Lemon Cream  Sugar Cookies

• 1 cup softened butter
• 1/2 cup cream cheese
• 2 cups evaporated cane sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• fresh zest of 1 lemon OR 1 tsp lemon extract*
• 5 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt

Cream the butter, sugar and cream cheese in a mixer until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.  Mix in the flour, baking soda, salt and lemon zest.
Cover the bowl or wrap the dough in logs and chill for at least 3 hours.  Overnight is better.
Preheat oven to 390F.  Roll dough out on a floured surface or a pastry mat.  If you like a crisper cookie, roll it to 1/4 inch thick.  For moister cookies, roll to 1/2 inch thick.  Cut into shapes and place onto a making sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
Bake for 5-8 minutes. For more moist cookies, take them out just before they “look done.”  Like as soon as the timer goes off the first time.
Try to restrain yourself and let them cool… or not your choice.
If you feel so inclined, decorate them with icing.  Royal icing is the typical topping, but I think a cream cheese frosting would be a lovely addition.  You know, cream cheese & heavy whipping cream whipped to stiff peaks and smeared all over the top of everything… err, these wonderful cookies.

Russian Tea Cakes

1 cup softened butter or margarine
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

In a large bowl combine ingredients on low speed of mixer about 1 minute. Blend well. Gradually add flour at low speed until just combined; stir in nuts. Roll dough into 1 inch balls; place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 F for 8-10 minutes until firm to the touch but not brown. Do not overbake. While warm, roll in powdered sugar. Cool; re-roll in powdered sugar before serving.

Morrocan tagine

4 pounds chicken

2 small onions thinly sliced

3 garlic gloves crushed

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

6 tablespoon olive oil

1 small bunch of parsley chopped

¼ tablespoon cumin, fresh pepper, paprika, cinnamon

¼ tablespoon safran

½ salt (or to taste)


In a large non metallic dish mix all the ingredients and leave over night in the fridge.


In a large pan, brown garlic, chicken and onions. After 15 minutes add remaining ingredients.


Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for one hour. You can add carrots, potatoes, or any kind of vegetables.

Chinese Dumpling

Chinese always make dumpling
at Chinese New Year.






This picture is from http//www.wenxuecity.com.

Ingredidents:

•  dumpling dough
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• up to 1 1/4 cups of cold water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:

• 1 cup of ground beef or pork
• 1 TB say sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 TB Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 3 TB sesame oil
• 1/2 green onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Chinese cabbage
• 4 TBs shredded bamboo shoots
• 2 slices ginger, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped

How to do:

• Add salt into flour. Stir slowly in the cold water and form the dough, then to cover the dough and let it stand for 30 minutes.
• Prepared the filling ingredients. Add soy sauce, salt, rice wine, white pepper to meat, and add the remaining ingredients and mix them well.
• Divide the dough into 60 pieces. Roll each piece out into circle about 3 inches in diameter.
• Place a small portion of the filling into the middle of each wrapper. Wet the edge of dumpling with water. Folding the dough over the filling into a half moon shape and pinch the edges to seal and continue with the rest of dumpling.
• Cook dumpling: bring a large bowl with water to boil. Add half dumplings, stir gently. Wait the water to boil and add 1/2 cup of cold water. Cover and repeat. When the dumplings come to the third time boiling, they are ready. Drain and remove.
  

PERSIAN HALVA

Halva is a popular sweet found throughout the Middle East. It is very common Iranian serve halva in their ceremonies. This Persian version uses a simple mixture of


Flour, sugar, butter, rosewater, and saffron.

PERSIAN MORASAH-POLOW

Ingredients: (4 Servings)


basmati or long-grain rice, 500 grams

chicken, 800 grams

cooking oil

butter, 2 spoons

barberries (dried), 80 grams

almonds, 50 grams

pistachios, 50 grams

raisins, 50 grams

orange peel, 100 grams

sugar, two spoons

large onions, two

saffron, 1/2 teaspoon

salt

black pepper

Directions:

Morasah-Polow is an elaborate rice dish which means jeweled rice and is usually made at weddings.



Soak rice in warm water for 2 hours. Wash chicken. Peel and thinly slice onions. Fry in oil until slightly golden. Add chicken pieces and fry until color changes. Add a glass of hot water, salt and pepper and cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes. Add more hot water during cooking if necessary. About 1/2 glass of water should be left at the end. Romove chicken bones.



Wash barberries and raisins with cold water and drain. Fry separately in oil over medium heat for a few minutes. Add some sugar to barberries during frying. Thinly slice almonds and pistachios. Soak almonds in cold water for an hour. Thinly slice orange peels. Boil for a few minutes, drain and repeat. Soak in cold water for an hour, drain, and repeat. Finally boil for a few minutes with a few spoons of sugar, and drain.



Prepare rice using the recipe for polow. When rice is rinsed, pour a bit of oil and hot water in a pot, and add 1/2 of rice. Spread chicken pieces over the rice, and cover with 1/2 of remaining rice. Spread half of almonds and orange peel over rice and cover with remaining rice. Pour chicken-juice and a bit of oil over rice. Dissolve saffron in a bit of hot water and also pour over rice. Cover and cook over low heat for about 30 minutes. Add remainder of almonds and orange peel, raisins, barberries, and pistachios, and mix well. Pour two spoons of melted butter on top, and serve.

PERSIAN TAH-CHEEN

WWW.persian foods .com

Ingredients: (4 servings)

• chicken, 1 kg
• basmati or long grain rice, 500 grams

• yogurt, 300 grams

• saffron, 1/2 teaspoon

• large onions, two

• 3 eggs (yolks only)

• cooking oil

• salt

• black pepper

Directions:

Start by washing rice and soaking it in warm water (with added salt) for 2 hours. Then filter out the water.

Chop onions into thin slices and fry in oil until slightly golden. Wash and cut chicken, remove skin, and fry in onions until color changes. Add some water and bring to boil. Turn heat down and let boil slowly until cooked, adding more water if needed. Remove the bones.

While chicken is cooking, beat the yogurt until it is smooth. Dissolve saffron in half a cup of hot water. Add saffron, salt, pepper and egg-yolks to the yogurt and mix very well.

Pour a few glasses of water in a large pot and bring to boil. Pour in rice and cook while stirring occasionally until rice grows longer and slightly softens (Take care not to overcook the rice. It should still be too hard for eating). Again filter out the water.

Pour several spoons of oil and several spoons of the yogurt mix into a non-stick pot. Add a thin layer of rice and flatten using the back of a spoon. Add a layer of chicken on top followed by another layer of rice. Again flatten the rice. Spread several more spoons of the yogurt mix on the rice. Continue in this fashion until chicken, rice and the yogurt mix have been used up. Add some more oil on top. Put the lid on and cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat.

Place the pot in an oven (preheated to 250 F) and cook for 1.5 to 2 hours. Note that the longer Tah-Chin is cooked, the thicker the Tah-Dig (delicious crispy layer of rice at the bottom) will be. When cooked, remove the lid and let cool for a few minutes.

Place an inverted large dish over the pot and turn it over. Tap the pot in order to loosen the contents inside. The contents should fall on the dish in one piece with the Tah-Dig on the outside.