Time and Again Part 6

There is no order or leading trend for the sixth installment of the Time and Again series so many of you are fond of. Obviously, Iraqi food hold a greater majority presence, but if I had to label, I'd call this a collection of very homey recipes, to very chic ones.
Examples of homey ones: kubbas and kubba soup, roast chicken and barbecued chicken (with garlic toum sauce of course), ribs, and oatmeal cookies. Chic contenders include a simple balsamic dressed salad, moules frites, rose petal rice pilaf, and creme caramel.

Balsamic Dressed Salad. More of a recipe for the balsamic dressing than it is for the salad, four magical ingredients are whisked to form an out-of-this-world dressing that really doesn't need more than a few crisp lettuce leaves to be showcased.

Chickpea Fetta. Layers of fried pita bread soaked in freshly boiled chickpeas topped with a tahini-yogurt sauce and fried pinenuts make you forget about needing meat to thoroughly enjoy this vegetarian meal.

Haloomi Cheese Bourag Rolls. These Haloomi bourags consist of essentially three ingredients: cheese, parsley, and the springroll pastry. It is as simple as it is delicious, plus no burns from spitting and spluttering because haloomi doesn't melt.

Kubba Halab. I could probably happily live on well made kubba halab. An Iraqi delight named in homage to the Syrian city of Halab, this is my perfected version resulting from multiple recipes and years of experience.

Kubba Burghul. An Arabian classic made with a minced meat and bulgur wheat crust. No catering table is truly complete without these delightful bombs.

Leek Quiche. This combines two of my favorite things and I have no issue of having it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Made from a crazy-easy recipe to boot.

Savory Lamb Baklava. Crispy buttery filo layes are stratified with a rich mince meat filling, served beside a light tossed salad, and a delicate drizzle of fruity tangy pomegranate molasses makes for an intensely satisfying warm-weather meal.

Farmer's salad. Roughly chopped tomato, cucumber, and onion drizzled with lemon, olive oil and salt is pretty spectacular as it is, and adds up to way more than the sum of its parts. Add fresh mint and sumac, and that's an explosion of a salad.

Greek Shrimp Sanganaki. A Greek dish traditionally served as an appetizer accompanied by some rustic crusty bread, there are so many ways to adapt it to a main course: over a bed of spaghetti or on the side of some fluffy rice are a few options.

Iraqi Kubba-Turnip Soup. This is a famous Iraqi soup that is delightfully tangy and hearty.While it is true that this is a soup, it is really hearty and satisfying enough to have as a meal by itself.

Pomegranate Sesame Chicken with Ginger Coconut Rice. A relatively new addition to our favorites list, this was a keeper from the first bite despite the unusual combo of pomegranate molasses and soy sauce.

Moules frites. My mother made this and even as a child I absolutely loved them. Just make sure to adhere to a simply set of guidelines to find the freshest and safest selection of shells.

Greek Roast Chicken. A favorite dish of my dear brother in law, so many long dinners filled with conversation and laughter happened around it. Do not forgo the smashed potato alongside.

Barbecued Chicken. I am fond of this recipe and technique because to me it represents my first success at the grill, which was a whole new field of cooking at the time. It does help that the perfectly charred savory with a touch of sweet is fantastically delicious too.

Whipped Garlic Sauce. Slathered on cooked meat, chicken, or fish, this is an addictive sauce which completes a barbecue blow out. Heck, you can even eat it as a dip with some bread and you'll be happy.

Chicken Lemon Saffron Stew. The sunshine colors of this stew are incredible, and all the more enhanced by the exotic and luxurious strands of saffron. Despite having a mere four ingredients (barring water and salt), the flavors are so intense and burst your senses. Philip Juma was inspired by this recipe to recreate his own version on the Evening Standard. 

Rose Petal Rice Pilaf. An incredibly fragrant rice combining the likes of carmelized onion, sour barberries, sweet sultanas, bright pistachio, rich saffron, perfumey rose petals, and fresh lemon zest.

Iraqi Lamb Ribs. Sometimes, a cut of meat is just too special to mask with other flavors. This is a recipe for meat lovers, who love the clean, intense flavor of a good cut. 

Iraqi Iroog Bread. A family favorite, this bread has never failed to impress first-timers, despite its lack of beauty. They are best eaten hot, but the recipe takes up quite some time and yields a good amount that is not likely to be consumed in the same day making it great for freezer storage.

Crème Caramel. Oh the memories. This was my favorite dessert as a child. As an adult, this is now one of my favorite desserts lol. Tried and true, and it's also my mother's recipe, which can't get better than that.

Carrot Cake. Another one of my mother's recipes, this is a recipe from an eighties French cookbook. Instead of the typical American cream cheese frosting, this cake is glazed with warm apricot jam. A must-try.

Everyday Tiramisu. Actually, for the sake of the waistline, probably best to not consume on an everyday basis. What lends it the title of Everyday is the ease in which it is made and the fact that it uses regular cream cheese instead of the Italian mascarpone original.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Everyone who has tasted these cookies loved them. I especially favor them dunked in hot milk or even tea or coffee. What's best is that they can be completely made in a food processor.

Frozen Berry with Hot White Chocolate Sauce. Probably as sophisticated as a dessert can get, I'm sure you would be astounded at the simplicity and ease of the recipe.

Zimtsterne Cinnamon Stars. Last but certainly not least are these Winter four ingredient cinnamon-almond star cookies. Naturally gluten free, they are one of the best types of chewey cookies out there.