1005. Cheesy Garlic Baguette

Sometimes, shortcuts are the best way to go. I usually prefer making something as wholly as I can home-made. So I have made garlic bread from scratch before, but using a bought baguette is much faster.

1004. Pesto Baked Pasta

While pasta is one of my favorite foods in almost all the forms it comes in, I do have a tendency to make a baked dish out of it. Boiling up a batch of pasta, coating it in some pesto and cheese is great. Adding some whisked eggs and cream and baking it off? A whole new level of great.

Time and Again, Part 1

Having over a thousand recipes archived on MCW, I thought it was high time I share a list of recipes I find myself making time and again. These recipes are reflective of my personal favorites, as well as family and friends' favorites, ranging from the basic breakfast, lunch, and dinner, to afternoon teas, snacks, and beyond. Unable to restrict myself to a limit, I will be posting a series of there favorites in separate posts containing 20 to 25 recipes each. Here is part 1:

1002: Knafa Cones

There is a huge market for modern takes on traditional classics. Take the Rangina for example: it is the most basic ancient Bedouin dessert made from ghee-fried flour with dates stirred in. It not comes in all shapes and forms, from a prickled ananas shape, to single-serve in Arabic coffee cups complete with a dried rose bud. Same goes for the knafa: it still comes in the traditional thin and wide disk, but caterers and sweet shops are playing around with the presentation to appeal to their customer base.

1001. Turkish Coffee

The sign of a good Turkish coffee is that it must have a face. It's a weird expression I know, but it refers to the thick light-colored layer sitting on top of the black coffee in the cup. There are three techniques that combine to help make the perfect cup of Turkish coffee.

1000. Iraqi Mina Sima, aka Iraqi Torrone

For my one thousandth post (masha Allah!), I decided to post about an Iraqi delicacy that is a delicacy even to the Iraqis. Still with me? It is a sweet called mina sima, (من السما) which literally translates into from the sky. Historically, this is a sweet referring to one of the heavenly foods Allah sent to Beni Israel after they escaped pharoh by the miracle of Allah. Today, the real mina sima is made using the gum from a specifi tree found in the north of Iraq.

999. Laban Roast Chicken

This roast chicken is very minimalistic yet packs quite the flavor punch. The chicken is marinated overnight in the the same dish it will be baked in the next day. Here we have a yogurt drink that goes by many names: ayran, laban, shineena... The nearest thing to it in the West is buttermilk.

998. Comoros Islands Coffee-Rub Ribs and Mango-Coconut Rice

In this round of the MENA Cooking Club challenge, we have a country we did not have last time: the Comoros Islands. I really did not know anything about this country except that we use it in an Arabic expression to denote a sarcastic notion of distance, such as: Why didn't you get me? It's not like I was in the Juzr al Qamar! It was only until this challenge did I realize the Comoros Islands are real. They are located off the east coast of Africa, and are a vibrant nation full of color and merging cultures.

997. Oreo Torte

A short while ago I made a tea biscuit cake made from the crumbs of actual tea biscuits. This oreo torte is again a flat cake (torte) made from oreo cookie crumbs. The simple torte is then cooked and topped with a pourable frosting, and made beautiful with a pop of tangy freeze-dried raspberries.

996. Lamb Mandi

Since my excellent experience with chicken mendi not long ago, I decided to give lamb shank mendi a go. Cooked in very much the same concept, it differs mostly in the spices used, and takes a bit longer to cook.

995. Cinnamon Rolls

These were certainly the best cinnamon rolls I have ever made: soft and fluffy dough, a just-right ratio of cinnamon, and that cream cheese glaze was quite simply the cherry on top. The dough is really special; it is of the no-knead, overnight-rise variety.

994. Tuna Can Sushi

Despite sushi being an everyday staple in Japan, it has somehow evolved into an elegant, high class, restaurant delicacy food in the West. So I am well aware that the title Tuna Can Sushi is very unglamorous, do know that this is one of the few sushis I would put on my plate every time.

993. Cheese Stuffed Potato Rosti

Potatoes are so great, I have dedicated an entire category on MCW just for them. Whether you boil them and eat them with salt, or fry them up into french fries, they harbor so much potential, those humble tubers. This pan fried, cheese stuffed potato rosti has a very funny story of its creation.

992. Ferrero Rocher Mousse Cake

While this is not the most unctuous or top-notch desserts out there, it is a good recipe for young starters to make, such as your twelve year old daughter. Basic ingredients are used, the finished result looks cozy, there's no baking involved, and it uses a whole lot of nutella and ferrero chocolate balls.