My first live cooking segment! I felt right at home!

http://www.katu.com/amnw (look for grilled dolma recipe)

Easy Split Pea Stew with Basmati Rice...

This dish takes me right back to my moms kitchen. It's so easy to make and FULL of flavor. The best part is the crispy potatoes that top this dish. You experience a crunch that is followed by succulent beef in a aromatic tomato sauce. This recipe is of course inspired by my beautiful mother but I had to give it my own burst of flavor.

Enjoy!

Khoreshte Ghemeh

1 lb stew meat

1 cup yellow split peas

1 large finely chopped yellow onion

2 whole garlic cloves

1 can tomato sauce

2 or 3 dried limes (limoo amani) You can find this at Mediterranean Stores.

1 cup cherry tomatoes

Juice of one small lemon ( meyer lemons are the best!)

2 tbsp turmeric

1 tsp cumin

kosher salt

ground black pepper

pinch of red pepper flakes

Crispy potatoes:

2-3 large potatoes (peeled and thinly sliced like french fries)

Fry potatoes in hot canola oil until golden brown. Season with salt and pepper.

Step 1:

Prepare your meat. I like to rinse my meat and let it dry on paper towels. Make sure to dry well which allows the meat to brown better. Slice each cube in four ways (bite size pieces).

Step 2:

Heat 2-3 tablespoons canola oil in a dutch oven. Add onions and brown for 5-7 minutes.

Step 3: Add meat and make sure to get a good sear on each side. About 3-4 minutes. Season meet and onions with kosher salt, ground pepper, turmeric, cumin and red pepper flakes. Add garlic cloves and yellow split peas and saute for 2 or 3 minutes longer.

Step 4: Add enough water to barely cover the meat. Simmer for 30-45 minutes.

Step 5: Add tomoto sauce and dried limes. Adjust seasoning if neccesary. Simmer on low for another hour.

Step 7: About 30 minutes before hour is up add the cherry tomotoes and lemon juice.

Top with crispy potatoes and serve over Basmati Rice.

Grill It Audition Tape!

Thank you Shawn Justice for doing an amazing job on this! Don't be fooled, these videos are not easy to make. Lot's of practice and patience:) Lots of fun and I enjoyed every minute of it. I will be submitting this video to the Food Network in hopes of getting on next seasons Grill It! with Bobby Flay. It's a great show and I would love to get some Persian Cuisine on the Food Network.

Enjoy!

Grilled Dolma Recipe

Grilled Dolma Recipe:

This delicious recipe was inspired by my aunt Malekeh. She is an amazing cook and I knew she was the person I had to go to for advice on how to make a great dolma. These dolmas are traditionally made on the stove top or oven. I put my own twist on them by roasting them in the oven for about 45 minutes and then finished them on the grill. I also added some heat to the mixture which is not traditional but I love the kick the red pepper flakes give this dish! Grilling them really brought out the flavor and gave the dolmas great texture. You must try this recipe!

Ingredients:

3 bell Peppers (I use red, yellow, and green)
2 large tomatoes (make sure to save the pulp to add to stuffing)
2 Japanese Eggplants (long and skinny)
1 cup basmati rice (washed 5 times)
1 cup yellow split peas (wash before use)
1 pound ground beef (9-15% fat)
Handful of each herb: (finely chopped) parsley, cilantro, tarragon, basil, & mint
1 large finely diced onion
3-4 finely chopped garlic cloves
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1/2 cup tomato sauce ( you may use tomato paste but I like the flavor of sauce better)
Juice of 1 lemon (use the zest for extra flavor)
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of saffron (ground and mixed with 2 tbsp hot water)
2 tsp red pepper flakes (gives a nice kick)
Kosher salt
Ground pepper

Tomato Mixture:

1/2 cup tomato sauce
Juice of half a lemon
Salt & pepper
1/4 cup water
1 tsp tomato paste (Sadaf brand tomato paste has great flavor)

Step 1: Wash your bell peppers, tomato and eggplant. Slice tops of bell peppers and tomato to make a lid that you will use. Scoop out seeds and pulp. Make sure to set aside tomato pulp. Cut a lengthwise strip in your eggplant and boil for 2 minutes. Once cool, scoop out the contents of the eggplant, leaving a 3/4 inch thick shell. Season your vegetables with kosher salt & pepper and set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (convection roast or bake)

Step 2: In a medium sized saucepan, bring 1 quart of water to boil. Add 2-3 tsp kosher salt to water. Add yellow split peas and boil for 13-15 minutes. Add rice to boiling water and boil the split peas and rice for 5 minutes. Then turn heat to low and simmer for another 13-15 minutes. You want the rice and yellow split peas to be soft but not mushy.

Step 3: While your mixture above is cooking, saute your onion until golden brown. Be patient with this step and don't rush it! The golden brown onions add a lot of flavor to this dish. Once onion is browned, add the ground beef and brown your meat. Don't rush this step either! Browned meat gives a lot of flavor as well. Add salt (about tsp), ground pepper, and half tbsp turmeric to meat and onion mixture. Once meat browned, add all your rice & yellow split peas, herbs, green onion, and garlic. Saute for another 3 or so minutes and add tomato sauce. Add red pepper flakes, rest of turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, saffron, and lemon juice. Cook for another few minutes and add salt if necessary. You want to make sure your mixture has a lot of flavor because some of the seasoning is lost during the steam process in the oven.

Step 4: Stuff your vegetables with rice mixture and put lids on peppers and tomato. Combine tomato mixture in a glass pyrex dish and place vegetables on top. Cover with foil and place in oven for about 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, remove from oven and secure the lids of tomato and bell peppers with toothpick and finish on hot grill! You want to make sure all sides of veggies have grill marks. Remove from grill and arrange on a platter with fresh herbs. Pour tomato sauce mixture over your dolmas and serve!

Noosh-e-jan!

Amazing Persian Chicken Kabobs & Grilled Dolmas

Today was a very exciting day! Just a few hours ago I got done taping my audition tape for season 3's "Grill It" with Bobby Flay. I was so lucky to be introduced to Shawn Justice (thanks Brenda!) who was a great videographer and director. He was very patient and gave me some great direction.

Make sure to check out my blog tomorrow to get a sneak preview of my video! In the meantime, I will share our family secret for Persian Chicken Kabobs. I have to thank my mom, dad, aunt Malekeh, and my Uncle Anoosh for their recipes. I had to of course add my own twist to make these dishes extra special!

Enjoy:)

Persian Chicken Kabob:

3 lbs boneless and skinless thighs ( I prefer to use kosher or free range for optimal flavor)

1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 diced yellow onion

4 finely diced garlic cloves

1 jalepeno (remove the seeds if less heat is desired)

1 tbsp red pepper flakes (a must!!!)

1 tbsp turmeric ( you can find the good stuff at your local Mediterranean Market)

1 tsp ground saffron (mix with 2 tablespoons hot water)

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp kosher salt

1 tbsp ground pepper

Baste mixture:

2 tbsp melted butter

1 tbsp olive oil

dash of saffron

Cut each thigh into 6 bite size pieces. In a large dish, mix all ingredients together and add chicken to marinade. Using your hands, combine the chicken and marinade to make sure each piece of chicken is nicely coated. Cover with saran wrap and marinate overnight.

Let the chicken rest at room temperature 30 minutes prior to grilling. Skewer the chicken (no more than 4-5 pieces on each skewer). Make sure to soak your wooden skewers to prevent burning.

Make sure your grill is hot and right before putting your chicken on the grill, drizzle each skewer with olive oil. Grill for 4 minutes on each side and right before flipping your chicken, brush on your butter & olive oil mixture. This step gives your kabobs extra juicy flavor and golden brown color.

Serve with basmati rice and fresh cucumber & tomato salad (recipe below)

Salad Shirazi (cucumber & tomato salad):

4-5 Persian cucumbers

4 medium size tomatoes on the vine

1 large lemon

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

tsp dried mint (this gives the salad a great kick)

1 small finely diced red onion (could be made without if your not a fan of raw onions)

Tune in tomorrow for my delicious grilled dolma recipe and more!

Christmas Morning Breakfast

Vanilla French Toast with Dill Potatoes topped with an egg.

Christmas Dinner

The big night arrived and dinner was served at 7:30pm. I was so happy to have my family and neighbors join us for the big feist. I spent just under two days preparing the dishes and enjoyed every minute of it. It was my first time making turkey so I was a bit nervous about how it was going to come out. The verdict? Not quite what I was hoping for. Because I used a deep roasting pan, the turkey didn't cook evenly. The breast was done (a bit overdone for me) but the legs needed a bit more time. The solution? I separated the legs from the turkey and pan roasted them in a stainless skillet then finished it off in the oven. Yum. There is almost always a fix for your mistakes in the kitchen. The scalloped potatoes were a hit but could have used another 15 minutes or so. Once again I was reminded that timing is CRUCIAL!!!

Overall a great night. There is something about good food that makes people happy and that makes me happy:)