Reaching ....

As I wrote in both of my New Year posts - the one for Rosh Hashanah and the one featuring my word of the year - the past years (5771 on the Jewish calendar and 2011 on the English one) were wretched. Really, truly, they brought some bad juju!

But the fall and early winter have brought a bit of an upswing, a pretty good lead-in to a new year with fresh hope.    And I always want to share good news with my friends, who've supported me through all the bad stuff and kept me going.  In many ways, it was the professional invitations I received at the end of the year that helped me to choose REACH as my word for 2012; but these are helping me to extend my reach on a personal level, too.

I was the entertainment at Temple Beth Emeth's annual Sisterhood dinner, speaking about how I meandered from Catholic school to Jewish food.  I had a marvelous time - and without embarrassing myself!  (I'm not a natural public speaker by any means.)  I made wonderful new friends, I've been invited to judge the temple's annual brisket cook-off in March (what a great gig that will be!), and I had a lovely time as Cinderella at the ball.  I've also got judging duties at the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre's chili cook-off in February, so my taste buds are going to be busy!

An excellent opportunity to write for the Washtenaw Jewish News, Ann Arbor's Jewish newspaper, was offered to me - reviewing the cookbook Ma Baseema with its fabulous Chaldean/Iraqi recipes.  I recently finished work on that, and the piece will appear in the February issue; another article I'm working on for the WJN has a publication date yet to be determined.

And then I received the most incredible email inviting me to a brand new project; even re-reading it, I'm still in shock!  Let me edit/shorten it for you, and cut to the proverbial chase:

Allow me to introduce myself as editor of Repast, quarterly publication of the Culinary Historians of Ann Arbor.

I'm beginning to plan a Fall 2012 issue of Repast on the theme of "American Cookbooks and Cookbook Writers, 1900-1945". I'm writing to see if you might be able to contribute an article? What I had in mind is a piece on The Molly Goldberg Cookbook, which you wrote about briefly in your 10/29/09AnnArbor.com column. I think this topic would greatly interest our readers ....
   
We feature stories about the history and culture of food: its production, its preparation, its enjoyment, regional culinary traditions, the evolution of gastronomy and of food discourse, kitchen lore, etc.... Your article would make a valuable contribution to the culinary history community of scholars, writers, and readers. Thank you for your time and interest.

OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG!!!  I've been invited to write for a respected journal devoted to the history of food!  Me - the flaky chick who takes pictures of everything she eats (with an adorable little pink camera, no less) and then babbles and blathers about it (after taking notes in an equally adorable pink notebook)!

I'll be writing about a Jewish cookbook and the amazing woman, Gertrude Berg, who created the character of Molly Goldberg whose name the book was written in - does it get any better than that???

I'll get to reach back into history, reach out to friends both old and new as I do my research, reach deep into my skill set ... keep reaching and, most importantly, growing ....


For today's recipe - Roasted Fennel and Mushrooms - go to the Food and Grocery page of AnnArbor.com ....

Burek (Spiced Beef Egg Rolls)

I'm working on a review of the lovely cookbook Ma Baseema: Middle Eastern Cooking with Chaldean Flair for the Washtenaw Jewish News. So, of course, I have to cook a number of recipes from it - just doing my due diligence!

The problem with this mission is that there are so, so many recipes that I want to prepare. But since Chanukkah began last Tuesday and doesn't end until tonight, a recipe using oil only seemed fitting for continued festivities.

And so I looked for a recipe that would not only let me try a new treat, but one which would also be easy to make in the midst of my various holiday preparations. How fabulous, then, to make Beef Egg Rolls from the Iraqi Christian culinary tradition and serve them for a Jewish celebration!

The original recipe didn't call for the allspice, but I thought it would make a really nice addition to the ground beef filling, both for flavor and fragrance. And I was right, I'm happy to say! Jeremy and I devoured these, hot and crisp and delicious as they were freshly fried.


Spiced Beef Egg Rolls
(Slightly adapted from a recipe for Burek by Margaret Butti)

3/4 pound ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon allspice
4 tablespoons chopped parsley
3 cups oil, for frying
10 spring roll wrappers

In a large skillet, brown the beef; drain, then add the onion, salt, pepper, allspice and parsley. Cook until the onion is translucent, then place mixture into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until cold.

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil until very hot.

Meanwhile, prepare the egg rolls: lay one wrapper onto a countertop. Place <1/4 cup beef filling onto the center of the wrapper.


Fold the sides over the filling.


Roll the edge closest to you over once.


Fold the portion of dough closest to you over the filling, then roll up the rest of the way. Brush the last portion of dough with a bit of water to help it adhere when the egg roll is fully rolled. Continue with the remaining wrappers and filling.


Cook 3-4 egg rolls at a time for 2-3 minutes per side, until golden. Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel, continuing until all of the egg rolls are cooked.

Makes 10 egg rolls.

Iraqi Salad

Okay, we've enjoyed our indulgence. We've eaten turkey and stuffing and yams and mashed potatoes and gravy and green bean casserole and rolls and cornbread and pie and more pie and just one more sliver of pie. We're ready to burst!

The Thanksgiving leftovers should be gone by now. Today, we return to moderation and restraint. Today, we reaquaint ourselves with vegetables.

But who said that vegetables have to be boring? Why do salads have to be bland bowls of lettuce, carrots, and croutons?

To demonstrate that plain ol' vegetables can be transformed into something amazing, today I'm offering a gorgeous and flavorful salad featured in the beautiful cookbook Ma Baseema: Middle Eastern Cooking with Chaldean Flair. As I wrote in my recent post about Cardamom-Scented Shortbread Cookies, Chaldeans [kal-DEE-uns] are Iraqi Christians. They cherish their extended families, sharing large meals with multiple generations of loved ones, and they are noted for their hospitality.

And this Iraqi salad is highly representative of Chaldean cuisine, as it features many vegetables but gives them a unique twist. The familiar cucumbers and beets and onions are taken into a new realm of flavor with a simple but vibrant dressing, as well as the addition of a sprinkle of mint.

Rather than feeling deprived today as you recover from the holiday feast, try this salad and enjoy something that's nutritious but enticing.

Iraqi Salad
(slightly adapted from Edward Korkis' "Zalata d'Iraqia" featured in Ma Baseema)

Salad:
1 large cucumber, seeded, cut into 1/2" dice
1 small red onion, chopped
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 15-ounce can shoestring beets, drained
3 large scallions, chopped
2 Roma tomatoes, cut into eighths
1 teaspoon dried mint (available at Middle Eastern markets; substitute parsley, if need be)

Dressing:
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
juice of half lemon
2 ounces extra-virgin olive oil
1 ounce red wine vinegar

Combine all salad ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Combine all dressing ingredients; mix well, then pour over salad. Stir to combine all the ingredients, then let the salad rest for 30 minutes before serving.

Serves 6-8.

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.