192. Gourmet Mini-Burgers and Buns

These little gourmet burgers are for more developed adult palates, rather than little kiddie palates.
No ketchup or mayonnaise... instead, a savory-sweet caramelized onion bed on with lays a 50/50 italian-sausage and minced meat burger patty.

191. Rocky Road Cookies

Contrary to popular belief, rock road is an Australian invention rather than an American.
I have come across so many different recipes, so I decided to incorporate the simple essence of rocky road in this recipe.
Rocky road is basicly marshmallow and salted peanuts, enveloped with melted chocolate, and spread over a graham cracker crust.

190. Leek and Goat Cheese Quiche

I have made a leek tart/quiche before (here), but this one is different because it incorporates goat cheese and uses Julia Child's pate brisee recipe for the crust.
I used a mild hard goat's cheese, which I happened to come across.

189. Chicken Lollipops

Chicken lollipops are delicious appetizers, and can be as fancy or as simple as you like.
There is the Chinese version, and the spicy Indian version, and even the Southern States honey-mustard version.

188. Koushari

Koushari is an Egyptian popular food, so popular in fact that it is commonly sold in the streets.
Its main components are rice, lentil, macaroni, and caramelized onion coated in tomato paste.
I personally find that the macaroni in the koushari looks somewhat crass, so I used vermicelli to refine it a bit.

187. Pizza Pops

This is a wonderful finger food: calzone-like pops perfect for parties!(Calzone is an outside-in pizza)
I got this idea from Philsbuy, who use ready made dough for their pizza pops. I used the same dough I've used before for the rosemary-olive knots, but if you have ready made pizza dough on hand, do not hesitate to use it.

186. Carrot Dill Soup

I tasted this soup long, long ago and and it was an immediate hit with me.
The delicate sweetness of the carrots rendered savoury by the vegetable stoch, all interlaced with the aroma of fresh dill is not to be missed.

185. Peanut Butter Rice Crispie Treats

You either like or you don't like peanut butter. I like it. Very much so.
I have made rice crispie treats before, the classic version. This is the nutty peanut version.
I was first introduced to peanut butter in the third grade. It was a life-defining moment for me.

184. Pasta Salad

Pasta salad is great for large gatherings, barbecues, and birthday parties.
Especially this one.
A fantastic array of colorful vegetables tossed among whimsically shaped pasta of your choice, pleasing children and adults alike.

183. Chelo Kebab

The thing that differentiates chelo kebab from other kebabs is that it is simply seasoned with salt and a little bit of pepper to allow people to savor the flavor of the actual meat without the addition of various spices.

182. Deep Broccoli Quiche

Quiche lovers rejoice: today we venture even deeper in the quiche realm with a broccoli quiche.
In this case, the broccoli id briefly blanched to slightly tenderise the vegetable then immediately thrown into an iced water bath to preserve a little crunch and the vivid green color.

181. Toffee Date Pudding Cake

This delectable combination of a light, moist, and fluffy sponge date cake topped with a luscious toffee icing is unbelievable.
There is not a person who didn't ask me for the recipe after the first bite!

180. Iraqi Whole Fish in Pomegranate Molasses

Samak Masgoof (سمك مسكوف), a typical Iraqi dish, is made using fish (most commonly carp) from the Tigris river, cut and gutted from the back (rather than the belly), butterflied, and roasted over an open flame.
But this is not the only way to use the generous bounty of the Tigris.

179. Cordon Bleu

Cordon bleu, literally the blue ribbon in French, is not to be confused with Le Cordon Bleu, which is a French culinary institute in Paris. Cordon bleu is basically a chicken or veal cutlet, pounded, stuffed with a cheese and cured meat slice, breaded and fried.
For such a grand name, it's pretty simple, right?

178. Zaatar Swirl Buns

You didn't think I don't have Manal's cookbook now did you???
Manal, for lack of a better example, is the Arab Martha Stewart. It was her televised cooking show all those years ago that gave me the confidence to dwell in the realm of the cooking world.

177. Cauliflower Gratin

Gratin is a French word for almost any food topped with a browned saucy mixture in a semi-shallow dish. This is comfort food for me. It's warm, bubbly, cheesy, and turns poor boring cauliflower into your best friend for a meal.

176. White Pizza and Spinach

A fluffy-crisp crust topped with an easy, creamy blend of cheese, and garnished with green spinach, makes a delicious and pretty pizza. I found this recipe on King Arthur Flour, and decided to make my own ricotta for it.

175. Home-Made Riccota

Ricotta is a creamy-crumbly Italian cheese, that carries flavors of a dish so well.
How many times have we bought ricotta cheese, left it in the fridge for a few days, and when it's time to use it, we find it has already gone bad and have to throw it away.

174. Emmental Cheese Balls

These little golden cheese nuggets are courtesy of Bernard's kitchen, where he served them with some cold soup. No mistake, these emmental balls are good, but a teeny bit on the bland side eaten by themselves, so they do need a little dipping sauce on the side, like pizza sauce for instance. Or even just a couple of drops of hot sauce really does the trick. This recipe yielded 50 balls.

173. Nadia's Cabbage Salad

This salad is Nadia's recipe. Nadia is a kind and generous reader who commented on my cabbage-tomato salad, and helped me improve the Shami Cabbage Salad technique.
Essential to the recipe is a very sharp knife (be careful!) to shred the cabbage as finely as possible.
Salting the cabbage for at least an hour completely transforms the taste.

172. One-Pot Clam Meal

What a fantastic presentation of this dish! It looks lovely, generous, colorful, and is very enjoyable to eat.
Clams are the star of this show. Paired with some red potatoes, corn, and some shrimp, all coated in a delicious sauce, this is a one-pot meal indeed.

171. Roasted Courgette and Carrot

More often than not, vegetables are more of a colorful accessory to our meals rather than being the star of the show. So when I came across this recipe here whilst browsing Pinterest, I though why not?
Nature's bounty delivered in its most simple form, reminding us of everyday blessings we so often take for granted.

170. Roquefort Quiche

I like Blue Cheese. Roquefort cheese is one of the classics.
So when I came across this Julia Child recipe for Roquefort Quiche, I couldn't not make it.

169. Brownies

I admit: I love the package brownie mix. It's easy, and it tastes good.
I have used them time and again, such as in the brownie bottom cheesecake and in the immodest brownies.
But at some point, one must at least try to make brownies from scratch.
This is the recipe to try.

168. Chicken Escalope Milanese

Escalope Milanese is a fillet of meat, be it beef, veal, turkey, or chicken, pounded, breaded then fried.
I have added extra flavorings to the bread crumbs, but leaving the bread crumbs plain is just fine.

167. Lamb Pizza Flatbread

This is a Middle-Eastern inspired dish, consisting of a minced lamb mixture on flat bread, brought together by a cooling touch of yogurt just before serving.
Essentially, a pizza.

166. Pear Walnut Blue Cheese Pizza

This combination is what I have been looking for, but I just didn't know it! It is genius I tell you, and I wouldn't change a thing about it!

165. Mushroom Cream Toast

I remember my mother making this for us sometimes for breakfast/brunch, other times as an appetizer.
It never fails to amaze me how something so simple can be amazingly delicious.

164. Tomato Tart

Whole tomatoes, peeled and de-seeded, slow roasted for 2 hours produce the essence of tomato, with an incredible depth of flavor.

163. Iraqi Madgooga: Date Sesame Truffles

The literal translation of madgooga (مدقوقة) is "pounded."
For centuries, these miracle balls were traditionally made by pounding the dates and sesame together. Nowadays everything is facilitated, and a meat grinder saves us much time and effort.