Antonio Tahhan

Middle Eastern

Arabian Nights!

  • Celebrating a year of Olive Juice, with a drink
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    Celebrating a year of Olive Juice, with a drink

    أهدي هذا إلى جميع أفراد عائلتي في حلب، وأقدم شكري للجميع، خاصة خالتي كيكي، لحسن استقبالها لي أثناء زيارتي إلى حلب. ولم تغب صورة الأهل عن فكري بكل رشفة أشربها. حيث أتخيل حلب وأهلها الأحباء في ذهني، والتي لن تغيب أبد الدهر

    I would like to dedicate this post to all my family in Aleppo, Syria, and extend my thanks to everyone, especially my Aunt Christine for her kind hospitality during my visit to Aleppo. With each sip of this drink I remember them in my memories, which will last forever.

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  • Sexy ice cream
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    Sexy ice cream

    It’s summer. It’s hot. And I’m all out of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream (always a sad event). At the grocery store, I was tempted to simply pick up another one of their cartoonish pints and call it a day… but I didn’t. What type of foodie would I be if I never make my own ice cream from scratch?  For the longest time I didn’t own an ice cream maker, so I didn’t feel guilty in turning to my friends Ben and Jerry or their buddy Breyer for my ice cream cravings.  Now that my machine finally arrived in the mail, I decided to get in the kitchen and give it a whirl.

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  • Taking the Danish on a Middle Eastern Date
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    Taking the Danish on a Middle Eastern Date

    Special thanks to Kelly from Sass & Veracity and Ben from What’s Cooking?for hosting this month’s challenge!

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  • Habibi, I’m home!
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    Habibi, I’m home!

    definition for habibi

    Ever since graduation a couple of weeks ago it seems as if all my time and energy has been consumed by the process of unpacking. Seriously though, where did all these boxes come from? I see now that two jars of whole nutmeg are unnecessary and a third bottle of balsamic vinegar is overkill. Meanwhile, my room is still in shambles, hidden somewhere underneath piles of unopened boxes that have constructed a fort around my bed. The kitchen, however, was the first space to be thoroughly unpacked. To commemorate this occasion I decided to blog about one of my all-time favorite Middle Eastern desserts, haytaliyye.

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    Is Cardamom the new Cinnamon?

    This entry is dedicated to Karen, my brunch-loving friend who will always have a soft spot for Oreos!

    Has anyone else noticed this? Cardamom is everywhere now; in blogs, recipe books and other food-driven media. For centuries, Middle Easterners used this unassuming pod to flavor teas, coffees and the occasional desserts. Now, the humble cardamom pod has been given the 90210-celebrity treatment and is making its way to pantries around the world. If you need to see it to believe it, you could check out these blogs featuring delicious cardamom Christmas cookies and cardamom roasted cauliflower for yourself.

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  • Goat Milk is King
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    Goat Milk is King

    This entry is dedicated to my cousins Dina and Yasmin (aka Rita), my Aunt Kiki and the rest of the family who showed me such an amazing time while I was visiting the Middle East, shukran jazeelan!!

    In the Middle East, goat milk is king. It’s rich and tangy, and has a lot less lactose than cow milk. Although I don’t use goat milk in my cereal or for dunking cookies, when it comes to cooking, goat milk is phenomenal. I find it has a much deeper and sharper taste than cow’s milk, and it adds an authentic flavor when used in Middle Eastern recipes.

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  • Delicious, Any Way You Roast It
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    Delicious, Any Way You Roast It

    Middle Eastern spreads are plentiful, but very few have been able to jump the cultural divide into restaurants and homes in the States. In the Middle East, families, neighbors and even strangers gather around these homemade delicacies to talk for hours about absolutely anything.

    Hummus is by far the most recognized Middle Eastern spread, but you don’t need to look far to find plenty of others that are just as tasty (or tastier!). Baba Ganoush is a traditional spread that uses charred eggplants to create a rich smoky pulp that is out-of-this-world delicious. For maximal fire-roasted goodness, roast the eggplants over an open flame. For those of us, however, who are only granted this luxury 2 weeks out of the year (if we’re lucky), we must turn to other alternatives. When it’s subzero outside I use my broiler or grill pan and find that both deliver a comprable fire-roasted flavor.

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  • Mahna Mahna… Muhammara!

    Note: This recipe has been replaced with a newer, tastier version.

    I’ve had The Muppets song stuck in my head for days now and cannot help the fact that it plays itself whenever I try to sneak in a thought. Granted it could be worse… perhaps Michael Bolton? Anyway, I digress. This entry is dedicated more to a delicious spread called Muhammara than to my random quirks. For my family, Muhammara is like the ketchup that is served alongside most of our meals. We eat it with toasted pita bread, as an accompaniment to meaty swordfish and even as a condiment for sandwiches. No one can deny Muhammara’s versatility, but what keeps me coming back for more is how easy it is to prepare.

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  • Dating (à la gastronomique)
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    Dating (à la gastronomique)

    Restaurant Week is an epic, 7-day culinary affair that takes place in every fortunate metropolitan city from Los Angeles to New York. During this event an assortment the city’s finest, chic and most trendy restaurants offer a selection of their menu at an unreasonably low, fixed price.

    I was in Washington D.C. this past summer when the gastronomic festivities began. Friends were contacted, reservations were made, and we immediately began eating our way through the seemingly endless list of fabulous restaurants.

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  • Divinity in a Cookie
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    Divinity in a Cookie

    There is something sensational about biting into a freshly baked cookie that cannot be replicated with any other confection. The sweet taste and buttery texture in each bite transports you back to a simpler time; a time when learning how to tie your shoe was a priority on your agenda.

    Whether they are decadently prepared with chunky chocolate morsels or studded with crunchy walnuts, people often indulge in their choice cookie when looking for that extra pick-me-up.
    Called Ghraybe in the Middle East, these fragrant pistachio cookies are a classy addition to any cookie repertoire. Characterized by their powdery soft disposition and exotic essence, these cookies are always a treat in my family.

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