Recipes

We always buy a Lebanese cookbook, and then stumble trying to make something that tastes like it did back home. So, I have decided to write a family recipe book. Something for us and for future generations.

I have already written down some recipes I found from internet email conversations and some recipes which I have personally tried and tested and found amazing.

So my idea is to take all those favorite recipes we've made at home over the years, some Lebanese, some not. Some I learned here in the U.S. like chili (which I have finally figured out why there's a missing magical element whenever we make it in Lebanon), thus I found a recipe for chili powder. No wonder it felt like the spices were all wrong, it was missing some of the main ingredients: cumin, oregano and paprika!! Plus, how to make good ol' American food like hamburgers and steak, which I've been testing and researching online. Because while we have our strengths in Lebanese cooking, sadly our steaks and burgers quite frankly suck. Even in restaurants. They can usually be described in 3 words: thin, dry, and bland. So much so, that they are inedible without a good sauce or side to mask it. Actually, I learned the best tricks for these, and cooking meats in general, from a neat little book I got from Terra, "Julia's Kitchen Wisdom" by Julia Child.

Clearly, baking is my strong suit. So in the book will be Italian biscotti, banana nut muffins, coconut cupcakes, perfect walnut brownies, and butter cream filling. And more importantly Habib's impressive chocolate cake recipe (you better scratch your head Habib, and remember from which website you got that recipe!!)

I want to also make even more improvements. For example, we came a long way in our lasagna. From using an icky starchy bechamel sauce, to using only some heavy cream. Although, after Habib made some homemade lasagna the other day, with ricotta and parmesan cheese and no creamy sauce at all, I definitely noticed the possibilities. First, making the lasagna dough from scratch is soooo good. It's by far superior to the store bought. Richer, better texture, and more flavorful. Very easy to make too. His sauce was excellent. However, I did miss a little creamy texture. So now, I'm thinking of trying a combination of cream and the ricotta cheese thing. And adding spinach to the lasagna dough.

In any case, this will probably take some time. I need to get recipes from grandma (especially things like stuffed grape leaves). I've also just ordered a Mexican family cookbook from Amazon to take with me. The reviews all gave it 5 stars and said it was very authentic, and the recipes delicious and well explained. So I'm excited about it. I'm thinking of buying some tomatillo, poblano chili, and jalapeno seeds to take with me :)