Tart Au Citron

I love me a good Lemon Tart – the tangier the better. The last time I had one was in Paris, and it was good – but I’ve been thinking about trying my own hand at making a Tart-Au-Citron. I was already prepping my test kitchen for a batch of Modified Nanaimo Bars, and halfway through I decided to ignore the canadian refrigerator treat for a French Classic.

I was working loosely off of this recipe for the crust, and this recipe for the filling. The difference with the crust recipe is that I used the crumbs from ginger snaps and Digestive biscuits.. The crust was prebaked and left to cool, then I went to work on the lemon curd. I’ve had alot of experience with heating eggs to make a rich custard – I’ve promised to post my Egg Nog recipe for ages – so I knew what to expect. Double Boiler, stir constantly, path in a wooden spoon. After paintakingly making the lemon curd, I poured it into the crust and pushed it into the oven for a second bake. 15 minutes later, it was done. I topped it with a few fresh Thyme leaves, and stared at it for half an hour, hoping that my “coolness” would be infectious, and speed up the cooling process.

It didn’t. I must be having an off day.

The result? FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC! Excuse my profanity, but this is a HUGE thing for me. To get a tart-au-citron right on the first try is wonderful. If you like lemons, I highly recommend making this at home – but make sure you’re very careful; this is not a recipe to be trifled with, so pay attention to every detail and never ignore it.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes total.

2010
02/27
CATEGORY
NHCIA Test Kitchen
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I wish I had said it

I’ve been on a marathon 3 day viewing of the first four seasons of “How I Met Your Mother”. I gotta say, this is much more enjoyable than watching all 3 seasons of “Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place”.

And I wonder why I’m getting fat. Moving swiftly on.

In the third season, Marshall (played by Jason Segel) leads the charge to rediscover the “best hamburger in New York”. After being presented with a series of Burgers and still not being convinced, he was asked what was so special about his particular Holy Grail Burger. His response was pure poetry”

“Just a Burger? Just a burger. Robin, it’s so much more than “just a burger”. I mean…that first bite—oh what heaven that first bite is! The bun like a sesame freckled breast of an angel resting gently on the ketchup and mustard below—flavors mingling in a seductive pas-de-deux And then…a pickle…the most playful little pickle! Then a slice of tomato, a leaf of lettuce and a…a patty of ground beef so exquisite; swirling in your mouth breaking apart and combining again in a fugue of sweets and savor so delightful. This is no mere sandwich of grilled meat and toasted bread, Robin: this is God…speaking to us in food.“

As Barney would put it: “Legen – I hope you don’t have lactose intolerance – Dary”

2010
02/25
CATEGORY
No Food, Just Thought
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On Dropping the ball

Valentine’s day was quite a busy day for NHCIA.com; and I’ve been wondering why. It’s obvious now, but you have to understand that I do not commemorate or dignify valentine’s day valentine’s day if I can get away with it – and thankfully this year I can.

So if I totally missed out on writing up a quick list of restaurants to have that romantic dinner, then please consider it an omission of forgetfulness.

I just hope that no one went to Abu El Seed, Armada or the Zamalek JW Steakhouse.

Nuked, 1 Minute

2010
02/18
CATEGORY
Verbal Diarrhea
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Potato Rosti and the Perfect Poached Egg.

About a week ago, I went all out and decided to make my own beef stock. A proper dark, rich brown beef stock, mind you – a liquid head and shoulders above and beyond what you usually get at your supermarket. Right now, the only advantage stock cubes have over a stock made from scratch is convenience. Boil water, add stock cube. Flavor-wise, though, a stock cube lacks the depth of flavor that can really take your meal to the next level and turn it into something special. Also, stock cubes tend to be quite salty, and it’s easy to over-salt a sauce made with this stock; especially if it’s a reduction. With my homemade stock, I can control the saltiness. I didn’t add a single dash of salt during the entire process, and it really paid off.

As an aside; food writing, I find, tends to be a mishmash of commonly used quips and quotes; much like cooking, I suppose. What separates a great food writer from a good one is the ability to take the formulaic and reimagine it. If you recognize phrases from a cooking show or a food article, I apologize; but instead of picking apart the writing, I suggest you focus on the whole article; like a great stock, it should be more than the sum of its parts.

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2010
02/18
CATEGORY
NHCIA Test Kitchen
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Homemade Beef Stock, Confit of Cepes, and a 3 Course Meal.

A couple of nights ago, I felt the need to make something special. A trip to my butcher, Al-Samrah [56 Mohammed Hassanein Heikal Street, Tel# 02-26719577] always makes me smile, since the gentlemen there are always patient with my micromanagement, and are familiar with the names of the different cuts of beef according to US, British and French conventions in English. I walked out with 2Kg of brisket, some shin bones for roasting and two 250gm Contre-Filet steaks, cut deliciously thick at 1 inch each. I asked the butcher to separate out the brisket into chunks, reserving the meaty chunks for a mince, and leaving enough chunks with the bone and fat attached to add to the shinbones for the Beef Stock I was already making in my mind.

As ever, new ideas and meals started coming to me while making the beef stock; at home, I had some fresh button mushrooms, strawberries, dark chocolate, Frozen Jumbo shrimp, and an Avocado. Right off the bat, I remembered a recipe I saw in Gordon Ramsay’s “A Chef for all seasons”; but more on that later.

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2010
02/16
CATEGORY
NHCIA Test Kitchen
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Playing Favorites

Yep, I’ve been really lazy as of late. Here’s an attempt to get off my rear end and actually write something unique for the NHCIA.

I haven’t got a lot of time to regale you with tales of food history or tell you how to make a cinnamon syllabub; I’m in a wham-bam-thank you ma’am kinda mood. When I’m hungry and I need speed, I get some me fast feed. Of course I have favorites; some home deliveries are faster than others, and that typically influences my decision. But it’s not just the speed of the food delivery – cook door could deliver in 5 minutes and I still wouldn’t touch them with a ten foot pole – it’s the items on offer.

Burgers? Burger King, Hardee’s, Burger Kitchen then McDonald’s.

Pizza? Sbarro’s, Papa John’s, Domino’s, Pizza Hut then Little Ceaser’s.

Chicken? KFC, Texas Fried Chicken then Al Tazaj. Not too many chicken fast food options out there; that would explain why KFC has been allowed to thrive.

Chinese? No one. It’s a big market gap that needs to be exploited by someone with more time and money than myself.

As a wee lad growing up in the deserts of Saudi Arabia, I often found myself wishing for the day when I could mix and match, pick and choose my favorite items  and eat them all on the same plate. Sort of like an All-Star Fast Food Team. Thankfully, my Fast Food Fast has been over for almost 6 months. Without further adieu, Here’s my lineup:

Main Items:

  1. BK Whopper
  2. Hardee’s Mushroom and Swiss
  3. KFC Toasted Twister Wrap with Cheese (Original)
  4. Sbarro’s New York Thin Sliced Margherita Pizza

Side Items:

  1. Texas Chicken’s Biscuits
  2. A&W Root Beer
  3. McDonald’s Fries
  4. Hardee’s Big Cookie

I’m pretty sure there are some items that you wouldn’t agree with; but then again, there are probably items there that you have not tried yet: go try them, then come talk to me. If you’ve got your own suggestions, make yourself heard!

Nuked, 3 minutes on Medium

2010
02/11
CATEGORY
No Food, Just Thought
The Best In Cairo
TAGS
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Om Ali Vs Bread & Butter Pudding

<Originally Published in Campus Magazine, September 2009>

On the left - Om Ali! On the right - Bread and Butter Pudding!

Ramadan – or as I like to call it: “Radamaddacanman” – is on its way (don’t worry, it takes some time to pronounce correctly). We all know that Ramadan is more about feasting than fasting; and no feast is complete without a rich dessert that sticks to your thighs.

Om Ali is synonymous with richness and a staple of many a Ramadan Fitar table – even though it is readily available at other times of the year. It’s simplest incarnation is toasted Filo pastry pieces, buttered and covered in a spiced milk mixture and baked in a ramekin. Typical toppings include raisins, walnuts and coconut, and some recipes call for cloves or cinnamon in the milk mixture.

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2010
01/29
CATEGORY
Egyptian Food
In the Press
NHCIA Test Kitchen
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Got Soul?

<Originally Published in CAMPUS Magazine>

I’ve been asked to write about what makes Egyptian food special; to observe and report on what gives our food it’s “Edge”. For a person more interested in the classical school of French Cuisine, this was a bit of a curve-ball. Do I look at the techniques or the ingredients? Should I focus on the tastes and textures and presentation? Or should I look at food history and come up with some bizarre and probably far-fetched theory about why Egyptians eat what they eat? No, the real question is this: Why would I choose to walk into a restaurant serving Egyptian fare as opposed to a French Bistro? After much artery clogging soul searching, I’ve come to a realization:

Egyptian food has no “Edge” – but it’s got soul. Lots of it.

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2010
01/11
CATEGORY
Egyptian Food
In the Press
NHCIA Test Kitchen
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Mr 3000!

Gadzooks, Zounds and Egads!

It’s taken about 6 months, but I’ve finally hit 3000 unique visitors! and just in time for christmas. To celebrate, I’m going to watch Heston Blumenthal’s Christmas Feast again. At times, this man moves me to tears. Other times, he drives me to insanity.

Keep on clicking, foodies and cairenes; and post a comment or two that makes sense! Sayed Kawawi (name withheld, but I know who it is) has the palate and brain size of a dinosaur; but at least he’s got something to say. Join in the fun; I may be inclined to respond.

Nuked. 30 seconds on Medium Power

2009
12/26
CATEGORY
No Food, Just Thought
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3 comments

Breakfasting in Cairo (if you’re up early enough)

<Originally published in CAMPUS magazine, August 2009>

Summer is here. School is out. Good times will be had by all. So instead of doing the same old routine, why not change it up a little while you’re still in Cairo? Wake up early and go have breakfast with the usual suspects you hang out with.

More and more restaurants are offering breakfast options on their menus, especially American/European styled fare. Unfortunately for me, writing up these kinds of reviews exposes the inverse relationship between my wallet’s fatness and my own; but it is work I must do. Here’s a quick rundown of my favorite places to get my morning fix. Notably absent are coffee house chains, like Cilantro, Beano’s, Starbucks, Second Cup Etc.  We’re talking restaurants, baby; not some prepackaged, vacuum packed, sterile airport lounge.

And please leave the laptops at home – there should be no such thing as a “working breakfast”. I don’t care if you’re crunching numbers over coffee, Googling over a bowl of grapefruit or browsing Facebook; with a forkful of scrambled eggs; you need to relax. No one likes a party pooper, and computing over crumpet means you’re wound way too tight.

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2009
12/26
CATEGORY
In the Press
Restaurant Review
The Best In Cairo
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7 comments