Poached Eggs

Last Saturday was my first brunch hour at Palio. As the whole menu was completely unfamiliar to me, I just preferred watching closely and try to remember all the steps. I couldn't wait for an order for Eggs Benedict to come in. And finally my prayers were answered. Juan Carlos (he calls himself JC) made the poached eggs and it looked to simple to do.

Lettuce topped with Poached Eggs, Cranberries and Croutons. Dressing was a mix of
Lemon Juice, Wine Vinaigrette and Olive Oil.

On Sunday, for lunch I came up with this salad. Well, it is not a salad that you would eat everyday, but it is the salad that you come up with when you can barely wait to make poached eggs. And not only 1, but 4 and no broken yolks!

آش ماست

Aash is a very thick soup that we usually eat in Iran when the weather is cold like now. Ash is very traditional specially when someone leaves country or town for a long time. They make the aash after they are gone and usually the family or friends throw a party for that. I made this aash simply because I miss home and even now thinking about it I am on the verge of crying. I am far away from home and I miss every single bit of it. My mom usually makes this dish for us in winter. It is by far my favorite. Eating it here all the way across the world from home made me travel back in time to 15 years ago sitting in our cute kitchen in Tehran at the round table with my brother eating aash.

I used the recipe from Najmieh's book, but I also was on the phone with my mom so she gave me some good tips. Najmieh says that the aash is ready an hour after you add the last ingredients, however, to me aash is ready whenever it smells right. So for us it took 2 hours on a very low temperature an let it cook slowly.

 

 This is after I added the chick peas, lentil and rice. I don't like the Basmati Rice here. It just doesn't taste like home.

Now I added chopped Parsley, Dill and Green Onion. Since working at Palio I have become an expert in chopping Parsley or onion. Danny showe me the trick. Before it would take me for ever to do either, now it takes couple minutes to have it all ready:)

While I was waiting for aash to get ready I made some tea to just make the whole theme right:).

And it is ready.  This kind of aash you usually eat with yogurt! Well I did forget making mints to top the aash with and decorate, but imagine my impatience after waiting hours for this deliciousness to be ready.

My Life in France

How to Make Pasta From Scratch

I haven't tried it yet, but this looks very easy

Video

خورش قیمه

I made this stew from "The Food for Life" by Najmieh Batmangilij.

The stew it self wasn't as hard, the challenging part was to add the sour additions, Lime and lime powder. I never know how much sour is too much! I love it all.

 

Then I made some french fries to top the stew with it.

 

I also made my Grandma's specialty dish, Havij Polo. Which is sweet and we used to eat these two together.

 

Meanwhile, my friends came over to visit and kept me occupied until lunch was ready:)

Eggplant Parmesan

This one is a result of my hard work at the restaurant. Saif shared his recipe of Eggplant Parmesan with me. I used our slicer for the first time and yes, I sliced the top of my finger and my nail off! If you think that I gave up that very second then you don't know me. Bobby helped me wrap it up and I continued on slicing!

The trick is the layers. Eggplant, Tomato Sauce, Cheese and Chopped Basil! Now you can have different layers as you go.

کوکو ماست(Yogurt Quiche)

Last night I did it again. I walked in the kitchen from our garage, coming back from work. Set my purse on the couch and took my shoes off, put the apron on and started.

I think I just did it to ease my mind and relax. So I decided to make this Quiche with Yogurt from Food of Life by Najmieh Batmanglij. It was so easy! I added all the ingredients as Najmieh says in her book. Due to the Hurricane Irene passing NOVA, our local grocery store ran out of Green Onions. Now do not ask me why, because I am still confused! So I added chives instead. I used to think that Chive is spicy, but that wasn't the case in this dish.

 

Now it was time to put it in the oven and just sit and wait very patiently. After 30 minutes, I had my plate filled with Green Salad topped with croutons and Cranberries. I cut myself a piece of this yummy quiche and enjoyed it with a glass of Cabernet wine.