Yalanci Tavuk Gogsu (Fake Chicken Breast Pudding)

Finally, we're in foodie blogroll :) If you haven't heard about the blogroll, I strongly recommend you to visit JennDZ's blog and read this post. This blogroll's aim is helping foodies find each other on the web. Also she opened a forum, so you can visit and share your recipes with others :) I think, she did a great job. You can find this blogroll on the left hand side of our blog :)Thanks again!

Now, it is time to give a new recipe :) In Turkish cuisine, one can find plenty of desserts that are made of milk. Personally, I love this type of desserts, especially sutlac (this is another dessert, hopefully we'll give its recipe soon). The name of this dessert is Tavuk Gogsu which means, literally, chicken breast. The original of this pudding contains some chicken breast. It sounds weird, doesn't it? But it is not. Actually, you don't taste the chicken because chicken breast is cooked very well, and it is cut into very small pieces (like smashed into fibers). The originality of this pudding comes from the fiber of the chicken breast. When you try to put some pudding into your spoon, you will see the fibers. But, I cook this pudding without chicken breast which makes it fake :) (like fake manti :))

Ingredients:

2 1/2 tbs unsweetened butter
1 cup of all purpose flour
0.26 gal milk (1 lt milk)
1 1/2 cups of sugar

Method:

Put the butter into a pan and melt it. Then pour the flour into pan and roast it until its color changes to yellowish-brownish color. Then add sugar and mix it. Begin to add some milk while stirring the mixture with a hand mixer. Do not add the entire milk at the same time, try to pour little milk each time. Also, you need to stir it all the time. If not, the mixture will get lumpy. After you add the entire milk and the mixture boils, take the pan away from oven. Stir the pudding with an electrical mixer for about at least 5 minutes. You will see that the pudding becomes smooth. By the way, don't worry if despite all of your effort the mixture gets lumpy. The mixture will become smooth after this stirring procedure. In the end, pour the pudding into a pyrex (or oven proof glass pan) and cool it down. Pour some cinnamon at the top and refrigerate it over night. The pudding is ready to serve :) Enjoy!

Turkish Appetizer

I invited my friends from my English class to our house last month. My friends are from all over the world. They didn't know much about Turkish food. So I wanted to cook some Turkish food, so that they have some idea about our foods and culture. I thought the best trick was preparing Turkish appetizers for my guests. It was like an appetizer buffet. They loved everything :)
After buffet, we had Turkish tea and some dessert. One of my friends has never tasted Turkish tea. He didn't want to drink at first because the weather was so hot. But when he tried he couldn't make himself stop :)

Here is some of my recipes. Also, I forgot to take pictures of some of my foods. I prepared more different salad and desserts. Anyway I hope you will enjoy!

Eggplant Salad
Ingredients;

• 2 large eggplants
  
• 1 tomato
• 1\4 cup chopped parsley
• 1 lemon juice
  
• 2 crushed garlics
  
• salt, a little bit black pepper, olive oil.
  

Method;
Prepare the oven to 350 F. Line a sheet pan with a piece of aluminum foil. Make a few cuts to egg plants by using a knife. Cook the eggplants until they become very flabby. Then let them cool. Peel the skin and mash the eggplants. Add lemon juice, garlic, salt, black paper and olive oil; then mix together. Decorate your salad with cut tomatoes and parsley.

Potato Salad
Ingredients;

• 6-7 potatos
• a half bunch of parsley
• 2-3 fresh green onion and also if you like you can put finely chopped onion, too
  
• 1 tablespoon mild paprika
• 1 lemon juice
  
• black pepper, salt, olive oil as you taste
• 2 cups of chopped romaine lettuce

Method;
In a large pot, boil the water. Cook the potatoes until the toothpick goes in easily. Let them cool.
In a large bowl, chop the parsley, green onions, romaine lettuce, mix them with lemon juice, paprika, black pepper, salt, olive oil. Peel the skin of potatoes. Cut into squares. Add into salad. Mix well but do not mash potatos. Serve cool.

Borek with spinach
Borek with Cheese
Borek is the main appetizer as my partner mentioned in her last post. Of course, I always serve borek for my guest. I made the same borek as Minik Kuş made. And also I made borek with spinach and cheese.

Hummus
Ingredients;

• 1cup chickpeas
• 2 tablespoons tahini (crashed sesame seeds)
  
• 1 large lemon juice
  
• 3 grated garlics
  
• salt,a little bit black pepper, olive oil
• Hot water
  

Method;

The night before, put the chickpeas in the hot water. In a large pot, boil the water and add a little bit salt, olive oil and chickpeas. Boil until cooked. The best way for cooking chickpeas is using pressure cooker or you can use canned chickpeas. Because it takes a long time to cook.
When chickpeas are ready, mash the chickpea with blender and add a little bit hot water if it needs. It shouldnt be dry. Add tahini, lemon juice, garlics, salt,a little bit black pepper, olive oil in it, mix them well.
Bon appetite!

Peynirli Borek (Cheese and Parsley Pastry)

Hey Folks,

We were thinking about preparing some posts on traditional Turkish food for you. Actually we have lots of different recipes but most of them require lots of effort. For the beginners we want to give a relatively easy recipe. I don't know if you ever heard about Turkish borek. If you have a Turkish friend, I'm sure he or she has already cooked some borek for you. It tastes like soufflé that we like to eat for breakfast in Panera Bread. I just translate borek as a pastry, but I'm not sure if it is a correct translation. Actually, I don't know what kind of word can explain it correctly, so if you have any idea after you read the recipe, you can offer a different English name that you think will be more appropriate.

Borek is one of the main dishes that we prepare for our guests. Of course it is not a main dish for dinner, but just like an appetizer or a side dish. We sometimes prepare borek for breakfast. If you haven't tasted it yet, take a chance and try it. I'm sure you won't regret it. One more side info; borek was one of the popular food in our Turkish cooking class that we held in University of Florida in the last three semesters.

I'll give you the recipe of cheese and parsley borek, but you can prepare different types of borek by changing the stuffing. Spinach cheese borek is one of my favorites.

Ingredients

2 rolls of phyllo dough (a package of phyllo dough contains 2 rolls of dough)

2 1/2 cups of milk

1/2 cupsof vegetable oil (I prefer canola oil)

2 large eggs

16 oz crashed feta chese

4 oz chopped parsley (curly or Italian)

Beat the eggs in a bowl. Add milk and vegetable oil and mix them. Lay two sheets of dough in a rectangular pyrex or in a baking tin. Pour 4 or 5 tablespoons of the liquid mix onto sheet evenly. Then lay two more sheets and apply the same procedure until you use all of the sheets in a roll. At the same time mix feta cheese and chopped parsley in another bowl and spread it over the last sheet of first roll that you lay. Then lay two sheets from the second roll of dough and pour 4-5 tablespoons of mix. Continue until all the sheets in the second roll is used. Pour the remaining mix at the top. Cook borek in a preheated oven (350F) until the top becomes brown. After letting it cool down, cut borek in squares and serve warm.

I hope you like it :) Bon appetite!

Icy Pyramid With Chocolate And Strawberry

This is our first Monthly Mingle. My blog partner and I are very excited about it. Actually, I am not sure how this monthly mingle works but I hope, we did right and Meeta can accept my icy dessert.

I went to farmer's market and I just got a packet of strawberry from there for my icy pyramid. I like buying vegetables and fruits from farmer's market rather than supermarket. I love being outside. It is nice to feel, touch and smell vegetable. However, I can't find any market in Orlando as big as what we have in Turkey.

This icy pyramid is a very simple dessert. You don't need to cook anything. If you have a guest and don't have much time to make a cake, this recipe will be very helpfully to you, especially at summer. You can change the recipe easily. You can add what ever you want. For example, this dessert might be nicer with nut, dried fruits and also some juice as orange or cherry. My mom used to make this icy pyramid a lot. I added chocolate and strawberry in it. Here is my recipe, enjoy! :)


Ingredients:

• 1 1\2 package plain biscuit (tea biscuit) (200-250gr)
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1\2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons cacao
  
• 1\3 cup chocolate chips
  
• 1 cup chopped strawberry

Method:

1. In a medium bowl, melt butter and add the milk. Stir together and beat well. After then add the cacao and mix them together.
   
2. Break the biscuit into large pieces. Add the broken biscuits and the chocolate chips to the mixture above. Mix them lightly, but be careful don't mix them into a paste. Biscuits pieces should remain intact.
   
3. Pour out the mixture on a parchment paper. Spread evenly with a spatula.
4. Sprinkle the strawberry on the mixture.
5. Lift the parchment paper from both sides and make a pyramid shape by hand.
6. Cover all sides with parchment paper and put in the freezer over night or at least for 3 hours.
   
7. Take out the dessert at least 20 minutes before serving.
8. Cut it into slices.
9. Serve cold.

Manti and Fake Manti Recipe :)

I love eating Manti more than making it. Wonderful taste, it takes a bit long time to make but eating takes 5 mins. Not fair! :)

My husband, of course, loves it, too. He was always bugging me to cook it soon. Finally, I cooked it. Everyone is happy now.:)

In my country, you can find different types of Manti. Recipe varies region to region. I learned it from my grandma and my mum. They used to make the way I described below. Hopefully, one day, my kids can learn it from me! :))

My grandma has a lot of grandchildren. I remember her making Manti for all of us, when I was a little girl. We used to help her. She used to put a few chickpeas inside the Manti. The idea was if you could find the chickpea while eating, you will be the luckiest grandchild. We loved this game. :)
Now, I honor the tradition by putting two chickpeas when I make it. My husband is very lucky not just because he has me, but also he found the first chickpea in the first spoon today.:)))

Here are my first recipes, I hope you will enjoy them.

Manti Recipe:
Ingredients:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup water
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

For the filling:

• 250 gr ground meat
• 1 large onion (chopped in very small pieces)
• Salt and black pepper

Yogurt Sauce 1:

• 2 cups plain yogurt
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  

Red Pepper Sauce 2:

• 6-7 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons red pepper ( hot or mild, its up to you)

Method:

1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, water, egg, olive oil and salt.
2. Knead them very well until the dough is formed. The dough should be smooth and not sticky. If you feel it is sticky, add a little bit more flour.
3. Cover the bowl with some plastic wrap and let stand at cool room temperature for an hour.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the filling. In a medium bowl, put onions, meat, salt and black pepper. Knead them together for one minute (do not cook.)
5. Lightly dust a work surface and a rolling pin with flour. Divide the dough into 4 equal balls. Roll out each ball into sheets as thin as you can roll out, but be careful don't tear it.
6. Cut each sheet into squares of about 1.5"x1.5".Put a very small piece of filling at the center of each square. Continue until the dough is finished.
7. As you see below, bring the opposite corners together and make a triangle or, fold them to make a rectangle. Both works fine. Press the sides firmly. (Don't forget to hide your chickpeas for the game. :)
8. Bring two of the adjacent corners together as shown in the picture.
9. In a large pot, boil the water and add a little bit salt, olive oil. Add Manti and stir. Cook for about 15 minutes. Please check while cooking. Don't overcook.
10. Meanwhile, prepare the sauces. Firstly, in a small bowl, grate cloves of garlic and add yogurt, water, salt. Stir them together. Secondly, in a separate sauce pan add olive oil and red pepper, stir together and cook them only for half a minute.
11. When Manti is ready, you can drain well or not, the way you like, it is up to you.
12. Serve warm with yogurt sauce and red sauce.

Fake Manti:

Also, there is another option for Manti. In Turkey, we call it Fake Manti. It doesn't taste the same as original Manti, but pretty close.
Lazy girls, like me, love it :)

You only need; shell pasta instead of dough.
Enjoy Fake Manti, too.

Burma Baklava (Twisted Baklava)

Hi all,

We’re starting with delicious traditional Turkish Burma Baklava :) I know y’all very curious about the recipe. Now, it is time to reveal the top secrets about Burma Baklava. Don’t worry it is not that hard. It just takes a little bit time, but the final taste will make you forget the time you spend for preparation. In Turkey, we have different kinds of Baklava. Burma Baklava is one of them. Hopefully, we will give more recipes about the other kinds in the future. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 rolls of phyllo dough (1/2 of a package of phyllo dough)
4-5 cups of chopped walnut (not too chopped, the parts should be at least as big as sweet peas)
2 sticks of unsalted butter
3/2 cups of sugar
3/2 cups of water
1/2 tbs fresh lemon juice

First, take out the phyllo dough from the freezer at least two hours before you begin. If you forget to take it out or just decide to cook Baklava, don’t worry, you can defrost it using a microwave. However, you should be careful if you use microwave. We want the dough just defrosted, but not hot and melted. Take two sheets of dough and put it on a table. Scatter 3-4 tbs of chopped walnut to every place of dough like I do in the picture (picture 2). By the way, you can just click on the picture below to expand it :). Then, wrinkle the dough by using your fingers (picture 3), bring the sides to the middle (picture 4). Then bring two opposite sides together on top (picture 5). Twist it, like you are sharpening a pencil by using sharpener, starting from the right by using your right hand and support the dough by using your left hand. It will look like picture 6. Then put the twisted dough in a pyrex or in a deep baking tin.

Apply the same procedure to remaining dough. After you finish this step, cut the dough inti small pieces as in picture 8. Then, put butter in a pan and melt it. After it is melted, continue heating it. Butter will begin to boil. Boil it for 5 minutes. During this time, mix the butter with a spoon. Then pour the melted butter onto twisted dough equally. Put the tray in a preheated oven. The heat should be 325F. Cook it until the color of the dough becomes brownish (picture 9). After the dough is cooked, you can start to prepare its syrup. Put sugar and water in a pan and heat it. After it begins to boil wait 5-6 minutes. Then pour the lemon juice and boil it one more minute. Turn off the heat and wait just 5 minutes, During this 5 minutes, the syrup will be cool down a little bit. Then pour the syrup onto dough equally. Don't forget, the dough should be cold or warm but not hot while you're pouring the syrup. Wait at least an hour for dough absorbs the syrup. Burma Baklava is ready to serve. Bon appetite!

Welcome

Hi guys,

We’re two Turkish ladies living in Florida, one (minikkus) in Gainesville and the other (ayseyaman) in Orlando. We both have cooking blogs in Turkish. Our friends keep asking us about the English version of our blogs. Finally, we decided to combine our powers and have a joint cooking blog in English. We’re still preparing new posts for you. Let us give you some food names that are on preparation for you: Burma Baklava (twisted baklava), Manti (Turkish meat pastry), Pogaca (pastry with cheese filling), Yaprak sarmasi (stuffed grape leaves), Karniyarik (stuffed eggplant), Borek (cheese Pie), Tavuk Gogsu (a kind of Turkish pudding), Gozleme, different kinds of breads, pies, tarts, cookies, hummus and more :)

Since we're living in the States, we have a great opportunity to meet with international people and to learn about their culture and cuisine. Also, we both like trying new recipes, so you'll find different recipes from all over the world in this blog.

Follow the great smell, you will find us here :) Enjoy!