Chicken Shawarma Recipe

Shawarma, the burrito of the Middle East!

Shawarma or (Shawerma) شاورما is one of my favorite fast food dishes!!! I still cannot decide which I like better chicken or meat?!?!  As both are yummy… I once had a turkey shawarma – when I was in one of my health eating frenzies – and another time I had Pasterma shawarma, but my favorites remain chicken and meat.

Shawarma sandwiches or wraps consist of thinly sliced cuts of meat or chicken rolled into pita bread. Inside the pita, there is the sauce spread (which one depends whether your sandwich is chicken or red meat) some pickles, tomatoes, and maybe some onions.

Walking downtown in any Middle Eastern city, you will find Shawarma places in almost every street. If you happen to visit a Middle Eastern country you must try a shawarma sandwich! To prepare the shawarma, meat (or chicken) is stacked on a large stick that is facing a standing grill. As the stick rotates, the meat is roasted slowly on all sides. Traditionally, the standing grill used to be wood fire, nowadays the gas flame is the standard. A popular shawarma place will serve more than a thousand sandwich's a night from just one skewer!  The picture of the Chicken Shawerma skewer below was taken around nine o’clock at night. When the grilling started that day, the skewer was more than double this size!!!

Home-made shawarma is not 100% like the restaurant one as it is difficult to replicate it without having the skewer with the standing grill. This recipe is the closest I have come to preparing chicken shawarma. We enjoy it a lot, hope you do as well. Serve it with the garlic sauce from dish-away.

The serving is enough for 8-10 people depending on their appetite.

Food Art

Today I am sharing with you a collection of art creations that I found over the net that bring a whole new dimension to food. A simple google brings out hundreds of amazing pictures of art done with food! I tried to choose the ones that are appealing to kids and can be replicated at home.  

Coconut Pie Recipe

What do you do when you have a food expert for dinner? When your special guest just happens to be an expert in flavors? How do you pick the dishes you will prepare?

A few months ago we were hosting a very special guest. Our guest was the owner of Gerards ice cream, one of the top ice-cream shops in Jordan. The person behind every flavor of ice cream they sell! For me, the big challenge was preparing a special dish that will suit his taste and demonstrate my culinary skills.

I started searching online for a good and easy dish and by chance I found this coconut pie recipe that had an excellent rating by visitors and many positive reviews. I also discovered that another version of coconut pie can be prepared by adding bananas to it. I decided to give it a try… the end result? Great!!!! To top that this coconut pie smells like heaven.

Upon serving this to our special guest, his response was “Now this is something!” My dinner was a success and this coconut pie recipe is definitely a keeper.

Tips: How to Store Fruits and Vegetables

Last month I came across an interesting table by the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts that I shared on my Facebook page. The table divided fruits and vegetables into two columns: refrigerate and room temperature.

I noticed that I was storing some of my fruits and vegetables incorrectly, which got me thinking about the proper way for storing them. After all, good storage can keep us from getting sick, plus it cuts back on our monthly expenses as our fruits and vegetables will have an extended life meaning = reduced wastage.

So I did some research on the subject, and built this table of the main fruits and vegetables and how to store them. It is by no means a comprehensive table, but I think it covers the main ones we regularly use! The source for the information is material by the Extension of the University of Nebraska and the University of Texas; and Berkeley Farmers’ Market.

Developing this table was a learning process and I now have the difficult task of changing some well grounded habits on how I handle and store some of these fruits and vegetables! It is not going to be easy, but I look forward to the chance of having fresher and tastier produce after following these guidelines. Will keep you posted on how it goes. Hope you find the table below as useful as I do.

Stuffed Steak Roll & Vegetables

Stuffed steak roll is an ancient Armenian recipe that has been passed down from one generation to the next one. My great grandmother learned this recipe from her mother, and later taught my mother how to prepare stuffed steak rolls in the same method that our ancestors prepared it. I can still remember when my mother taught me how to prepare it in our kitchen in Beirut. I remember the aromatic smell of the spices in the kitchen tangled with the stories of our family that my mother shared with me as we were busy rolling the steaks.

One day I hope to teach my daughter how to prepare stuffed steak rolls as well, while I tell her old family stories and tales! Meanwhile, I am so excited of sharing this ancient Armenian recipe for preparing stuffed steak rolls with the world.

I highly recommend preparing stuffed steak rolls when having guests over. The presentation is neat, the colors are catchy, and the taste, oh the taste is luscious and divine. Three important combinations for a successful dinner or lunch invitation!

Serve stuffed steak rolls with rice and enjoy with your loved ones. Below portion serves 4 people.