Boo-Yeah! Baklawa!

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Ever since last month when Dawn over at First Look, Then Cook posted her recipe for baklava, it’s been on my mind. I instantly thought of an ice wine we have that would match this dessert perfectly. Not to mention I’ve never worked with phyllo before and it sounded like a challenge I needed to tackle. So when we were looking for Egyptian desserts and came across the recipe for Baklawa, the Egyptian version of the dessert, I knew it was time to get to work.

The main differences between Greek baklava and Egyptian baklawa are that the Greek version uses honey in the syrup and almonds in the pastry. The Egyptian form of the dessert uses sugar and orange blossom in the syrup and omits the almonds. Either way, the dessert sounds intriguing to me and dad, and one that we thought even Mr. N and Miss A would enjoy.

Miss A helped me out early in the process. She was very excited to see the mallet coming out again and was eager to crush the walnuts. Continue reading →

Seafood Pasta with Cloves? You Bet!

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This weekend we are wrapping up our Egyptian adventure with another winning recipe. When dad first picked Egypt a few weeks ago, we knew little about the local cuisine. We figured we would come across some traditional Middle Eastern dishes such as falafel or babaganoush – and we did. But we also discovered that Egyptian cuisine has influences from the Mediterranean, Europe, Africa and the Middle East and offers a lot of healthy, flavorful cooking options.

Tonight’s recipe is one of the first that we came across for the region and we instantly knew we had to try it. This recipe for Egyptian Seafood Pasta is very similar to an Italian dish that dad and I used to eat a ton of when we were dating. So going in it already had a lot to live up to.

We began our pasta dish by sauteing a chopped onion with some olive oil. Once the onion was softened we added bacon, garlic and ground cloves – yes cloves! This was new to me. Continue reading →

Dessert for Breakfast and Other Infidelities

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We wanted to try an Egyptian dessert this week. We also wanted something healthy so that our waistlines didn’t explode after that Georgia Peach Cobbler. We found a recipe for a strawberry dessert on Tour Egypt and while it’s fairly healthy, I have to say that I’m not really convinced it’s an authentic Egyptian dessert. I’m also uncertain whether it’s a dessert or if it’s breakfast. I think it can easily be both; and if not, well then we just ate dessert for breakfast. I suppose there are worse things that could happen.

The recipe is easy – combine raspberries and sugar in a sauce pan and heat, stirring gently, until a syrup forms.  Continue reading →

Sweet Georgia and Humble Pie

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The humble pie is for me because, well, he did it again. We had our greatest number of hits for ChefDad’s post last night. (Although I am suspicious that he was driving up the hits from his computer. 😉 ) I just hope all of this success doesn’t go to his head, but who am I kidding – it wasn’t his modesty that first attracted me some 14 years ago. In all seriousness, even I enjoyed yesterday’s post and I think dad’s earned the keys to the blog controls every now and again. But for now back to the Peach State – and back to dessert!

While we didn’t make a pie tonight – it was close. Georgia being our state for this week, we knew we had to make something with peaches. How could we not?! So today, for my dad, and for Miss A who was not fond of the shrimp and grits, we made a Georgia Peach Cobbler. We adapted this particular recipe from the one found over at Vintage Victuals, mostly because it sounded delicious and easy. Really – very easy. Continue reading →

Much Better than Ribbie and Roobarb

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Many thanks to ChefMom for giving me a second turn at the controls.  She was a tough sell, but since she’s off schmoozing for work I’m in for the night.  I may not be as practiced a writer/blogger as mom, but I am an economist, which means I know a bit about the misuse of statistics. Note the steady uptick in blog traffic following my one and only post. (Mom is lovingly rolling her eyes. 😉 )

Ribbie and Roobarb

Today’s recipe is Strawberry and Rhubarb Risotto, adapted from Cooking Light, May 2010; and I’m happy to report it was much better than the ex-White Sox Mascots Ribbie and Roobarb. Wikipedia notes: “Fans openly mocked Ribbie and Roobarb, with even children gleefully attacking them.” Readers should feel free to mock the White Sox, but I don’t think anyone will be mocking this rhubarb recipe.

Continue reading →

Now This is Some Southern Comfort

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Today was a good day. Above all else, I was quite relieved to get the call from the doctor that the tick removed from Mr. N’s scalp last night was not an engorged deer tick, but a dog tick and these little buggers don’t carry Lyme disease. Thank goodness. And I have to say Mr. N handled the whole ordeal with a bravery that just amazed me. He does not get this from me. I would have freaked out (or passed out) if a bug was attached to my head and don’t even get me started on shots. Eek!

And this was just the beginning, the day kept on getting better. My camera was fixed, the skies were blue, the bouncy house came out of storage and we had a darn good dinner. Tonight was state night again and Mr. N wanted to sample some good ol’ Southern food from Georgia. It didn’t take us long to pick our recipes for this adventure. The dish that stood out above all else – Shrimp and Grits.

Until today none of us have had shrimp and grits, so we were really looking forward to tonight’s meal – and it didn’t disappoint. We adapted this recipe from A Spicy Perspective who posted a version of shrimp and grits that got this whole thing rolling a few days ago. Continue reading →