Onion Bed

Sitting on a bed of onions - on the way to Zahleh

Magdousheh in the Spring

Text taken from Mouneh - Preserving Foods for the Lebanese Pantry (2010 edition): 

In spring time, it is an enriching experience to walk through a grove of orange trees blossoming with white flowers and bursting with fragrance. I’ve had many occasions to experience this romantic stroll throughout my journey. When you see, touch and smell these flowers you have the impression that they are declaring the coming of spring.

 Magdousheh, a small town about 50 km (31 mi) south of Beirut, is reputed for its orange groves and its annual orange blossom water production. It is situated at an altitude of about 300 m (984 ft) above sea level. The town overlooks the Mediterranean Sea with its prominent pilgrimage site—home of the church of Our Lady of Mantara. On one of my visits I was accompanied by Oussama Amioun, a local resident and producer. We walked through the whole town meeting with people and discussing the year’s orange blossom yield.  During the season, villagers scatter through the groves and private gardens working simultaneously to harvest their prized orange blossom flowers. A faint perfume accompanies you as you walk through the streets. There is a certain ambiance unseen elsewhere in Lebanon at that particular moment. The tiny white flowers are laid out, scattered on empty large white bags. Distillers of different sizes and shapes are washed and set up carefully to ensure a proper yearly production. Farmers and producers of Magdousheh pride themselves on a superior quality of distilled orange blossom water. They insist that the trees should not be irrigated during the hot summer months. In fact, it is this hearty resistance which makes the flowers superior, thereby resulting in a higher quality product.  

Traditionally, most households in Lebanon made their annual production of orange blossom water at home using a family alembic. Today, it is not unusual to find families gathered at a town center where the communal karakeh is set up with large bags of orange blossom flowers. Production is mainly reserved to villagers who keep the traditional distillation process alive.  

Mr. Hannah

The pride of a farmer

Let's try!

The smell of orange blossom simply takes you away

Together we stand

In town, flowers for sale

Oussama Amioun

Taking a break

First seller as you enter the town

International Prize of the Gastronomique Literature

A great evening hosted by the Lebanese Academy of Gastronomy at Chez Sophie.

Here enclosed was the Menu (in French):

Apertitif
Bellini a la pèche blanche
 En Amuse Bouche

Fritos de grenouille / Spuma de pomme de terre / Jus corsé
Vin blanc de Bourgogne
Domaine Chevrot, 2008, Chardonnay, Bio
 En Entrées

Salade d'asperges vertes et blanches / Copeaux de manchego / Jambon Bellot

Vinaigrette à la truffe noire

Ou

Emietté de tourteau aux agrumes / Carpaccio de Saint Jacques

En Primi Piatti

Raviole de joue de boeuf / Foie gras
Vin rouge du Languedoc
Puech Noble, Domaine Puech Noble
Producteur R. Rostaing 2007, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Bio  
En Poisson

Filet de daurade à la vapeur / Pousses d'épinards / Mousseline de topinambours

Crème de palourdes

Ou

En Viande

Souris d'agneau confit / Mousseline de purée de pomme de terre

En Dessert

Café gourmand

Best part of life is sharing happiness with the one you love

The winners!

Friendship!

A snapshot in the kitchen with Sophie

Goat Song

Animals sense who love them - I love this photo!

4th Day Horeca 2011

Ok, so I have to admit that this was my favorite day! I was so excited that I spoke during the whole evening (in a microphone, in Arabic). Today's guests were Souk el Tayeb's food producers from all over Lebanon. It was amazing because each producer prepared Kebbeh according to the their region. Georgina El Bayeh, from Kferdleos in the North, prepared Kebbeh Erras. They were excellent. She stuffed them with a bit of fat mixed with chopped green pepper, and dried mint. Zeinab Kashmar, from Hallousiyeh, prepared Frakeh which is Kebbeh prepared on a piece of marble. This is raw kebbeh with burghul mixed with Southern spices including cumin, rose petals, marjoram, etc ...(I will develop this story later on my TV show). She beat the raw meat for one hour constantly to show how the Kebbeh was made in yesterdays. It was amazing! And the taste... Sona Takijian, from Borj Hammoud Beirut, prepared Vospov Kefteh. This is Kebbeh made with boiled lentil mixed with burghul. Suzanne Doueihy, from Zgharta in the North, made us her famous Kebbeh Nayeh bil Jorn. I've never tasted a better Kebbeh in my life! She also brought trays of Kebbeh bil Saniyeh: Kebbeh Basaliyeh, Kebbeh bi Zeit, and Kebbeh bi Labneh. Last but not least, Nada Saber, from Kherbet Anafar in the Bekaa made us Kebbet Batata. She also brought with her Kebbet Raheb and Kebbet Lakteen.She gave me some to take home after the show to share with my family. We fed hundreds of people and that is what it's all about. Sharing, feeding, teaching, and making others happy! I was glad that the workshop was a success this year.

Sona feeding everyone her delicious lentil kebbeh.

Suzanne working on her kebbeh bil jurn.

Happiness is sharing food with everyone!

3rd Day Horeca 2011

On the third day, I arrived a bit late because of traffic. It was really exasperating. Our first guest was to be Chef Karim Haidar, apparently he stormed out of the stand because he was not satisfied with the organization. I never got to meet him !!! I was disappointed because I would have liked to hear about his stories concerning  the introduction of Lebanese foods and flavors in Parisian restaurants. Maybe one day!

The day was not a total disappointment, on the contrary.  I met a lovely woman, who is a US-trained chef. Her name is Reem Azoury. She owns a small restaurant in Washington DC. She presented the audience with a conference based on adapting Lebanese Cuisine to International Tastes, mostly American. The presentation was really interesting and made a lot of sense. It brought me back to our family restaurant and how we introduced Lebanese flavors to South Florida. I've asked Reem to send me a copy of her presentation. I will post the highlights when I get it.  

2nd Day Horeca 2011

The focus of the second day of the workshop was on a specific ingredient,tahini. Tahini is a paste of ground sesame seeds. Our sponsor, Al Kanater, offered tahini and halawa to all those passing by. Our first guest was no other than Top Chef host Chef Joe Barza.Joe presented the making of fish kafta. The dish consists of ground fish mixed with spices, parsley, coriander (fresh and dry), diced onions, and salt. The mix was spread on a platter filled with fresh tomato sauce. Slices of potatoes were spread on the fish layer.The whole was topped with a tarrator sauce made with tahini, lemon juice, water, and salt. About 20 minutes later, everyone had a taste of this delicious creation signed Joe Barza.

The second guest was Charles Azar, Lebanon's top pastry chef. He baked "Chocolate Macaroon with Halawa". The taste was out of this world and inspired me a lot. The halawa was mixed in the hot chocolate, melting into a thick paste. With a little imagination, one can do so much to introduce local ingredients to all kinds of recipes. I was certainly impressed.

Next to the Culinary Heritage workshop stand, Horeca introduced this year Librairie Gourmande. I was able to meet Chef Andrew, a Canadian-Egyptian chef, who is redheaded like me and speaks Arabic like me too!!! He signed his new book that day. So funny... I'm sure you all have seen him on Fatafeat.

Two great Lebanese chefs

Chef Andrew

Chez Sophie - Cooking Risotto with Chef Sophie

1st day at Horeca 2011

I've come to the definitive conclusion that it's not only about the food, but about the person making the food. Yesterday the Horeca workshop started with food prepared by the restaurant Mayrig. A group of ladies came on site to prepare the recipes. I had a taste of "Pandjarov Sarma" - handpicked Swiss chard leaves stuffed with a special blend of rice, spices and tomato with olive oil, "Vospov Keufteh" - red lentil kebbeh served raw topped with fresh tomato salad, "Mante" -the traditional Armenian crispy dumpling topped with tomato soup and fresh garlic yogurt. It is equivalent to the Lebanese "Shish Barak". The whole is sprinkled with sumac.For a quick dessert, "Tahinov Hats" were carefully prepared. They are cookies made with tahini, flavored with cinnamon. Mayrig is proud to share these recipes which have been passed on from mother to daughter for generations.

The second group, headed by Jean D'arc, from Sofil Catering served an Armenian Kebbeh recipe called "Yahnili Kufta", "Patatesove Kufta" which is kebbeh made with boiled potatoes, "Manteh Roseh" - which for me was out of this world, and a delicious dessert called "Zardah" - rice pudding cooked with grape molasses. Again, I stress on the character of the person involved in the cooking. I was very much impressed by Jean D'arc's energy and talent. I admire a tough, talented woman like that - surrounded by her whole family who was rooting for her.

I learned a lot, tasted a lot...It confirmed the importance of this cuisine in our society. I will work on getting it out there!

Visit to Beyno - Cooking Meat with Vinegar