sushi gem: ikan sushi - belvedere market

Ikan Seafood & Sushi is tucked in the back of Belvedere Market in Baltimore.  It is a great place to grab sushi to-go, enjoy a "lunch box" between 11a.m.-3p.m., or head there for a casual & YUMMY dinner.  My eyes are always too big for my own good but too much sushi can never be a bad thing... Speaking of, I think I'll head there tonight!

the casual pint: knoxville, tn

The Oscar's are on TV so you may want to be on the couch this Sunday evening.  

The Casual Pint, in Knoxville, offers the opportunity to sit for a nice draft beer at the bar, enjoy "a casual pint" with friends at a table, or pick up a selection of your own and take them on the go (for those of you wanting to head back to the couch).  

Whatever the occasion, The Casual Pint is the place to head for a wide variety of dandy beers. 

kayseri manti recipe

INGREDIENTS:

Dough Ingredients: mix with hands

• 2 eggs
• 2 cups of flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1-2 tbsp water, more if needed

Filling: mix the following with your hands

• 1/2 pound of ground round or (1/4 beef & 1/4 lamb)
• 1 medium onion, grated
• 3 tbsp dry mint

Yogurt: mix 

• 16 oz plain yogurt
• 2-3 cloves of garlic

Spicy Sauce: stir together over medium-low heat

• 1 stick of butter
• 1 small spoon of tomato paste
• 1 tbsp red pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare the dough and roll it out very very thinly, cut it in 1x1 inch squares and place the filling on top , leaving the edges free.  Close each square by squeezing the opposite edges together and you are left with "little bags".

Place them on baking paper to let out some of the moisture and then put the "bags" in boiling water for about 10 minutes.

PREPARATION:

Put the dumplings in each plate, pour yogurt and spicy red sauce over top, & finish with dried mint and red pepper flakes. 

(serves 4)

first attempt at manti

Home for the weekend, I thought I'd try out Manti for the first time.  My sous-chef, Lotte, clearly had the wrong intentions... She ended up eating a stick of butter, wrapper and all... Luckily she didn't get to the good stuff!

Rolling out the dough can be tricky because it must be very thin in order to properly make the small dumplings. I recommend rolling out the dough, as thin as possible, and then working row-by-row (as seen below) to get them as thin as they need to be. 

When you place the meat on the squares, make sure there is plenty of room for the four corners to close easily. 

I got a bit excited towards the end so unfortunately I don't have a picture of how to close them, although, it is described in the directions! 

Place the dumplings in boiling water for ten minutes and you are ALMOST ready to eat. The best part is what goes on top... :)

I'll post the recipe soon!

valentine swedish torta

Judging on the empty dishes, I'd say the dinner party was a success! All of the meatballs were gone, the scalloped potatoes demolished and I wasn't even left with a bite of torta for the morning (I love eating torta for breakfast).

PS I put a candy heart in one of the meatballs banking on giving a prize to who ever had it... Either the candy heart dissolved and someone had an extremely sweet swedish meatball OR you got the candy and didn't say anything (probably finding me beyond weird). Let me know if this was you!

Above is the torta... a special family recipe.  I will make it for who ever wants one but cannot give the recipe away just yet ;)

Hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day! Enjoy the best day of the week: Thursday.

cucumber-dill salad recipe

 

24 hrs later... & yes... they are even tastier.

INGREDIENTS:

2 large firm cucumbers, partially peeled (I used pickling cucumbers as seen below)

2 teaspoons salt

6 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon dried parsley

2/3 cup white vinegar

dill seed to taste  )    I use both

dill weed to taste  )

white onion, sliced (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Score skin of cucumbers and slice very thin.  In a bowl, combine with the rest of the ingredients. Press mixture into bowl.  Cover and refrigerate. Keeps well.

cucumber-dill salad prep

I don't know what it is but I have been on a cucumber kick. Surely "I'm on a kick" sounds familiar because that kick used to be all about risotto.  I'll come around again. Just wait. 

This dish reminds me of Swedish Smorgasbords with my family around Christmas time!  Because this dish is sitting in the fridge, soaking in the white wine vinegar, sugar, salt, dill seed, dill weed and parsley... I figured it was a perfect time to have a Valentine's Day dinner with friends. I don't know how one serving of Cucumber-Dill Salad turned into making Swedish meatballs, scalloped potatoes, and a Swedish torta BUT... it did :) So I'll be a busy bee in the kitchen tomorrow.

First, you score the cucumbers... I used pickling cucumbers but you can use good ole cucumbers too.

Chop 'em all up, but don't get lazy like me and make them this thick...

That's more like it...

Mix the sugar, salt, dill weed, dill seed and parsley in a small bowl. Once this is mixed you'll add the white wine vinegar. Then boom, add all of this to the bowl of cucumbers and mix it ALL up. 

Plop it in the fridge and wait over night (or eat some right away) and that. is. it.

I'll let you know how they taste tomorrow. But 20 seconds in: tasty...

hala mantı: İstiklal ave 137, istanbul

Manti...(pronounced man-tah) is SUCH a delicious combination of food and something I had never experienced til my time at Hala Manti, a restaurant along Istiklal. Kayseri Mantisi is meat dumplings served with original yogurt, oil (caramelized with tomato paste) and red pepper/mint seasonings. 

If you're looking for Turkish cuisine here in Baltimore, head to Cazbar at 316 North Charles St. I enjoyed a dish myself with an ice cold Efes :).

My goal in the future, in addition to posting more recipes to fff., is to make my own Manti! 

apple crisp

This pie was made for a class presentation. A bit short on time, I was running all over the kitchen throwing this together before class... I was sure I had all the ingredients, as I had JUST picked up 8 organic granny's at Belvedere. Well, a lesson I have yet to learn is actually checking the fridge and pantry before I go to the store... (I do a lot of assuming). "Of course I have plenty of eggs." "Sugar? I bet I have 3 bags..." As for yesterday, that was NOT the case! But I will tell you... I made a new friend! Thanks again for the sugar...

PS. You cannot beat the smell of a homemade apple crisp... go ahead and make one :)

DIRECTIONS:

Use 8" square or round pie plate. Peel and cut up into small 1" dice 7-8 medium granny smith apples; put in pie plate and sprinkle with:

• 3-4 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons corn starch
• 3/4 - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 Tablespoons lemon juice

Mix the following until crumbly and spread on top of apples. Use a fork and kind of toss the mixture - you don't want a paste, just crumbly.

• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 c sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest (optional)
• 3-4 Tablespoons chopped walnuts (optional)

Melt 1/3 cup butter and drizzle over topping. Mix 2 Tablespoons sugar with 1 tsp. cinnamon and sprinkle on top.

Bake 30 minutes in 350 degree oven. Serve with vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream.

neopol savory smokery: 529 e. belvedere ave

A good friend introduced me to Belvedere Market a few years ago... and clearly I haven't forgotten about it! If you happen to stop by, there are plenty of places to check out. Neopol is my ALL time favorite for a sit down lunch or a quick dinner... You really cannot go wrong. Just make sure you know their items are smoked, hence it's a smokery...Dad :). 

I usually order the Tossed Salmon Salad and have been recently enjoying the Beet Salad with Goat Cheese... Just talking about this makes me hungry for a trip.  Above is the crabcake sandwich. I added bacon and let me tell you, it was LOVELY.  I was even feeling extra generous and gave the leftovers to my roommate Liz : )

Bye for now! I'm thinking of something sweet in the near future!