Kab El Ghazal (Horn of the Gazelle)

This is my favorite cookie from Morocco! My husbands parents brought numerous amounts of cookies over from Morocco on their visits to us. This was my first time making this cookie and I was really unsure how it would turn out. It took a couple times to actually get the shape of the cookie down. My husband said it tasted good, not to mention he almost ate the entire plate which says something about it!


Dough Ingredients:
4 cups flour
1 cup water
5 Tbsp butter (also equals 1/3 cup)
pinch of salt
1 egg
2 Tbsp blossom water (You cannot find this at a regular grocery store. Check online or around town for a middle eastern store that sells specialty foods and ingredients.)

Filling Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups blanched almonds (if not blanched boil regular raw almonds for 45 seconds)
3/4 cups sugar
1/4 tsp of cinnamon
3 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp blossom water (also known as orange blossom water)

Dough:
Melt butter. Making the dough by hand requires you to knead the dough for about 20-30 minutes. Otherwise you can use a food processor. Add the flour to the food processor, then add the salt, then add butter, egg. Cover and turn on the food processor for a couple of seconds. Then add water through the top and turn on again for about 10 seconds. Open and add the blossom water. Turn on food processor for several minutes. Make sure dough is properly mixed. You may have to hold the food processor down. The final product should be a smooth elastic dough.
Filling:
Roast the almonds in a pan to enhance the flavor for a few minutes. Again in a food processor add your almonds, sugar, cinnamon, butter, and blossom water. Mix until the filling is paste like with no chunks.

Now its time to roll the Kab El Ghazal. Roll out the dough very thinly. Take a small handful of filling and place it on the dough. Cover the filling with the dough and shape the cookie into a crescent shape. Use a cookie cutter to cut the cookie out of the rest of the dough. Then reroll the dough thinly and continue until all the filling is used.
Use aluminum foil or parchment paper on a baking sheet. If you don't have either you can use nonstick cooking spray directly on the baking sheet. Place the Kab El Ghazal on the baking sheet. Use a fork to poke holes in the sides of the dough to allow heat to escape when baking. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook for 15-20 minute. Serve.

Chicken Tajine with Spring Vegetables

Tajine is a special dish named for the pot used to cook it. When you hear of a dish that is a Tajine, you should automatically think of cuisine from the Northern African countries of Morocco, Algeria & Tunisia. My fiancee is originally from Morocco, so I have been learning how to cook tajines. Although, I do not have any genuine Tajine pots, I have been able to make similar Tajine recipes with my American pots and pans. Plus my fiancee says they are just as good as when his mom used to cook for him! :)
Tajines usually consist of meat and or vegetables with a thick, seasoned sauce. Most tajines are served with bread to sop up the sauce. No part of the tajines are discarded.

Ingredients:
Makes 8 servings
1 lemon, halved
6 medium artichokes, stems trimmed to 1/2"
1/2 cup olive oil
1 lb. onions, chopped
8 large garlic cloves, chopped
3 Tbsp grated lemon peel
1 Tbsp ground coriander
2 tsp Hungarian sweet paprika
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
8 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
8 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
8 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
4 lbs skinless boneless chicken thighs
4 cups chicken broth
3 fresh fennel bulbs, trimmed
5 large carrots, peeled, cut 1 inch length

Fill bowl with water, squeeze in lemon juice. Break off enough outer leaves of the artichokes to expose pale green leaves. Trim dark green areas off stem and base. Quarter artichoke lengthwise. Separate out choke, drop into lemon water. Heat 1/4 cup oil in skillet. Add onions and saute 5 minutes. Add next 7 ingredients and 6 Tbsp each of parsley, dill and mint. Saute for additional 3 minutes.
Move ingredients from skillet to large pot. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 2 Tbsp of oil in skillet. Add 1/3 of chicken and saute 3 minutes per side. Transfer to pot with onion mixture. Repeat with remaining chicken. Add broth to skillet and bring to a boil. Transfer to pot and add fennel and carrots. Drain artichokes and add to pot.
Bring tajine to a boil. Cover, and reduce heat. Simmer for 20 minutes. Uncover and simmer 15 minutes. Transfer chicken and vegetables to large bowl. Boil sauce 10 minutes. Return chicken and vegetables to sauce. Rewarm tajine. Transfer to large bowl. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp each parsley, dill, and mint.
Serve with bread!

Orzo with Parmesan & Basil

Orzo is a mix between pasta and rice. Orzo looks like rice in shape but is really pasta. You cook it the same way you would cook pasta. It is mainly used in conjunction with vegetables or salad as a side dish to a meat entre. For people who dislike rice but hate the bulkiness of pasta, orzo is perfect.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil

Melt butter in heavy skillet over medium heat. Stir in orzo and saute until lightly browned. Stir in chicken stock and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until orzo is tender and liquid is absorbed, 15-20 minutes. Mix in Parmesan cheese and basil. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with basil sprigs.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

When you are in the mood for something sweet, home baked goods are always the best. The other night I was in the mood for something chocolatey and I decided to make chocolate chip cookies, however every recipe I came across told me to use brown sugar and unfortunately I didn't have any. I decided to continue on and make the recipe without the brown sugar and surprisingly they came out ok. The brown sugar adds to the brown color and chewiness of regular chocolate chip cookies. However, the cookies without sugar are just as good but lighter in color. So if you are ever without brown sugar and in the mood for some chocolate chip cookies don't worry, just make the recipe without.

Ingredients:
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl mix sugar, butter, oil, vanilla, and egg until well blended. Add in flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in chocolate chips.
On a greased baking sheet, drop spoonfuls of cookie dough. Bake 9 minutes. Enjoy!

Aioli

Aioli is a french sauce that resembles mayonnaise. Usually the ingredients include garlic, lemon, olive oil and sometimes eggs. There are many different variations of ingredients. Aioli can be served with meat, fish or vegetables. To make Aioli, cooks have to be very precise about their measurements. Recipes for Aioli recommend mincing garlic however true Aioli requires garlic to be ground.
Don't be discouraged if you don't make the perfect Aioli on the first try. Getting it just right may take several episodes of trial and error.

Ingredients:
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 egg yolks
1 cup light olive oil
2 tsp lemon juice
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste

In a bowl, beat eggs well with a whisk. Stir in garlic. Gradually add oil in a thin stream, beating constantly until light and creamy. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in lemon juice. Refrigerate any remaining aioli.

Grilled Lemon & Rosemary Chicken

Summer is the time for grilling. This is a wonderfully delicious grilled chicken recipe. It is simple and healthy. A numerous number of sides can go with grilled chicken ie. salad, potato salad, summer vegetables, corn on the cob, etc. Enjoy this summer recipe at a barbecue or with family and friends.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 large skinless boneless chicken breast halves
3/4 cup Italian style dressing (homemade or bottled)
1 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 lemon, cut in rounds

Prepare your grill to medium heat. Place chicken in baking dish. Pour 1/2 cup dressing over chicken. Sprinkle with rosemary and turn chicken breasts to coat. Let marinate for 10 minutes up to 2 hours. Place chicken on grill rack. Dip lemon rounds in remaining dressing and place on the edge of grill rack. Grill chicken for about 5 minutes. Top with lemon rounds and serve.

Moroccan Taktouka

This is another Moroccan recipe that I learned from my boyfriend. It is a relatively easy recipe with just a few ingredients. It tastes great and has loads of flavor. (I did not use the onions in this recipe because 0f my distaste for the vegetable.)

Ingredients:
2 medium thick steaks cut into square pieces
1 sweet pepper (regular green, red, or yellow peppers would work just as well)
1 tomatoes
1 onion
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp of cumin
1 Tbsp of canola oil

Slice tomatoes into quarters. Clean peppers, removing all the seeds and rinsing the outside. Cut into medium size pieces. Cut onion into small to medium size pieces. Cut steak into medium size square pieces (You can also purchase pre-cut skewer steaks). Salt & pepper steaks. Sprinkle with cumin. Add 1 Tbsp of canola oil to a skillet. Turn heat on medium. Add remaining cumin to oil. Add pieces of steak, onion, peppers & tomatoes. Cook steak to your desired taste ( ie. medium, rare, well). Let the vegetables cook in the steak juices and spices until done (usually when they have started to brown.
Serve with bread.
Enjoy!

Rad's Special

What a refreshing sight to come home and dinner is already made and ready to be served. This was the case Wednesday evening, when I came home from work my boyfriend had dinner made. What you ask did he make? Well it was a goulash type of stew, concocted of chicken, beef, and vegetables. A wonderful dish which he just pulled together from the remnants of what we had in our fridge and cabinets. It turned out to be quite delicious! What a joy to have a man who can cook for you after a long day at work!

Ingredients:
Makes 4 servings
2 cups water
2 Tbsp olive oil
2, 1/2 " thick, 5 oz steaks, cut in pieces
4 boneless, skinless, chicken thighs
1 cup broccoli
2 tomatoes diced
1 can chick peas
1 can green beans
salt & pepper to taste

Optional ingredients:
olives
potatoes

Preparation:
If using fresh vegetables, cut and cook before starting. In a large pot add two tablespoons of olive oil. Cut steak into small to medium size pieces. Add to pot and turn on medium heat. Add all vegetables and 2 cups of water. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook for 20 minutes allowing the stew to boil. Stir occasionally. Turn heat to low and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes making sure that meat is cooked completely.
Serve with bread.

Enjoy this easy and wonderful recipe!

Make your own French Bread!

I've been trying to come up with all sorts of different ways to save money. With my love of cooking one small way to do this is to make your own bread at home. The cost of a loaf of bread is upwards of $2. By making your own bread you can save because the cost of the ingredients for bread are inexpensive plus you can buy them in bulk and save lots of money. In my household this helps out a lot because we eat bread with most of our meals. Eating fresh baked bread everyday is definitely a lot healthier than the processed breads you buy from the grocery store plus for us cooks it gives up purpose throughout our days!

I was very nervous the first time I made bread because I was unsure of how it would turn out. Although the first loaf turned out good, each loaf got successively better and better. Make sure you follow the recipe as it directs. Do not substitute anything. At first I tried using Pam spray instead of grease. It worked but the grease worked much better and allowed the bread loaves to double in size when they needed to. Each loaf I make has been better than the last and I will continue to make my own bread daily!

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups water
1 packet of instant yeast
2 3/4-3 cups of bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
baking grease
corn meal

Combine water with instant yeast and stir together. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add salt and 1 1/4 cups flour and combine. Add the rest of the flour and knead the dough thoroughly for about 10 minutes. If you need to flour a counter top surface or cutting board and roll dough out combine. Once light and fluffy grease a bowl and flip the dough in the grease a few times. Leave the dough in the bowl and cover it for 1-2 hours until the dough has doubled in size. Flour a cutting board or counter top surface again and roll out dough about 8 inches by 12 inches long. Roll the dough along the longer edge creasing the edges together. Grease baking sheet and sprinkle with corn meal. Place bread roll on baking sheet and cover for 45 minutes to allow bread to increase in size once again. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cut three slits evenly into the top of the loaf. Bake for 20-30 minutes unto bread is brown and hardened on the outside.
Bread is best when warm but can be stored in a bread box up to a week.
Enjoy!