Brownie cookies

Rich and really delicious!

10 oz. bittersweet, semisweet (can use chocolate chips) or dark chocolate
1/2 cup plus 2 T. Flour
3 T. Unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 t. Baking powder
1/4 t. Salt
1 cup plus 1 T. Sugar
5 T. Unsalted butter, room temp or microwaved for 15 seconds
3 eggs
2 t. Vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F. Melt the 10 oz. chocolate in the microwave, stirring after 30 seconds, continue heating/stirring every 30 seconds until melted or use a double boiler. Let cool for 10 minutes. Cream the butter and sugar, add the eggs and vanilla. Add the melted chocolate, fold in the cocoa powder, baking powder, salt. Then add flour. Add chocolate chips. Using a large scoop or about 1 T.  Drop onto parchment lined pan. Bake about 16 minutes. Makes about 16 cookies. 

Chicken with Artichokes

I love this recipe and was surprised that red wine paired so well with the chicken.

3 lbs. chicken, diced
1/2 cup onions
8 T. butter
1/2 lb sliced mushrooms
2 Tablespoons flour
1/4 red wine
1 cup chicken stock
Artichoke hearts (canned or frozen)

Cook 6 T. butter with chicken and onions. Remove and set aside. Add 2 T. butter and saute mushrooms for 5 minutes. Sprinkle flour. Add the wine and stock. Simmer 5 minutes or until thickened. Add in artichokes and chicken. Bake 40 minutes at 375 degrees This can be served with rice.

Cuban beef

3 1/2 lbs. pot roast
1-2 Tablespoons Olive oil
1 cup water
1 onion finely diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 pepper, green or orange, diced
1 small can of tomato sauce
1 bay leaf
1 t. Cumin
1/2 cup red wine
Salt and pepper to taste

Salt and pepper the meat. To a pan, add olive oil and brown the meat. Add water and bay leaf.  Simmer for 2 hours, adding more water if necessary. Let cool. In a separate pan, cook onion, garlic until onions look clear. Add the pepper.  Shread the meat. Add the onion, garlic, peppers to the meat along with the wine and tomato sauce. Cook a few minutes until hot. Serve with rice, beans and fried plantains. Yum.

Czech ginger roast beef

2 oz. Bacon
1 teaspoon ground powdered ginger
2 lbs top round beef
1/4 c. Butter
2 c. Water
1 Tablespoon Flour

Cook bacon, remove.  Sprinkle meat with ginger powder, brown the meat. Add salt and pepper and
1 cup of water. Simmer for 1 hour. Add flour and the rest of the water. Cook another 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Serve with dumplings or potatoes.

Lamb couscous

1 small Zucchini, sliced
1 can diced Tomato or 3 regular diced tomato
1/4 c. Grated onion
3 cloves Garlic
1.5-2 lbs Leg of lamb, large diced
2 Potato, peeled diced
6 Baby carrots
1 t.Coriander
2 teaspoons Cumin
1/4 t. Cloves
2-3 teaspoons masala
Salt and pepper to taste
Cayenne to taste (optional)
Juice of 1/2 a lemon

With 1 T. Olive oil, brown the meat. Add onion, garlic and tomato and spices. Simmer. After 1 hour, add carrots, diced potato, zucchini. Cook 30 more minutes. If liquid is low, add water. Serve with couscous.

Tachin -Saffron Chicken with Rice

3 cups long grain rice (basmati)
1-2 lbs. Chicken shredded, cooked
Lemon juice
2-3 Tablespoons Butter
About 1 cup yogurt
Pinch of saffron, crushed between your fingers to make small pieces
1 egg
Dash cumin powder


Wash the rice until the water runs clear. Soak the rice with salt for an hour or two. Cook rice.
You can either boil the rice with salted water for about 20 minutes and drain the rice or you can boil  3 3/4 cups water with the rice, one it starts to boil, turn down to about 3 and cover the lid with a towel and cook for about 18 minutes or so until the water evaporates. In the meantime,  Take the juice of a small lemon, or 1/2 of a larger lemon in a medium bowl, add saffron. Heat it up for a few seconds in the microwave. Add salt, pepper, cumin, egg, yogurt and chicken. Mix well. After the rice is done, add butter, mix gently with  fork. Take some of the rice out. Layer some of the yogurt and chicken mixture and then the rice, the yogurt nd then rice. Then gently mix until it is even. Cover and letsit for a couple of minutes. Serve.

If you want tahdig, you must take all the rice out. Use a clean pot. Put butter and oil in the pot. Add a little rice and a little water and cook for a few minutes unil rice gets crispy and sticks together. Add more rice and layer with the yogurt chicken mixture and rice, yogurt mixture...

Although not traditional, I like my rice with buttered zereshk (barberry fruit). I have also tried it with cranberries. It may be a little bit too sweet though.

Peach Crumble

This recipe is sweet and salty. If you don't like it, you can take out the salt out of the peach mixture.

1/2 sugar
5 peaches, sliced
Juice of 1/4 of a Lemon
1 1/2 -2 T. Cornstarch
Dash of Salt
Mix and place in a small,  buttered baking dish


topping
1/2 c flour
3 T. Butter, diced
dash of Salt
3 T. Brown sugar
Crumble together, until combined

In a small, buttered bread loaf pan, place the peach mixture On the bottom, and top with crumble mixture. Tent with foil. Bake at 375. Bake 30 minutes, remove foil. Bake 15-20 more minutes.

Tuna pasta salad

2-3 T. Mayo
1 t. Mustard
2 small pickles, diced
1 t.  balsamic vinegar
Splash of soy sauce
1 t. pickle juice
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 cans of tuna
1 lb. cooked pasta
1 cup peas
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup Romano or Parmesan

Cook the pasta as usual. In a medium bowl, mix the rest. Add the pasta. Let cool slightly before serving.

Ice Cream - no cooking

For strawberry ice cream, use a hand mixer or regular mixer and add 3-6 strawberries.
For chocolate ice cream,  add 3/4 c. Cocoa powder and 2 squares chocolate (melted) for 1quart. 
For banana ice cream, use 1/3 cup brown sugar and 1/3 cup white sugar and add 3 black (ripened), mashed bananas at the end.
*** see below for coffee ice cream recipe.

2 eggs (use 3 eggs for an even richer, creamier ice cream)
2/3 cup sugar
1 3/4 cup milk
2 cups cream
2 tsp. vanilla

Beat eggs, sugar for several minutes. Mixture will turn pale yellow and thicken like a thick batter or pudding. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Put in an ice cream maker or a baggie inside another baggie filled with ice/salt. Carefully shake.

For pt.

1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup cream
1 tsp. vanilla

Follow the instructions as above.

 ***For coffee ice cream-microwave 1 1/2 cup milk with 1 1/2 cups of whole coffee beans (espresso roast) for 2 min or until warmed. Let steep for an hour or so, until it turns a pale brown color. Let cool. In a separate bowl, mix the 2 eggs and about 1/2 cup sugar until thick. Pour the strained coffee mixture into the bowl with 2 cups cream and some vanilla. Mix well and prepare as usual.

Apple Tart

1 1/4 c. Flour
1 T. Flour for apple
1/4 c. Almond flour
1 Stick butter
2 T. Butter for the apples
1/2 t. Salt
1 T. Sugar
4 T. Water
1/4 t. Almond extract
Apricot Jam
Rum or gran mariner
Vanilla

Mix flour, almond flour, Butter, salt. Press into tart pan. Prick with a fork.

Soak the thinly sliced, peeled apples in lemon juice for 30 min. Add 1 T. Flour and 1-2 T. Sugar to the apples. Arrange the apples into the tart pan. Brush with 2 T. Melted butter and sprinkle with 1 T. Sugar. In a small bowl or saucepan, mix rum or grand mariner and 2 T. Apricot jam and vanilla and water and heat slightly on stove or microwave. Place mixture on top of apples. Cover the edge of tart with foil.

Bake 400 for 35 minutes. After 20-25 minutes, remove foil.

Mastokiar Persian yogurt and cucumber salad

1 cup yogurt

1 cucumber, seeds removed and diced

1 T. Dried mint

Dash of garlic powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine and enjoy.

Buttery Rum banana bread

I usually don't like butter in my banana bread recipe but this one is pretty good.

3 to 4 ripe bananas, smashed

1/3 cup melted butter

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon rum (optional)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups flour

Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla and bourbon, then the spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4×8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes to one hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.