March 6, 2016
Manti Inspired Fresh Made Spaghetti and Meatballs First and foremost, let me say this is not Manti!!!! Manti is a delicious Turkish dish that is best made when you have plenty of helping hands around. It could be done alone but part of the fun of making Manti is spending the time stuffing the dough with the meat mixture while you chit-chat with your family and/or friends! The best Manti in Turkey is from the Kayseri region. My former...
March 2, 2016
Breville BSB530XL All In One Processing Station If you love to cook as much as I do, then you will love the Breville BSB530XL All In One Processing Station. My sister bought me one at TJMaxx for my birthday last year and it is probably in the top two gifts that I have enjoyed and used the most. It is right up there with the Elton John’s Greatest Hits Two Volume CD my daughter bought me a few years ago. It is...
February 7, 2016
Oven Roasted Pickled Lemon Chicken “Oven Roasted Pickled Lemon Chicken”, bet I made your mouth water. Didn’t I? It is a proven fact that just saying lemon can cause your mouth to water. I bought these pickled lemons on my last trip to Atlanta. I had been wanting to try them for a while. I had seen several Moroccan recipes using the pickled lemons and thought they sounded interesting. The good thing about these pickled lemons is that the flavor...
February 4, 2016
Chicken ‘n Potato Dumplings When it comes to comfort food, there are not many dishes that can compete with Chicken n’ Dumplins (that’s Southern for Chicken and Dumplings). I think my recipe for Chicken ‘n Potato Dumplings gives the original a run for it’s money if I do say so myself. Fluffy POTATO dumplings floating in broth with big chunks of chicken and carrots is enough to make you want to slap your momma. You guessed it . . . another Southern term...
January 30, 2016
Karniyarik Karniyarik is a Turkish dish that literally means slashed belly. The dish gets the name because the eggplant looks like a belly shape and then you cut it down the middle to stuff it. It is one of my favorite eggplant dishes. Karniyarik is delicious served with some rice and yogurt on the side. Of course, you all know me by now, I would make that garlic yogurt instead. Wow, just looking at that bite of Karniyarik, makes...
January 20, 2016
Chicken with Okra and Tomatoes Okra, you either love it or hate it. Personally, I love it. I love it fried and in soups and stews. I started making this recipe, Chicken with Okra and Tomatoes, when I lived in Turkey, many years ago. The okra or bamya (Turkish name) that I used to buy at the Pazar was so cute and really small. I wanted to make something to showcase it. My ex-husband didn’t really care for...
January 16, 2016
Garlic Yogurt Sauce Garlic Yogurt Sauce is one of my family’s favorite sauces. Because it is so versatile, we use it like most people use Ranch Dressing. It is so good on oven roast potatoes, french fries, kofte (Turkish meatballs) and sandwiches. It was especially good on the Falafel sandwiches I made recently. Honestly, I could almost drink this stuff. Another variation on this sauce would be to add some seeded and chopped cucumbers. You could make this a little thicker...
January 16, 2016
Tahini Sauce Tahini Sauce is a great sauce for Falafel Sandwiches and Kofte. The main ingredient in this sauce is tahini which is ground sesame paste. It adds loads of flavor to dishes like hummus. In Turkey, they even use tahini to make something called Tahin-pekmez, which is tahini mixed with pekmez (molasses) that is served at breakfast on bread or sometimes as a dessert. This sauce could also be used as a dressing for a chopped salad. You...
January 16, 2016
Falafel If you have never had Falafel, you don’t know what you are missing. They are little balls of heaven. You all know that I am far from being a vegetarian, but if I ever decide to go down that path, I am taking these little jewels with me. Besides being deep fried, these are very healthy. And yes, you can bake them if you want to go that route. Just spray a baking pan with cooking spray or...
January 11, 2016
Maple Pecan Pie Cannoli I know this is very late in getting posted but as promised, here is the Maple Pecan Pie Cannoli recipe. I had made a delicious Maple Pecan Pie for Thanksgiving and we really loved it. I wanted to do something different from the traditional cakes, pies, etc. that we always have at Christmas. Since my sister, Kim loves Cannoli, I figured the answer was to marry the yummy pie filling with some Mascarpone and make a...
December 24, 2015
Yummly Hi everyone, I just wanted to let you all know that I have added a Yum button to my site. Yummly is a recipe sharing site that is a great place to keep all your favorite recipes in an easy to access location. I enjoy using it to organize my recipes and I am sure you will too. It is a great place to get inspiration on what to cook for dinner or that special occasion. Check them out...
December 19, 2015
Lamb Okra Chickpea Stew aka Bamyali Nohutlu Kuzu Et When I think of winter comfort food, Lamb Okra Chickpea Stew aka Bamyali Nohutlu Kuzu Et immediately comes to mind. It is a hearty, satisfying dish that will leave you will a fully belly and make you want to curl up by the fireplace with a good book. If you are not a fan of okra, this dish is one that you should try. It might make an okra lover out of...
