Thanksgiving Treat

For thanksgiving I had a request for turkey legs so here it is. For the marinate I mixed in tomato sauce, a large can of course, paprika, salt, pepper, olive oil, oregano, fresh minced garlic and a touch of cayenne pepper. Smothered each individual leg and placed it into a tray, Underneath was a layer of onions and all around was cut up potatoes and tomatoes.

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Dinner enough for Ten!

For this Dinner I created enough food for about ten guest, for the salad I created a mustard vinaigrette, I used whole grain mustard, grey poupon, olive oil, lime juice, salt, pepper and a little balsamic vinegar for color. For the lettuce I used mixed greens and arugula, kalamata olives, cut up artichoke hearts, garbanzo beans, baby heirloom tomatoes and cut up hearts of palm.

For the chicken breast I first layered some fresh spinach and sliced white onions, for the chicken marinate I mixed whole grain mustard, some lime juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, a few tablespoons of honey and paprika. Make sure to mix marinate well so the honey becomes one with the juice. Marinate chicken and pour a little over entire mixture. Cover with foil and cook for two hours on 400 uncover the last 15 minutes.

For the roast potatoes and sweet potatoes I cut up everything and threw in some cherry tomatoes. For the seasoning I used cayenne pepper for some spice, olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, tumeric and a little cumin. Cook underneath chicken breast and make sure to cover with foil the entire cooking process.

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Persian Stew

Choresh bamya- translates to Okra Stew

For this stew you want to first sautee some sliced onions, cubed tomatoes and minced garlic . Next add in some cubed london broil meat. Sautee the meat with some tumeric and paprika. Next add in two large cans of tomato sauce. Once all the items are cooked you want to add in your okra, you can use fresh or frozen okra makes no difference. You can add in sliced garlic as well into the stew. Let the entire pot cook for about 3 hours before serving. Make sure your stew is well seasoned with Salt and Pepper.

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Yellow Rice

Perfect Side dish to make in a rice cooker and a mess free recipe

In a rice cooker sautee some onions and tomatoes, next add in some raw rice and a tablespoon of tumeric. Cook and when the rice cooker turns off you have yourself a side dish that matches to any meal!

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Red Rice with Green Beans

Perfect Side dish to any meal.....

I cooked the rice previously in a rice cooker so Add the already cooked rice into a pot, a few teaspoons of tomato paste. A little oil, salt and pepper. You can use frozen or canned green beans, whatever you prefer, give them a nice chop and toss into pot. Mix all together and let sit on stove for 15 minutes or so.

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Chicken & Potatoes

Chicken & Potatoes

This dish is a very simple dish that is enjoyed by all! First boil some baby yellow potatoes, I precut them before boiling. In a frying pan sautee some garlic and yellow onion slices. Next add in some cubed boneless chicken breast and make sure to include the boiled cut potatoes into the frying pan with everything. As far as spices add in a nice amount of the following spices, tumeric which will give the dish most of its color, paprika for flavor and cumin for color as well. Salt and pepper to taste and oil. Once all the flavors have been mixed cover the frying pan with a lid and let sit and cook for ten minutes.

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Spiced Salmon With Garlic

Hello Readers! I would like to thank everyone for all the support and comments you have provided me with... it means so much to me to know how much you value my cooking blog and lastly if you have any questions, comments or request please contact me!

Spiced Salmon With Garlic:

First Cut up one whole salmon fillet into small portions. In a throw away foil tray grease the tray with a little oil, for the marinate I combined the following ingredients and spooned the mixture on the fillets. Lemon juice, paprika, cumin, tumeric, garlic powder, pepper, salt, a spoon full of honey and a spoon full of regular yellow mustard. After you spoon the mixture all over the fish cut and place some slices of garlic on each piece of fish.

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Note from Me!

For some time now I have been perfecting my dishes. This is what I have been working on since my last posting. It isn't too much, but perfection comes with practice! If you have any request for recipes or even restaurant recommendations let me know!

Fact: Did you know that as a 5 year old child I use to sit on the counter of my kitchen, cut and prepare food for dinner!

Making Salads in large batches is time consuming, do one vegetable at a time! Use a lemon squeezer to speed things up.

Lets go to Morocco! To make things easy use a bag of already washed and peeled baby carrots.

Making Challah for Shabbat? Kick things up by including some fresh minced garlic and parsley, everyone at the table will be impressed by a flavorful bread!

Getting ready for a large dinner party, my best idea is picking a few menu items and making smaller portions of different items.

Persian food is no joke, One step at a time ladies. You can use frozen okra and make things a little easier.

They are addicting, One my most requested menu items. Children love them and adults can't get enough of them!

Make sure to pound out your steak before using it for pure tenderness! Add some red chili flakes for a kick of spiciness.

Throw in some colored potatoes to any dinner.

Have you ever tried truffle cheese? Best thing ever!

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Dinner Ideas....

So I had two lovely girlfriends of mine over for dinner and these are the things I made. One of the girls was very picky with her food selection, She liked American style food so I kept within her element, but added a twist on the menu.

For the appetizer I made a vegetable soup. Included in the soup was carrots, onions, zucchini, mushrooms and potatoes, for the stock you first must sauté the onions with tumeric and a good amount of it so all the onions are yellow and some paprika. Once sauteed add water and a teaspoon of chicken stock or any stock of your choice. Lastly add in all your vegetables and cook for about 30 minutes on high heat or until everything is cooked.

For the Salad I lemon and herb vinaigrette, I used some red leaf lettuce, sliced onions, tomatoes, hearts of palm and some garbanzo beans. To make the dressing you need to use lime juice, olive oil, a spoonful of Dijon mustard and minced flat leaf parsley.

For the sliders I topped them off with beef patties which I have the recipe on this blog. Include your favorite toppings as well as a herbed aioli I made. For the sauce you will need mayo, paprika, chopped flat leaf parsley, minced garlic, salt and pepper.

For the main dish I served my famous corn flake chicken which the recipe is on the blog served with roast potatoes.

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Welcome SUmmer!

Hello readers I know I have been very MIA recently, still cooking just been so busy with life that have not had the chance to document and post pictures of my most recent creations. I do apologize for my sudden erupt in providing you with recipes. I would like to let you all know that I have been on the look out for new restaurants in the Los Angeles area to blog about. I know I have previously mentioned the Kosher restaurant LA SIENE, but I have dined several more times and would like to restate that as of now it is the BEST kosher restaurant you can visit. Here are just a few menu items that I recommend, the boneless rib eye is incredible, make sure you ask for the chimichurri sauce on the side, next the steak tartare for all you foodies, since I am kosher this was the first restaurant that had this item on their menu and let me just say it is very delicious. I know you would not expect it but, their sushi is fresh and so tasty. They have a tuna crispy rice item which speaks for itself as well as a albacore sashimi. Service is great, cleanliness is an A so there is not one complaint I have of this restaurant. Kosher or not you will love it!

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Chicken Fajita

For the chicken fajitas you want to use boneless chicken breast thats cubed, fresh corn, cut up tomatoes. In a skillet add in some oil, raw cubed chicken, corn cut from the cob, one cut up tomato and some red onion. Next I add in some cajun seasoning, paprika and cayenne pepper. Next I used sun dried tomato tortilla bread, but you can use anyone you prefer. Make sure to warm up your bread, spoon in some of the mixture into the wrap and top up with fresh cilantro and red onions. So easy yet so amazing!

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Mini Burgers or Sliders

For the sliders I first spiced up the ground beef by adding some cayenne pepper, tumeric, salt, pepper, grape seed oil, paprika and some cumin. Next I created some thick patties. Grill the meat patties on the stove in a skillet. Add in the topics of your choice as well as some ketchup or mustard and you have a delicious treat. The buns can be purchased at traders Joes.

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Tomato Soup

So for a long time I have been wanting to figure out how to make tomato soup and when I mean making it I don't mean tomato soup from a can or a box. First I had some softened yellow tomatoes, but you can use whichever tomatoes you have in the fridge. I proceed up some tomatoes and garlic in a food processor. I poured it into the pot and added in a half a chopped red onion. Next I added in some water and boiled the mixture for about 20 minutes. I added in a spoonful of cream cheese a few table spoons of tomato paste for color. For the seasoning I added in some chicken stock that in fact isn't made from chicken haha kept it kosher people! Salt, pepper of course and lastly to thicken the soup I added in a rue by mixing cold water and flour. For those spicy lovers out there make sure to add a dash of cayenne pepper!

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Tuna Salad

This recipe can be served with crackers, on toasted bread, or topped on a fresh mixed green lettuce. To start off first open a can of your choice of tuna. Next in very small pieces chop up some green onions and tomatoes. For a kick of spiciness I add in some Harrisa paste and a half spoon of mayonnaise. Salt and pepper for flavor and your on your to an easy and delicious snack.

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La Seine Kosher Restaurant

I have been waiting to dine at this new kosher restaurant for a while now and I finally got the chance to try this amazing place. The ambiance is very calm and peaceful. Service is impeccable and the food is just incredible. I wanted to try something new so I started off with the steak tartare, it was just so tasteful and unique. It was topped off with a quail egg which I found very inventive and original. For my entree I picked out the boneless rib eye steak accompanied by some baby purple and white potatoes. The entire restaurant experience was beyond my expectation and I would like to recommend this restaurant for all my readers!

• Dining Style: Casual Elegant
• Cuisine: Californian, French, Asian
• Neighborhood: Beverly Hills
• Cross Street: Wilshire
• Menu: View menu on restaurant's website
• Price: $31 to $50
• Website: http://www.laseinebg.com
• Phone: (310) 358-0922
• Hours of Operation: Dinner: Sunday - Thursday: 6:00pm - 10:00pm, Saturday: 8:00pm - 11:00pm
• Payment Options:
  AMEX, Discover, MasterCard, Visa
• Executive Chef: Alex Reznik
• Dress Code: Business Casual
• Accepts Walk-Ins: Yes
• Additional Details: Bar Dining, Bar/Lounge, Fireplace, Full Bar, Happy Hour, Late Night, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Wine
• Parking: Valet
• Entertainment: Live entertainment in the lounge after 10pm

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Hot Pot City Restaurant

So I wanted to check out this Hot Pot City restaurant in Orange County and thought to share it with all my readers. So first off this place is vegetarian friendly as well as non-veggie eaters. They have a wide variety of veggies, meats, fishes, noodles and other items. They have a huge refrigerator filled with different items and you just pick the ones you want. Once you get to the table you notice there's a pot in the middle and a grill surrounding it. You can make a soup and grill items at the same time. A really fun experience for friends to gather around.

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First Cooking Apron!!!!

So my Best Friend Dorsa B, has gifted me the best gift any young chef could ask for. She created a personalized apron for me. By far the best gift I have ever received. I am so excited to use it. I can't even count how many times I have gotten dirty from cooking, well now I won't have that problem anymore! Special thanks to Dorsa.....

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My Version of Indian Food

This dish is very flavorful and made in one pot. I used a dutch oven to make this dish, first I put a little bit of oil in the pot and threw in some sliced green cabbage. let the cabbage sauté and add water as your doing so to help the cabbage reduce. Next I added in some sliced white onions, sliced mushrooms and sliced zucchini. Once everything is reduced and cooked I add in some raw cubed chicken breast. For the seasoning which I started adding in early on, some paprika, salt, pepper, cumin, tumeric and lastly a lot of curry powder. Cook everything together and keep mixing the food.

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Heirloom Tomato and Burrata Cheese Platter

Slice your favorite colored Heirloom tomatoes and assemble them nicely on a plate with some fresh basil. In the center I added my favorite silky Burrata cheese. I crushed some fresh ground pepper and sea salt on top followed by some olive oil. Serve with some sliced sourdough bread or your choice of crackers.

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Home Made Korean BBQ

Korean BBQ is so easy to make and fun way to enjoy your food. For the marinates I made a chicken basil, skirt steak and mini burgers. For the chicken basil marinate I processed basil, olive oil, garlic. For the skirt steak I processed some garlic, favorite bbq sauce of your choice, olive oil, honey, cayenne pepper. For the mini burgers I processed the actual ground beef with some cumin, paprika, tumeric, some olive oil, salt and pepper.

Next step you can either use an actual bbq, but instead I used a mini electric grill indoors on my stove with the vent on so it does not get smokey in your home. Make sure to flip the meats over so they don't burn.

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Asian Noodle Stir Fry

For the stir fry sauce I mixed the following ingredients together, chopped up garlic, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce, sesame oil, salt, pepper, chili flakes. First place a few spoons of the sauce with the already cut pieces of skirt steak into a bowl to sit and marinate for about 20 minutes before cooking begins. Next you want to cook the vegetables, I used carrots, mushrooms, snow peas, broccoli, beginning with sautéing the onions and then adding the rest of the vegetables one by one depending on which ones take the longest to cook. Once all the vegetables are cooked, next on a frying pan cook all the meat making sure to add in more sauce when needed. Once everything is cooked add the vegetables and meat together.

For the noodles I used flat glass noodles and boiled them until cooked, placed them into a bowl, then added in the stir fry and mixed everything together.

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Delicious Peppercorn Steak Dinner

I chose to complete this meal with a side of sauteed spinach and some mash potatoes, but you can add any side of your choice. I used a piece of rib eye steak, I first seared the meat on the stove on high heat. Make sure to flip over so both sides get nice and seared. Turn the oven on 375 and place the steaks in the oven after searing so the rest of your meat gets cooked.

For the Peppercorn sauce I first reduced a few cups of red wine in a saucepan, lots of crushed peppercorns, chopped up garlic, spoonful of margarine, a rue (I made by mixing some flour and cold water) few cups of beef broth. Once all reduced into a sauce smother the steak in the sauce before placing in the oven as well as serving the dish with a side sauce.

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Tomato Baked Chicken

If you love tomatoes then you will love this recipe. It is fairly simple and the results are pretty tasty. So for the marinate I mixed in tablespoon of tomato paste, half of spoon of honey, olive oil, salt, pepper, minced garlic, and one juice of lemon. Brush the marinate on the chicken and bake in the oven for an hour or so on 375.

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Chicken Kabobs

For the chicken kabobs you can use any vegetables of your choice. I used cherry tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and mushrooms. For the marinate I chopped up some fresh parsley. Along with the parsley I juiced a bunch of limes, juice of one whole tangerine, olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin, tumeric and a spoonful of honey. Leave the marinate and chicken together for about 30 minutes and then begin to skewer everything on either metal or wood skewers. If you use wood skewers make sure to place them in water before using so they do not burn. I used the oven to bake the dish however you can use the bbq grill.

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Tortilla Cups

This would be a great appetizer for a dinner party. To start with you will need a cupcake baking tray. Cut your tortillas in half and carefully place them into the cups making sure to fold them in a manner that all of the ingredients do not spill out. Next I make a red rice which goes great with this dish or you can use any rice of your choice. To make the red rice I used a rice cooker, once ready I add in a few spoons of tomato sauce, pepper, salt and oil. In order for the rice to really get red and have flavor leave the rice in the cooker after adding the ingredients.

Using the cooked beans of your choice that have been cleaned and drained place spoonful of beans I chose to use black beans, red rice, a layer of cheeses you choose to use, I used some cheddar cheese and mozzarella. Place in oven at 375 for about 20 minutes. Once ready take tray out and top off with some home made salsa. To make the salsa dice up onions, tomatoes, cilantro and for some heat jalapeno, lime juice, salt and pepper. For the guacamole I diced up some onions, cilantro, avocados, tomatoes and add in 1 whole lime worth of juice, salt and pepper. Lastly top off with a spoon of sour cream.

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Falafel Time

For the Falafel you will want to first process some garbanzo beans either cooked or from a can, fresh parsley, fresh cilantro, few cloves of garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Put in as much flour as you need for the mixture not to be sticky. Once formed place your falafel balls into a pot thats filled with oil and deep fry the entire ball until the outside is golden.

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Kibbeh

One of my favorite foods. This recipe has to two steps to it.

For the crust of the kibbeh you will want to place in a food processor some cooked ground beef, fresh cilantro, fresh parsley, olive oil, salt and pepper. Cooked fine bulgar wheat ( to cook bulgar you just need to add in some hot water to a bowl of raw bulgar wheat). Place the container into the freezer to cool off. Using your hands you will want to flatten the kibbeh and fill it up with some cooked beef. Deep fry the entire kibbeh and place on a towel to drain oil.

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Home Made Hummus

Why buy Store Bought Hummus when you can make it from scratch! You can either used raw Garbanzo beans or canned which is a lot easier. Place the canned garbanzo beans into a food processor. Add in some olive oil, 2 whole juice from lemon or lime ,salt, pepper and a few spoons of tahini sauce ( located in your local kosher market). If your a garlic fan then throw in a few cloves of garlic for that extra garlic flavor. Top of with some oil and paprika, goes along with some pita bread.

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Basil Chicken Panini

This recipe has a few steps to it. For the chicken you want to use thin cut chicken breast. For the marinate I used a food processor. In the processor place in paprika, fresh basil, olive oil, few cloves of garlic, salt and pepper. Place the chicken in the marinate for about 10 minutes and then cook in the oven for about 20 minutes on 375 and broil for the last 5 minutes making sure to flip chicken over once throughout the cooking process.

For the spread I processed some fresh basil, sun dried tomatoes, olive oil, a little bit of mayonnaise, salt and pepper. I brushed this spread on the slices of bread. I used an artisan style bread, but you can use the bread of your choice. For the toppings I included some fresh arugula and a little bit of thin cut red onions. I only used the panini maker for the bread slices, however you can build your panini sandwich and then press the entire thing.

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Arugula and Carrot Salad

SOOOO simple yet addictive. For this salad you want to visit your local Trader Joe's and purchase a bag of fresh wild arugula and some shredded carrots. Mix together in a bowl with a large amount of lemon juice, salt and pepper.

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Goat Cheese Spread

This is a great addition to any breakfast,lunch or dinner party. In a food processor place in some goat cheese, sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil, olive oil, salt and pepper. You can use this spread as a dip for veggies or for any type of bread.

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Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta

For the Bruschetta I used different colored Heirloom tomatoes, basil, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Cut your tomatoes place into a bowl followed by some processed garlic, sliced fresh basil and then coated in olive oil, salt and pepper. Lastly you will want to get some fresh sourdough bread, slice some pieces and place in the oven until it crisps.

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