Magloobeh (Arabic upside down rice)

Even though we live in a place with some of the most amazing food in the world, I confess that I really don't cook Lebanese that much- it's just so time consuming!  I decided to give it a shot with the family here though and it was yummy.  This is not actually even a Lebanese dish, but it's definitely very Arab.  It's called "upside down" because you basically flip the pot that you've cooked it in onto the serving platter.  There are many variations of this popular dish.  I combined what I've had and liked best at various friends home with a recipe I found in my Lebanon cookbook and it turned out great.

Magloobeh

2 lbs cauliflower
olive oil for frying
1 rotisserie chicken cut up
extra thin Arabic flat bread
1 cup minced onion
2-3 garlic cloves minced
1 cup pine nuts (I actually used a combo of pine nuts and pistachios and I've had it with cashews as well)
1/4-1/2 cup butter
2 cups rice, rinsed
4 cups (maybe more) chicken broth
1 tsp Arabic 7 spice mix (can use nutmeg and cinnamon in place of this)
Salt to taste
More cinnamon and nutmeg to taste
raisins (optional)

Fry the cauliflower in olive oil until browned and drain on paper towels (I used enough to cover the bottom of the pan, but didn't submerge the cauliflower in the oil)

Tear up pieces of pita bread and fry in remaining oil

Melt butter in saucepan and saute onions and garlic.  After a few minutes add the pine nuts and pistachios along with the spices and cook a little more.  Stir in 2 cups of rice that has been rinsed.  Combine mixture well and set aside.  In a large saucepan layer half of the cauliflower then half of the chicken that is torn in pieces.  Top with half of the fried pita, then half of the rice mixture.  Can also sprinkle raisins in between the layers.  Repeat layers.  Cover all with chicken broth (enough to cover).  Cook over medium heat until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is done (30-40 minutes).  Turn the pot over onto a serving platter.

Serve with yogurt and flat bread.  Enjoy!

Yogurt Sauce

labneh (natural yogurt)- 2-3 cups

salt to taste

3-4 mashed garlic cloves

mint (optional)

chopped cucumbers (optional)

Peach Cobbler (or cherry...)

Cobbler of any kind is one of my all time favorite recipes.  Topped with a dollop of fresh whipped cream or ice cream- just can't beat it!  My Memommy made this peach cobbler last summer when we were in the states and I just HAD to have the recipe.  It's simply divine and for those of you in the good old US of A, quite easy as it calls for store bought pie crusts.  I don't have that convenience so I used my fave recipe (see below) for a double crust pie and doubled it.  You actually probably need about three crusts because I had some dough left over that I froze.  Here's the recipe:

Perfectly Delicious Pie Crust (for double crust pie)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
4 TBSP sugar'
1/3 cup Crisco
1/3 cup + 2 TBSP butter
\5 TBSP ice water

Combine flour, salt and sugar in large bowl.  Add Crisco and 1Tbsp butter and cut into flour mixture with pastry cutter until it resembles "pill size" consistency.  Add the rest of the butter and blend the same way.  Handle the dough as little as possible. (the less it's handled, the flakier it will be) Add 5 TBSP ice water and blend with knife.  Roll out into two 8 inch crust or whatever you need for your recipe.

Peach Cobbler

4-6 cups fresh peaches, chunked
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 T flour
1/8 t salt
1/4 tsp almond extract
3 TBSP melted margarine
(I also added cinnamon this time and it was yummy)

Put peaches in large bowl and stir in sugar, flour and salt.  Add almond extract, margarine and cinnamon if desired.  Line large casserole dish with pastry (I shaped two pie crusts into bottom of dish).  Pour peaches into pastry and then top with pastry strips or solid pastry.  Bake at 425 for 15 minutes and then reduce heat to 350 and bake about 45 more minutes until browned.

Top with cream or ice cream and enjoy!

One glory of living in Lebanon is the fresh fruit and veggies we can find year round.  I think early summer is my favorite though when the cherries and apricots are in season.  The cherries here are like none I've ever had before.  I LOVE cherry cobbler but don't love the mess it makes to pit all those cherries.  Thankfully I have a Maddie who loves all things messy and all things cooking so it makes cherry cobbler so much more enjoyable to make...

I don't have a picture of a finished cherry cobbler but here is the filling recipe I use.  I've tried several different crusts and I think the way I made the peach cobbler above is all around the best with any fruit, especially cherries...   Here's the cherry filling recipe:]

Cherry Cobbler Filling:

6 cups fresh pitted cherries
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 TBSP cornstarch
2 TBSP lemon juice
1 tsp almond extract

Mix all and let stand for 10 minutes.  Cook in saucepan until thickened and bubbly and add to favorite cobbler crust.

Veggie Kabobs

These have become one of our favorite summer meals.  I especially love them because Jason is the master behind them and they require very little work on my part.  :)  Jason takes whatever veggies we want- usually some combination of red and green pepper, tomatoes, eggplant, zuchini, mushrooms- and puts them on skewers along with chunks of Halloum cheese- a Lebanese cheese that is beyond yummy on the grill.  It has a very spongy consistency (maybe like tofu just because I can't think of anything better to compare it to) and it's absolutely yummy with the veggies.  We've also started doing sausage kabobs because we can now get the butterball (or healthy choice) polish style sausage in one of our grocery stores that imports a lot (yah!).  (I'm still waiting for Jimmy Dean sausage to appear but I"m not counting on it).  Anyway I make a marinade of balsamic vinegar and olive oil along with garlic and some fresh herbs, Jason works his magic, and there you have it...