Last Friday for Iftar, I made a simple and quick lamb chop dish. Baked the lambs chops right under the broiler with light and simple seasoning and severed it with pea and rice pilav.

Keep in mind this a great quick meal any day of the week or weekend. Serve warm and devour right away. Note: no fork or knife required, hold from the tip and bite in.

Oil the bottom of the baking dish, align the chops, season and broil.

TURKISH STYLE LAMB RIB CHOPS

Ingredients:

• 1 rack of lamb chops – makes about 8 to 10 pieces depending on the size (ask the butch for French Style – as mine are Turkish Style)** NOTE: 6- 8 thinly sliced loin chops are a great substitute
• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of oregano
• 1 tablespoon of Herbes de Provence* can be left out – this is optional
• kosher salt
• black pepper

Preparation:

Preheat broiler. Arrange oven rack accordingly.

Oil the bottom of your cooking pan with a brush. With the same brush, brush both sides of the lamb chops with the olive oil. Season both sides generously with salt and black pepper, season one side with oregano and one side with Herbes de Provence.

Align and arrange that the lamb chops on to your cooking pan.

Place under the broiler, cook one side for 4-7 minutes, until well browned. Once one side is cooked, using a pair of thongs turn over lamb chops and cook for 4 – 5 minutes. Until well browned. *

Note 1: Depending on the thickness cooking time might be less or more.

Note 2: French lamb chop, Frenched lamb chop or Turkish lamb chop means the meat at the tip is cut away to expose the bone.

Cheesecakes have become staples in our household, not a week goes by and my husband begins to ask when I’m making cheesecake again.  The funny thing is I haven’t made one single pan of cheesecake since this past summer. Rather I have been making desserts that either use cream cheese in the fillings and or frosting. (He has been wanting tiny cupcakes! I’ve not gotten around to it.)

I took advantage of Christmas weekend to make his wish come true.  I also made him wait a  day and half to sink his teeth into the cheesecake.  I sort of over baked mine by about 10 minutes and this caused the cheese cake to crack.  Towards the end of the cooking time watch the cheese cake carefully to avoid this, if it happens that is okay it is still all good.  I can assure you mine was.  

I was to post this recipe before we left for vacation to Brazil, I put everything together unable to post due work load towards year end.  We are still in Brazil as I type this recipe and I can not wait to get back to NY to make another batch. I hope that you all had a wonderful New Year and I hope that 2011 will be even better one.  I myself have big hopes and dreams about this blog in this New Year, I hope that you will come back and visit me often.

LOW & LUSH CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE
                   Adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

Ingredients:

FOR THE CRUST
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

FOR THE FILLING
1 1/2 pounds (three 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs, preferably at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and slightly cooled

GETTING READY:Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 1/2- or 9-inch springform pan and put the pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

TO MAKE THE CRUST: Stir the crumbs, sugar and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Pour over the melted butter and stir until all of the dry ingredients are uniformly moist. (I do this with my fingers.) Turn the crumbs into the pan and, with your fingers, press the crumbs evenly over the bottom of the pan and as far up the sides as they’ll go. Freeze the crust for about 10 minutes.

Bake for 10 minutes, only until the crust is lightly set and just tinged with color. Cool on a rack or refrigerate while you make the filling. Keep the oven at 350 degrees F.

TO MAKE THE FILLING: Cut each bar of cream cheese into quarters and toss the pieces into a food processor**, along with the sugar. Process, scraping down the bowl 2 or 3 times, for a full 2 minutes. You’ll see how dramatically the cream cheese changes; it will look like white velvet at the end of its beating. Add the eggs, vanilla and salt and give the batter 4 longish pulses, the scrape down the bowl and pulse 2 more times. Pour in the chocolate and pulse and scrape a few times to blend the batter well.

Remove the bowl from the processor and rap it hard on the counter a couple of times to de-bubble the batter. Scrape the batter into the cooled crust.

Bake the cheesecake for 35 to 40 minutes if you are using a 9-inch pan or 45 to 50 minutes if you are using an 8 1/2-inch pan. The top should be puffed and set, but if you tap the pan gently, the center of the cake will still be a little shaky–that’s just fine. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and allow the cheesecake to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 8 hours or for up to 3 days.

Run a blunt knife between the crust and sides of the pan, then open and remove the sides of the spring form.

STORING: Wrapped well, the cheesecake will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It can be frozen for up to 2 months; defrost, still wrapped, overnight in the refrigerator.
**Instead of a food processor I worked with a handle hald mixer and this worked just as well.

Similiar Postings:
Cheesecake with Minted Blackberries
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Plain Cheesecake

This turned out to be one of my favorite salads.  Very simple, easy and filling, as anything with bulgur tends to be. 

Corn & Bulgur Salad
adapted slightly from Food & Wine

Ingredients

• 1 cup of fine or coarse bulgur*
• 1 cup of corn (frozen defrosted or freshly cut from the cob)
• 1.5 cups of boiling water for bulgur (.5 cup of water if using coarse bulgur)
• 1.5 cups of boiling water for corn
• 1 medium red onion – finely diced
• 1 medium tomato – finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons of Pomegranate Molasses
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
• salt to taste
• 3 tablespoons of parsley chopped

Preparation

1. In a large mixing bowl, add the one cup of the fine bulgur, top with one teaspoon of salt and the pour one cup of the hot boiling water. Cover with plastic saran rap and set a side.
2. Add the defrosted or freshly cut corn into the 1.5 cups of broiling water.  Cook the freshly cut corn until soft.  For the defrosted corn, add it into the broiling water and then drain well and dry.  (This method allows the corn to loose the frozen taste.)
3. Uncover the plastic wrap from the bulgur, add in the pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and mix well and set aside for 5 – 10 minutes to allow the bulgur to absord the flavors.
4. In the meantime chop and dice the red onion, tomato and parsley.
5. Into the bulgur mixture, add in the corn, red onion, tomato, parsley, and salt for taste.  Mix well and throughly.
6. Pour into a nice serving bowl, cover and chill several hours.  Can serve at room temperature as well.

*Fine & coarse bulgur is available at A&D Food Market & many Middle Eastern or Natural foods stores.
*The salad can be made a day in advance.

Ramadan or Ramazan as we say in Turkish is a special time of the year, it is a test of will, self confidience and most of all being grateful for what one has in their lives.  Fasting – is to abstain oneself from food or eat very little or to not certain types of food.  When we do this, we truly understand the need of food in our bodies.

Table Sampler of Mejdool Dates, Pastirma, Black Olives, Meroli Olives, Feta Cheese 

Food is what empowers us and gives us energy, that is why for Iftar (breaking of the the fast) we cook several different types of foods.  These are the foods that we will share with our families, friends and neighbors. As the meaning and feasting of Ramadan has evolved, we tend prepare and cook traditional to non-traditional recipes.  Whats most important is understand is we must share, learn and be grateful.

Ramadan Around the World

Iftar Menu was specially prepared for Saudia Arabia TV KSA2

Red Lentil Soup - my first & favorite choice – Recipe Here
    

Salad - a nice green leaf salad with carrots & red onions - Recipe Here

Purslane Salad – Recipe Here

Lamb Shoulder Vegetable Stew – Recipe Here

Spiced Basmati Rice with Chicken – Recipe Here
 

Lemony Bulgur Pilaf – Recipe Here
 

Desserts – Recipe Here
Kataif 
 

Vanilla Pudding