Belgian Endive, Apple and Blue Cheese Dressing

This post is not about a recipe per se, but more about how to create different looking dishes by using the very same ingredients.

American Buffalo (Bison) Steak Tartare

4th of July weekend was dedicated mainly to BBQ, and it feels like it’s time for the very opposite of BBQ – Steak Tartare.

Sweet and Spicy Oven Roasted Chicken Wings

The list of ingredients for the marinade in this recipe is completely “fusion”. It contains maple syrup and honey from Vermont, Ethiopian Berbere* spice mix, Indian-inspired curry spice mix, French mustard and Japanese soy sauce… However, once you’ll prepare the dish and taste it, I’m sure you’ll agree that the “fusion” here is far from “confusion”, as happens too often…
All the flavors work perfectly together and the result is tasty, spicy, sweet and salty chicken wings, with a beautiful deep color and wonderful aroma.

Yogurt and Beet Greens Poached eggs

Poached eggs with yogurt is a familiar dish all over the Middle East, especially in Turkey. There are quite a few variations for the sauce itself, but in all of the recipes I have come across, the eggs are poached separately in water and only then are added to the sauce.

This recipe is different, as I’ve decided to use the yogurt itself as the poaching liquid for the eggs.

Pear, Kumquat and Ginger Upside-down Cake

After a few lengthy recipes, I’ve decided it’s time for something a bit quicker and easier to make. My initial idea was to bake a simple pear-ginger cake, but then I’ve found these lovely kumquats at the store – and decided they would fit perfectly in the cake.
So, even though I ended up complicating the simple recipe a bit, the result was definitely worth it. I believe “festive” is a good word to describe this fragrant, colorful and moist cake. It is just perfect for this time of the year, or for any other festive occasion.

Cheddar Rosemary Fingers

The following cheddar fingers will delight anyone who loves cheese crackers, but doesn’t want to munch on the commercial ones (they actually hardly have any real cheese in them!)

The amount given here may seem like a lot, but these tasty morsels are fairly small and on top of it, they are alarmingly addictive and tend to disappear very quickly, so it makes sense to have more…

Scallops with lemony cream sauce + Israeli couscous salad

When I found these beautiful fresh wild scallops at the store, I quickly grabbed a few. They are so flavorful and so easy to prepare. The only concern with scallops is to remember that they are delicate creatures, so you need to cook them gently and quickly, otherwise their texture becomes rubbery. So, make sure to cook them as close to serving time as you can. I’ve paired the scallops with a delicate lemony cream sauce, that compliments their natural sweetness. I also added a bit of garlic, thyme and roasted red peppers, for both color and flavor.

The scallops are served on a bed of Israeli couscous, but you can serve them on their own, or with any other type of small pasta or polenta.

Rich Yeast Dough Rolled Cakes

As much as I love quick baking cakes, when I take the time to bake yeast dough cakes, I’m always rewarded with the satisfying process of making the dough, the amazing smell that fills the kitchen, the tasty rich fresh soft dough, combined with the filling and the crust. All these come together to create the most “comfort food” experience which no quick muffin can give.

Halibut with Lightly Caramelized Onions, Tomatoes and Raisins

I was fortunate enough to get some beautiful wild Halibut, and got curious about the origin of its name. At least according to Wikipedia “the name is derived from haly (holy) and butt (flat fish), for its popularity on Catholic holy days”. What a combination of the high and the low! Who knew?

Holy or not, I’ve decided to pair the fish with a favorite ingredient of mine – caramelized onions.

Semolina Cake with Milk and Maple Syrup

Semolina, a coarse wheat flour, is known mainly as a flour used in making pasta dough. However, it is also great for cooked puddings or cakes, as you can see here.
In Greece, Turkey and some Middle Eastern countries, one can find many types of semolina cakes. However, most are quite heavy on the oil or butter, and with overly sweet sugary syrups.
This cake is my fairly lighter version of those cakes, with less oil and sugar in the batter.

Chocolate Banana Cake

I was about to make a chocolate cake, when I noticed didn’t have the amount of butter the recipe required. Noticing I have three very ripe bananas in the kitchen, I thought the bananas could act as a butter substitute, while also add their unique flavor to the cake. The result was a rich and moist cake – definitely a keeper.
Try it and see for yourself.