Crudites Platter

When at someones home for a gathering, do you ever find yourself picking vegetables from the crudites platter like a robot?  Always expecting the same 'ole broccoli and cauliflower. Boring!  Take a look at my Crudites Platter.  I incorporated fresh roasted vegetables with traditional favorites. It takes a little more time, but it's a center piece sure to impress.

1 eggplant peeled but with alternating stripes and then sliced
3 Italian zucchini skin left on and sliced length wise
2 cups fingerling potatoes (I used purple, red, and white)
1/2 lbs green beans (ends trimmed)
1 cup Spanish olives
1 cup black olives (pitted)
3 Cucumbers quartered length wise
1 bunch radishes ends trimmed
3 stalks celery cut in 3inch stalks then in half length wise
2 cups cherry tomatoes
2 cups baby carrots

3/4 cup olive oil divided
salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Be sure to rinse all of the vegetables.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Season the eggplant and zucchini with salt and pepper in two separate bowls. Add 1/3 the olive oil to the bowl with the eggplant and the other 1/3 to the zucchini. Coat well and then place in an oven safe dish. Roast for about 10 minutes and then turn the broiler on for another 5 minutes making sure eggplant and zucchini are browning. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool

Boil water for blanching, and prepare a large bowl of ice water. Rinse all vegetables well. Once water is at a rolling boil, add the green beans and boil for 30 seconds, remove from water and immediately put into the ice bath. Next, boil the potatoes for 7 minutes and then the ice bath to stop the cooking process. The potatoes will still be firm, but you don't want mashed potatoes. Once cooled from the ice bath, halve them and season with salt and pepper and coat with 1/3 of the olive oil. Place in the oven to broil for 5 minutes enough to brown.

Arrange the rest of the vegetables on a platter covered with your favorite greens. Then once your roasted vegetables have cooled, add them to the platter making sure it stays neat. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Serve with your favorite dip.

Beef Shawarma

Making beef Shawarma requires a cut of beef with a good amount of marbling. I usually get a cut of chuck roast and trim off as much fat as possible, and then cut the beef into small thin strips. 

1/2 lbs Chuck Roast trimmed of most of it's fat and then cut into small thin strips

Marinade:

1 tsp Baharat (allspice)
1/4 tbsp ground cardamom
1/4 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tbsp ground coriander
2 bay leaves crushed
1 tsp salt (more if desired)
1/4 tbsp ground black pepper
1 cup olive oil
2 cloves fresh garlic crushed
1 small shallot sliced into rings
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Tahini dip:

1/4 cup Tahini sauce
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 cup water
1 tsp salt

Mix the tahini ingredients well and refrigerate.


Coat the meat well with the marinade and refrigerate overnight.  Heat a non-stick pan very well, add the meat and reduce the heat to medium for 5 minutes. Saute and lower heat again to medium for 15 more minutes stirring frequently. Drain excess oil and place the meat on a plate lined with pita bread.

Serve hot with pita bread, tahini dip, and pickles or pickled turnips.

Chili Fry

Chili fry is a traditional Chaldean "stew" style dish eaten with bread that's easy to make.  Most people make this for breakfast, but can be made for any meal.

1/2 lbs diced beef
1 green pepper diced ( I prefer red, yellow or orange pepper)
1 large onion chopped
1/2 cup diced potato (optional)
1 tsp baharat
salt to taste
1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/3 cup water

Cook beef with 1/3 cup water on medium heat and skim off top once you see the film forming on the boiled water. Continue cooking until water evaporates and add olive oil. Next, saute the red and yellow peppers and onion with beef for 5-7 minutes or until soft. Add the tomato paste and saute with mixture for 1-2 minutes and then add the remaining water, baharat, salt, fresh cracked black pepper, potato. Mix well and cover. Reduce heat and let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Make sure liquid does not completely evaporate. If it does, you can add small amounts of water (1/4 cup at a time) and stir well. Serve hot with French of Italian bread.

Chicken Florentine

Sometimes I have a hard time getting my family to eat spinach. So I have to improvise. Here's what you need for Chicken Florentine.

4-6 Thin cut boneless skinless chicken breast pounded
1/2 pound fresh baby spinach
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion finely diced
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 cup fresh mushroom chopped in small pieces
1/3 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp butter
1 lemon juiced
1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
salt and fresh ground black pepper

Heat 2 tbsp oil and add the onion and garlic. Saute until soft but not brown for 2 minutes and add the mushrooms for 3 - 4 minutes on medium heat stirring occasionally. Next add spinach in batches and saute until wilted for about 5 minutes.  Transfer mixture to colander and using a spoon or spatula press on mixture to drain excess liquid.  Once drained, put mixture to a large bowl and add 1/3 cup of the cheese and 1/2 of the bread crumbs, mix well and let it cool about 5 minutes.

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Using non-stick pray, coat a casserole dish well. On a flat work surface, lay the chicken breast and place a piece of saran wrap over each breast and pound lightly until breast is about 1/3 inch thick. Try not to shred the breast by pounding to hard or too many times. Sprinkle lightly with salt and black pepper. Spread the spinach mixture over the breast and roll forming a log and tuck sides inward to avoid mixture coming out. Repeat with each breast. Make sure logs fit snug together.

Once all breast have been placed, begin making your sauce. Melt the butter, add remaining lemon juice, parsley and wine. Let simmer for 3-4 minutes then pour over chicken. Sprinkle rest of bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese over each breast and bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 25 min then lower heat to 375 for 30 more minutes. For a more golden color, broil on low for 4-5 extra minutes. Make sure not to broil too long as this can dry out the chicken. Serve hot and enjoy!!