#Cook90: Get Creative

After a holiday of carefully avoiding After Eights and third (okay… fourth) helpings of roast potatoes, I joined Epicurious’ #Cook90 challenge.

The concept is simple: pick a month—or any 30-day period, really—and cook every breakfast, lunch, and dinner in that month. Easy peasy, right?

Not so much. It involves a hell of a lot of planning, grocery shopping, more planning, lots of cleaning (man do I miss having a dishwasher) and, you guessed it, more planning. Still, it’s been fun and I’ve had a great time challenging myself to cook something outside the 10-dish rotation we have at home.

To start with, we found a new favourite lunch. It’s simple, wholesome, and incredibly delicious. Sautéed cabbage, brown rice, roasted sweet potato, and cayenne lemon chicken. My boyfriend loved the chicken so much he asked for three portions the next day. It’s excellent topped with Sriracha, and a dollop of tzatziki. Like I said – simple, but delicious.

Day 2 was positively mind-blowing. I’m talking red quinoa and brown rice with roasted red peppers, feta, parsley, nuts, squash, topped with the same chicken from day 1. Can you say yum? This was actually the first time I’ve ever cooked with butternut squash (not exactly a local food in Lebanon) and I fell in love. We finished it so fast I forgot to take a picture and was left with just half a squash. Needless to say, this one’s going on our regular rotation. Will repeat and share the full recipe (with pics this time!).

Today’s dinner was great, but I couldn’t get through a bowl. It’s the sort of salad that takes so much energy to chew, you’re sure that you’re burning calories while eating it. Kale, roasted squash (of course), feta, toasted walnuts and almonds, smoked red peppers, red and white quinoa, and a mustard vinaigrette.

I’ll be posting my #cook90 journey here, so stay tuned, or follow my Instagram here.

 

 

My Best Bolognese

Now, before you start getting argumentative about whether or not I should be using mushrooms in my bolognese, let’s agree that there isn’t actually such a thing as “authentic” bolognese.

Sometime in the 18th century, Italian chef Pellegrino Artusi first documented a meat sauce – a ragú – that somewhat resembled the bolognese that we know and love today. But Artusi’s was made with veal, onion, carrot and pancetta – not a drop of wine in sight. Over time, the recipe evolved into the familiar sauce we know today, typically paired with spaghetti, but the overall consensus is that there can never be a consensus.

Still, I think we can all agree that a good bolognese should have three things: a good meat-to-sauce ratio; a rich, savoury depth; and a generous serving of parmesan sprinkled on top.

Over the years, I think I’ve perfected that formula. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

The Best Bolognese Sauce

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 500g minced beef, 18% fat
• 500g minced pork
• Olive oil
• Butter
• 1 red onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 stick celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1 handful mushrooms, diced finely
• 2 cloves roasted garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 generous squeeze tomato puree
• 1 glass red wine
• 2 x 400g can crushed tomatoes in tomato juice
• 1 splash whole milk
• 10 splashes Worcestershire sauce
• Parmesan, grated to serve
• Parsley, to serve

Method

Step 1: Cook the Mince

Fry off the mince in a deep saucepan with a little olive oil and a square of butter until browned. Add cinnamon while cooking. Transfer to a bowl, careful not to carry over the excess grease. Dispose of grease.

Step 2: Prepare Your Mirepoix (The Base of Your Sauce)

Add the onion, celery, carrot, and mushrooms to the same pan and cook until the onions have just started to brown. Add the crushed garlic and oregano.

Step 3: Reduce

Create a small crater in the centre of the pan, where you will add the tomato puree. Let sauté for a minute before mixing the puree in with the vegetables. Add the red wine and stir to well. Allow the wine to reduce for a few minutes – this will add a greater depth of flavour to your sauce. Add the rest of your ingredients, along with the fried mince, and stir well. You may need to add some water at this step, to make sure the meat is covered.

Step 4: Simmer*

Bring to a boil, and then reduce your heat to the lowest setting and let the sauce simmer for at least three hours. Be sure to check on this regularly – if the sauce has reduced too much, add a bit of water. However the sauce should not be too runny.

Step 5: Enjoy (With a Glass of Wine)

Serve with spaghetti, topped with the bolognese, followed by a generous grating of fresh parmesan and parsley.

 

*You can add a sprig of thyme to the pot while simmering for a different flavour.
*Image credit.

French Silk Pie

If there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I seriously, totally, completely, and wholeheartedly am in love with pie.

Pie. Pause for a moment. Say it out loud. Let the word roll off your tongue in sweet, sweet anticipation for the creamy goodness of it. “Pie.“

Eggs Florentine With Feta Cheese

I’m a huge foodie and my favorite meal is breakfast, so trust me when I say that eggs Florentine will be one of the most delicious things you’ll ever have the privilege of putting in your mouth.

Hollandaise sauce = heaven.

No seriously, I’m convinced that Hollandaise sauce is the nectar of the gods.

It’s taken me a while to perfect this recipe, but I think I’ve finally found the ultimate mix of spinach, poached egg, and feta cheese. Traditional eggs Florentine doesn’t have feta cheese but, well, everything’s better with a little feta, isn’t it?

The Five Best Pub Foods in Beirut

It’s Friday night. You want a drink, but your stomach is also craving something thick, juicy, and completely unhealthy. The solution? Pub food.

For those of you sticking your noses up at what you think is “unclean,” some of the best burgers, steaks, wedges, and food in general have been eaten at bars.

That is, drunk, of course. What better way is there to eat?

Top Five Best Bliss Bites

Bliss is fantastic. A utopia for university students and other equally broke people, restaurants on Bliss will satisfy any breakfast, lunch or dinner craving without breaking the bank. From salads and brown bread sandwiches to grease-drenched artery-clogging burgers, Bliss has got your back.

The Top Five Best Brunch Spots in Beirut

Brunch. One of life’s greatest miracles. It’s breakfast and lunch, combined. It’s a cherub’s angelic smile and a kitten’s first steps. It’s my motivation for the life–get through just five days, and brunch awaits me on the weekend. Don’t scoff. If you’ve tasted brunch like I have, you’d understand.

I’d like to make you understand. Here are the five best brunches I’ve had in Beirut. Try them. Trust me. Thank me.

May the brunch gods be with you.

The Wonder of Homemade Onion Rings

So I made this today. And I think my taste buds just about died from ecstasy. Seriously, the deliciousness of this is inhibiting my articulation. Get the recipe here and try it… now.

I never thought I’d say this, but I think I’ll go chop some more onions…

Hotdog & Beyond: Where the “Beyond” Trumps the “Hotdog”

Hotdog & Beyond. Hands down, one of the best burgers I’ve had in all my five years in Lebanon. The perfect bread, an insanely delectable sauce and an odd, yet entirely satisfying medley of ingredients.

It’s like art. Edible art.

I’m already hungry for more.

Adult Mac n’ Cheese

Kraft mac and cheese and chocolate milk. My childhood.

Add a dash of paprika, stick in the oven for 20 minutes, and serve with a glass of wine. My adulthood.