Nan-e Nokhodchi (Roasted Chickpea Cookies)

Materials:

• 1/2 c. canola oil
• 3/4 c. confectioner's sugar (not packed when measured)
• 2 tsp. finely ground cardamom (green pods!)
• 1-1/2 tsp. rose water
• 2-1/4 c. fine, roasted chickpea flour, sifted (not packed when measured)
• unsalted pistachios, slivered or chopped

Methods:

1. Combine oil, sugar, cardamom, and rose water in a bowl and mix until white and creamy, about 2 minutes.
2. Add chickpea flour all at once, and mix for one minute until dough is combined and no longer sticky.
3. Dust work surface with chickpea flour, and knead dough my hand for about 2 minutes.
4. Flatten dough into a square about 3/4" thick.
5. Transfer to a piece of plastic wrap or parchment and cool in refrigerator for 1 hour.
6. Preheat oven to 300F.
7. Unwrap dough and use either a small cookie cutter to cut out cookies (traditionally a tine four leaf clover about 3/4" wide) or cut into small ~3/4" squares.
8. Transfer cookies to non-stick cookie sheet or pan lined with parchment, leaving ~1" between cookies.
9. Decorate each cookie with pistachio pieces, pressing nuts into the dough slightly.
10. Place sheet in the middle of the oven.
11. Bake ~25-30 minutes, or until cookie bottoms are lightly browned.
12. Remove cookies from oven and allow to cool.

Notes:

The cookies are traditionally served during Persian New Year. Miss Neda Bagheri introduced them to me at her lovely little New Year's gathering in early 2010, and I was set to make some of my own ever since! It ended up taking me nearly three months to gather everything together. I think I checked about 6 grocery stores for chickpea flour before finding it at Market basket in Salem, of all places. The hunt for cardamom that wasn't $14 a bottle brought me to many an indian grocery store, in which I mistakenly picked up black cardamom pods first, and have yet to find a recipe to try them out with (suggestions anyone?). Finally we 'discovered' some green pods in the back of the pantry (makes me wonder what else is in there) as well as a coffee grinder that had been lost behind other neglected kitchen appliances. The last few ingredients were procured on a little adventure to whole foods last night, a store I should never ever be allowed to live near, as I will eat myself poor. Alas, I finally made the wonderful little cookies, and boy, were they worth it. A unique little not-too-sweet treat.

Dave's Tuna Salad Sammich Extraordinaire

Materials:

Filling

• 1 6 oz. can tuna
• 1 Tbsp. parsley
• 1/4 c. celery
• 1/2 c. mayonaise
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/4 c. diced onion
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper

Toppings

• pickles
• lettuce
• tomatoes

• & Good Hearty Bread!

Methods:

1. Mix filling
2. Stack your sammich (I think you've got this one)
3. Yum.

Beet Orange Fennel & Goat Cheese Salad

Materials:

• 4-6 large beets, roasted* & chopped into small pieces
• 2 oranges, chopped into small pieces
• 4.5 oz. goat cheese (small package)
• 1 bulb fennel, cored** & sliced thin (mandolin!) & roughly chopped
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/3 c. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. sherry or rice vinegar
• juice of 1/2 a lemon

* roast beets ahead of time when grilling, or roast in oven, cool, then peel.

** remove tough inner core either before or after using mandolin

Methods:

1. Mix beets, oranges, crumbled goat cheese and fennel.
2. In a separate bowl, combine shallot, olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice.
3. Pour in just enough shallot vinaigrette until combined, to taste.
4. Chill before serving.

Roasted Rhubarb Sauce (Great over ice cream)

Materials:

• 2 c. thinly sliced rhubarb (the red bit)
• 1/4. c. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1/4 c. water (or more if needed)

Methods:

1. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add rhubarb and sugar
3. Stew uncovered, stirring frequently, under rhubarb has lost all of its structure.
4. Stir in enough water to thin to sauce-like consistency.
5. Stew a few more minutes.
6. Serve over vanilla ice cream (or even better, strawberry orange cinnamon frozen yoghurt)

Cinnamon Orange Strawberry Frozen Yoghurt (Tastes like a warm summer night)

Materials:

• 3 c. strawberry-flavored greek yogurt (Chobani works well)
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• zest of one orange
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 c. strawberries, chopped finely

Methods:

1. Mix all ingredients.
2. Cool in refrigerator for ~30 min.
3. Freeze in ice cream maker according to maker instructions (typically 25 min).
4. Amazing served with rhubarb sauce.

Notes:

Brought to Dara & Brian's wonderful barbeque June 20 2010.

Salmon Burgers with Lemon Aioli

Materials:

Salmon cakes

• 2 c. cooked salmon (canned or fresh cooked salmon)
• 1/2 c. dry bread crumbs
• 2-3 green onions, finely chopped
• 1 celery rub, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (or to taste)
• 1 tsp. fresh dill
• 2. tsp. fresh thyme
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• salt or seasoning salt (to taste)
• fresh ground pepper (to taste)
• 4 Tbsp. butter
• 2 Tbsp. oil

Lemon Aioli

• 1/2 c. mayonaise
• 2 Tbsp. whipping cream, unwhipped
• 1 lemon, juice and zest of
• 1 Tbsp. prepared horseradish
• 1-2 minced fresh garlic cloves (or to taste)
• 1/2-1 tsp. dried thyme

To serve

• Buns
• Lettuce (boston is great)
• Tomatoes

Methods

1. In a bowl, combine the salmon, dry breadcrumbs, green onions, celery, mayo, cayenne, dill, thyme, Worcestershire sauce and egg; mix well to combined.
2. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Shape into cakes.
4. Melt the butter with the oil in a heavy skillet.
5. Brown salmon cakes on both sides (about 5 minutes per side).
6. To make aioli, mix all ingredients together and adjust to taste.
7. Serve salmon cakes on bulkie rolls, with leon aioli and lettuce and tomato.
8. Delicious!

Orange Ginger Honey Duck

Materials:

• 1 (6 lb) whole duck, rinsed
• 3 tsp. chopped fresh basil leaves
• 2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 tsp. chopped fresh ginger root
• 3 tsp. ground ginger
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 orange, cut into 8ths
• 3 c. water
• 1/2 c. undiluted, thawed orange juice concentrate
• 1-1/2 c. honey
• 3/4 c. butter
• 1-1/2 tsp. lemon juice
• 3/4 c. undiluted, thawed orange juice concentrate

Methods:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Wash duck inside and out, remove gibblets, and pat dry.
3. In a small bowl mix together basil, rosemary, ginger root, ground ginger and salt. Sprinkle mixture on inside and outside of duck.
4. Stuff duck with orange pieces and lay in roaster, breast-side up. Add water and 1/2 c. orange juice concentrate.
5. In a saucepan, combine the honey, butter, lemon juice and remaining orange juice concentrate. Simmer together on low heat until syrupy; about 20min. Pour some syrup over the duck, saving the rest for basting & sauce later. Cover roaster.
6. Bake/roast duck covered in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
7. Turn duck breast side down, baste with sauce, re-cover and reduce heat to 300F.
8. Roast covered for another ~2 hours, basting every ~30 minutes.
9. Turn duck back breast side up and leave uncovered. Roast at 350F until skin is nice and golden, about 20 minutes.
10. Serve over rice with sauce overtop. Great with snap-peas sauteed in ginger and soy.

Modified from:

Allrecipes.com ' honey duck'

Notes:

This feeds 4 people well, but not much more!

Super super moist : )