African Peanut Soup

Growing up in Lebanon I had an aunt whose family frequently traveled to, and for a while lived, in Ghana. She brought this dish back with her and we all knew it as FuFu. She and her sister (my mom Jamal) made it ever since, and continued to make it until my sweet Tante Nohad passed away in the early 90s. But every time my mom made it, we thought fondly of our Tante Nohad. 

Chicken Parmesan Roll-Ups

If it has the word "parmesan" -- or for the purists, "parmigiana" -- then I am all for it. There is something so comforting about marinara sauce, cheese and some sort of pasta and protein all baked together into a gooey delicious heaven... but really, how often do we indulge?

This reicpe skips the pasta and makes the dish a bit less sinful but if I've said once, I've said it a hundred times: it's so much better to eat real food, not low-fat or non-fat food that even a dish like this, with a tiny bit of carbohydrates sacrificed, will still really satisfy and scratch that parmigiana itch. Make this; it's truly wonderful. See??

Chicken Tikka Masala

You know that neon-glow chicken that is passed as Tikka Masala and that you see at pretty much every mall food court? Yeah... this is not it. This is as close to authentic as you can get. This recipe is courtesy of Cook's Illustrated. You need to be a member to access any recipe on the site but I figure as long as I give them credit for the recipe and link to the paid Web site, I am safe... That is a form of payment, right, like...free advertising, right??

This recipe seems long but don't let the list of ingredients scare you. It's quite easy albeit may take a while to finish. And not all of your time spent is on labor. Quite a few minutes (maybe even an hour) are unattended time. 

I hope you enjoy this as much as my husband and our guests do. For a spicier dish, do not remove the seeds or the pith of the Serrano chile; and contrary to popular belief, the heat is mostly in the pith and not so much in the seeds. 

अपने भोजन का आनंद लें

(Bon Appétit! Thank you Google Translate!)

Chipotle Chicken Skewers with Creamy Cilantro Dipping Sauce

The older I get, the leaner and leaner I find I have to make my meals. I've got my advancing age and my parents to thank for my abysmal metabolic rate (the ONLY bad thing they passed on to me, those amazing, loving people!). The other day I had an epiphany of sorts. If I eat appetizers at restaurants as my main meal, then why not do so at home?