My Own No Passport Required

It is hard not to like Chef Marcus Samuelsson ' s new show No Passport Required.  The hour long show features the famed chef cooking and eating exotic food in - various cities , US cities.He has tried sa moon in the heavily Arab Detroit, enjoyed a Cajun influenced Tet in the Vietnamese section of New Orleans and made mole and carnitas  in Chicago's Mexican Back of the Yards neighborhood.I decided to have my own No Passport Required  and we t to the Middle Eastern neighborhood in Paterson , New Jersey.It was a culinary v stay cation for me.

Paterson has always attracted immigrants.When Alexander Hamilton (yes, that Alexander Hamilton)founded this city, he modeled it after the English industrial town of Manchester. Factories sprang up , using the Great Paterson Falls as its' power source.The silk and weaving industries sprang up,attracting the first wave of Syrian weavers.Now South Main Street not only has them but also Turks,Lebanese,and Palestinians  .The area is known as Little Istanbul or Little Ramallah.Go there and you feel like you're on the strèets of Istanbul
I went to Star Pide on the Main Street.Pide means bread in Turkish and they bake what's known as a Turkish pizza

We started with a salad and it was probably the best I've ever tasted.It was diced cucumbers, tomatoes, and onion.It was a simple dressing.Parsley was sprinkled all through it giving it a sprightly green flavor.They also place a dish of small yellow peppers and a spicy paprika  mix.

The Turkish pizza ,as it's known was flavorful with a crispy crust and laden with a generous amount of mozzarella.I also tried the ground beef topped with bacon crispy  pastrami.This was delicious with a generous helping of spiced beef.

The pastry shop across the street beckoned.It was a blend of American butter cookies and Middle Eastern treats.N albus Pastry and Sweet a is run by incredibly generous bakers who let us try a sweet cheese and shredded wheat called kanafah.They even brewed us a complimentary kettle of tea.I also tried kadaif, a honey soaked shredded wheat nest filled with pistachios and almonds.That was wonderful and even not too sweet thanks to the nuts used.Next time I'm going for the baklava.

Visiting Little Ramallah in Paterson was my  No Passport Required meal.Be adventurous.Visit the Culinary rich hoods where you live.It's a fun stay cation away from the ordinary.

A Drunk Turkey And Other Ideas

What goes well with a holiday meal? A holiday drink. Any wine, cocktail or punch can highlight all types of food, from a roast to a cookie. It's just knowing what to serve and what pairs well with it. This creates a nice harmony  where one accents the other.

Many will wonder what will go with next week's holiday meal. After all, a true Thanksgiving dinner has a mélange of flavors , from the unami of the gravy, the saltiness of the meat and stuffing to the sweetness of the yams and cranberries. Since turkey is fowl , it's best to stick with a white wine, preferably sparkling. The German Reisling is about your best bet.it goes well with any flavor, sweet salty and even spicy.It is a very fruity wine with notes of apple and apricot which makes it the perfect companion for a sweet potato casserole along with a crisp turkey leg.Another  German white is Gerwurtztraminer, a lively white that has a slight spiciness to it.  Sauvignon Blanc,a crisp citrusy wine, that has strong herbaceous and cut grass overtones.is a good one to pair with  any spicy dish, especially a strong herb based dressing.It is also a great wine for party food too.Serve it with artichokes dip or even bruschetta at a Christmas or New Year's get together.Red wines can also be served at the Thanksgiving table.Pinot Noir is about the best one because its' fruitiness and earthy, fungi tones shows off the bird and the different sides..

Thanksgiving is the official start of the holiday season. It's when mixed drinks and boozy punches reign supreme. You can liven up the holiday dinners and get togethers afterwards with an apple cider cocktail. This is a mix of  rum, apple cider and cinnamon schnapps  with a apple kabob garnish., apple cubes skewered on a  swizzle stick.It would also be a fun sip at any tree decorating party too. A mulled cider is a nice way to finish any holiday meal.A warm cup of it is a dessert , after a heavy feast and best of all it's non-alcoholic. It's just simmering the liquid with allspice, cloves and cinnamon. A thinly sliced orange is also added to cut the spiciness and cut through the heaviness.For pure elegance serve a cranberry Kir Royale. This is a bit labor intensive but worth it for the sleek flavor. It's first cooking down frozen cranberries along with orange juice and zest with sugar.it is then strained and cooled. The thick syrup is then spooned into the bottom of champagne flutes and any kind of champagne is poured over this for a layered effect.Cranberries can be added for decoration. For real fun , think about an apple pie sangria , a kind of punch made with Pearl Apple Pie vodka, cider and pear nectar. Ginger ale is added for bubble and fizz.It's a great party drink too, perfect with roast pork or a nice roasted ham.

Yes, this is the season for food and wine. It's part of the holiday feasting to pair holiday dishes with holiday drinks. The two set each other off perfectly.enhancing its' other flavors and notes.

Middle Eastern Spins

Nothing is exotic or as tasty as Middle Eastern cooking. It is a mélange  of different spices and cooking techniques, all marrying to create a wonderful , flavor packed meal. Mediterranean cooking is also easy. Any novice home chef can make it with ease and confidence, producing a perfect meal.

The cuisine featured prominently in both Melissa Clark's A Good Appetite and David Tanis' A City Kitchen in yesterday's New York Times Food section.Ms Clark made shallots grilled on a warm or indirect heat grill. Shallots are part of the onion family and they have a very sweet taste, intensified by the grilling. Ms. Clark recommends cutting them into chunks, This will vary
the textures of the shallot .Some will have creamy smooth interiors while others will be chunky and chewy which works.The key is moving the shallots around so they can get the optimum warmth.If they're not browning, then move them to the hotter side of the grill..They  are then chopped and mixed with herbs and lemon and turned into a kind of relish to be served with labneh, a richly creamy middle Eastern yogurt. You can use Greek yogurt instead and pile on a pita. Ms. Clark recommends serving the relish with meats and fish, but personally I would have chicken and beef layered with the relish and yogurt as a kind of gyro.

It would also go well with David Tanis' recipe this week, Moroccan steamed lamb shoulder. It one of the favorite Moroccan ways to cook it besides spit roasting and simmered in tangines,it's an easy technique with first starting off with putting the seasoned shoulder in the basket of  large steamer(you can use the steamer part of your spaghetti pot for this). Keep the water at the steamer's bottom at a brisk boil for two and a half to three hours. This will make the meat incredibly tender and succulent. Serve with typical Moroccan veggies such as carrots, turnips and zucchini but you can also have a dish with chickpeas drenched in lemon or spices. Moroccan cooks and home chefs slather saffron butter on the shoulder before cooking but Mr. Tanis recommends dabbing it on the meat and veggies before serving. The shoulder is usually accompanied by wildly spiked red pepper oil that's rich with cayenne. For something much more tamer serve it the charred shallots with it as  side on  top, along with pita to sop up any juices.

Mediterranean cooking is a tasty mélange of different spices and flavors. Try an easy relish of grilled shallots for an easy lunch or served with a steamed lamb shoulder for a dinner. These make wonderfully fragrant dishes that are a snap to make.

Embracing Ayurvedic Cooking

Many today want a cleaner  lifestyle . That can be achieved by embracing the Ayurvedic lifestyle. It's an ancient Indian way of healing through certain foods and practices. Luckily there is a guide  in the formof a cookbook to help us achieve a purer way of living.The recipes are not aid in creating a more balanced diet but they're also tasty.


Lois A. Leonhardi wrote The Essential Ayurvedic  Cookbook.(Robert Rose Press) with the intention of not only having home chefs cooking healthier but also embracing the medicinal benefits of the practice. There are chapter devoted on figuring out if one is a vatta, pitta or kapha the three categories or doshas , These will help in divining what meats, veggies and herbs belong in an individual's diet. Ms. Leonhardi even includes a questionnaire about finding out in what category you belong, Most , according to her,  are a mix of all three. There is some strictness to it , such as sticking to the recipes suited to your dosha as well as no leftovers. All meals must  be made fresh and eaten fresh.. The dishes can be varied though for all doshas as each has a suggestion box at the end of every recipe.There is also a pictorial guide as well along with a how to on turn pantries into ayurvedic ones. There's a segment on the six tastes that make up the diet. They are sweet, sour salty, pungent , bitter and astringent  and all figure prominently in creating the  dishes.

Many of the recipes reflect the Indian diet. Dal, or mashed lentils , figures prominently in a large amount of the lunch and dinner recipes. There is also ghee , the clarified melted butter as well as tamarind paste along with coconut milk Mung bean recipes dot the book ..All meals are highlighted. For breakfast try the fresh made vegan vanilla nut yogurt along with millet breakfast patties that Ms. Leonhardi recommends serving with a poached egg or scrambled egg whites. Since she is Italian, some recipes have an Italian spin  to them. She includes her uncle's mushroom frittata recipe along with an ayurvedic spin on her grandmother's tomato sauce. Cannelini and pizzettes are also adapted for all doshas, with the basic recipe given along with suggestions..It;s not all vegetarian either like the Hindu  Indian diet. There are rabbit , and salmon recipes  plus lamb, pork and chicken ones too Desserts are allowed, in both candy and tea bread. Ms. Leonhardi also includes tea and the creamy yogurt drink , lassi recipes too.

Healthier eating means healthier living.Use The Essential Ayurvedic Cookbook to achieve this. Those aches and pains along with the bad attitude will disappear , thanks to a thoughtful blend of meats veggies and spices blended in ancient ayurvedic recipes.

Easy Gluten Free Cooking

Anyone with gluten allergies knows how difficult it is to come up with meals or even to enjoy a home baked treat. However that's all going to change with a new cookbook Bob's Red Mill Everyday Gluten-Free Cookbook.There are all sorts of recipes from baked goods to even salads that will help improve lives and diets. They're also great for those who just want a healthier lifestyle without sacrificing variety and style.

The book was written by Dr  CamillaV. Saulsbury  and published by the food centric publisher, Robert Rose.Dr Saulsbury is a food instructor and a big fan of what's known as ancient grains. These are quinoa , amaranth , millet  teff and psyllium., These have been around for millennia, being cooked and eaten from the ancient Japanese to the  Aztecs. Many home chefs  shy away from these because they feel that the grains are hard to get or expensive. This is farther from the truth . These grains are easily accessible and easy to cook with (think polenta).Each grain is explained and there are instructions on how to cook them on their own(add some butter and spices and they make excellent sides) Dr. Saulsbury includes an extensive guide to these different grains along with one for spices and herbs. I like that she also has a how to guide for selecting free range and organic eggs as well as one defining the different types of milk from cow to almond and hemp.

The cookbook has a wide variety of international recipes. There are crepes made with both millet and sorghum flours,huevos rancheros with amaranth along with amaranth paella.Kids will love this book too. There are fun enchiladas and burgers plus a a yummy array of baked treats.. Chocolate chip cookies are made with an ancient grains combo of  millet, oats and chia seeds {yes, those chia seeds like those of a chia Pet) along with cocoa chia gelato that has a surprise ingredient , dates for solidness.The cookbook is excellent for those who want to eat healthier as well. Dr. Saulsbury puts all natural ingredients  as well as lean meats and fish in all of main meals.Chicken and salmon figure large in these  as well as tuna. Salads are a mix of brightly colored good for you veggies blended with all sorts of grains and spices.The sides are delicious as well and some like teff polenta can easily be made into the main dish.

Gluten free cooking doesn't have to be boring and bland. Bob's Red Mill Everyday  Gluten - Free Cookbook is testament to that with its' wide array of dishes and treats. They are not only healthy , but flavorful and exciting.

Eggs With Everything