A Visit to Jerusalem

 I purchased the book Plenty several years ago when a number of friends had it on their Christmas lists and it was well-reviewed all over the place. I particularly liked the photograph of the eggplant with the pomegranate seeds, even though my husband and son won't eat eggplant. The critical attention paid to Jerusalem: A Cookbook was not to be ignored, so when Laurie Perry suggested it as a pre-Passover/Easter selection for the Cook Book Book Club, a majority of our members agreed. We met on March 26 for a wonderful feast and several of the recipes (and one new one) went on to a Passover seder not long after.

 

Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi

Jerusalem was written by chefs Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, who were raised in different parts of Jerusalem but met in London where they are now business partners. Yotam's father was an Italian Jew whose family relocated to Jerusalem, and Sami's family is from the Muslim area of eastern Jerusalem. The book gives a strong sense of the culinary traditions of both cultures, and how Jerusalem has changed over the years. It's a fascinating read, and there are photographs for every recipe given.

Menu

Ka'ach Bilmalch with Parsley-Garlic-Yogurt Sauce

Raw Artichoke and Herb Salad
Baby Spinach Salad with Dates and Almonds
Pistachio Soup
Herb Pie 

Lemony Leek Meatballs
Fish and Caper Kebobs with Burnt Eggplant and Lemon Pickle
Chicken with Clementines and Arak
Stuffed Eggplant with Lamb and Pinenuts
Poached Pears in White Wine and Cardamom
Clementine and Almond Syrup Cake

Ka'ach Bilmalch with Parsley-Garlic-Yogurt Sauce

My favorite over-achiever Susan Avallone, who loves to bake and also brought dessert, made Ka'ach Bilmalch (which sounds like a Klingon threat) with a Parsley-Garlic-Yogurt Sauce, on which we nibbled as everyone else arrived and dishes made it to the table. They are almost like teething bagels, or perhaps the savory version of the Italian biscuit tarella, but we did enjoy them, with or without the sauce.

Raw Artichoke and Herb Salad

We began the sit-down lunch with a pair of salads. Crystal Armstrong made the Raw Artichoke and Herb Salad, while my sister T Valada-Viars made the Baby Spinach Salad with Dates and Almonds. Following the rule that we should try to follow the recipe and not increase proportions, because we're just looking for a taste, poor Crystal did not get a serving of her own, wonderful, salad. Kudos to Crystal for cleaning those fresh artichokes to shave into the salad.

Baby Spinach Salad with Dates and Almonds

T's salad was equally appreciated, and she modified it to take it to a seder on the first night of Passover by substituting matzoh for the pita "croutons."

Pistachio Soup

Michelle Resnick had a go at the Pistachio Soup recipe. By using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock, she was able to make a soup our vegetarian would have eaten (she had to cancel at the last minute) and one she could (and did) serve at her seder to the vegans who attended. 

Herb Pie

The Herb Pie, a variation on the feta pies found all over the middle east, was made by Sharon Baker. When she explained some of the issues she had in putting the pie together because of the fragility of filo, Laurie recommended that next time she take two sheets at a time. Sharon reported back that the trick worked well when she made the pie again.

Quick Pickled Lemon

My contribution to the meal consisted of Fish and Caper Kabobs with Burnt Eggplant and Lemon Pickle. The first step in this entree involved making a batch of the Quick Pickled Lemons because there was not enough time to make Preserved Lemons. The pickled lemons require about two days of advanced planning, but the preserved lemons need at least a month (I now have a jar of them in the cabinet, too.) The lemon is really a garnish for the eggplant.

I took advantage of my kitchen grill and prepared the eggplant that way, charring the skin all over on the flames and then letting the flesh drain and cool well before chopping it up and adding the other ingredients. The book discusses whether this eggplant rises to being called baba ganoush or if it is just an eggplant salad (tahini appears to be the decisive factor, and this recipe doesn't have it.) I personally don't care, because I will eat any eggplant dish that is put before me.

A plate with a bit of everything, with the Burnt Eggplant and Lemon Pickle at the bottom, and the Fish and Caper Kabob above them to the left.

The fish "kabobs" were more like oval-shaped patties, and weren't on any kind of a skewer. They were rather fragile, and I think they needed more oil for frying than I prepared. I was rather disappointed, but everyone else pronounced them good. I would probably try making them again sometime.

Yogurt with Cucumber

Because I will take any excuse to make tatziki, or whatever the equivalent dish is in the many countries surrounding the Mediterranean, I prepared the Yogurt with Cucumber from Jerusalem. The combination of fresh and dried mint may have been what I was missing when I tried to replicate the version from my favorite local Lebanese restaurant. I could eat it for lunch any day. 
 

Lemony Leek Meatballs

The cucumber and yogurt was also a good accompaniment to the fish and the beef Lemony Leek Meatballs which Amie Brockway-Metcalf made. She had arrived home from a family vacation the day before and thought it was a recipe she could pull together with limited time. She was correct (and they looked so much nicer than my fish.)
 

Chicken with Clementines and Arak

Just as I tend to look for fish recipes to prepare, Laurie Perry seems to make a number of the chicken dishes we've eaten. This time, her submission was Chicken with Clementines and Arak. So moist, so delicious, and, apparently, so easy. She planned to make it for Passover. I'm impressed by how good chicken thighs can be when chicken breasts tend to become very, very dry. I can't make this for my family, since my son is allergic to oranges and their variations, but I would consider making this dish if I were making dishes for a large dinner and there would be something else for him to eat.  

Stuffed Eggplant with Lamb and Pinenuts

As I have said repeatedly, I will eat eggplant in pretty much any form it comes in. Kim Gottlieb-Walker made the Stuffed Eggplant with Lamb and Pinenuts. This is another dish which would be ideal for making for a large dinner party, and Kim brought a huge pan of it to the lunch. Each half of the eggplants above could easily serve two people. Add some bread and an salad and it would be a perfect lunch on its own.

Conchiglie with Yogurt, Peas & Chile

Although it was removed from the menu when Liz Mortensen said she couldn't attend the lunch, I decided we needed a starch and Laurie and I made the Conchiglie with Yogurt, Peas, and Chile Liz  was going to do for us. It turned out to be easy, and made a huge amount of pasta, easily a meal on its own on another day. It was also very pretty. I think it would probably be better while still hot, before the yogurt was soaked up by the pasta.

Poached Pears in White Wine and Cardamom

We had two wonderful desserts. Catherine Fleming made Poached Pears in White Wine and Cardamom and Susan made another fabulous cake, this time Clementine and Almond Syrup Cake. 
The pears were served with a spoonful of creme fraiche, and also had some saffron coloring the wine syrup. A dessert like this is perfect note for ending a meal.

Clementine and Almond Syrup Cake

Susan's cake used finely ground almonds, which she took the time to do herself, but pre-ground almond flour from someplace like Bob's Red Mill would probably make it easier. The dark chocolate ganache is a perfect finish to the moist cake underneath, which was soaked in the clementine syrup. I saved another piece for a later snack. So did my sister.

A piece of cake for later.

I expect that recipes from this book will have a regular rotation in my kitchen. I look forward to June, when it will be the Food52 Cookbook Club selection and I will have 30 days of excuses to cook from Jerusalem.

Pickled Lemons for next time.

Summer Tastes

Here's a draft I started in early August, with a few choice updates:
 
Summer time means some traveling for us, particularly the five days we are gone every year for San Diego Comic-Con International.  As often happens, it fell on my birthday this year, so a party had to wait until the weekend after. The other person who got short-sheeted on a birthday party is my son, who turned 30 in August. Please tell me where the time goes.

I did plan a special excursion for Michael's birthday, which involved the L.A. subway system,  food, Little Tokyo, and a Dodgers' game. Michael loves all things Japanese, so lunch was a stop at a highly praised ramen shop for noodles.

 

 

The place also served some pretty good goyza, those lovely little Japanese dumplings.

We spent part of the afternoon at the Japanese-American Museum, visiting an exhibit of the work of Stan Sakai, an artist who is an old friend of my husband. He's the creator of Usagi Yojimbo, a samurai rabbit. The exhibit was to honor the Year of the Rabbit, which is my sign in the eastern zodiak.

The final event of the day was the trip to Dodger Stadium, where a special acknowledgement greeted Michael.

The food at Dodger Stadium left a lot to be desired. I don't eat hot dogs and everything else was pretty awful. But the Dodgers did win that night and we got lap blankets as a premium because we were there as part of a group from the college district.

My attempts at gardening last year were pretty feeble.  The herbs did o.k. in pots on the patio. The tomatoes didn't make it. Our adolescent dog Riley, is risked his life by digging them up. (Tomato plants can be toxic to dogs.) The plan for this year involves raised beds on a strip of the property the dogs can't get to. I'm a little worried about the amount of sun, but I'm willing to give it a try. Ideally, I'd like to cut the bamboo outside the kitchen windows and put the raised beds there (and add greenhouse windows to the kitchen), but I haven't been able to get the gardeners to do the work.

When we had my birthday party, the caterer could not get enough of my fresh thyme.  I have to remember to water it, because the summer heat can really dry the dirt out but the sage seems to do better with less water, and is happy in a pot with some rosemary.  One can never have too much rosemary, and there is a huge plant at the far side of the pool (I dream of having a topiary formed in the shape of Swamp Thing for it), but in a down-pour, I'd rather it was closer to the kitchen.  There is also never enough basil, but it bolts really easily in the summer around here. In the north-east, where I grew up, I can remember rows of the fragrant plant in Great-Aunt Rose's garden that lasted through the summer. 

When my party was over, I was left with a lot of heirloom tomatoes that never got incorporated into the salad the caterer planned. That meant it was time for a Tuscan Tomato Soup, which I've made before, as well as a "Deconstructed Eggplant Parmesan" recipe I found.  To balance things out, I also made a four-cheese mac'n'cheese (since Len won't eat eggplant and isn't supposed to eat tomatoes any more.)  It was meatless Monday for the Sunday Super Supper Squad that week.

I used Anne Burrell's Tuscan Tomato and Bread Soup recipe.  Her cookbook (Cook Like a Rock Star) came out in October and I made sure I preordered it.  I just love her show Secrets of a Restaurant Chef on Food Network. I'm pretty sure I've seen every episode and I'd buy the series if was offered on DVD. I always learn something new from her. I must admit, I'm looking forward to the third season of Worst Cook in America, because she is a great teacher.