In my family we always eat white foods on New Year’s Day. This is a tradition carried on by my mom; it is how she was brought up in Damascus and it’s part of the existence she pieced together here in Pacific Grove for her family. White symbolizes newness or a clean, fresh start so you eat white foods on New Year’s Day, putting the old year behind you and focusing on the blank page that is the New Year. Growing up we had a spread of white dishes on New Year’s Day and this year was no different.

One of the dishes that my mom always makes—that really has no name—is a layered pudding. She uses Maria biscuits and two flavors—chocolate and orange blossom water—of mhalabeeyay (a milk pudding) with the white (orange blossom water) on top. Every year it’s a little different, depending on her creativity and what’s around the house. This year it was topped with shredded coconut and it was perfect.

Growing up we had mhalabeeyay when we had sore throats. Every culture has opinions and recommendations for remedies when one is sick. I have heard in the US that you shouldn’t have dairy when you have a sore throat, that dairy makes the phlegm in your throat worse but Syrians eat warm milk pudding, saying it will soothe a sore throat. When I lived in Spain my advisor insisted on a cold beer on tap—it had to be on tap—to soothe a sore throat so maybe there’s more than one theory to cold remedies?  

Anyhow, my brother liked vanilla and I liked chocolate and my mom was very fair so she would make him vanilla and then gently stir in cacao powder into mine to suit both of our tastes. What I am saying is that this recipe is forgiving and my mom is amazing.

This is also the first dish I ever learned how to make. My mom would light the stovetop for me and I would stand on a stepstool. I learned from a young age how to dissolve cornstarch in water and add it delicately to sweetened warm milk—stirring constantly but gently enough to not splatter and get scolded—to create a pudding.

For New Year’s Day my mom makes this in a rectangular Pyrex. She puts a later of Maria biscuits then chocolate pudding then another layer of Maria biscuits then the orange blossom water, the “white” pudding layer on top. For a little bit of history, the Maria biscuit was created in London by the Peak Freans bakery in 1874 to commemorate the marriage of the Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia to the Duke of Edinburgh. Alternatively, you can use Graham crackers instead of Maria biscuits as my mom did many a time in our childhood.

Mhalabeeyay (Syrian milk pudding)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1-2 tbsp. sugar, to taste
• 2 tbsp. cornstartch
• 1/3 cup filtered water, at room temperature to dissolve the corntarch
• 2 tsp. orange blossom water, you can find this at most grocery stores or at the International Market at 580 Lighthouse Ave. in Monterey

Directions:

In a saucepan, dissolve the sugar in the milk over medium-low heat. Meanwhile, dissolve the cornstarch in a cup, I use the measuring cup I used to measure the water because it is simpler that way and has a spout for pouring and doesn’t make a mess.

When the milk just begins to boil, reduce the heat to low and slowly add the cornstarch slurry, stirring constantly to prevent clumping. When all of the cornstarch has been incorporated. Turn off the heat and stir in the orange blossom water.

While still warm, pour into dessert dishes. Typically this dish is served with shredded coconut or nuts on top. It can be served warm or cold. If you have children with sore throats, warm is better. I hope you enjoy this treat from my childhood as much as we always do.

“What will survive of us is love.”

–Philip Larkin

Hello from Mill Valley, a small town in Marin County, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. I came up for my California grandma’s Celebration of Life; she passed away in October. She had a great run in this world and loved to party. So naturally a huge party was the best way to celebrate her. Her daughter—my aunt—arranged for 20 lbs. of See’s chocolate arranged on beautiful platters and spread all over her house, over 40 bottles of sparkling wine, the mixings for vodka tonic—her drink of choice along with sparkling wine, and the party was also catered so people could have some food alongside their drinks. There were over 200 people present and I guess that is the love that survived Marlene as the epigraph above says.

One father and son pair made BBQ’d oysters. It’s their family’s tradition and it was a perfectly wonderful way to honor Marlene. I hovered around the BBQ—having never BBQ’d oysters I wanted to learn how. They explained. You put the oysters on the hot grill unopened. As they heat they will begin to pop open slightly. That’s when you use the oyster shucker to open them entirely. The oyster has a deep bowl looking shell and a flat one. It is growing a “foot” onto the flat shell and you want to slice that off (oyster meat off flat shell) and put it in the bowl-like shell. At this point you add a dollop of BBQ sauce or garlic butter and let it grill a few more minutes until it’s ready to eat. I noticed the guys were adding vodka…maybe that’s where oyster shots come from?

When events like this happen in our life it’s important to allow ourselves time to explore what we’re feeling. Losing a person we love—while it is not easy—is bound to happen. Everybody deals with grief differently and I’m no psychology expert but I’ll share my two cents. Of course, I cried and on occasion find myself brushing my teeth and thinking of a great story I want to tell Marlene only to realize I can’t pick up the phone and call her. Alfred Lord Tennyson said “‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have never loved at all.” And I wholeheartedly embody that. This is what I get for loving someone and how beautiful and amazing is that?

I leave you with the ending of the poem “In Blackwater Woods” by Mary Oliver:

To live in this world
you must be able to do three things:
to love what is mortal;
to hold it against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go.

So love people and spend time with them. Tell them you love them and shower them with gifts, even if it’s just a flower you pick on the side of the road, like my mom says. And when it’s time to let go, know to let go because what survives the mortal body is love.

Now go call up someone you love—your friend, neighbor, etc. and make them some BBQ sauce for your favorite meat…even oysters!

Vodka BBQ Sauce

• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• 1 1/4 c. ketchup
• 1/4 c. soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 c. vodka

Toast cumin in small skillet over medium heat until it turns dark in color and begins to smoke, about 2 minutes. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add ginger and garlic; sauté until very fragrant, 3-4 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients (ketchup, soy sauce, sugar, and toasted cumin) and bring to a boil, whisking gently to blend. Reduce heat to very low, add the vodka,  and simmer for about a minute, whisking constantly and carefully.

This BBQ sauce can be served on BBQ’d oysters or roasted vegetables, your favorite cut of meat, etc. Enjoy!

This recipe comes from a dear French friend of mine who is now a Californian. He just became a naturalized citizen a couple weeks ago…congratulations, Franck! He is one of the most kind-hearted, generous people I have the pleasure of calling my friend and he shared this recipe with me after I enjoyed the dish at he and his wife’s home in Monterey. It is an easy recipe to follow and will satisfy not only your friends, but your appetite, as well.

While it’s called “cake” in French, the word best translates to loaf. It is a savory, dense, egg-based loaf with ham and olives. I like to use manzanilla olives, I find them to be more flavorful.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups white wine, separated, one for you, one for the loaf; I used Chardonnay
• 1 cup olive oil
• 4 eggs
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1.5 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup ham, cooked, I used Trader Joe’s’ black forest ham
• 1 cup pitted green olives
• 2 cup grated gruyere
• Butter to grease the pan

Preparation:

Heat oven to 350˚F. Pour yourself a glass of wine in your favorite glass. Mine happens to be a pink and green crystal wine glass from my late, adopted grandma. It’s 5 o’clock somewhere.

Cut the ham into small squares. Drain the olives and rinse them. Cut them in half crosswise (meaning cut at the fattest part of the olive). Eat an olive or two, they pair greatly with your Chardonnay.

Butter a 9” x 5” baking loaf pan, and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Add the other cup of wine. Do it a little at a time mixing constantly so that the flour doesn’t get clumpy. Then add the olive oil in a few additions and mix really well. The smell might encourage you to get yourself a nice piece of bread for yourself to dip in your own olive oil, go ahead, enjoy. Cooking is a culinary experience best enjoyed with all the senses. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Next add the mustard and stir in thoroughly. Sprinkle in the salt and mix it in well.

Add the ham, olives, and grated gruyere; mix well.

Put the mix into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 60-65 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when the top is slightly golden and the loaf has risen. It may bubble up on the edges with oil and that’s OK. While it’s baking grab your wine, any remaining ham and cheese, get cozy on the couch, and relax. You can rest in anticipation of a delightful treat in the oven.

I actually like to eat this dish when it is cooled. And it’s great to make on the weekend to take along with me for breakfast at work. Or to pack in a picnic. You see what I’m saying.

Voilà

Bon appétit!

I have said it before, I love fall. You may recall my column from a few weeks back where I was in Apple Hill and I wrote about apple cider donuts. Well now I’m writing you about an apple galette. You may be familiar with apple pie (top and bottom crust) or apple tart (bottom crust), however; an apple galette is a free form crusted pastry. This is a variation of a galette in that the crust is on the bottom but it’s unique in that it’s made in a skillet, baked upside down, and then flipped over when it’s done.

I got this delightfully simple recipe from Cedar Street Times’s very own cartoonist, Joan Skillman. I think it is my new go-to favorite for an easy to make, autumnal, delicious treat.

Upside-down Apple Galette

For crust:

• 6 tbsp chilled unsalted butter, cut in 1/2 inch chunks
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3-4 tbsp. cold whole milk

For filling:

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 apples, cored, peeled, and sliced

Heat oven to 400˚F.

Put the flour in a medium-sized bowl and add the butter on top. Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour until it resembles a coarse meal. Add three of the tablespoons of milk and quickly knead in until the dough sticks together as a ball. You may need the fourth tablespoon or not, you don’t want a soft dough, you just want it to hold itself together. You also don’t want to play with it too much because the heat of your hands will melt the butter and you don’t want that. Press the dough into a disk on wax paper and place in the refrigerator until ready for use.

In a cast iron skillet or a Dutch oven, make the filling. Over medium heat, melt the butter and make sure you get it on the edges of the skillet. Gently sprinkle the sugar over in a uniform layer. Let it sit for a few minutes. You don’t want the sugar to burn but you want to heat it up just so. The caramelization adds a delicious taste.  Meanwhile, core, peel, and slice your apples. I have a handy dandy apple corer, peeler, and slicer—the coolest kitchen contraption and best gift I have ever received, I might add. With just the crank of a lever the device cores, peels, and slices (uniformly!) my apples. Amazing.

Place the apples in the skillet starting from the outside and working in, with each apple slice slightly over the one prior. I like a lot of apples in my galettes so once I have the bottom all filled up, I fill in the spaces with the remaining apple slices. Now don’t touch them. Let them sit over the heat for a good 5-10 minutes or until they are just about translucent.

Meanwhile, on a gently floured surface, roll out the crust to approximately the diameter of the skillet. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Don’t touch it too much because you don’t want to melt the butter with the heat of your hands. When the apples are ready, you’ll know they’re just translucent, turn the stovetop off and quickly throw the crust on. At this point I pull the overhanging edges in a bit with my fingers.  Finally, put the skillet in the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until the crust is just golden.

Take out of the oven and being very careful, flip onto a platter or a cutting board. It should come out quickly and easily but some of the apples might stick to the skillet if you stirred them or didn’t coat the sides of the skillet with butter, like the first time I made it. The second time I tried, it came out perfectly.  Lesson: don’t stir the apples in the skillet. This is delicious with vanilla bean ice cream on top and will be devoured in minutes if you serve it all when it is still warm. Thank you, Joan!

Upside-down Apple Galette

**this story was originally published in my column Postcards from the Kitchen in the Cedar Street Times on 26 October 2018 

Do you have a food that you love to make? Or maybe a food someone you love makes? You know, it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without Aunt Sally’s casserole. To me, that’s this Strawberry Tart during strawberry season.

For my 20th birthday, a friend had bought me a subscription to the late Gourmet magazine, that is unfortunately no longer with us. The day it came in the mail, I would sit in my seat at the coffee table in my apartment and read it. I would dog ear the recipes that sounded fun to make and ask my roommate and my brother what sounded good. (My brother lived in the same apartment complex in San Diego with his friends).

This became a favorite for the group and if you make it, it will probably become a favorite of your family’s, too. I decided to make it for a BBQ I was going to at a friend’s house. I had texted my friend with two options “stout brownies or strawberry mascarpone tart.” She said it was a tough call but chose the strawberry dessert. It was a hit at the BBQ which just warms my heart…I love feeding people and I especially love when they like the food.

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart with Port Glaze

For the tart shell:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 7 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp cold water

Filling:

• 1 1/2 lb. fresh strawberries, washed, topped, and cut in half lengthwise
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup ruby Port
• 1 lb. mascarpone cheese
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

You will need a 10-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom.

Heat oven to 375˚F.

First, make the tart shell. Blend together flour, sugar, salt, and butter in a bowl with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Beat together yolk, vanilla, lemon juice, and water with a fork, then drizzle over the flour mixture and stir with a fork until mixture comes together.

Gently knead with floured hands on a lightly floured surface until a dough forms. The idea is to get the dough homogenized but not melt the butter. Press into a 5-inch disk. Place in the center of a tart pan and cover with plastic wrap. Using your fingers and bottom of a flat-bottomed measuring cup, spread and push dough to evenly cover bottom and side of pan.

Prick bottom of tart shell all over with a fork and freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.

Line tart shell with foil and fill with pie weights, I use dry beans or barley. Bake for 20 minutes. Carefully remove foil and weights and continue to bake until shell is deep golden all over, about 20 minutes more. Cool in the pan until tart shell is cool to touch (and won’t melt the filling).

While the shell cools:

Stir together strawberries and granulated sugar in a bowl and let stand 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain berry juice in a sieve over a small saucepan, reserving berries. Add Port to liquid in saucepan and boil until reduced to about 1/4 cup, this takes a good 15-20 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl to cool.

Meanwhile, whisk together mascarpone, powdered sugar, lemon juice, zest, vanilla, and a pinch of salt until thoroughly mixed.

When the shell and glaze are cooled, assemble the tart by spreading the mascarpone mixture evenly in cooled tart shell, then top with strawberries. Drizzle Port glaze over tart. And enjoy!

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart as the sun sets

We sat out on the deck of my friend’s house and enjoyed our dinner. The weather was perfect and the sun was slowly setting. While my friend BBQ’d, I spotted an orange tree full of ripe oranges and asked if I could pick. They laughed and told me to have at it. Apparently the only thing they use the oranges for is making manhattans!

An orange tree out in the valley

**This recipe and a shorter version of this story originally appeared in my column Postcards from the Kitchen in the Cedar Street Times on 28 September 2018

A Meyer lemon coffee cake to be precise. I like letting life happen to me. This is not to say I don’t have ambitions or make plans, I do. But I like to leave space for spontaneity and what the world might bring me. Last week my boss brought me a bag of Meyer lemons from her tree. I gave about half to my parents and still had over twenty lemons so I had to make one of my favorite cakes, Meyer lemon coffee cake. It’s dense but soft, has a lovely streusel layer on the bottom, and gets drizzled with a sweet lemony glaze.

Ingredients:

For streusel:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled

For cake:

• 5 Meyer lemons cut into thin slices
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons finely grated Meyer lemon zest
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream

For glaze:

• 1 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 3-4 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice

First make the streusel: mix flour, brown sugar, and salt together. Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour mixture until small to medium clumps form. Cover, and refrigerate until ready to use (no more than 3 days).

Next, make the cake: boil the lemon slices in a medium saucepan of simmering water for 1 minute. Drain, and repeat. Since you will be putting the lemon slices in the cake, this takes away the bitterness. Arrange the lemon slices in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and let cool. At this point I go through with a spoon and pick out all of the seeds because crunching into a lemon seed in the midst of enjoying coffee cake is quite undesirable.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch angel food cake pan. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt then set aside. Beat butter, granulated sugar, and lemon zest with a mixer on medium speed in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about one minute. With the mixer running, add eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with sour cream.

Spoon 1/2 of the batter evenly into cake pan. Arrange 1/2 of the lemon slices in a single layer over the batter. Spread remaining batter evenly over the top. Cover with the remaining lemon slices in a single layer. Sprinkle the chilled streusel evenly over the batter.

Bake until cake is golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes, this took me more like 65-70 minutes but my oven likes to take its time.

Transfer pan to a wire rack, and let cool in pan for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the pan and the center tube. Carefully wiggle the cake out of the pan paying attention to not break or damage the cake. Let cool completely on rack.

Make the glaze: Just before serving, stir together confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Drizzle over cooled cake, letting excess drip down the sides. Let glaze set before slicing, about 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

What a beauty

Meyer lemon coffee cake

**This story originally appeared in my column Postcards from the Kitchen in the Cedar Street Times on 21 September 2018