Time: 45-75 minutes (10-15 minutes to make once the eggplant has been cooked and cooled)

Serves: 10-12 as an appetizer

Inspired by: When I began cooking my theme was often “Mediterranean” because I always loved the foods prepared by my Armenian grandparents. I thought some sort of eggplant dip was something I should at least try to make. I found one in an Armenian cook book and then began modifying it slightly as I made it more and more often. I especially love the flavors of this when the eggplant is grilled and gets a bit charred – it adds a fabulous smokey flavor.

Ingredients:

• 2.5 lbs eggplant
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4-6 tablespoons plain yogurt
• 4 tablespoons Tahini
• 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 small clove garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ½ bunch parsley, minced (garnish)
• Fresh pomegranate seeds (garnish)

Recipe:

• Slice eggplants in half lengthwise, score the face with a knife and brush each face with olive oil.
• Put eggplant face up on cookie sheet and place under pre-heated broiler (40-60 min at about 350), or grill eggplant face down over medium heat (20-30 min). Cook until thoroughly cooked – slightly charred outside and soft on inside.
• Cool.
• With spoon, remove eggplant from the skin and mash thoroughly (can do this in a food processor).
• Then add the Tahini, yogurt, lemon juice, garlic and salt and continue to mix well until creamy.ly.
• Spread the dip in a large, round platter. Sprinkle with parsley or garnish with parsley sprigs. Dribble with olive oil (optional). It’s pretty if sprinkled with fresh pomegranate seeds.

Notes: The grilling/broiling step is the key to this recipe as it makes the eggplant taste rich and smoky. This can keep for a couple of days but the garlic flavor gets stronger each day so if you don’t plan to eat right away, use a little less garlic.

Wine Suggestions: Any white or light red works well with this dish as well as other middle-eastern “mezzas”. Try a creamy white such as a rich California or Australian Chardonnay, and for crisp – try a Chablis or other unoaked White Burgundy, Sancerre, Gruner Veltliner or a Spanish Verdejo. Also a light red with a bit of oak tannin such as a Red Burgundy or Rioja is a good accompaniment if you go heavier on the garlic.

Time: 5-10 minutes of prep time and 70 minutes of cook time

Serves: 8

Inspired by: My love for Asian flavors. There is a restaurant in Truckee called Dragonfly that I love going to when I’m up in Tahoe to ski. They prepare fabulous Asian-flavored dishes. I had a meal there once that was served with coconut rice and remember coming home to try to replicate the entire dish. It was no where near what I had at Dragonfly because they also also prepare beautiful sauces on their fish that perfectly compliment the rice (or vice versa), but at least my coconut rice turned out well!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups uncooked rice (Basmati rice is the most flavorful and aromatic)
• 2 cups coconut milk (or do 1 full can of coconut milk and make up the balance with water)
• 1 cup water
• 2-4 tablespoons sugar (depends on how sweet you like this)
• 1-2 teaspoons freshly minced ginger (optional – if you like ginger this adds a beautiful flavor)

Preparation: In a 5 x 9 x 2 ½ inch glass baking dish, combine all ingredients; mix well. Seal pan snuggly with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 70 minutes. However, you can count on the rice staying hot in the dish covered with foil for about 45 minutes and warm for about 2 hours if you are trying to prepare it in advance for a party.

Notes: I like this rice with a seared Ahi salad because Michelle’s 18 spice and Spice it Up …by Karen™ combined with the papaya are great flavor combinations with the coconut.

Wine Suggestions: The sweetness of this dish will best go best an off-dry or sweet wine such as a Kabinett level German Riesling or similar.

Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 8

Inspired by: I started making my fiesta couscous with quinoa occasionally because it’s healthier and started thinking that it would be nice to have a savory version of the quinoa as well. I add the below ingredients and loved it! I’ve decided that I prefer quinoa in a savory dish than a sweet one.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups quinoa (any color, but I prefer white to red or black)
• 2 ½ cups water (I always use 1 1/4 cup water for 1 cup quinoa)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2-4 teaspoons olive oil
• freshly zested or grated lemon peel from 2 lemons
• juice of those 2 lemons (or more if you love lemon)
• 1 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
• 1 bunch finely chopped kale or spinach or both (optional – when using kale I usually remove any tough veins)
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne (optional)

Preparation:

• Rinse quinoa in a fine mesh sieve – run under cold water until water runs clear.
• Transfer to medium saucepan, add 2 ½ cups water, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon olive oil.
• Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce to a simmer; cook until water is completely absorbed – about 20 minutes.
• While it is cooking, zest and juice two lemons (I like meyer lemons). Add to that 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon olive oil, and the black, white and cayenne peppers.
• Remove from heat and add the above lemon juice/zest/oil/salt and pepper mixture and combine well.
• Add parsley and any other greens, toss well and put the lid back on for another 5 minutes so the greens can wilt.
• Toss again until well combined.
• Season further to taste.

Notes: This is good hot or at room temperature so it’s easy to make ahead for dinner parties. It’s great as a leftover and heated up the next day too.

Time: 30-35 minutes active, 4.5 – 8.5 hours total. Approximately 15 minutes to prepare marinade, 4-8 hours for marinating, 5 minutes to skewer, and 10-15 minutes to grill.

Serves: 4

Inspired by: This is probably the most common Armenian marinade for chicken, beef and lamb. My family used this marinade for kabobs when I was growing up and would add bell peppers, onions and tomatoes to the kabobs to make them yummy and beautiful.

Marinade Ingredients:

• ½ cup olive oil
• ½ cup lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon marjoram
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ cup chopped onion
• ¼ cup snipped parsley

Other Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 – 2 pounds chicken
• 1 onion, cut into pieces that are easy to skewer, tossed in olive oil
• 1 bell pepper of each color, cut into pieces, tossed in olive oil
• Optional: cherry tomatoes, tossed in olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1/2 lemon

Preparation:

• Mix all of the marinade ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
• Cube the chicken and add it to the marinade. Keep in the refrigerator for 4 – 8 hours.
• Skewer chicken and veggies and grill at about 400 approximately 5-6 minutes each side – you should see grill marks – check to ensure it is cooked through – with metal skewers and fairly high heat – it will cook fast. Even though they look pretty to put the chicken and veggies on the same skewer –  for more cooking control, it is easier to skewer the onions together, the bell peppers together, the chicken together, etc.
• Remove the chicken and veggies from skewers into a serving bowl. Toss with freshly chopped parsley and drizzle with lemon juice for the perfect final touch.

Notes: This is great with any meal, but nice to incorporate into a mediterranean-themed meal such as hummus or baba ganoush as a starter, and served with armenian rice pilaf and greek salad.

Wine Suggestions: This will go well with creamy, crisp or aromatic white such as a California Chardonnay, White Burgundy or Sauvignon Blanc, or a light bodied red such as a Pinot Noir or Red Burgundy. We found a simple Rioja that also pairs well. I especially love this with a very lemony, high-acid White Burgundy.

Time: 45-55 minutes

Serves: 8-10

Inspired by: My passion for throwing parties and not spending a lot of time cooking during them. I love the Armenian rice pilaf that I grew up with, but I feel like I have to tend to it while it’s cooking. I wanted to figure out how to make larger quantities, do most of the preparation ahead of time, and then put it in the oven to come out just at the right time for a large dinner party. After several experiments and refinements, this is recipe that I now use often.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups uncooked Basmati or long grain white rice (I prefer Basmati as it’s more flavorful and aromatic)
• ¾ cup vermicelli noodles broken into 1 inch pieces
• 3 cups chicken broth
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ tablespoons butter

Preparation:

• Melt butter in skillet over medium heat and lightly brown vermicelli noodles
• Combine with all other ingredients in a 5 x 9 x 2 ½ inch glass baking dish and mix well
• Seal pan snuggly with aluminum foil
• Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes, or at 350 for 40-45 min
• When you remove it from oven, it may still look fairly “wet” and the rice may not be completely finished cooking
• If needed, let it sit out of the oven, covered, for about 10 minutes and serve
• Add some really hot chicken broth or water just before serving to make it juicier

Notes: I love this for parties. For advanced preparation, I typically brown the vermicelli noodles and put them in the baking dish (and any excess butter) with the rice and salt and mix it well. I measure out the chicken broth and have it ready to mix in. This way, it only takes a minute to prepare it and put it in the oven when I’m ready.

This is great with any meal, but nice to incorporate into a Mediterranean-themed meal such as hummus or baba ganoush as a starter, and served with lemon-herb chicken kabobs and Greek salad.

Wine Suggestions: This is a fabulous enhancement to a meal if you are serving a high acid white wine or a red wine with some tannins because of the salt and butter. For those who enjoy a rich, buttery, California chardonnay – that could be a very complimentary pairing as well.

Time: 30-45 minutes

Serves: 10-20 as a side dish

Inspired by: Tony Khalife, who taught me a great deal about putting unique flavors together. We tried this with all kinds of combinations of flavors and every time it turned out fantastic.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 cups of couscous works well for the below quantity of “fiesta” ingredients
• Water (1 1/2 cups water per cup of couscous)
• 1 jalapeno or serrano pepper, minced – keep the seeds (if you are sensitive to the oils, wear gloves)
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 red bell pepper chopped
• 1 cup dried papaya (chopped to the size of the dried cranberries)
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup slivered almonds (unsalted pistachios are great too)
• 1-2 cups green peas thawed to room temperature

Preparation:

• Fill a large pot with water – use 1 1/2 cup water to 1 cup couscous
• Add a dash of olive oil and salt and bring to a boil
• Add the couscous, stir and bring to a boil again, and then reduce heat to a very low simmer and cover for 20-30 minutes
• In a separate large sauté pan, sauté olive oil, jalapeno and onion
• When starting to brown, add bell pepper
• When they get cooked fairly well – 5-10 minutes, add nuts and dried fruit and cook for another 5 minutes
• Add the peas in the last few minutes so they get hot but not crushed and mushy
• Mix the couscous and the “fiesta” mixture in a large glass bowl (don’t do it all at once – start with half of each to ensure you get to your desired consistency/mixture)
• Add olive oil if it is too dry and needs moisture

Notes: This is good hot or at room temperature so it’s great for making early in the day for a party, or bringing to a potluck or as part of a picnic. It’s a perfect side dish to compliment a Mediterranean-themed meal, with perhaps hummus as a starter, curry chicken kabobs and Greek salad. I also make this recipe with quinoa instead of couscous on occasion because it’s healthier. Just replace the couscous with quinoa – use 1 1/4 cups of water for 1 cup of quinoa.