This month over at Food n Flix we watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding, a romantic comedy which I hope you’ve seen! My Big Fat Greek Wedding is actually one of the few movies I’ve seen more than once. When I was rewatching the movie to decide what to make for this month’s Food n Flix submission my boyfriend was confused at why I would laugh before anything funny would happen. But that was because I kept hearing the funny lines in my head right before they were said. So I would preemptively laugh.

I had a long list of inspirations by the time the movie was over. I decided to be traditional though and make a moussaka.

In the movie there’s a flashback to Toula as a girl in elementary school. She was sitting at one table in the cafeteria and the girls behind her made a comment about what she was eating. Toula responded that it was moussaka. The mean little blonde girls squealed, “Moose kaka?!!??”

I also new I needed to use lamb in this dish to hit the nail on the head because “You’re a vegetarian. That’s ok, I’ll make lamb.”

Finding lamb however was not an easy task. Apparently my grocery store doesn’t carry it – only the commonly used beef, poultry, and pork. I almost decided to make a ground beef version of the moussaka, but I really needed the lamb if I wanted to make this a true “vegetarian” dish.

I googled around and found that this place in Sacramento (where I live) called Mediterranean Market sold ground lamb. On the Saturday I made this dish I jumped in the car and found this cute little market, which was full of grape leaves, kabobs, falafel mix, hookah supplies, and lamb! The butcher ground the lamb for me there on the spot and I was on my way with my lamb (and the falafel mix that I picked up too.)

This wasn’t exactly an easy dish, so it was good I picked a weekend to make it. It was definitely time consuming, but the product that came out in the end made it worth it. It’s kind of silly I made moussaka, because eggplant is not my favorite vegetable in the world (which I’ve said before.) This preparation of the eggplant though was great, so I think I might be slowly drifting to Team-Eggplant instead of Team-Eggplant-Is-Gross.

Anyway, the one real lesson I learned from the movie is to put Windex on every ailment. I couldn’t really show that to you guys in food style though.

Thanks to Kahakai Kitchen for hosting this month’s Foon n Flix! If you want to enter a dish for this month’s movie you have until the 27th of February.

Lamb Moussaka
(Source)

 Ingredients

CHEESE SAUCE
2 1/2 tbsp butter
2 1/2 tbsp flour
1 1/4 cup milk
Nutmeg to taste
Salt to taste
Ground black pepper to taste
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

MOUSSAKA
1 1/2 eggplants
1 large potato
salt to taste
2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup onion, diced
1 lb ground lamb
1 cup tomato, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cloves
1 bay leaf
pinch of allspice
ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp dry red wine
2 tbsp bread crumbs

Directions

1. Make the cheese sauce first. To make it heat the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and stir well, making sure to get rid of all dry clumps. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Gradually whisk in the milk to create a smooth sauce. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, letting simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes.

2. Once thickened remove from heat. Add nutmeg, salt, and pepper. In another bowl whisk together the egg yolks. Add a bit of the hot sauce mixture to the yolks, stirring well. Combine the rest of the yolks with the sauce. Stir in the cheese and blend well. Keep warm and set aside.

3. Place potatoes in a pot. Add enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes. Once the potatoes are tender, remove from the heat and drain them. Once cool slice into 1/8-inch slices and set aside.

4. Peel the eggplants and slice into 1/8-inch slices. Heat 1/2 tbsp of olive oil until hot. Add the eggplant to the oil and cook a few pieces of eggplant at a time, until tender and lightly colored about 3 minutes. Transfer to a rack and set aside.

5. Next prepare your meat sauce. Heat 1/2 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet. Add the onions and cook over medium-high heat, for about 10-12 minutes until tender. Add the ground lamb and cook over medium heat until no longer pink. Add the tomatoes, garlic, cloves, bay leaf, allspice, salt, pepper and water. Simmer until thick, about 30 minutes. Add tomato paste and red wine  and continue simmering for 10 minutes.

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

7. To assemble the moussaka, scatter the breadcrumbs in a deep baking dish. Place a layer of half of the eggplant slices over the breadcrumbs.  Add the meat sauce and spread it in an even layer. Top with a layer of potatoes. Then create a layer of eggplant with the remaining slices. Pour the cheese sauce evenly over the top.

8. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove the moussaka from the oven and let sit for 20 minutes before serving.

]]> http://lawstudentscookbook.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/lamb-moussaka/feed/ 1 lawstudentcook IMG_6962 IMG_6973 http://lawstudentscookbook.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/around-the-world-in-52-weeks-chicken-with-chilaquiles-and-salsa-verde/ http://lawstudentscookbook.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/around-the-world-in-52-weeks-chicken-with-chilaquiles-and-salsa-verde/#comments Sun, 19 Feb 2012 05:21:55 +0000 lawstudentcook http://lawstudentscookbook.wordpress.com/?p=340 Keep reading →]]>

This week I traveled to Suriname. Though located in South America, Suriname has a large Dutch influence. In fact, Suriname used to be known as Dutch Guiana, as it wasn’t until the ’70s that the country achieved its independence.

This dish is kind of similar to nachos, except that the tortilla chips are actually cooked and not just layered on top of.  This also wasn’t the cheesy mess that I love my nachos to be. Rather there was more emphasis on the salsa.

In the future I would make my own salsa, though Safeway jarred stuff isn’t horrible.

Chicken with Chilaquiles and Salsa Verde
(source)

Ingredients
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tbsp milk
1 cup salsa verde
1 cup chicken broth
1 boneless skinless chicken breast
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp crushed black pepper
3 cups coarsely crushed tortilla chips
1/4 cup crumbled feta
2 tbsp chopped cilantro

Directions

1. Cook the chicken. I boiled mine in hot water. Once it’s cool shred it.

2. Pour the salsa and broth in a pot. Bring to a boil over moderate high heat. Add chicken, salt, and pepper. Cook for for 2 minutes. Stir in the tortilla chips for about 1 minute, until softened.

3. In a small bowl mix together the sour cream and milk.

4. Pour the sour cream over the chilaquiles and top with feta and cilantro.

* serves 2
* 504 calories per serving
* Shared with Simply Delish Saturdays over at KB and Whitesnakes.

I’d like to see people travel the globe with me.
Every Saturday I will be posting my recipe, as well as pictures to ethnic cuisines you have made and want to share.

- You must mention The Law Student’s Cookbook‘s Around The World In 52 Weeks in the entry you link. You can either use a link or use the banner.
- In your post you must  at least mention what cuisine the dish is.
- Email me your recipe at elizabeth@crabtech.net. Make sure to include:

* Your name or blog name
* The direct link to your post
* A picture of the dish or permission to pull a picture from the post

- Make sure to email me by Saturday at 12noon Pacific Standard Time
- If you enter a recipe you will be automatically entered into my current giveaway.

I’ve said it over and over and over again – I love curry! I could make a resolution to only eat curries for a whole year and be happy as a clam. My boyfriend on the other hand isn’t a big curry lover, so I won’t make that resolution.

Anyway, this curry used ingredients I don’t typically use in my curries. Eggplant really just isn’t my favorite vegetable and black-eyed peas I rarely use (but I had some leftover from the black-eyed pea fritters I had made earlier.)

This dish though was fantastic. I served the curry over rice. YUM!

Black-Eyed Peas and Eggplant Curry
(source) 

Ingredients
1/2 eggplant
1/2 onion
1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/8 tsp kosher salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp curry paste
1/2 tsp garam masala
2 tbsp red wine
1/2 cup black-eyed peas, frozen or canned
1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup vegetable broth

Directions

1. Trim the eggplant. Cut each into 1-inch pieces. Set aside. Half the onion and cut into strips. Set aside.

2. In a large saucepan heat the oil over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add the eggplant and cook tossing for 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion, garlic, curry paste, and garam masala, stirring well. Cook for 10 minutes, until the onion is tender.

3. Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the wine and simmer, stirring often for about 5 minutes or until a thick stew is formed. Add the black-eyed peas, tomato, and broth and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

* serves 2
* 246 calories per serving
* This dish is being shared with Midnight Maniac Meatless Mondays , Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Tuesdays at the Table, and  Tasty Tuesday Party

]]> http://lawstudentscookbook.wordpress.com/2012/02/15/black-eyed-peas-and-eggplant-curry/feed/ 0 lawstudentcook IMG_6949 http://lawstudentscookbook.wordpress.com/2012/02/12/chicken-mechbous/ http://lawstudentscookbook.wordpress.com/2012/02/12/chicken-mechbous/#comments Sun, 12 Feb 2012 01:07:55 +0000 lawstudentcook http://lawstudentscookbook.wordpress.com/?p=326 Keep reading →]]>

This week my kitchen took me to Kuwait. Unfortunately I had to make the journey alone, because my boyfriend had a fever. I couldn’t neglect my challenge though, so I went without him. I did bring him some leftovers from my trip though. What that actually means is I made a soup for him that was made from the chicken, rice, onions, and tomato sauce from my dinner – with chicken broth, canned green beans, and frozen corn.

My journey to the Middle East was a delicious journey. I really love Indian food. While this wasn’t quite the same, there were some similarities in the flavors of the dish. The recipe I followed used a whole chicken. Since I’m only cooking for two, cooking a whole chicken just creates way too much food. I used chicken breasts instead.

Now that I’m back into school mode I have to write a 25 page paper.

Chicken Mechbous

Ingredients
2 tbsp raisins
4 trimmed boneless skinless chicken breast halves
2 whole cloves
2 cardamom pods
3 black peppercorns
3 cups uncooked Basmati rice
1 1/2 onions, sliced
1 tomato, chopped
3/4 tbsp tomato paste
3 tbsp water
1 clove garlic, minced

Directions

1. Place raisins in a cup of water and set aside until you need them.

2. Put chicken in a pot. Cover with water and include the cloves, cardamom pods, and peppercorns. Bring water to a boil and cook for about 20-30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.

3. Remove the chicken from the water. Reserve 6 cups of water you cooked the chicken in.

4. Cook your rice in the 6 cups of reserved water. If you don’t have enough to make 6 cups,  make up the rest with water. Cook the rice however you cook rice. (I used a rice cooker)

5. Place a skillet over medium-high heat and spray with Pam. Cook the onions until they become translucent. Add 2 tbsp of water. Stir quickly. When the onions are brown and the water is evaporated, set aside.

6. Lightly dust the chicken with flour. In the same skillet you cooked the onions, add a small amount of oil. Cook the chicken on both sides, until you get the outsides crispy. Set aside.

7. In the same skillet you’ve been using, combine the raisins, tomato, tomato paste, and 1 tbsp of water. Stir together continuously and cook over medium heat, until a sauce is formed.

8. Serve the chicken over the rice, with the tomato sauce on top. Place onions around the rice.

* serves 4
* about  605 calories per serving
* This dish is being shared with KB and Whitesnake’s Simply Delish Saturdays 

I’d like to see people travel the globe with me.
Every Saturday I will be posting my recipe, as well as pictures to ethnic cuisines you have made and want to share.

- You must mention The Law Student’s Cookbook‘s Around The World In 52 Weeks in the entry you link. You can either use a link or use the banner.
- In your post you must  at least mention what cuisine the dish is.
- Email me your recipe at elizabeth@crabtech.net. Make sure to include:

* Your name or blog name
* The direct link to your post
* A picture of the dish or permission to pull a picture from the post

- Make sure to email me by Saturday at 12noon Pacific Standard Time
- If you enter a recipe you will be automatically entered into my current giveaway.

]]> http://lawstudentscookbook.wordpress.com/2012/02/12/chicken-mechbous/feed/ 1 lawstudentcook IMG_6955 Kuwait Map 52weeks http://lawstudentscookbook.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/rosemary-turkey-meatloaf/ http://lawstudentscookbook.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/rosemary-turkey-meatloaf/#comments Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:59:20 +0000 lawstudentcook http://lawstudentscookbook.wordpress.com/?p=316 Keep reading →]]>

When I was growing up I hated meatloaf. There was something that I couldn’t stand about the texture of meat all pushed together. I don’t really know why this texture bothered me so much, but it was to the point where I didn’t like meatballs or hamburgers either. What a strange childhood, disliking some really common foods that kids love.

In my adult life I’ve grown to appreciate hamburgers, though they’re still not my favorite food. But of meatballs, hamburgers, and meatloaf, meatloaf still stays on the bottom of the list. My boyfriend on the other hand is a meatloaf FIEND. He could eat meatloaf forever. I think he’s just made of meatloaf or something.

To make some compromises, I have experimented with different flavors in the meatloaf – to make something palatable to me and something that he devours. This meatloaf was a pretty good loaf. The turkey, rosemary, and balsamic vinegar flavors aren’t those that are typically prevalent in meatloaves. They definitely make the standard meatloaf something a little classier!

Rosemary Turkey Meatloaf

Ingredients
1 1/2 lb ground turkey
2 cups bread crumbs
1 onion, finely chopped
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
1 cup crushed tomatoes
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×5 baking dish.

2. In a large mixing bowl combine the turkey, bread crumbs, onion, egg, milk, vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper, and rosemary. Mix together with your hands. Press the meat mixture into your prepared baking dish. Mix together the crushed tomatoes, brown sugar, and mustard. Pour evenly over the top of your meatloaf.

3. Bake for 1 hour.

* serves 8
* 357 calories per slice
* This post is being shared with Bakes with Bizzy. 

While I didn’t make the coconut cream cake, I did use an ingredient I haven’t use before (which by the way is another of my resolutions for the year.) I had no idea until I made last week’s meal plan that butter beans and lima beans were actually the same thing. I had a can of butter beans in my cabinet, for whatever reason, and they have been sitting there forever because I had no idea what a butter bean was. I learned this week that it’s a lima bean! I’d never cooked with butter/lima beans before, but this Marshall Islands dish was delicious.

Of course the American is using canned lima beans.. But if we were actually on the Marshall Islands in the Caribbean we would have fresh beans that grow wild on the island. Cite.

I wasn’t too sure about this recipe. But after it was made and I was eating it, it was so good. And my boyfriend liked it too. We like the Marshall Islands.

Barbecue Limas (adapted from here)

Ingredients
1 can lima beans (or butter beans)
6 oz spicy Italian sausage
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 16-oz can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp mustard
1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar

Directions

1. Brown the sausage, onion, and garlic in a skillet. Add the tomato sauce, mustard, and brown sugar and simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes.

2. Pour the sausage mixture into a baking dish. Mix with lima beans and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

* serves 2
* I’m sharing this dish with KB and Whitesnake’s Simply Delish Saturdays.

I’d like to see people travel the globe with me.
Every Saturday I will be posting my recipe, as well as pictures to ethnic cuisines you have made and want to share.

- You must mention The Law Student’s Cookbook‘s Around The World In 52 Weeks in the entry you link. You can either use a link or use the banner.
- In your post you must  at least mention what cuisine the dish is.
- Email me your recipe at elizabeth@crabtech.net. Make sure to include:

* Your name or blog name
* The direct link to your post
* A picture of the dish or permission to pull a picture from the post

- Make sure to email me by Saturday at 12noon Pacific Standard Time
- If you enter a recipe you will be automatically entered into my current giveaway.

This cookbook is full of authentic Jamaican recipes. I made Jerk Chicken a few weeks ago during my kitchen travels. This cookbook will teach you how to make jerk chicken as well as many other Jamaican dishes including Johnny Cakes, Coconut Shrimp, and Jackass Corn.

This winner for this giveaway will be randomly chosen. To enter leave a comment to THIS post telling me where you would go if you could travel anywhere in the world.

If you want to enter a second time, mention this giveaway on your blog, twitter, or facebook. Link me to where you do this in a separate comment and you will get a second entry for this lovely cookbook.

If you want a third entry, participate in my Around the World in 52 Weeks project. Blog about a recipe you made from somewhere else in the world than where you live and share it with me. Check out the link for more information. Anyone who participates in my project during the month of February will be entered into the giveaway. If you participate in multiple weeks, you will get mutliple entries.

Also, make sure you leave your email address so I can contact you if you are the winner.

Entries must be submitted by March 3rd at 11:59PM PST.

There will be another giveaway up sometime today, to continue to celebrate my worldly travels in food.

I go through “things” as I like to call it. I’ve been through the cupcake “thing,” a pancake “thing,” and I think now I’m stuck in a scone “thing.” In the past few weeks I’ve bombarded my house with scones. I just can’t get over how easy they are. These lemon scones were made because one of the attorneys in the office I work in brought a 5 lb bag of lemons to work and told everyone to take them, because his lemon tree is going insane. I took about 4 lemons. I still have 3 left after making these scones, so I need some more lemon ideas.

These were delicious and crumbly.
I love scones.

Lemon Scones

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup crisco
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp lemon zest
Additional sugar for topping

Directions

1. In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in the crisco so the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add buttermilk and lemon peel. Stir until just mixed.

2. On a lightly floured surface knead gently about 6 times. Shape into a ball.

3. On a greased baking sheet, pat the dough into a circle about 1/2 inch thick and 8 1/2 inches in diameter. Cut 8 wedges into the dough, not cutting all the way through. Top with the additional sugar.

4. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

* makes 8 scones

Part of my weekend breakfasts this week included waffles. For as much as I like to cook, I’m going to admit I have never made a waffle before these blueberry waffles. Matt gave me this old waffle maker last year that he found when moving. It has sat in my kitchen supply cabinet since then. It actually even survived a move from my apartment to this house.  But I’ve still left it sitting in the kitchen supply cabinet, along with the equipment I actually use on a normal basis (my rice cooker, slow cooker, blender, etc.)

I had a bunch of leftover blueberries this week, so I was trying to use them all so I wouldn’t have to throw them away. Unfortunately I think I used way too many blueberries in this recipe and probably should have cut it in half. I used 1 cup of berries, which was clearly too many and caused some burning on part of the blueberries in the waffle maker. Whoops! This was definitely a learning experience, that’s for sure.

There were two things I learned from this experience:
Lesson One: Don’t put too many berries in your waffle mix.
Lesson Two: Make lots of waffles!

Blueberry Waffles

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1/3 cup blueberry yogurt
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp milk
2 tbsp water
2 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Directions

1.  Preheat your waffle maker.

2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl mix the wet ingredients. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients, mixing with a wooden spoon. Make sure to stir enough to get rid of any dry clumps.

3. Fold the blueberries into the waffle batter.

4. Spray your waffle maker with cooking spray. Pour 1/2 cup of waffle batter into your waffle maker. Cook for 5-7 minutes, or as long as your waffle maker takes to cook a waffle.

* makes 4 waffles
* 229 calories per waffle
* This waffle recipe is being shared with What Makes You Say Mmmmm? Monday Linky.