BBQ Pizza

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem



I know what you're thinking, another pizza post? What can I say, around here we love our pizza. I will admit though that having the same thing every week can get a little boring, and this here pizza is anything but! You can very easily substitute the homemade sauce for a bottle BBQ sauce, or go with a more labor intensive recipe for one (google's full of 'em, just have a looksie), but for a weeknight dinner I really suggest my quick and simply homemade BBQ sauce ( I literally made it up while standing in front of an open refrigerator craving barbeque pizza!). Oh and leftover chicken is PERFECT for this. I hope you and your family enjoy this fun twist on a classic.




Weeknight BBQ Pizza

- Pizza Dough
- BBQ Sauce (bottled or homemade - recipe below)
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 2 tablespoon vinegar
- mozerrella cheese
- sliced jalapenos
- cooked and shredded chicken


1. Pour vinegar over sliced onions and keep aside (this will take off some of the rawness of the onions).

2. Preheat oven to 400

3. Roll out dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Spread barbeque sauce evenly over dough.

4. Scatter shredded chicken, onions and cheese over the dough. Add jalapenos on top.

5. Bake until cheese is bubbly and crust is golden, about 35 minutes.



Fast & Easy Homemade BBQ Sauce
(as mentioned before, I made this up on a moments notice, so nothing was measured out. I am approximating amounts here and suggest you add more or less of each ingredient to your taste)

- half onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- half a can of tomato paste
- 1/4 cup of vinegar (adjust to your liking)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar (adjust to your liking)
- generous pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup of water

1. On medium heat, saute onions and garlic until soft and aromatic. Add tomatoe paste and cook for another 30 seconds to remove raw tomato flavor.

2. Carefully stir in vinegar, brown sugar and salt. Add water and bring to boil. Lower to simmer and cover. Allow to cook for at least 10 minutes. Add more water if its gets too thick If you have raw chicken, this is a good place to slice it up and allow to cook in the sauce. I recommend to taste at this point and add more vinegar if it needs more of a 'bite' or sugar to make sweeter. Remove from heat when its tastes how you want it, allow to cool.

Sweet Kisses

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem




While spending some quality time with family, a request was made for some Peanut butter Kiss Cookies. How could I say no? After all, what better recipe to make in honor of the sweetest new addition of our (extended) family than something almost as sweet as him? Kisses soon became the theme of the trip...both slobbery ones on Little Baby's cheeks and the peanut butter variety. If you've never made these before, go and do it now! They're simple and a fun party dessert because of its presentation.


Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

Ingredients

• 8 oz. pkg. milk chocolate kisses
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1-1/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• more granulated sugar

Directions
Heat oven to 375 F. Remove wrappers from chocolate. Beat butter and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup sugar and brown sugar; beat until light and fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture. Cover tightly and chill for 4-8 hours in fridge.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate piece into center of each cookie; cookie will crack slightly around edges. Let stand on cookie sheets for 3-4 minutes, then remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Makes about 48 cookies

Buns

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem




Edited 1/06/11: Though these are delicious hamburger buns, save yourself some time and try the equally delicious but far more simpler version found here: Muslim Wife 40 Min. Buns

Sorry for the long absence and just to soften the blow for another long-absence (I'll be out of town, insha'allah) here's a recipe for hamburger buns. Sounds boring? They're anything but! These are hands-down the BEST buns! Nothing more complicated than a regular dough recipe: it takes a couple rises and some extra kneading, but it's SO worth it. I've tried so many hamburger buns recipes in the past and they're is always something wrong; too plain, too dense, too hard, too yuck. But these are thick and light at the same time, sweet and soft yet sturdy enough to hold up a homemade Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwich. We used the left over buns for sandwhiches and the kids loved them too, alhamdulillah! (and the chicken was great too!)



KittenCal's Hamburger Buns

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon dry yeast
• 3/4 cup warm whole milk
• 4 tablespoons sugar (for a less sweeter bun reduce to 3 tablespoons)
• 1/4 cup melted Crisco shortening (I use butter flavor)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose white flour (U.S. residents use bread flour, you may need more four start with 3-1/2 cups and add in more while m)
• 1 egg white
• 1 teaspoon water
• 1 tablespoon sesame seed

Directions

1. Proof the yeast in 1 cup warm water with 1 teaspoon sugar; let sit for 10 minutes until foamy.

2. In a heavy duty stand mixer, fitted with a kneader hook, add in the 3-1/2 cups flour, 4 tablespoons sugar, melted Crisco, warm milk and salt (and the malt powder if using).

3. Add in the proofed yeast; mix to create a soft semi-sticky dough that holds around the blade, adding in more flour as needed (do not add in too much as it will create a heavy bun, dough should be semi-sticky.

4. Knead dough for 7-8 minutes.

5. Remove dough, and let rest on the counter, covered with a clean dish towel for 10 minutes (this is an important step!).

6. Knead the dough gently for 30 seconds with hands.

7. Place dough in a large well-greased/oiled bowl.

8. Cover, and let rise in a warm spot for 60-90 minutes, or until double in size (I like to rise my dough in the oven, just set oven to 200 degrees and warm for 3 minutes, then turn off the heat while you are making the dough, this will create a perfect temperature to raise dough in, and usually takes only 1 hour to rise with oven method).

9. Punch down dough.

10. Shape into large balls, and place on a large greased cookie sheet (you should get 12 balls on the sheet).

11. Cover with a light clean tea towel, and let rise in a warm place for 30-40 minutes, or until almost doubled (warm oven rise should take 30 minutes.

12. Set oven to 375 degrees.

13. In a small bowl, mix together 1 egg white with 1 tsp water; whisk/mix well.

14. Carefully brush the tops and sides of the buns with the egg/water mixture.

15. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

16. Bake for approx.22 minutes, or until golden brown.

Kibbeh

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem




I first fell in love with these when I tried them at a very authentic Arab restaurant. Everyone else at the table knew what they were as I sat there eyeing these football-shaped..things. Was it bread? Was it sweet? Was it filled with something? Was it even good? The rest of my company seemed to enjoy them, so I took the plunge. Every since sinking my teeth into that first warm, crispy bite 5 years ago, I've been hooked ever since. I've tried ordering kibbeh at almost every arab restaurant since and haven't been able to find a good, much less decent, one since. It wasn't until Ramadan that my friend made some for me and my search was complete. Finally, after all these years the familiar flavors of ground lamb and pine nuts came back to me. I was determined to make my own.

After researching recipes I learned that there's not much variation in the actual recipe. It's more a matter of technique: the shell (outside of it) should be a very smooth and fine paste, you should get a bite of tender lamb and nuts in each bite without over stuffing the kibbeh, it should be fried until golden but not burned. The spices are few, but very essential: ground cumin, cinnamon, garlic, etc. Don't skimp on the salt either! So after all that, I ended up using a foodnetwork recipe for its simple explanation. I made my own sauce from green chilis and cilantro because really, something needed to be spicy!




Kibbeh

Ingredients

Shell:
1 1/2 cups fine bulgur wheat
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 1/2 cups roughly chopped yellow onions
3 teaspoons ground cumin
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper

Filling:
1/2 pound ground beef
3/4 cups finely chopped yellow onions
1/3 cup pine nuts lightly toasted
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
oil for frying

Directions:

To make the outer shells, place the bulgur wheat in a bowl and cover with water. Let sit for 20 minutes then drain in a strainer, pressing to extract the excess liquid.

In a large bowl, blend the beef, onions, cumin, salt, and pepper to a paste. Add the strained bulgur wheat and mix well. Process again, in batches, in a food processor until smooth and pliable enough to work like a dough, adding a little ice water if needed.

To make the stuffing, in a large skillet, cook the meat, stirring, over medium-high heat until browned, about 4 minutes. Add the onions, salt, allspice, pepper, and cinnamon, and cook, stirring, until tender, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the pine nuts. Let sit until cool enough to handle.

To make the final dish, with wet hands, shape the raw meat-bulgur mixture into egg-sized balls. Make a hole down the center of each ball with an index finger to make a deep cup with a pointed bottom. Stuff each ball with about 1 tablespoon of the stuffing. Press down on the sides and top to enclose the filling and reshape into a smooth egg with a pointed top. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, wetting your hands frequently.

Preheat the oil to 360 degrees F.

In batches, add the kibbeh balls to the hot oil and cook until golden brown and the meat is cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Serve hot or at room temperature, with the Yogurt-Garlic Sauce for dipping.

Eh...Not So Much...

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem




Everyone should have a quick, simply, go-to cookie for last minute guests. The perfect cookie that just calls out to be eaten along side a hot cup of tea on a snowy, winter night. Shortbread, sugar cookies, even a chunky oatmeal will do, it's really up to you. My one word of advice is if you're gonna drag out all the ingredients to make a batch, why not make a double batch and store half in the freezer? That way, when those unexpected guests do show-up on that snowy night, you can just lop off a chunk and bake it off. This here recipe was ok. Just ok. I liked the cookie, I loved the filling, but combined together? No, thank you. This clearly isn't my perfect-with-chai-must-have-on-hand cookie, but it may be yours? They did taste good, I'll admit, even if they're aren't the prettiest little things!

Sparkling Vanilla Sandwich Cookie

makes 6 dozen (I halved this and still had plenty of filling left over)

• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup evaporated milk
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped (optional)
• 5 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pressing cookies
• Coarse sanding sugar, for rolling (I skipped this step, too froo-froo for me!)
  
• Chocolate Fudge Filling

Directions

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and salt; mix to combine. Add evaporated milk, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean seeds, if using; mix to combine.
2. Reduce speed to low; slowly add flour. Mix until just combined; do not overmix. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces and shape each piece into a disk. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Transfer to refrigerator and chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with nonstick baking mats or parchment paper.
4. Working with one disk at a time, form dough into 1-teaspoon-sized balls. Roll each ball in sanding sugar and place on prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Lightly dip the bottom of a drinking glass in flour and gently press down on ball to flatten slightly. Transfer baking sheets to oven and bake until puffy, but still soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Using a small offset spatula, carefully spread about 1 teaspoon filling on the flat side of one cookie; top with another cookie to make a sandwich. Repeat process with remaining filling and cookies. Cookies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.

Amm ke Achaar (Pickled Mango)

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem


If you look over yonder to the right side of this blog, you'll see a list of other food sites I particularly enjoy. I don't go posting every food-related-anything on that list, but only those sites that really hit that spot (eh, taste bud?) for me. Sites that I've personally tried and loved, which is why I added Mona's site. Sharing the same background as the writer, I'm constantly swimming in a sea of warm, fragrant memories every time I browse her recipes, and this one was no different. The Indian version of pickled fruits or vegetables is nothing like the American or European version. The former is loaded with smoky spices, aromatic herbs and layered with burn-your-tongue chilies. Eaten alongside with every meal, even breakfast, achaar is a staple at South Indian tables. This was my first attempt at making homemade achaar and though its only been a couple days since I made it (the longer it sits, the better it tastes!), if the first-day flavor is any indicator then this is going to be one spicy and delicious achaar insha'allah!



Mango Pickle
(I made 1/3 of this recipe but would highly reccomend making the whole batch if you're an achaar lover)


Ingredients:
Unripe and Sour Green Pickle Mangoes – 3, large
Dry Roasted Black Cumin Seed Powder – 1 1/2 tbsp
Red Chilli Powder – 1 tbsp
Salt – 1 1/2 tbsp
Mustard Seeds – 2 tsp
Dry Red Chillies – 4
Turmeric – 1/3 tsp
Curry leaves (fresh) – 6
Green Chillies - as per your taste, chopped or slit (optional)
Canola oil – 3 tbsp

1. With a damp towel, wipe the raw green mangoes clean and dry them with a paper towel throughly. Throughly dry your hands and knife. Carefully, peel the skin, deseed them and cut into very small pieces.

2. In a flat glass container with a tight lid, put the cut raw mango pieces and add salt and turmeric and mix well. Cover the lid tightly and put the container aside for 24 hours in a cool dark place.

3. The next day, you will see that the mango pieces have released a lot of juice. In a pan on medium high heat, pour oil and add the mustard seeds, curry leaves and dry red chillies. As soon as they begin to pop, remove from heat. Let it cool completely. This is the tempering/baghaar.

4. After the baghaar has cooled off completely, pour it into the container with mango pieces, and also add red chilli powder, black cumin seeds powder and green chillies, if using, and mix well. Adjust the salt and red chilli powder according to your tastes. The Achaar is ready. You can now relish upon it. Store it in a glass jar with an air tight lid. It keeps very weel if kept away from water. Always use a dry spoon when you have it and keep it covered and refrigerated.

Sneaky Food

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem



There's a lot of controversy in the food world about sneaking nutritious food into your kids' favorite meals. One camp says children should learn to love vegetables in their true natural form while the other says get those vitamins and minerals into those kids any way you can! Having some very picky eaters myself, I lean more towards the second camp but wish I had it easy enough to be in the first. So that led me to hunting down Jessica Seinfeld's (yes, that Seinfeld and am I the only one who thinks they look creepily alike?) book, "Deceptively Delicious". We had success with sweet potato pancakes and sweet potato pasta sauce but it was todays lunch that won me over. Even the adults enjoyed it and I'll definitely be planning on making this again insha'Allah.



Mozzarella Sticks (with Cauliflower!)
(my additions are in red)

1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1 tbsp flaxseed meal
1 tbsp sesame seeds (optional)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup cauliflower puree (steamed and blended cauliflower)
1 tbsp corn starch
non-stick cooking spray
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp italian seasoning 1 beaten egg


1. In a bowl, toss the breadcrumbs with the flaxseed, sesame seeds and italian seasong.

2. In a second bowl, stir together mozzarella, cauliflower and cornstarch . Shape into 8 logs (2 x 1/2" ). Gently dip into beaten egg and roll in breadcrumbs. Wrap in foil and freeze for at least 20 minutes.

3. Coat non-stick skillet with cooking spray over med-high heat. When pan is hot, add oil. Arrange sticks in single layer and cook 3 - 4 minutes, turning occasionally, until crumb coating is brown. Sprinkle with salt and serve.