Show off your fantastic feast creations! Appetizers, breads, bakes, roasts, it’s all delicious!
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I made Kabuli Pulao, the national dish of Afghanistan
It is a rice dish with toasted carrots and black Afghan raisins, seared then pressure cooked lamb w/ carmelized onions and sesame oil, a dark honey caramel, garam masala, cumin, saffron water, and chopped pistachios on top.
It is definitely one of the most labor intensive rice dishes I have made, as every component requires some form of prep work, but it all comes together quite well.
For my tastes, I’d probably go heavier on garam masala and salt next time and layer potatoes on the bottom for a better tahdig (think of socarrat on a paella, the crispy layer at the bottom) since they absorb broth very well, but it still came out really good, especially when you pour the remaining lamb drippings on top of the rice. I’ve also seen people put slivered almonds on top, so I’ll try that next time as well.
I served it with some garlic yogurt (seer maahst) and salata (cucumber, onion, and tomato salad with herbs, garlic, and lemon juice)
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I’m brewing a mead with IKEA flädersaft mix and Texas wildflower honey.
Taking my first reading this weekend.
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Gonna make a batch of milk punch this year?
Where do you get your homebrew supplies from? I used to go to Homebrew Headquarters back in the day, but they shut down a few years back.
Yes! That’s probably going to be Sunday night.
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I just got it of Amazon, this is my first time making mead. Following a city steading recipe but with flädersaft instead of lingonsaft.
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Took a reading on the mead this morning, it’s 8.4%
The initial reading says it could go as high as 12.3 and it still looks active so it’s going to sit for another week.
Tasted a little sample and it’s nice, but also will probably benefit from a few months of bottle aging.
Fläder is a summer drink so it should be perfect by then.
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Do you have a Ph meter? If so, where did you get yours?
I don’t have one yet.
Started baking cookies to give as gifts to our neighbors.
Molasses Crinkle Cookies
My grandmother’s recipe: had to dial in the cooking time because her recipe didn’t specify one.
Everything But The Kitchen Sink Cookies
I believe this is a Martha Stewart recipe, but I got it from a friend. They have nuts, dried fruit, oatmeal, pretzels, and chocolate chips in them. Tasty, tasty.
Chocolate Peppermint Oreos
These qualify as semi-homemade. Basically Oreos dipped in white chocolate coating and sprinkled with crushed candy canes. Simple and delicious. I made up the recipe based on similar cookies I previously bought at Trader Joes.
Brazil Nut Fruitcake
I’m not a fan of fruitcake with the overly processed red and green candied “fruit” in them. This fruitcake is different (and awesome). A recipe I got from a caving friend of mine 30+ years ago, lost, and reclaimed when my sister found a copy of the recipe in my late mother’s recipe box.
Very simple: whole Brazil nuts, dates, maraschino cherries, and just enough batter to hold them together. I make these every year at Christmas.
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The red and green stuff in fruitcakes is usually citron peel. So, not technically a fruit, per se. Citrons come from the middle east, and they are a citrus fruit with a thick, thick peel. There’s some Jewish holiday that features the citron, and you can find in Jewish-based stores at that time. Simon David used to have them before Tom Thumb bought them out. For a while, the store on Inwood still carried a lot of the variety of Simon David, and the big store that Tom Thumb built at … Abrams and Skillman?? had that extra variety of goods. I haven’t been there in years, though.
Edit: It’s Sukkot, which is a summer festival.
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I made Masoob, a traditional Yemeni bread pudding also enjoyed in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
I toasted some whole wheat flatbread in butter (I used Sangak, which is a traditional Persian flatbread cooked on pebbles), chopped it up, and mixed with mashed bananas (ratio of 1:1 by weight). I mixed in a Tbsp of honey (optional if you like it less sweet) and a little bit of heavy cream. I topped it off with more honey, black sesame seeds, and homemade whipped cream (you can use Ashta instead).
The biggest change would be the texture of the bread. If you prefer a more homogeneous mixture, I’d puree the bananas and then add the cream and bread to get a uniform texture. If you like larger chunks then I’d recommend chopping by hand or using the pulse/chop feature on a food processor.
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Black-eyed peas and corn bread for New Year.
Nothing all that fancy – 3 cans of black-eyed peas, sliced package of salt pork, some green onions. Spices that the chef didn’t want to share. Packaged corn bread mix.
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Acorn squash and sweet potato soup, with a toasted ham and cheese sandwich. Perfect for today’s weather.
Bowl and plate by @Anette_Henningson
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