Aromatic Beef Patties

Yesterday, my husband and I went to a BBQ put on by our local mosque. When turning up to an event put on by Muslims, one expects that there is going to be some "different" in the taste of the food. When we saw that it was hamburgers and hot dogs, we were, at first a little taken aback but we do love hot dogs and hamburgers on the BBQ, so we actually were really happy.

So my husband brought me my plate that comprised of a perfectly BBQ'd hot dog on a bun, a beef patty (he said there were no more buns, but I actually prefer my hamburgers without the bread), potato salad, lettuce, tomato, onion, and lots of gherkins, and some chips. YUM!

But then, I took a bite of the hamburger and my knees went weak. To think that a group of Muslims (from varying parts of the world) would simply slap a beef patty on to the grill with a bit of salt and pepper on it, would be sacrilegious! This beef patty had been marinated to give it an amazing taste.

As I wrote in a post the other day, lemon infused meat on the BBQ is amazing, and as I bit into the beef patty and the aroma hit my taste buds, my senses came alive with the citrus chili blend that the meat had been marinated in.

Last night, I sought to recreate the delight my taste buds were craving for, but to do it without a BBQ - we are currently "sans BBQ".

I made a delicious paste which I spread on both sides of the beef patty and let it marinate for a short time before popping it into the oven. And I served it with a green salad and homemade Orange and Ginger Salad Dressing (to continue with my citrus theme during Arizona's citrus season), and steamed rice. Oh my heavens, it was a taste-buds delight and sensation. Its really quick to make and if you cook the meat on the BBQ, you'll have an added taste that will delight even further.

Ingredients:
4 beef patties
Juice from 1/4 lemon
3 tsp lime juice
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp Middle Eastern 7-Spices
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp sriracha chili paste
1/4 tsp sumac (optional)

1. Add all ingredients after "beef patties" together to make a paste.
2. Lay beef patties on a baking sheet and smear the paste on both sides. Pierce the patties with a fork, and set aside to marinate for 20-30 minutes.
3. Heat oven to 350*F (or light BBQ and bring to a high temperature). Place beef patties into the oven and cook for 15 minutes, or BBQ until hamburgers are cooked through.

Serve immediately.

Sui - Jao (Boiled Dumplings)

Growing up, my Dad implemented a taste in me so strong that I literally matched him in my love for this. Little parcels of tasty sui jao; which literally translated means water dumplings.

This was one of my Dad's most favourite foods, and I have to admit that for me it is comfort food at its max. In many Chinese restaurants they make these tasty morsels with pork; as Muslims, this was not something that Dad (or us) would be able to eat. So we always ordered them with beef, and when we went to the Muslim Chinese restaurants that specialized in Northern Chinese cuisine, Dad enjoyed the "real taste from home" when they made them with lamb, or beef and lamb mixed together.

At home, I have some of the best memories of the four of us sitting around the kitchen table making these little dumplings. Especially around Chinese New Year, it was tradition in my family to make and eat hundreds of these goodies, since the shape is akin to the old Chinese gold currency which is called Yuan Bao. So eating these are good luck. I remember we made so many that we'd freeze them and then pop them into large ziploc baggies so we would have lots for the holidays and some for other times of the year too.

Very much like the Russian pelmeni, these goodies are filled with meat, veggies, garlic, onions, ginger, and spices.

Since we are still celebrating Eid-Al-Ahda holiday, and lamb is something that we should be eating much of, I made our dinner tonight with a half-half mix of ground lamb and beef. The first bite actually brought tears to my eyes as my memories from my youth, stories of my Dad's youth, the meaning of this holiday, and many, MANY years of enjoying these delicious morsels with my Dad came flooding back to me. I thought with joy and with some sorrow of my Dad, how I wished he were here with us, enjoying these tasty treats and the celebrations. But, I do take comfort in believing that I think he is somewhere close by, and watching us enjoy ourselves eating and sharing in the memories, and now creating our own memories.

This dish is really easy to make, but the only time consumption is sealing them in the dough packets. We used to make the dough from scratch and roll out the dough etc, but we found a really great short cut, and that is using dough dumpling wrappers from the Chinese/Asian grocery store. These are the perfect size and really do cut down on the job.

Ingredients

1/2 lb ground halal beef
1/2 lb ground halal lamb
1/4 head of cabbage, diced very finely
3 TBSP chopped Chinese parsley (cilantro)
1 stalk spring onion, chopped finely
1 stalk leek, washed very well and chopped finely
6 cloves garlic
1" piece ginger
3 TBSP oil (vegetable)
2 tsp sesame oil
3 TBSP light soy sauce
1 TBSP dark soy sauce

1 TBSP all purpose flour
3 TBSP cold water - or enough water to make a good but still runny paste

Method:

1. Add the meat and vegetables to a large mixing bowl
2. In a blender (or Magic Bullet blender), blend very well together the oils, soy sauces, ginger, and garlic
3. Add the blender mix to the meat and veg mix; remove your rings and mix by hand very well

4. Using a teaspoon add meat and veg mix to the middle of the dumpling wrapper

5. Using your finger tip, dip finger into the flour and water paste and put a small amount around the edge of half of the filled wrapper.

6. Fold over the edges and pinch together very well creating a very good seal.

7. Set aside until all the sui-jao's are created. Boil water in a pot adding enough chicken stock powder to flavour the boiling water well. Drop each sui-jao into the boiling water*, do not over crowd the pot. They will begin to rise. Using a spider net or a slotted spoon, stir them gently to ensure they get cooked well on all sides and that they don't start sticking together. Let them cook for about 8-10 minutes. Remove from water with slotted spoon and serve them dry immediately.

* Traditionally, you will boil them in a very large pot leaving enough space at the top that as soon as the water boils (with the sui-jao inside the pot), add a glass of cold water. When the water boils again, add another glass of cold water, and then repeat this a third time. When the water boils again for the last time, the sui-jao will be all cooked.

You can drink the stock by itself later, or you can serve the sui-jao in the stock and you can add some chopped cabbage (or other leafy greens to the stock).

Dipping Sauce

1 TBSP Chinese Light Soy Sauce (do NOT use Kikomen brand for this as it will give it too much of a different flavour)
1 TBSP Chinese Dark Mushroom Soy Sauce
1 TBSP Chinese Chinkiang Vinegar
1 tsp Sesame Oil
1 dash Sri Racha chili sauce (optional)

Mix all ingredients together well, and serve together with the sui-jao

Here are the photos of the ingredients you will need to buy from the Asian supermarket for the dipping sauce:

                                               

Cinnamon Ghoribas Cookies

This weekend marked the end of the Ramadan fast and the beginning of Eid Al-Fitr celebrations.

"During Ramadan, Muslims observe a strict fast and participate in pious activities such as charitable giving and peace-making. It is a time of intense spiritual renewal for those who observe it. At the end of Ramadan, Muslims throughout the world observe a joyous three-day celebration called Eid al-Fitr (the Festival of Fast-Breaking)". [Source]

As it is the time of breaking the fast and celebrating, it is always celebrated around food, family, good friends, and lots of fun. We make lots of lovely food and eat lots of sweet stuff also.

Here is a lovely recipe I found which does not call for any chilling time for the dough.  They are so easy to make and really quick too. Plus it makes a good quantity to last through the three days or great for the family gatherings. Bake them until barely colored for a chewier cookie, or until golden for crispy, melt-in-the-mouth texture.

I think that a great addition would be chopped, or even ground nuts - almonds came to mind specifically, but I am sure you could use pecans or pistachio nuts. I rolled them into one inch balls and this kept them nice and small which is perfect with sweet tea - or even a nice cup of mint tea.

These make approximately 80 small cookies. If you don't cook all the cookies in one batch, you can freeze the dough. Just bring to room temperature by leaving out on the counter for a couple of hours and resume baking.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:
4 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 cups (450 g) butter, softened
2 cups (450 g) granulated sugar
2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup (80 grams) finely ground nuts (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F (180° C).

2. Sift together flour, salt and cinnamon and set aside. In another bowl, beat the butter and sugar until creamy.

3. Beat in the egg yolks.

4. Gradually mix in the flour mixture to form a thick, stiff dough. If using ground nuts, mix them in now.

5. Shape dough into small balls about 1". Place on ungreased baking sheets and flatten by pressing with a fork in a criss-cross pattern. Brush the tops lightly with egg white wash.

6. Bake for 8 - 9 minutes, or until barely colored for a chewy cookie; bake 10 - 12 minutes, or until golden for a crispy cookie.

Allow the cookies to cool on baking sheet for 1 minute before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.
 

Beef and Cabbage with Potato Dumplings

A little while ago, I decided to honour all of my heritage... which is quite a feat when one is Chinese, Turkish, Russian, Azerbaijani, English, German, French, Jewish, Muslim, and Gypsy. But all these parts make up one whole which is ME.

I think the fact that food was such a huge part of my life, and growing up, we ate out most nights of the week; I think that one of the best ways I can honour these different regions of the world which are distinctly ME, is by food and my cooking.

So I create different dishes based on what my stomach tells me, and where I feel directed towards.

Tonight, I honoured my Russian and Germanic roots in my take of an old classic of stuffed cabbage rolls.

I did not feel like taking the time to wrap beef in the cabbage and then roll them up, so created this short cut which worked really well.

I was also going to make Pirogi's but did not have any floured won ton wrappers (a great short cut and something that one should always have in the house for various recipes) and really, time was short and I did not want to make them from scratch, which really is not that difficult or time consuming, but in all honesty, I was feeling kinda lazy and this dinner was meant to be rather fast. So I substituted and made German-style potato dumplings instead. If one really wanted to make pirogi's you can by leaving out the flour in the mix (and add a cup of cottage cheese too) and place a spoonful in a flour won ton wrapper (can be bought in the freezer section of Asian grocery stores), and after boiling, fry in butter until golden brown.




















You can easily find packets of these round wrappers
in the freezer section of your Asian supermarket



Beef and Cabbage with Potato Dumpling Recipe
















2 - 4 cans cooked beef
1 head of cabbage
1 large can of whole tomatoes, sliced
1 can tomato sauce
6 cloves of garlic, sliced
Salt and Pepper to taste


1. In a very large pot, add the "juice" from 2 of the cans of beef
2. Line bottom of the pot with half the cabbage leaves
3. Add the beef (shred the beef out of the can), sliced garlic, sliced tomatoes (and the juice), salt and pepper
4. Top the rest of the cabbage (torn into big pieces) over the meat and tomato mixture, add more salt and pepper and then top with tomato sauce
5. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce the heat to very low and simmer (covered) for about 30 minutes



Potato Dumplings

1 cup instant potatoes
1 cup flour
1 cup fresh parmesan cheese
1 cup hot water
2 stalks green onion, sliced
1 cup milk
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 cup extra flour


1. In a bowl, mix together the potatoes, cheese, and green onions, salt and pepper. Add the hot water and mix well.
2. Then add the flour and milk (add the milk a little at a time until well mixed and not wet - you may not need to use the full 1 cup - I used just under)
3. Let sit about five to ten minutes while water is boiling (make sure to add about 2 TBSP of salt to water)
4. Using the extra flour in a separate bowl get hands nice and floury, take one big tablespoon full of dumpling mix and roll between hands into a ball - about the size of a golf balls, drop into boiling water. Make sure that they don't get stuck to the bottom.
5. Boil until the dumplings rise to the top and then cook an extra five minutes. When cooked, using a slotted spoon, take out and put on a plate to drain/dry.



Makes approx 12 dumplings
Serve with beef and cabbage