On a business trip to Istanbul several years ago, I was introduced a Turkish culinary treat –a steaming bowl of manti, tiny dumplings, nestled in garlick-flavored yogurt and drizzled with peppery oil. I was intrigued by their diminutive size. As I was eating Manti with Garlic Yogurt Sauce and Peppery Oil, I studied each spoonful …
I recently added this Mushroom Shawarma to my collection of vegetarian recipes. Raised a carnivore, I have prepared several meatless meals a week, acknowledging that reducing meat consumption has health benefits. For years, vegetarian meals at our home were assorted quiches or lasagnas. In recent years, I looked east to the recipes of Indian, Thai …
My inspiration for blog topics often comes from unusual origins. The idea for preparing this Turkish flatbread —pide (pronounced “pea-day” in Turkish) — was born in an airport business lounge. Over the years, I’ve traveled to Istanbul dozens of times and enjoyed pide throughout Turkey in various forms, but I never considered baking pide until …
Over the years, I spent more time in Istanbul than any other foreign city. Some visits were for business, some for fun. Istanbul, located 657 or so miles south of Kyiv, provided an easy escape from the Soviet dreariness that I encountered when I began working in Ukraine in 1993. Usually, at the end of …
As Thanksgiving approaches each year, my daughter asks “how can we retain the traditional elements of the holiday meal but introduce some innovation?” Over the years, my experiments with various turkey dry rubbing, brining and cooking methods and stuffing and dressing preparations and different potato and vegetable combinations were generally successful. I was less successful, …