Sharjah International Book Fair 29th Edition

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Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
ExpoCenter 7th - 17th November, 2012. Hours | Saturday - Thursday: 10a.m. - 10p.m.; Friday: 4p.m - 10p.m.

Thursday 24 November 2011

Thanksgiving Treats « Que Sera Sara?

November 24th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
I love any holiday revolving around food.
In celebration of this truly awesome day, I’m wallowing in past delicacies and the delights yet to come. Particularly the discoveries I made in Sharjah, and a little bit of traditional feasting too. A meditation on great foods.
I know what you’re thinking. Who spends a morning thinking about food they ate last week?
Me that’s who. It’s a little ridiculous, I know. But then isn’t the entire cornucopia affair meant to be a little OTT?

Sharjah’s Banquet

I said I would celebrate the foods of Sharjah, which was usually traditional Middle Eastern fare – most days, a mix between Egyptian and Lebanese. It was delicious.
Here are my top three discoveries of the trip:
Best Beverage: LemonMint
I easily had the best juice of my life in Sharjah. There is an abundance of amazing fruit. The hands down winner however, is lemon mint.
Think super tangy, fresh [cloudy] lemonade. I say cloudy because crazy British people call Sprite lemonade. Which it obviously isn’t.
Take freshly made, sharp lemonade and add pureed fresh mint leaves.
I know. You are skeptical. I would be too.
Trust me, the sweet, tangy, zestiness is the ultimate indulgence.
The leaves are blended so fine it’s served like foam on a cappuccino, giving it a mildly exotic look and plenty of punch without being too leafy, muddy or thick.
Best Sweet: Om Ali
This is the food of kings.
While I have always been skeptical of Western bread and rice puddings, this has convinced me to reassess my prejudice.
It is essentially, a warm, sticky, sweet porridge – but made with wheat instead of oats.
The waitress at the hotel insisted it was semolina based, while online I mostly find reference to crushed filo pastry. Either way, it’s a clotted, creamy pile of goo which I adore.
I hope I can figure out how to make it – but roughly I think it’ll go like this:
Take filo, buttered and baked, then pour over a steamy concoction of cream, coconut milk & almond powder. Add in toasted nuts and/or raisins. Bake it til it turns to mush, then grill until the top is browned and bubbling.
Best Savoury: The nameless pastry puffs
Rather like little samosas, these were triangular pockets filled with shredded, blanched greens plus pinenuts and tons of zingy lemon & garlic.
I tried them in every eatery I could.
The best were a puffy dough [like Olga bread or naan], lightly fried, though others were more traditional pastry or even breading.
I wish I’d thought to ask someone what they were called, they would be a worthy addition to my kitchen any day.

Thanksgiving Dinner

On an unrelated note, I will shortly be headed down south for to fix my in-law’s first ever Thanksgiving dinner.
I’m trying not to think about it too much.
I have a tendency of becoming a holiday nazi stressball if I over plan family occasions.
Which is why I am only making familiar recipes this year. No point in running myself ragged in someone else’s kitchen.
It’s a good thing I have some excellent seasonal fare up my sleeve.
This is my all-time showstopper.
Seriously. Share it with someone you love. You won’t regret it.
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Baked Pumpkin Cheesecake
Crust
1 3/4 c graham cracker/digestive biscuit crumbs
1/2 c melted butter
Filling
1/4c flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cloves
1 tin pureed pumpkin [not pumpkin pie mix, just plain old pumpkin]
32oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 c packed brown sugar
2/3 c granulated sugar
5 eggs
Directions
Heat oven to 325°F.
Grease 9-inch springform pan and wrap the bottom in foil [it’ll stop it from dripping butter all over your oven.
In small bowl, mix cracker crumbs and the melted butter.
Press crumb mixture in bottom of pan.
Bake crust 8 to 10 minutes or until set.
Cool 5 minutes at room temperature. Refrigerate about 5 minutes or until completely cooled.
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In another bowl, mix flour, spices, and pumpkin and set aside.
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In large bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy.
Gradually beat in the sugars until smooth.
On low speed, beat in 1 egg at a time just until blended. Gradually beat in pumpkin mixture until smooth.
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Pour the filling in the tin, bake 1 hour 15 minutes or until set but the centre still jiggles a little bit.
Turn off the oven and leave it cracked open so it can cool slowly. Leave for at least 45 minutes.
Refrigerate to set – it’s best if you can leave it overnight though mine rarely survives that long.
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When ready, run a knife around the pan edge to loosen, take away the springform sides and serve anyway you like.

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