Best of MCW (1701-1800)

Welcome to the 18th installment of the Best Of series for MCW, where for every 100 recipes posted, I do a round up of the absolute hits we loved and ended up making over and over again. Sandwiches and sides take center stage here, but the six main dishes are each something I would be happy to have on a weekly basis. I do tend to organize my round-ups as if I was walking through a day chronologically, meaning we start at breakfast options, then explore snacking ideas, before tackling main meals and moving on to dessert as the end. Today, in honor of our brotherhood with Palestine, we start the segment with a simple Palestinian spread, consisting of crispy zaatar bread, lemony brined olives, and tangy lebna drenched on olive oil.

See also part 1 and part 2, part 3 , part 4 , part 5 , part 6 , part 7 , part 8 , part 9 , part 10, part 11, part 12 , part 13 , part 14, part 15 , part 16 and part 17 of previous Best Of MCW series.

Osteoporosis? Anemia? Depression? Constipation? This ancient healing remedy tackles each one of these and more. Try dates in olive oil on an empty stomach first thing in the morning, every morning, and watch your health and mood improve.

I picked up this recipe for cream cheese scrambled eggs ages ago and have been intending to share it since a very long time. Scrambled eggs hold a special place I think to most people. It is usually one of the first things one learns to cook.  It requires almost no skill, just as long as you remember to keep the heat medium low and use a non-stick pan.

Here, I am sharing only the recipe for the caesar salad dressing only, which is made in bulk and stored refrigerated. There are multiple uses for caesar salad dressing, besides a salad. Mashing some boiled eggs with it for a delicious sandwich filling,  spreading it on toast and topping with tuna, or as a dip to some crudites are some options.

We already have great sandwich filling recipes here on MCW that are staples to any gathering or park outings: egg sandwich and tuna sandwich. Now we can gratefully add chicken sandwiches to this already fantastic repertoire and call it a day. 

This cheese and olive warm sandwich was a quick non-recipe recipe shared across social media during Ramadan as the perfect quick-fix suhour for late wakers. It takes no time to throw together, then it is dry-toasted in a pan for the ultimate crispy exterior and melty interior combination. 

When McDonald's Breakfast Mc Muffin took off blazing, many people tried to recreate it at home to control the wholesomeness of the ingredients and the inevitable inclusion of (rancid) oil used at the fast food chain. 

This ultra-fluffy focaccia version takes only 4 hours of resting time, 45 minutes to recuperate, and a mere 20 minutes in the oven.  It is furthermore accompanied by an intense spicy garlic chili oil to dip it in.

Take this contender as a sign of good things to come. I finally mastered (at a humble level) sourdough, and make a version of this boule weekly if I can. By version, I mean specifically walnut sourdough, cinnamon swirl sourdough, and others coming in the the next round up insha Allah.

This cheese and dill sambusak is one of these recipes made for years on end and is an absolute favorite, but is so simple that one forgets its importance to share and does not consider it a recipe. Cheese and herbs go fantastically well together, but certain cheese types and certain herb combinations are extra special.

Remember when I posted about Iraqi cucumbers and salt? Hardly a revelation, but it is something my father, may Allah bless and have mercy on his soul, used to sometimes snack on in the evening. It is something so simple that one would have to get out of their own head to consider sharing it. Same goes of this "recipe".  Us Iraqis like to grill tomatoes and onion by default with our meats. Strange to the western culture, we often serve our grills with some rice. So it's a no-brainer to cut up our grilled charred tomato almost into a mash, generously salt it, and mix it into our plain white rice. The taste is way beyond the sum of its parts.

Basically, homemade chicken nuggets shaped as a chicken donut. Made using 100% chicken breasts, you will not find it made from a discarded chicken carcass as you would in industrially manufactured chicken nuggets.

In all honesty, I got this yogurt garlic pasta recipe off social media (again), and made some minor adjustments. In Arab cuisine, we have so many yogurt-based main dishes, so why should pasta be any different? This garlicy yogurt pasta with spiced minced meat has become such a favorite that we have included it in our meal rotations.

The classic recipe is cored and stuffed courgettes, cooked in a yogurt soup base and served as a stew with rice. I love this de-constructed version so much more; for some reason it just tastes so much better. 

Molokhiya is such a buzz in the Arab world, but I just couldn't bring myself to give it a chance after one botched experience. The leaves are naturally slimy, and the resulting stew is apparently a large pot of delicious slime. Problem is, I couldn't get myself to accept it. Now I've found the solution.

Rice stuffed mussels are a Turkish street vendor food, and are so delicious.  I steamed the mussels before stuffing then cooking for a while more.

The British term "moreish" that is used to describe really delicious food always makes me laugh, but I do applaud it as the perfect way to describe the phenomenon of once tasting some foods, all you want is more. This is definitely the case for this roast lamb. 

These pomegranate chicken wings are an amazing discovery. So simple and so delicious, we whip them up over and over again. My only complaint is that I don't have an oven-sized air fryer to avoid making them in batches. 

This is a layered casserole dish with mashed potato as the base, cooked burger patties right on top, and then a generous waterfall of mushroom cream sauce and cheese that is baked to a comforting bubble. 

For some reason, many of the most popular desserts in the Arabian Gulf come from a myriad of cans, packets, and powders. This is typically so counter-intuitive to me as I tend to opt for whole food ingredients. Having said that, this berry jelly refrigerator dessert was unbelievable and I could have it every single day. 

I would never have imagined that simple supermarket mini bread buns could be turned into something so lush and delicious. The buns are coated in some melted butter then sprinkled with cinnamon sugar for the ultimate express cinnamon bun experience. 

MCW's chocoberry bites are a roaring success and make an appearance at every gathering and event. It was high time to come up with a sibling for it, equally as attractive and addictive yet completely different in flavor. In comes the unbeatable combination of white chocolate and pistachio. 

Oman is very well known for its halawas, a pudding-like intensely fragrant dessert that a spoonful of is sufficient to satisfy your senses. Naturally, this sweet has adapted non-conventional variants to the classic, and this Maho is my new favorite. The secret to the texture and flavor is sweet condensed milk. The additional flavorings are the usual fabulous trio: rose water, saffron, and cardamom.

صحة و عافية