees F.
then when they feel soft,
I turn up the oven to 400 degrees
to crisp up.....

spinach fataya

Spinach Fataya

Dough

Ingredients
4 cups bread flour
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 packet or 2 tblsps yeast
1 cup spry
water
(I used to use regular flour but
since Dean gave me the Man’oushe
book from Lebanon, I prefer this recipe,
using bread flour and cake flour.
The dough is stronger and holds the
filling better. Fataya can split open
while baking.)

In a large bowl, mix together bread flour, cake flour, salt and sugar. Make sure the ingredients are thoroughly blended.
Add the spry and work into the flour mixture by rubbing the flour and spry together with your hands, make sure all the flour is mixed in well with the spry.
Take a smaller bowl, add the yeast and mix with 1/2 cup warm water to soften the yeast, mix quickly with a spoon and pour over the flour mixture. Next add another two cups warm water. (Situ Stevens used to use 1 cup milk and 1 cup water)
With your hands, mix it all in together, it will form into a ball of dough, it shouldn’t be too wet .... you can add a bit more flour if it is, or water if too dry. It can be tacky and sticky in texture. Knead the dough a few times but not excessively. Then cover the bowl with saran wrap and a blanket. Leave aside to allow the dough to rise.
I often make this in the morning and then return to make the fataya in the afternoon.
You can also keep in the fridge, but make sure the dough is at room temperature before trying to roll it out.

Spinach Fataya

4 packages frozen spinach (I now use fresh spinach, cooked beforehand)
2 or 3 lemons squeezed
2 teasps salt
1 teasp. allspice
1/2 teasp. pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 generous tablespoon pinenuts (optional)
1 Spanish onion chopped
1 teasp. lemon extract powder

You can make the spinach a day ahead, wash and chop spinach leaves, put a tablespoon olive oil and two garlic cloves chopped in bottom of saucepan, heat over medium heat, as the cloves start to sizzle in the oil, throw in spinach leaves, stir around a bit and then continue to cook on low heat covered until tender.



Filling

Squeeze out the excess water in spinach, place in bowl. Add salt, allspice, pepper, oil, lemon juice and mix really well together. Chop the onion and mix in with the spinach. TASTE! You may need to add the lemon extract or some more lemon juice.

This spinach mixture is also good as a salad with some chick peas mixed in. But we don’t used chick peas in the fataya. I just mentioned this because life takes unexpected turns and you may not be able to go on further with the fataya! So if you feel too exhausted at this point, put the dough in the freezer to use later, add the chick peas to the spinach and lie on the sofa with a good book.



To Make the Fataya

Spray a large baking pan

Cut into rounds, a cookie cutter or top of a large peanut jar works well.

with Pam or brush with a little oil.
Take the risen dough and make
into rolls, work the rolls a little in                       
some flour if they are too tacky,
cover with saran wrap and leave
to stand on board sprinkled with flour.
Take one roll and with rolling pin, roll
out into a thin layer.
Cut into rounds.

 Take a teaspoon of the filling and place in the center of the rounds.
 Next, make the dough into an envelope, sealing all edges well.                                                          

Take a teaspoon of the filling, place in the center of the rounds

                                                                             

make the dough into an envelope sealing all edges well

When closing fataya, be careful not to get juices on the edges.

Keep pressing the edges together to make sure they are firmly sealed.

When closing fataya pies, be careful not to get juices on the edges. this will make it difficult to close. If this happen, dip fingers in flour and close.

Heat oven at 380 degrees F, have rack in middle of oven.
Place each fataya on baking pan
Bake in oven until just beginning to change color, the fataya should be brown on the base.
These bake quite fast, approximately 15 to 20 minutes, but you have to keep your eye on them. Usually by the time you’ve made another batch, the fataya are ready.

If you wish, you can brush some melted butter half way through the baking process, I used to do this but have stopped doing this.

Fataya freeze really well cooked. On the day you want to eat them, take fataya out in morning, uncover and let stand most of the day. Reheat for 15 minutes in oven at 350 degrees F. just before serving.

stuffed egg plant

 Stuffed Egg Plant
(Shiekh el Mahshie)

To Prepare the Eggplant
Use baby eggplant or regular eggplant. Choose firm fruits without blemishes or bruises.

The eggplant can be prepared a day ahead and either refrigerated or frozen.

Ingredients

8 small eggplants or 5 regular eggplants
salt
olive oil



Directions

Slice off the green caps,
wash eggplants, slice eggplants

Place the eggplant in a pyrex dish

lengthwise in half and then quarters.
If using regular sized eggplants,
cut the halves into thirds and then
each length into halves so they are
not so long. Arrange eggplants on a
platter in a single layer, sprinkle with
salt and leave for up to an hour until
the moisture is beading on the eggplant.
Pat dry with paper towels. Pour olive
oil into pan, about 2 inches deep and
saute eggplant until golden brown.

Remove and place on paper towel.
This drains off any excess oil.
Place the eggplant in a pyrex dish (spray first with Pam)At this point you can cover the dish, place in the fridge and continue the next day or freeze for another day.






To Prepare the Stuffing

Ingredients

1/2 lb ground beef 90%

Prepare stuffing in a frying pan.

1 Spanish onion
4 tablespoons pine nuts (optional)
1 tablespoon allspice
1 teasp. salt
shake of pepper                                                
small can tomato paste
beef broth (Campbells)
tablespoon olive oil









In a frying pan, heat the oil, saute the chopped onion until golden brown,
add pinenuts and continue frying for 2 minutes. Add the ground beef
and stir so everything is mixed in. Add allspice, salt and pepper,
continue stirring until beef is done.



Spread the whole meat mixture over the egg plant being careful to tip the pan so the oil stays behind.

Meanwhile, mix together the tomato paste and beef broth in a mixing bowl and pour over the egg plant and meat stuffing. You may need to add a little water so that the liquid comes close to the top but doesn’t completely cover it.

Preheat oven at 300 degrees F and cook uncovered for 35 minutes or until bubbling away. Serve with rice.

This dish freezes very well, so you can make it ahead of time.
Take dish out of freezer in the morning, leave out covered, plan on cooking it in the oven  at 275 degrees F for 1 hour, check and turn the oven up to 300 degrees F. for the last half hour. We generally eat around 6 p.m. I sometimes think it’s even better as all the ingredients have blended together. My mother in law used to say it was like a marriage of tastes.

cauliflower cheese

Cauliflower Cheese

Ingredients
1 head cauliflower
flour
milk
butter
salt
pepper
cheddar cheese





Directions

Cut the cauliflower in half, remove the stem and outer leaves, then cut each half into four sections. Wash and drain.
Cook in salted water until tender
Drain cauliflower in a colander, place the cauliflower in a baking dish with a lid

Meanwhile make the white sauce by putting 2 tablespoons flour in a pan, add 2 cups milk, a knob of butter, salt and pepper and mix together in pan, then heat over medium heat, stirring constantly so the flour doesn’t lump. The sauce will start to thicken and bubble, pour over the cauliflower, add grated cheddar cheese, a few knobs of butter and 
broil until golden brown on top.

You can make this ahead and put under the broiler just before eating.

Yorkshire Pudding

Yorkshire Pudding

In the old days, a roast beef was cooked at high heat on the oven rack with a pan on the shelf below to catch the drippings. It was in that pan that the batter for Yorkshire pudding was poured about forty minutes before the roast was done. Then the roast and the puffy brown pudding emerged from the oven together. But today we roast our beef at a much lower temperature. Better for the meat, impossible for the pudding. So now the Yorkshire pudding goes into a hot oven as soon as the roast comes out, and it cooks while the roast rests.

Ingredients:

flour
salt
milk
eggs
beef drippings or butter


1. Have all ingredients at room temperature or pudding will not puff up properly
2. Sift together 7/8 cup flour and 1/2 teasp. salt.
3. Add gradually: 1/2 cup milk, stirring all the time.
4. When smooth beat in, 2 eggs, beaten until fluffy and pale yellow.
5. Add 1/2 cup water. Beat vigorously until batter bubbles.
(you can make this batter in a blender, on high speed for 15 seconds with excellent results. I use a blender, put all ingredients in, blend, and then just before putting in the oven, I blend again quickly. Never fails)

6. Preheat oven to hot (400 degrees F)
7. Make this batter at least an hour before it is to be cooked. Beat it again just before baking.
8. In the hot oven heat a 9x10 baking dish. Pour about 1/2 inch beef dripping or melted butter (I melt  1 stick butter) and let fat get smoking hot.
9. Pour in batter. Bake in hot oven for 20 mins.. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. and continue baking 15 mins. longer.

This recipe is from Vincent Price’s cook book, I’ve used this recipe for 35 years and it’s never failed! I also double the recipe to feed 10 people.

Pickled Turnips (Lift)

Pickled Turnips
(Lift)

The season to make these is in the
fall when the turnips are fresh and
hard. Serve as an appetizer with
olives and cheese.


Ingredients

5 Turnips
Distilled White vinegar (boiled)
Distilled Water (boiled)
1 fresh Beetroot or canned Beets
Pickling Spices
A large glass jar (mine holds 7 cups
liquid, but any size jar for pickling is
fine)
salt

Directions
Boil  water first and leave aside to cool. You are going to fill the jars with equal parts water and distilled white vinegar.

Cut off the tops and bottoms and peel the turnips.
Slice turnips in quarters, and then slice the quarters into   
bite size wedges.Fill a jar with turnip wedges, and pour water
into the jar to determine how much liquid you will need. Empty
the jar of water and turnips. Peel a fresh beetroot and cut into slices
You need equal amounts of water and vinegar that has been boiled
and cooled so that the liquid will fill the jar and cover the turnips
 Place a few turnip wedges in bottom of jar, then alternate with fresh
beet slices. When the jar is half filled, pour in one cup distilled white

vinegar and one cup boiled water (now cooled). Continue filling
the jar, alternating between turnips and beets.

Pour 1/2 pickling spice container into glass jar, the fresh beets
make the liquid red or if using canned beets, add red
beet juice,and a couple of the beets at the end.

Add 2 teaspsoons salt.

Pour the cooled water and vinegar mixture into jar and
seal with lid. Keep in fridge, can be eaten after 4 days.

Serve as an appetizer.

Eggplant with tomatoes, onions and chick peas

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Suad NeJaime’s Eggplant with tomatoes, onions and chick peas…… served cold
Interpreted by my sister-in-law, Portia.

2 egg plants
5 onions (Portia says the secret is lots and lots of onions!)
1 can chick peas
4 tomatoes
olive oil
salt pepper
allspice
oregano
pinenuts

Slice the eggplant into wedges, depending on the size, as if preparing for stuffed eggplant. Sprinkle egg plant with salt and let stand for at least an hour. Pat dry with paper towels and fry in olive oil till golden brown, place on paper towels to drain.
Place in a glass pyrex dish, sprayed with Pam. (you can do this the day before and leave covered  in the fridge.) Tastes better if left in fridge …. According to Suad

Chop the tomatoes finely and place in a bowl.
Add 1 can chick peas.
Add ½ teasp allspice, salt, pepper, , a tablespoon oregano (Suad rubs the oregano in her hands first, she says it bring the flavor out) and a teaspoon of sugar to the chopped tomatoes, mix altogether and then add to eggplant.
Sprinkle a little oil over top

Bake at 350 in oven for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile sauté the onions till carmelized and crispy. After 10 mins. add salt and a little sugar. Stir from time to time. Keep the heat at medium low.
Saute pinenuts.

Just before serving, add onions and pinenuts.