A Near Perfect Food

Not many people may feel the way I do about falafel. Perhaps it's because it's vegetarian and therefore feels healthy. Perhaps because it's Middle Eastern, therefore lending an exotic air to it. Perhaps because it's deeply seeded in my childhood, with weekly meals of falafel with all the works prepared by my mom and dad together in the kitchen; the family then gets to sit around and assemble our falafels. It was one of the more functional moments of growing up. Just kidding. Really.

For those who don't know what a falafel is (do you live under a rock?), according to Wikipedia:

Falafel (Arabic: فلافل‎ falaafil (help·info), Hebrew: פָלָאפֶל‎; also known in Egypt and Sudan as ta'meya, Arabic طعمية), is a fried ball or patty made from spiced fava beans and/or chickpeas. It is a popular form of fast food in the Middle East, where it is also served as a mezze (snack or tapas).

The best way to eat it is as we did growing up; I suspect this way of eating it is Saudi in nature as we lived there for several years.

Split pita pocket..stuff with falafel, lettuce, pickles, fried eggplant, fries, top with tahina and hot sauce...unfortunately if you don't do this for yourself at home (or head to the restaurant I mention below) you'll only come across the dry or pasty falafels served in most Arab places here.

This weekend I found my dream falafel restaurant. It's an international chain...slowly expanding in the U.S. It's called Maoz Falafel and you can visit there website here at http://www.maozusa.com/

They served it just the way I love...with the fried eggplant..and Belgian fries (yummmmm) on the side..with amazing sauces. The place is small but known for the salad bar, which is a selection of pickles and salads to top your falafel with. It's really delicious. How I found it was quite fortuitous...we headed into the city for the farmer's market in Union Square and on the way I was mentioning to Moustafa that I've been wanting to try this place (since I heard about the fried eggplant). We parked our car, came around the corner and Subhanallah there it was.

True love indeed...

If you love falafel, or don't love it yet, you MUST MUST MUST visit Maoz.


Take me with you. Please. Pretty please.

Sameera

In Search of Bliss

In my own search for happiness, I chanced upon the book "The Geography of Bliss,", recommended by Abeer. It's the latest read for our paltry book club of four.

So far it's a fantastic. During a car ride through Bhutan, the author chances upon this billboard:

When the last tree is cut,
When the last river is emptied,
When the last fish is caught,
Only then will Man realize that he cannot eat money.

I think that verse speaks volumes about our outlook on money..and how frivolous it is. Your toughts?

Sameera

A Night in France

I'm starting to appreciate the beauty in French cuisine...it's touted around the world as the fanciest and best tasting, most sophisticated cuisine. In America we can't appreciate the full beauty of it...French restaurants are hard to come by, very expensive and off limits for Muslims...they cook with a lot of pork and/or wine.

Lately I've been reading the autobiography of a New York magazine restaurant critic...every few months she goes on an eating tour of France. She writes mostly about French restaurants, in New York and in France. Reading her book, I'm compelled to think French food is the epitome of food. And that's not just her opinion, she's been working since the 1970's and that is what's going on in the food world around her. But her to each his/her own. I wouldn't put it at the top of my list.

So I revisited out salad nicoise and french onion soup, (see last month's post for the recipes).

Our main dish was Chicken with forty cloves of garlic, and trust me, you'll want every last clove, because it's absolutely delicious. And yes, I went out and bought a Dutch oven for this occasion. We're in love, my dutch oven and I. It's a beautiful red Tramontina from Target and was highly rated by Cook's Illustrated. I'll try more dishes and keep you posted on our relationship.

Here's the recipe for the main dish, which should be served with a great loaf of bread to sop up all the amazing sauce. It's from Ina Garten of Food Network.


Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic
Difficulty: Medium
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
User Rating: 5 Stars

Copyright 2004, Barefoot in Paris, All Rights Reserved
3 whole heads garlic, about 40 cloves
2 (3 1/2-pound) chickens, cut into eighths
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons good olive oil
3 tablespoons Cognac, divided
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Separate the cloves of garlic and drop them into a pot of boiling water for 60 seconds. Drain the garlic and peel. Set aside.

Dry the chicken with paper towels. Season liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the butter and oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. In batches, saute the chicken in the fat, skin side down first, until nicely browned, about 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Turn with tongs or a spatula; you don't want to pierce the skin with a fork. If the fat is burning, turn the heat down to medium. When a batch is done, transfer it to a plate and continue to saute all the chicken in batches. Remove the last chicken to the plate and add all of the garlic to the pot. Lower the heat and saute for 5 to 10 minutes, turning often, until evenly browned. Add 2 tablespoons of the Cognac and the wine, return to a boil, and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Return the chicken to the pot with the juices and sprinkle with the thyme leaves. Cover and simmer over the lowest heat for about 30 minutes, until all the chicken is done.

Remove the chicken to a platter and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of the sauce and the flour and then whisk it back into the sauce in the pot. Raise the heat, add the remaining tablespoon of Cognac and the cream, and boil for 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper, to taste; it should be very flavorful because chicken tends to be bland. Pour the sauce and the garlic over the chicken and serve hot.