Cardamom-Scented Shortbread Cookies

I don't usually take vacation days for fun, except for Jeremy's and my birthdays. It seems I'm always using them to take loved ones to appointments, or for other utilitarian activities, rather than amusing myself.

So I recently decided to treat myself to a half-day of vacation to do something most entertaining: I went to the Jewish Book Festival to learn about Chaldean [kal-DEE-un] cooking. Chaldeans are Iraqi Christians, and the Detroit area is proud to be home to one of the group's largest communities in the world.

Friends of mine, Shira and Steve Klein, own Huron River Press which has published the gorgeous cookbook Ma Baseema: Middle Eastern Cooking with Chaldean Flair. The book was being featured recently at a lunchtime event at the Festival, advertised for maximum temptation:

"Guests will enjoy a taste of a culture that has one of the world’s oldest cuisines, dating back to ancient Mesopotamia. This culinary journey will show the essence of Chaldean food and delight the palate with a tempting collection of recipes ranging from soups, appetizers, salads, main-course dishes, breads and desserts."

Well how could I resist learning about this fascinating culture and its cuisine, as well as getting to taste samples of the fabulous food?

When I walked into the room, not only did I find many of my friends; I also found an extraordinary sensual experience - seductive aromas and gorgeous colorful salads on display. I knew this was going to be a good time!

Our charming hostesses, Gloria and Lillian, gave a brief history of their community, spoke a bit of Aramaic for us (with some similarities to Hebrew noted), and demonstrated great pride in their culture and cooking. Chaldeans are famous for hospitality and for close-knit extended families; and one way in which their bonds are forged is through food.

"Ma baseema" means "how good it is!" And each item we tasted - from the eggplant and peppers with pomegranate seeds; to the traditional Iraqi salad of chickpeas with tomatoes, cucumbers, beets and onions; to the vegetarian grape leaves cooked in a bright lemony sauce - was amazingly delicious. The flavors are simple and yet complex, familiar and yet exotic, each bite offering hints of new tastes.

This cookbook isn't filled simply with one person's recipes. Rather, the community hosted a cook-off judged by three area chefs with no ties to the Chaldeans, such that there would be no hint of preference or discrimination (i.e.: "This is/isn't how my grandmother made it."). Each recipe, therefore, is not only representative of the cuisine, but it was deemed the best example of a particular dish.

Proceeds from the sale of Ma Baseema are being donated to the Chaldean American Ladies of Charity (CALC), an organization which serves the community in many ways. In recent years, much of the group's efforts have been focused upon resettling Iraqi refugees who have found a home here in Michigan.

I cannot recommend this cookbook highly enough! The presentation is beautiful, and the recipes and dishes are unbelievably delicious. The cookies below are rich and crumbly with just a hint of spice shining through; they're perfect to serve with coffee or tea.

Ma baseema - how good it is - indeed!

Cardamom-Scented Shortbread Cookies

(Very slightly adapted from Nadira Thweny's recipe for "Sugar Cookies/Shekar Bureghi" featured in Ma Baseema.)

3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2/3 cup melted butter
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cardamom and salt. Combine the butter and oil, and add to the dry ingredients; mix until the dough is crumbly.

Form lumps of dough the size of a golf ball.


Shape the dough into triangles. (It's crumbly, so just futz with the dough until it does what you want. There's no trick to it - you'll get the hang of it!)



Place the triangles onto the prepared cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden. Repeat until the dough is used up.

Makes 36 cookies. Lightly dust them with confectioners' sugar for presentation, if desired.

One Fine Day

I have the most amazing day planned, with an adundance of gratitude to my gorgeous friend Mimi for inviting me along on the adventure!

The first order of business -- literally -- will be going to work. I like to eat, so I've gotta earn some money.

But then I get to leave early to play hooky and also play hostess: the fabulous cookbook author Joan Nathan is coming to town today for a book signing and presentation ... and Mimi (Cultural Arts and Education Director at the Jewish Community Center here in Ann Arbor) asked me to help her escort Joan this afternoon!!! I'll catch up with Joan at 4 o'clock at Zingerman's Deli, where everyone is welcome to come and visit during a "meet 'n' greet" session, and then we'll head to a lovely, lovely dinner.

And where will dinner be held for a woman who's traveled all over the world and could have eaten at any of Ann Arbor's hundreds of fabulous restaurants??? At eve, the one restaurant Joan said she absolutely wanted to go to, featuring the one chef she wanted to meet during her brief visit here -- Eve Aronoff, who had appeared on Bravo's "Top Chef "and whose restaurant was recently named one of the very best ones in the Detroit area.

Then there will be the much-anticipated appearance at the Jewish Book Festival tonight with moderator (and Zingerman's co-founder) Ari Weinzweig at 7:30, where I will get my new cookbook -- Quiches, Kugels and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Food in France -- autographed ... sigh ... :)

So stay tuned to hear all about the luscious dinner, the conversation, the entire escape from daily routine! And in the meantime, read all about the Chocolate Almond Cake I baked recently with a 400-year-old recipe featured in Joan's new cookbook. Tom said I should rename it "Chocolate Orgasm Cake;" and it's hard to argue that point -- there is more than half-a-pound of chocolate in this magnificent specimen!

Here's the link to my post on AnnArbor.com: C'est Magnifique! Exquisite French Chocolate Cake Recipe Doesn't Disappoint. Read it, go shopping, and bake the cake. I promise you won't be disappointed either ....

I Get to Interview Joan Nathan!!!

Oh, bestill my giddy, beating heart!

Joan Nathan -- cookbook author extraordinaire and celebrant of Jewish food -- is coming to Ann Arbor on November 1 to be the opening act (and, as far as I'm concerned, headliner!) for our Jewish Book Festival. The festival will feature a wide variety of topics and authors; many rounds of applause to my friends who have worked so diligently to put it all together! However, we all know which will be my favorite ... sigh. Tom and I will be there that Monday night anxiously awaiting Joan's discussion with Ari Weinzweig, co-founder of the famous Zingerman's Deli who will be the moderator for her appearance.

This wonderful woman -- who is a combination of cook, writer, historian, anthropologist, and archivist ... not to mention "Mom" -- is promoting her new cookbook delving into two of my very favorite cuisines: French and Jewish. Quiches, Kugels and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France is the latest in a collection that shares priceless recipes from the traditional to the novel, from everyday favorites to holiday treats.

Of course, it's a huge thrill that someone of Joan's stature and reputation -- winner of both James Beard and IACP/Julia Child awards, PBS cooking show star, New York Times contributor, and so much more -- is coming back to Ann Arbor (she's a fellow University of Michigan alumna). But even more exciting -- as though that's at all possible! -- is that someone is going to be interviewing her for AnnArbor.com, our local online "newspaper," to promote her appearance.

This "someone" writes a weekly column for AnnArbor.com ....

This "someone" also happens to work in the Jewish community ....

This "someone" considers quiche, kugel and couscous to be among her favorite foods ....

This "someone" once leapt at the opportunity to buy a Jewish cookbook written in French from a thrift shop ....

Yup -- that someone is me!!!

On Friday afternoon, Joan Nathan and I are going to kibbitz and schmooze about food, Jewish food, French food, and anything else I can cram into my brief phone call with her. Can you tell that I'm excited??? Would you have guessed that this isn't something I get to do every day ... or ever??? My brain is spinning and swirling, as I try to avoid asking the same ol' boring questions for the 8463rd time.

I want to be warm and welcoming, probing and profound. And I want to be sure I let her shine. I can look online to find resources to promote the book and the appearance here in town. But I have been honored with an opportunity to spend time with a woman who has undertaken a mission to preserve tradition and culture and history -- all the things I believe food represents so well. I wonder what she wants to talk about ...?

So be sure to check here, on AnnArbor.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter so that you don't miss a thing! Not only will there be the interview, but I'll also write about Joan's appearance at the Book Festival and will undoubtedly have way too good a time with the new cookbook I'll be buying (and having autographed!) on November 1 ... :) Lots of stories and recipes will be coming soon!