Cooking With Maggi at The Beirut Cooking Festival
As some of the people who’ve been following this blog early on know, not only am I a major foodie, I’m actually also obsessed with cooking. Yes I’m a woman of many talents.
And although slaving over a hot oven may not sound like the sexiest thing in the world it is actually one of my most loved pastimes.
So when Maggi Arabia invited me to cook this week at the Beirut Cooking Festival I was over the moon. On Friday November 8 and 9 from 12-2pm. I’ll be over at the Maggi stand whipping up a storm at the live cooking station. I’m not going to tell you what’s on the menu at the Cooking Festival just yet but I will share a quick and easy one I prepared in my own kitchen.
This is one of my favorite dishes called Chicken Parmigiana that I used to prepare during the cold winter days in Toronto, comfort food at its best. The dish is essentially comprised of breaded baked chicken breast that you can prepare from scratch with breadcrumbs or ready-made ones that you can get from your local grocery store. But the secret lies in the sauce. I usually use a box of strained tomatoes and then add in a couple of pureed fresh ones. I cook it over the stove with some olive oil, sautéed garlic and onions with a dash of honey and oregano and then add in two cubes of Maggi Chicken Stock, this is what will transform the otherwise bland sauce and give it a real hearty kick.
When the breaded chicken is cooked, I’ll just pour the tomato sauce over them in a shallow casserole and top it off with a very generous portion of Parmesan and Mozzarella cheese, finally I’ll throw it back into the over again until the cheese gets golden.
Garnish with some oregano and enjoy!
See you at the Beirut Cooking Festival!
Frosty Palace: Ivy’s Search For The Best Burger In Beirut Returns
Burgers make me happy. As many of you know I’ve been searching for Lebanon’s best burger since 2010 long before the burger craze swept Lebanon.
And yes, for a while I realized that this little pastime of mine wasn’t doing justice to my waistline. So I gave it a rest. But old habits die hard and now I’m back to my fiendish ways.
I’m not the first to discover or write a raving good review about Frosty Palace. It’s been rated as one of Lebanon’s best burgers. I’m here to confirm that truth. I was there and I saw it too. The rumors don’t lie. That is one brave burger. Its warm fresh buttered bun grabs the little beast inside it with all its gloriousness and almost voluntarily takes the plunge into your mouth.
But before we all climax together let me tell you about this little treasure nestled away in Mar Mikhael’s inner streets. It’s named after the malt shop in the hit musical Grease, except instead of running into Sandy and Danny, the place looks like Audrey Hepburn would be seated at the bar. The décor is delightfully chic and simple. The huge crystal chandelier brings that paradoxical touch of glamour to the setting. Brilliant.
The place is teeny tiny, in a very intimate way. The menu is minimal. My man and I didn’t think twice before ordering the burger on the menu, fine freshly ground Australian beef. Jackpot. Our waiter announced that the mayonnaise and tomato relish (ketchup) were homemade. That got our attention.
We both prefer our burgers the classic way nothing too complicated, so we added some cheddar cheese and ordered them with a side of fries.
As soon as the waiter brought the little beauty out we knew. It sat alone on the plate, but it commanded the table. The patty was at that perfect level of thickness, more on the chunky side of things, just the way I like it. It rest on a bed of lettuce, tomato and some pickles and topped with some of that golden cheddar.
And though I like a generous portion of cheese on my burger which didn’t seem evident, it didn’t matter at that point. Because there was something in the beef that put an end to all those doubts as soon as I locked my fangs into it. It was like finding a long lost love after years of abstinence. I looked over at my man, who had already fallen under its spell and into a coma. Nothing could take him out of it, not even my giant glare signaling him to take it down a notch. Everyone could hear his moans and I was worried they wouldn’t believe this was really about the burger. We wolfed them down in less than ten. We contemplated seconds, but quickly dismissed the urge.
At that point we had completely forgotten about the wide chunky fries. They had just the right amount of crisp in the bite and softness in the core. We dipped them in the homemade ketchup and mayo until we scrapped our plates clean.
For dessert I went for the brownie with pecan nuts and caramel topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The brownie was nothing special, but the ice cream was delectable. I plan on going especially for a shake next time I’m in the neighborhood.
So go ahead, treat yourself to a gourmet burger this weekend, but prepare to splurge, a meal for two (burger fries and a soft drink will cost you around 25-30$ per person. It may not be a filet but trust me, this is not your average burger.
What’s your favorite burger in Beirut?
Check out more Burger Reviews in Beirut below
Burger Nation (closed shop)
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Mes Obsessions Du Jour
Kim Kardashian and Sheikha Mozah: Separated At Birth
Pregnant Kim Kardashian appears on the cover of the Arab magazine Hia this month in a Stéphane Rolland dress looking like she had raided the very fashion-forward Sheikha Mozah of Qatar’s closet. Yup, that’s the first thing that came to mind when I saw this photo. What do you think?
Toasty Tuesdays
They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It sure will be if you decide to start your day with this wholesome goodness. French Toast, also known as Pain Doré is an excellent way to make use of some stale or leftover bread and this simple and fast recipe will quickly win it’s spot as a regular in your kitchen.
Beat 3 eggs, a half cup of fresh milk, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, one teaspoon of brown sugar and a pinch of salt in a bowl.
Next, soak each slice of bread, one at a time, into the mixture then turn it over and make sure the other side gets the same treatment. Take each soaked slice and toss it on a skillet with some melted butter. Flip and cook on both sides until golden brown.
You can get as creative as you want with French Toast, I usually have mine with butter, jam or maple syrup, but I did things a little differently this time. I drizzled some caramel sauce and threw in some fresh organic figs. It was divine!
Marvelous Mondays
Mondays are going to happen whether we like them or not. Here’s a traditional Croque Madame to help ease the pain.
It’s an all-time favourite of mine and it’s pretty simple. Just dab two teaspoons of Dijon on two freshly baked slices of bread. Next place 2 slices of ham (or you can substitute it with some turkey) on one slice and top it off with a generous amount of shredded or sliced Gruyere cheese. Place in oven on low heat until bread is golden and cheese is melted. Next stack one of the slices atop the other. In a skillet, fry an egg sunny side up but keep it slightly runny. In a separate pot prepare some Béchamel sauce, I tend to use the just add milk Maggie powder mix. Place the egg over the two slices of with two teaspoons of the sauce and enjoy your Croque Madame!