Fatayer / M.R. 4

There's a restaurant in the Coventry neighborhood of Cleveland Heights called Tommy's, that has the most amazing sandwich called the M.R. 4 -- they would take a fatayer (spinach pie) from Aladdin's Bakery and doctor it up with falafel and banana and tahini sauce.  It was this gorgeous mix of savory, sweet doughy deliciousness.

I haven't lived in Cleveland Heights for nearly 20 years, but I still miss this dish.  So I decided to try to recreate it tonight. 

Start with a pizza-like dough recipe -- I used this one from Dede's Mediterannean blog, which was great but could have used a longer second rising than I had time for. While the dough is rising the first time (and the second time, after dividing into 8 portions) make the filling.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 5 oz baby greens
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 Tbs butter
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 4 oz feta cheese
• 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for brushing
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 slightly green banana
• 1 tsp tahini

Preparation:

1. Saute the mushrooms and onions in the butter until the mushrooms start to express their juices
2. Add the greens, stir and put a lid on and steam for 5-8 minutes.
3. Put the mixture into a colander to cool and drain.
4. When it has drained, put the mixture into a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients.

I watched the video of Dede making fatayer to learn how to fill the pies -- it's worth a watch.

I baked the pies at 400 F for 8 minutes, brushed with olive oil, then baked for another 10 minutes.

I will definitely do this again!  I think the kids would even love them without the cayenne pepper.

Salt-baked potatoes

There used to be a restaurant within walking distance that I loved.  It was a good steakhouse, but what I really craved were the salt-baked potatoes.  I've searched for years for a method to produce those potatoes...slightly crusty on the outside, salty but not over-salted, fluffy and creamy on the inside...I finally hit upon it tonight.

For 2 medium-to-large Idaho potatoes, scrub them and then bury them in rock salt in a large metal loaf pan.  It takes about 2 cups of rock salt.  Bake them at 350 for at least 90 minutes.  Remove the potatoes and brush off all the rock salt.  You can re-use the salt, so keep it for the next time.

Simple perfection.  I may never eat potatoes another way again.  We roasted them at the same time we were roasting some beef, and frankly we much preferred the potatoes to the beef.

Orange Pork Stir-fry

Cooking for my family is tricky.

• B (8) would subsist on dessert, if he could.  He eats like a bird, and always, ALWAYS leaves at least one bite on the plate.  The trick is to give him small portions so there isn't so much wasted.  He's underweight and pretty small, and only somewhat physically active.  He does like spicy food, though.
• Kiddo (8) would subsist on carbs and cheese if he could.  And ketchup.  He cannot stand even the hint of spiciness.  He's a little overweight but very physically active and never seems to stop growing.
• E (12) toys with vegetarianism, is growing like a weed, and worries overmuch about food safety.  She's prefers simple spices.
• Meli is tall and thin and could stand to gain some muscle weight.  He seems to be able to eat anything and not gain weight -- 7 donuts in a sitting?  Check.  Double cheeseburger and fries?  How about two?  An entire large pizza?  Why not?  His cholesterol could be better, though.  He's currently cutting out most carbs.  I'm not entirely sure why.  He's a great cook, but it tends to be heavily fatty and saucy comfort food.
• I've gained 15 pounds since I met Meli, yikes!  I love to cook and get bored with the kid's preferred foods.  I work out about 4 days out of 7, if not more, and count calories, but hey, I'm over 40 and it's hard to get that weight off and keep it off.  My cholesterol could also be better.  Meli and I both love spicy foods from all sorts of ethnic backgrounds.

So I was thrilled when what I made last night pleased EVERYBODY.  I kept the veggies and the meat separate and didn't put any sauce on them, and served the sauce separately.  I didn't measure or write it down while cooking, sadly, but here's the gist.

• 1-2 cups rice
• 2 thick boneless pork chops
• 1 navel orange
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 small knob of fresh ginger, peeled
• 2 Tbs soy sauce
• 3 Tbs mirin
• salt
• 1 bell pepper, red or orange or yellow
• 1 small head broccoli
• 2 cups snow peas
• 1 Tbs sesame seeds
• 1 container shitake mushrooms
• Sesame oil and peanut oil

1. Start the rice cooking
2. Put the chops in a glass dish
3. Zest and juice the orange into the dish
4. Mince the garlic and ginger, add to the dish
5. Add the soy sauce and mirin and a pinch of salt per pork chop
6. Set the pork aside to marinate while you're preparing the rest
7. Heat a wok
8. Slice up the bell pepper into thin rounds
9. Break up the broccoli into flowers
10. Chop the mushrooms
11. When all the ingredients are prepped, add a splash of sesame oil and enough peanut oil to the wok for stir-frying...about 2-3 Tbs?
12. Add the bell pepper to the wok, stir-fry for about a minute
13. Add the broccoli, stir-fry for about 2 minutes
14. Add the snow peas and the sesame seeds, continue stir-frying until all the vegetables are crisp-tender
15. Transfer the vegetables to a serving dish and keep warm.
16. Add the mushrooms to the wok but keep them to the sides of the pan
17. While they sweat, remove the pork from the marinade and slice it somewhat thinly...about 1/2 inch slices.  Save the marinade in the dish.
18. Add the pork to the wok and stir-fry with the mushrooms until it's done, it should spring back when pressed.  About 5 minutes?
19. When it's done, put it into a serving dish
20. Pour the marinade into the wok and boil it for a minute, then transfer to a sauceboat.

Serve everything separate -- the carb-lovers get lots of rice, the kids who can't stand spice get fairly plain veggies that taste great because of the sesame oil and seeds, the sauce is amazingly good for those who can stand a little spice, everyone loves the pork which is juicy and tender and only very slightly flavored by the orange sauce, and since it's all cut up small not much went to waste.

Pear and Ginger Phyllo Triangles

These are amazing.  Sweet, savory, tart, creamy, crunchy...I really wish they weren't all in the freezer now awaiting reheating for the party.

Meli and I made these, Jezebel sauce, sugar cookies (not yet decorated) and raisin-filled Christmas cookies this evening.  Oh, and dinner.  I'm exhausted, but it's been a great day.

1 egg
1 lemon, zested and juiced, zest chopped finely
8 oz mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup candied ginger, chopped finely
3 oz triple creme goat brie (or regular brie), chopped
2 medium pears, cored and chopped
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 pound phyllo dough

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Beat the egg in a medium bowl with a whisk.
3. Add the lemon juice, zest and mascarpone and mix well with a rubber spatula
4. Add the ginger and brie and pears, mix well
5. Make the triangles:
1. Take a sheet of phyllo, lay it on a large cutting board long side up, and brush it with butter
2. Take a second sheet of phyllo, place it over the first sheet, brush it with butter
3. With a sharp knife, cut the phyllo lengthwise into four strips
4. Place a heaping teaspoonful of filling at the bottom of each strip
5. Fold from the bottom right corner over to the left side, then fold the resulting triangle up, then the next resulting triangle over to the right side, then up again.  Continue in this fashion up the strip.
6. Put the triangles on a cookie sheet.
6. Bake them for 20 minutes.
7. If not serving immediately, transfer the slightly cooled triangles into plastic storage containers lined with parchment or wax paper and freeze.  Make sure there is paper between each layer.  Freeze.  They can be reheated for 10-15 minutes in a 350F oven straight out of the freezer.

Christmas party and Children's play

When we were young, my parents threw an annual Christmas party where one of the features was that the children put on a holiday play.  It was so much fun!

I am my mother's daughter, and decided to attempt to replicate her insanity this year.  We've had over a dozen kids over here rehearsing for the production and generally making (adorable) menaces of themselves.  The house has been transformed into a space suitable for putting on a play and having a bunch of people over.  This weekend, we are decorating, cooking, cleaning, and shopping for the party next weekend.

I find that a lot of advance planning and cooking are the key to enjoying myself at parties.  Luckily, Meli agrees!  The shopping list is being split into "today" and "later", the cooking list has assignments and days written on it.

Here's the progress on the menu so far:

• Spanakopitas - Mom will make these, they can be frozen and reheated night of.
• Gingered Pear & brie triangles - I'm going to make this up today, I'll be creating the recipe so will blog about it later (hopefully).  Also will be frozen and reheated night of.
• Deviled Eggs - Meli will make on Friday
• "Crack" dip and Tostito scoops - Meli or I will make on Saturday, it's so easy...look up Rotel Sausage Dip on the web
• Fried duck, pancakes and duck sauce - Meli will fry the duck on Saturday and chop it up, I'll make the pancakes and duck sauce on Thursday and steam them right before serving.
• Crab beignets and Aioli - Meli will make these right after frying the duck, the aioli will be made Friday night.
• Roast beef sticks - deli roast beef (Whole Foods in-house is the best!) spread with a horseradish garlic oil, covered in arugula and wrapped around grissini (skinny Italian bread stick).  I'll prepare those Saturday morning or possibly Friday night.
• Dolmades!  I'm going to make these Tuesday or Wednesday, put them at the back of the fridge in their serving dish, which is a nice stoneware pot with a lid.
• Gravlax and toasts - Meli will make the gravlax on Thursday evening.
• Crudites & blue cheese dip - day of.  Crudites also include "ants on a log" which is something I had never heard of before, celery sticks filled with cream cheese and topped with raisins.  Meli makes the blue cheese dressing and it's fantastic, I think he'll make it Friday night.
• Cheeses and crackers - Baked Goat Brie with Fig Preserves, Cheese ball, and cream cheese topped with Jezebel sauce.  Jezebel sauce will be made today by Meli, cheese ball will be made Thursday or Friday.
• Hummus and pita
• Fruit tray with yogurt sauce and chocolate fondue - I already made an orange pound cake for dipping last night, it's in the freezer.
• Scotch egg nog, will be made early in the day on Saturday.
• Cookies - I made chocolate-hazelnut meringues this morning, Meli made dough for sugar cookies last night, we'll decorate those today, Meli will make raisin filled sugar cookies as well, and macaroons will be made on Wednesday or Thursday.