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Lebanese Cabbage Rolls
Lebanese Cabbage Rolls
I’m a huge fan of cabbage rolls. These Lebanese-style cabbage rolls are called Malfouf in Arabic. They are very similar in preparation to Lebanese stuffed grape leaves. The filling is a mix of ground beef, rice, and 7 spice. The rolls are simmered below a layer of tomatoes, garlic, with some lemon juice, until the rice is cooked, creating a garlicky, tomatoey, lemon sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 head green cabbage
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp Lebanese 7 spice
- 1 cup uncooked short grain rice
- 10 garlic cloves
- 2 tomatoes sliced
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 4 cups water
- 2 lemons juiced
Instructions
- Heat up oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Brown the ground beef.
- Turn off the heat. Stir in the rice, salt, pepper, and 7 spice. Set aside and let cool.
- Bring a pot of water to boil. Core out the cabbage and carefully remove the leaves. Drop the cabbage leaves in the water for a minute to make pliable. Remove from the pot.
- Place a couple of tbsps of the beef/rice in a cabbage leaf.
- Fold in the sides and roll up. Do this until all of the ground beef is used up.
- Line the bottom of a pot with any extra cabbage leaves. Place the rolls tightly in the pot.
- Cover the top with the tomatoes and garlic.
- Place any remaining rolls on the top. Season with cumin. Pour in 4 cups of water into the pot; enough to cover the rolls. Cover and simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes.
- Squeeze in the lemon juice. Cover and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes.
- Uncover and let rest for 30 minutes.
Hmong Smoked Beef with Tomatoes and Herbs
Hmong Smoked Beef with Tomatoes and Herbs
As I shop at my local Asian market, I’ve noticed a vacuum sealed package that says Hmong smoked beef. I’ve been walking by it for ages and have had no idea what it’s used for. It’s kind of expensive. Looks like a big pack of beef jerky. After doing much research on Hmong cuisine over the last 2 months, I’ve read about recipes making your own smoked beef using chuck. The beef is traditionally smoked over mesquite, shredded in a food processor, and mixed with tomatoes and herbs. Then the beef mix is stirred into steamed rice. The heat from the rice slightly melts any fat that’s in the beef. This dish is so flavorful, it’s pretty hard to stop eating it.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
- meat hooks
- food processor
- mortar and pestle
Ingredients
- 4 lbs chuck roast sliced 1/4” thick
- 1 tbsp pink curing salts
- 2 tsp mushroom seasoning
- 8 oz cherry tomatoes
- 4 Thai chilies finely chopped
- 1 cup green onions chopped
- 1 vip cilantro chopped
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp salt
Wood Chips
- mesquite
Instructions
- Mix together the curing salts and mushroom seasoning.
- Rub the sliced beef with the curing seasoning. Let cure overnight in the refrigerator.
- Take the beef and place it on a meat hooks.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Place each meat hook on the top rack of the smoker.
- Smoke for 90 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place the smoked beef on a rack on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, flipping half way through.
- Chop up the beef into smaller pieces.
- Place in a food processor and pulse a few times until shredded. Set aside.
- Place the tomatoes in a baking dish. Roast for 30 minutes.
- Mash the chilies with a mortar and pestle.
- Add in the toasted tomatoes and crush.
- Stir in the green onions and cilantro.
- Stir in the shredded beef. Season with fish sauce and salt.
Boston Cream Pie
Boston Cream Pie
The Boston cream pie was invented by an Armenian-French chef at the Parker House Hotel in Boston. While not actually a pie, but a cream filled cake, this rich dessert gets its name from being baked in a pie plate. The cake is double layered with a vanilla custard cream in the middle, glazed with a thick chocolate ganache. This cake is so beloved in Massachusetts that it is the official state dessert.
Equipment
- strainer
- standing mixer
- 8” springform cake pan
- parchment paper
- bread knife
Ingredients
Pastry Cream Filling
- 8 egg yolks
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 tbsp butter
Yellow Cake
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 5 tbsp butter
- 1 cup cake flour + 2 tbsp
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Ganache
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 4 oz bittersweet chocolate chopped
Instructions
Pastry Cream Filling
- Bring the milk to a boil in a small pot. Immediately turn off the heat.
- Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl. Whisk in the cornstarch.
- Whisk in a 1/4 cup of the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture. Then whisk in the rest of the hot milk.
- Pour the batter through a strainer back into the pot.
- Bring the mixture to a boil over medium high heat; constantly whisking until it is thick. Take off the heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla. Allow to completely Cool.
Yellow Cake
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.
- In a standing mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together for 4 minutes on medium speed.
- Melt the butter, vanilla, and milk together in a small pot while the eggs and sugar are mixing.
- Turn the mixer down to low speed. Gradually add in the flour.
- Slowly pour the milk/butter mixture into the standing mixer. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 30 seconds.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of a spring form pan with parchment paper. Grease the pan. Pour in the batter.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Allow the cake to completely cool on a rack.
Cake Assembly
- Using a bread knife, carefully slice the cake in half horizontally.
- Place one of the halves of cake bake in the spring form pan.
- Pour the pastry cream onto the cake, leaving an inch of space from the outer edge.
- Place the other half of the cake cut side up on top of the pastry cream. Wrap in plastic and allow to set in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
- Bring the heavy whipping cream to a light simmer over medium heat with the chocolate.
- Whisk until the chocolate has completely melted.
- Pour the chocolate ganache over the cake. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit overnight in the refrigerator.
