Add Spice to Taste
Page 12
There was no way I could feel sad about anything for very long around Julianna. That was another thing I put on her.
I took her hand and kissed her fingertips. “I have a thing or two to show you.”
Both her eyebrows went up in playful shock. “What are you going to do to me?”
“You’ll see.”
She looked at me, intrigued.
Our train roared into the station and people began crowding around us to be ready to swoop into the car as soon as the doors opened. Julianna’s hair had grown out and it whipped around in the blast of wind.
The doors opened. I took her hand and pulled her onto the train and maneuvered us to the end, against the emergency door. I pressed my back against the door and let Julianna lean against me, my arms wrapped around her waist. I leaned close to her ear and whispered, “By the end of the night, you’re going to blame me for a lot of things.”
She laughed. “Good. I’m counting on it.”
The End
Curriculum/Recipes
Day 1:
Knife Skills
Spice Lesson
Preserved Lemons
Spice Olives
Spinach with Preserved Lemon
Roasted Red Pepper Salad
Orange-Radish Salad
Stuffed Dates
Day 2:
Couscous Royale
Chicken Tagine
Lentil Salad
Roasted Eggplant with Cilantro Dressing
Cardamom Oranges
Day 3:
Kebabs with Mint Sauce
Chickpea and Vegetable Tagine
Lemon Chicken
Saffron Couscous
Meskouta (Orange-Almond-Yogurt Cake)
Day 4:
Kefta Meatballs
Spiced Orzo
Harira (Tomato-Lentil and Chickpea Soup)
Seffa Medfouna (Saffron Chicken, Beef, or Lamb in a Dome of Steamed Couscous or Vermicelli) Kaab el Ghazal (Gazelle Horns)
The Party – Champagne Menu
Champagne-Mushroom Pate
Herbed Champagne Chevre with Toasted Almonds
Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter—Champagne Sauce Salmon in Champagne-Vanilla Cream
Chicken in Champagne Bechamel
Champagne Wild Rice with Wild Mushrooms, Cranberries, and Roasted Pine Nuts Champagne and Honey-Mustard Glazed Vegetables
Baby Greens Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette
Champagne Sorbet
Champagne Truffles
Raspberry Tartlets with Champagne Zabaglione and Champagne-Poached Figs Mini Cupcakes Filled with Champagne Ganache, topped with Champagne-Strawberry Cream
Orange and Radish Salad This salad is sometimes made with grated carrots instead of oranges.
10 medium radishes
4 small oranges
1 teaspoon orange flower water or rosewater
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon sugar (optional)
Wash radishes well. Cut off stems and trim both ends. Slice as thinly as possible and place in a medium bowl.
Segment the oranges: Cut off a small slice from top and bottom. Cut off peel and pith from top to bottom, going all the way around until all peel and pith are removed. Over a bowl, cut out orange segments by carefully running knife in between membranes. Let the juices and segments drop into the bowl. When all segments are removed, squeeze juice out of membranes and discard. Add orange segments to radishes.
In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, orange flower water, 2 tablespoons of fresh orange juice, and cinnamon.
Mix together and pour over oranges and radishes. Mix well. Let chill for about 30 minutes. Serve at room temperature.
Makes 6 servings.
Roasted Eggplant with Cilantro Sauce
Eggplant is often used in Moroccan cuisine, and cilantro is a typical herb.
2 ½ lbs. small eggplants
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup plain yogurt
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. (You can also cook these on a grill.)
Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise. Brush them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Roast, face down, on a baking sheet lined with foil until well browned underneath (you’ll have to check periodically). Turn them over and roast another 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a food processor or blender, combine cilantro, garlic, lime, and some salt and pepper. Start machine and slowly pour in the oil. Process until smooth. Add yogurt and process until well blended. Taste for seasoning and adjust to your taste.
Place eggplant on a platter and drizzle with sauce, or serve sauce on the side.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Harira (Tomato-Lentil and Chickpea Soup)
This traditional soup is particularly popular during Ramadan, the holy month for Muslims. It is eaten at sunset to break the fast.
1½ tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 celery rib, finely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
5 cups vegetable broth
1 cup lentils, rinsed
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas
¼ cup chopped cilantro
¼ cup minced parsley
In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add celery and cook until soft, about another 5 minutes.
Stir in tomato paste. Add broth, lentils, bay leaf, turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, and salt, and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender, about 45 minutes. Add chickpeas, cilantro, and parsley and cook 5 more minutes.
Discard bay leaf. Serve hot with flatbread.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Meskouta (Orange-Almond-Yogurt Cake)
This cake is also known as Butterless Cake because it was created during the French/Spanish colonization in the early part of the 20th century, a period when butter was scarce and expensive.
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup finely ground almonds
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon cardamom
¼ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup olive oil (not extra virgin)
1 cup plain yogurt
¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 teaspoon orange blossom water or orange extract
1 tablespoon orange zest
Orange Syrup:
¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons sugar
Garnish:
Orange strips
¼ cup almond slivers
Grease an 8-or 9-inch Bundt pan and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, almonds, baking powder, cardamom, and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar; add oil and yogurt, then add orange juice, blossom water or extract, and zest and blend. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix just until fully blended.
Pour into Bundt pan and bake 45 to 60 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes. Invert it onto a cooling rack and let cool completely.
Meanwhile, make the syrup. Whisk together juice, cinnamon, and sugar in a small bowl.
When cake is cooled, poke holes all over the top with a toothpick or skewer. Pour syrup over the cake, lett
ing it absorb. Sprinkle almond slivers over the top and decorate with orange slivers, if you like.
Refrigerate leftovers.
Makes 8 to 10 servings.
About the Author
R.G. Emanuelle is a writer, editor, and trained chef who lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. She graduated from the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City and when she’s not writing, she’s creating recipes and exploring the varied facets of world cuisine. And fantasies about being an Iron Chef are not unusual.
She has published several short stories, which can be found in Best Lesbian Erotica 2010; Lesbian Lust: Red Hot Erotica; Women in Uniform: Medics and Soldiers and Cops, Oh My!; Lesbian Cops: Erotic Investigations; When the Clock Strikes Thirteen; Khimairal Ink; Read These Lips, Volumes 4 and 5; and the online collection Oysters & Chocolate. She also co-edited Skulls and Crossbones: Tales of Women Pirates, and in 2013, her first novel, Twice Bitten, was published. That tale deals with another of R.G.’s fascinations—vampires and gothic horror.
You can find out more about her at her website: www.rgemanuelle.com.
Email: rgemanuelle@gmail.com
Twitter: @rgemanuelle
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/rgemanuelle
Twice Bitten
Fiona lost her mortality unwillingly to a woman she once loved. Now she wanders through the decades, a vampire in search of a soulmate. After 200 years, she thinks she’s found her, in an upper-class family in New York City at the turn of the 20th century. Her name is Rose, and if only she will come to her willingly, Fiona will have her eternal companion. But Rose loves another, so Fiona sets in motion a twisted scheme that involves the woman Rose loves and a betrayal that will lead Rose into transformation. Will Rose succumb to Fiona’s machinations and forever lose the woman she truly loves? Or will she find a way to foil the vampire’s devious plan and save her soul—and her beloved’s life? She’s running out of options and, worse, out of time.
Available in print and ebook. Read an excerpt at www.rgemanuelle.com.
Table of Contents
Copyright
Day 1
Day2
Day 3
Day 4
Dinner
The Party
Add Spice
To Taste
Curriculum/ Recipes
The Party – Champagne Menu
Orange and Radish Salad
Roasted Eggplant with Cilantro Sauce
Harira (Tomato-Lentil and Chickpea Soup)
Meskouta (Orange-Almond-Yogurt Cake)
About the Author