Hello Blaze Babes! Happy February. Ewwwww. Okay, that’s not fair, but . . . ewwww.

So what’s better in cold, snowy weather than to sit indoors and eat?

Okay, maybe one thing. But not all of us have access to that 24/7. So let’s stick to food for now. Our Lebanese feast continues! This month I am going to offer a dish that will surprise and amaze all of you who think you don’t like eggplant. Or at least some of you who think you don’t like eggplant. Even better, this dish is loaded with complex flavor and has only five ingredients. Four if you don’t count salt, three if you don’t count olive oil. I can’t tell you how many confirmed eggplant haters this dish has converted. Even my kids. So those of you who love the stuff and are saddled with a family which doesn’t . . . give this a try.

Warning: This is another grandma recipe so amounts are going to be annoyingly vague. I’ve never measured and it’s never been bad, so just go for it.

One big eggplant.
Pure olive oil (don’t bother cooking with extra virgin, the added flavor is destroyed by heat so you’re wasting money. Save it for salad.)
Salt to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
Enough plain yoghurt (full fat is better, lowfat is fine) to coat eggplant (1/3 to 1/2 cup?)

Peel and slice eggplant into 3/8 inch slices (snort, get out those rulers, ladies). Either fry in oil in batches or brush each slice with oil and broil, turning once (brushing with oil again if you really like burning your fingers). The first method takes more time and more oil, but is delicious. The second is faster, fewer calories and tastes fine. Whichever you use, don’t call the slices done until they’re a nice dark brown. My grandmother always said come close to burning at least one or two slices for flavor. Not charred you understand, but don’t be scared of nearly-black on a few.

Stack the slices as cooked and slice them into strips, then across once or twice, so you have bite-sized pieces. In a small bowl, or in a mortar and pestle, combine garlic with salt—try 1/4 tsp. at first—and squish it around. The salt will act as sandpaper and turn the garlic into paste. Alternately, you can just put a bigger clove through a press and mix with salt. It wastes garlic, but it’s quicker. If you used a mortar and pestle, transfer garlic paste to a bowl, stir in yoghurt, then eggplant, add more salt to taste if you want. Garnish with chopped parsley or pomegranate seeds or nothing (it’s brown, though, so color is nice). Serve at room temperature or chilled, but if you let it sit too long the yoghurt gets watery, though it still tastes wonderful. Serve alone or scoop up with pita bread triangles.

Next month: a lamb, tomato and green bean stew. The month after that, my April Blaze is out. The cover is finally up on my website! . I really like it. The cover for my May Blaze (these are linked Wrong Bed books about two sisters with opposite personalities and attitudes about men), is up on Amazon.com. I think they look like they’re trying to eat each other, but . . . it’s not a bad cover either.

Wishing you all a happy February! Hope you had a super Valentine’s Day yesterday.

Here’s to romance and happy-ever-afters!

Cheers,

Isabel

Happy New Year to Blazing Babes, and how many of you have managed to screw up the 2010 part of the date a zillion times already? I think it will take me months to adjust.

I am thinking of signing up for a food-writing course, so maybe my blogs will improve over the next couple of months. Still haven’t decided. Do I really need homework on top of writing novels and raising kids and trying to have a social life? But if it’s about food . . .

Speaking of food (as if I’m ever not), I saw Julie and Julia and enjoyed it, mostly for Meryl Streep’s incredible portrayal. My favorite food movie of all time is still Babette’s Feast. Anyone have any others?

So I thought it would be fun to continue on an ethnic trend this month with a Lebanese dinner. Lebanese love to sit and talk, and they love to eat while doing it. My kind of people. When I was in Beirut in September, I had fresh pistachios right off the tree, not dried or roasted. You have to peel the outer fruit off. Inside, the nut is split already (I always thought that happened during roasting), the nut is moist and crunchy and the flavor is incredibly delicate. Every party I went to, I positioned myself next to the bowl and gorged. Total addiction. And speaking of pistachios, if possible get them from Iran or Turkey. They’re smaller, but much more flavor than those from California.

So for our Lebanese meal, let’s start with a dish I grew up eating which is mainstream now: Hummus! Forget the tubs in the supermarkets, you can make it yourself in about five minutes. This version is lemony and garlicky and very smooth.

Here are the instructions, just like my Teta (grandmother) used to make. Trust me, you can not screw up this dish.

1 can chick peas (I use Progresso), half-drained
Juice from one good juicy lemon.
3 soup spoons tahini (just plop them in. I’m guessing it’s about 1/4 cup, but I always measure this way)
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed, size according to your tolerance for garlic (mmmm)
Healthy pinch of cumin (1/8 to 1/4 tsp)
Extra-virgin olive oil for garnish
Paprika for garnish (optional).
Pita bread for serving

Save 5 chick peas for garnish, pour the rest into the blender with the half-can of liquid (just estimate, it’ll come out fine). Add lemon juice, tahini, garlic and cumin and blend until smooth. Pour into serving bowl, arrange whole chick peas on top and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle a little paprika on for color if you like. Scoop up with triangles of Pita. It’s also delicious as a dip for vegetables (carrots, snap peas, celery, carrots, peppers, anything really), and in a little East-Meets-West magic, Fritos corn chips are terrific with it too.

The high fiber in this dish makes it a smart choice with drinks because it slows the absorption of alcohol into your system. Just make sure if you’re on a hot date, you both eat it because of the garlic. Nothing less romantic than being the one who didn’t indulge . . .

So welcome to 2010! I’ll have linked Blazes out in April and May, can’t wait! The covers should be up on my website soon.

Cheers,

Isabel

Happy December from Wisconsin, where we are currently awaiting our first major snowstorm. Kids are hoping for a snow day tomorrow, and it looks like they might get one. By the time this runs we’ll have dug out already. Cross fingers that’s it for snow until Christmas.

Here in BlazeWorld, we’re about to finish up our Latin meal with a dessert I’ve tried and adored. According to Bon Appetit, it’s Andy Garcia’s favorite dessert. You could do a lot worse than think about Andy Garcia while cooking, so I recommend it for that reason if nothing else.

First I want to tell you about a dessert I had at a Latin restaurant in Dallas. Our own Julie Leto was there, and can attest to the fact that this was one awesome production. The best part was that the sauces were served to each person in tiny little pitchers. I was so enamored I went out and bought a dozen just so I could serve it that way at home. No recipe given here, use your favorites. Ready?

In front of each diner put a bowl heaped with vanilla or dulce de leche ice cream, then provide a pitcher of espresso, a pitcher of strong, dark chocolate sauce, and a little bowl of glazed, toasted pecans (with cinnamon if you want). People get to pour whatever combination of chocolate and coffee suits them (however often they want), sprinkle with pecans and dive in head first. It’s a fabulous, easy dessert, not sure how Latin, but who cares? Try it.

Now for our official dessert, a cream cheese flan. More depth and richness than regular flan, and soooo smooth and fabulous. The recipe calls for half a can of evaporated milk and then water. Most reviewers (I did it this way too) just eliminated the water and used the whole can of milk where called for.

Serve with fresh fruit, and try to keep the blissful moaning to a minimum.

Cream Cheese Flan

Until next month, when we’ll start a new menu for 2010!

Isabel

Hi, everyone, happy November! Here in Wisconsin the trees are bare, but it’s mild and pretty. Kids are into the swing of school (but still complaining) and Thanksgiving is around the corner. Here in Blazeland, however, we are not stressing over turkey and cranky relatives, but enjoying a hot tango beat while we dine with our equally hot Latin lover.

Last month we started with mojitos and mango pomegranate guacamole. We’ll keep this on the casual side with a one-dish meal from Cuba, ropa vieja. I had this in a restaurant in a quite different but equally delicious form from the one that follows, so I’m not sure if it’s typical, but this recipe from Cuisine at Home magazine introduced me to the fabulous combination of flavors and I am hooked. The dish manages to be complex and pure comfort food at the same time. Perfect for fall.

Don’t be put off by the long list of ingredients and steps. I’ve made the ropa vieja a day ahead up to after you stir in the masa harina and simmer 10 minutes. Cool and refrigerate, then the day you’re serving, mix with bacon and vegetables (keep them separate so the bacon doesn’t sog), reheat and top with the biscuit dough. Give it a try! You can serve it as is (all food groups represented!) or add a simple green salad on the side. Best of all, leftovers still taste great the next day.

Enjoy!

Isabel
www.IsabelSharpe.com

Ropa Vieja Pot Pies

4 slices thick-sliced bacon, diced
2 cups onions, diced
2 cups red bell peppers, diced
1 cup poblano chiles, seeded, diced
1 cup anaheim chiles, seeded, diced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 1/2 lbs flank steaks, trimmed (seasoned with salt and pepper)
1 bottle beer (12 oz)
2 cups beef broth
1 T chili powder
1 T dried oregano leaves
2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup masa harina
2 cups roma tomatoes, seeded, chopped
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained, rinsed
1/2 cup pimento stuffed olive, halved
Juice of 1/2 lime
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Line a baking sheet with foil.

Saute bacon in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crisp. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.

Saute onion, bell peppers, chiles and garlic in bacon drippings until beginning to brown, 8 minutes; transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Cut flank steak into thirds and sear until browned, about 5 minutes per side.

Stir in beer, such as lager, broth, and seasonings; bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer covered 45 minutes.

Remove steak from pan, shred with 2 forks, and set aside.

Whisk masa into broth, bring to a boil and simmer to thicken slightly, 10 minutes.

Stir in reserved beef, vegetables, & bacon with remaining ingredients.

Divide filling among six 2-cup ovenproof dishes or ramekins (I put it in one shallow baking dish), transfer to prepared baking sheet and top with biscuit topping.

Biscuits

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup masa harina
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
6 T unsalted butter, cold, cubed
1 cup pepper jack cheese, shredded
1/4 cup scallions, sliced
3/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Whisk flour, masa, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a bowl until combined.

Cut in butter until pea-sized using a pastry blender or food processor, then stir in cheese and scallions (don’t use food processor for that).

Blend milk and sour cream in a small bowl, then stir into flour mixture just until combined. Top each pot pie with 3 golf ball-sized scoops of biscuit topping, or spoon mixture in small gobs onto baking dish.

Bake until biscuits are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30-35 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving to set up.

Greetings, and how nice to be right here at home today, so I can respond to people’s comments and enjoy this blog. Happy October! We start a new meal this month. I’ve selected a Latin theme for no reason other than I was thinking recently about a main dish I’d made that we all loved—it will show up soon! This is a cuisine that encompasses many countries and styles and I’m no expert by any means, so we’ll be exploring together.

To start, one of my favorite drinks is the now-ubiquitous mojito. Actually my favorite Latin drink is the caipirinha, but how many of us have sugar cane liquor lying around? (If you’re ever in a bar that serves them, however, definitely go for it.) Mojitos are easy to make, a fabulous mix of lime, mint and white rum. As fall’s chill hits the northern states, you can still enjoy the tropics in a glass.

Here is epicurious,com’s recipe, one I’ve tried and enjoyed:

Mojito

With the drink, which of course in your mind you are having on your private terrace overlooking Rio or Havana or Cancun, you can try the following, also from epicurious.com, which I have not tried but printed out immediately because pomegranates are in season now and because reviewers absolutely raved:

Mango Pomegranate Guacamole.

Two recipes in one blog! A good month all around. Keep reading Blaze and happy eating!

Isabel
www.IsabelSharpe.com

Hi, everyone! Happy September. Believe it or not I’m out of town again! Out of the country again, in fact, this time visiting my father’s birth country of Lebanon. I have no plans to be away for the rest of the year, so I will finally be able to chat with you all again next month.

Today we wrap up our formal meal with everyone’s favorite: Dessert. Important for our elegant lovers not to be too stuffed before they, ahem, retire, so I passed on the heavy cakes and pies in favor of cream puffs filled with chocolate cognac cream and sauced (this cracks me up as a verb) with raspberries. I adore pretty much anything with raspberries, cream and chocolate, and this dessert is a winner. Serve with coffee or snifters of cognac. Or both. Mmmm. Then imagine our lovers wafting sensually up to the bedroom . . . Of course in my world they’d spend an hour going over every detail of the meal first. Food and sex, both passionate pursuits.

Here is the recipe, once again c/o that most venerable of foodie websites, epicurious.com:

Chocolate-Cognac Profiteroles with Raspberry Sauce

Next month we’ll start another, more casual meal. Maybe something to celebrate the oncoming chilly fall weather (in case you live somewhere there is some). In the meantime, keep warm reading Blaze and I will “see” you in October!

Isabel
www.IsabelSharpe.com

Greetings to all. I’m writing this the night before I start our August vacation. I won’t be able to get online on the 15th because we’ll be at our house in Maine which has no electricity. It is so great to get away from it all and relax without TV, computers, phones, anything. Life slows down, we talk to each other, we play games, we spent as much time as possible outdoors. Blissful. Not that we really rough it, gas refrigerator, gas water heater, gas lights, etc. All the comforts of home, but no ads, no spam, nothing. Ahhh. Like going back in time.

As for our recipe this month, so far our hero and heroine have had meat for their main course but not much else. I’d like to share a salad recipe from Food and Wine. The dressing is the best part, so feel free to switch ingredients in and out. I’ve made it with diced red pepper when pomegranates were out of season, or in winter when I was too cheap to spring for fresh herbs, I’ve left half of them out, I’ve also made it with whatever lettuce I had on hand. But if you can try it as written, do, at least once. It’s fabulous.

Escarole and Fresh Herb Salad with Apples and Pomegranates

Next month, dessert!

Enjoy your summer until then.

Cheers,

Isabel
www.IsabelSharpe.com

Hello Blazers, hope you are enjoying summer. Today I’m bringing you another course in our fancy celebration meal. We last left our romantic couple dining on the beach by candlelight (and since it’s our fantasy, the servers are hot, barely clothed men of our choosing even though of course we only have eyes for our hero, koff koff), champagne cocktails, puff pastry pinwheels, a zucchini/pea soup, and now . . . oh yes, The Meat.

I come from a family of foodies (remember, foodies aren’t just about fancy food, we’re about all food). Ridiculous amounts of our conversation at the table surrounds eating: past, present and future. When people ask my parents what they do during their annual month in Paris, my father’s response is invariably, “You mean between meals?”

When I got married and my husband made no comments about the dishes I’d prepared every night, I couldn’t believe it. What was wrong with him? There was all this food on the table to discuss, who cared about the state of the world?

This month another elegant, classy and absolutely simple recipe, brought to us by that most wonderful of foodie sites, epicurious.com:

Porcini-Crusted Filet Mignon with Fresh Herb Butter.

Sounds soooo chic! But all you do is stick dried mushrooms into a blender or food processor or spice grinder, and roll the steaks in the resulting powder, then cook. Herb butter involves chopping and stirring. The flavors are incredible.

Give it a try. And enjoy!

Isabel

Hello, ladies! I’m writing to you in the midst of planning an outing with girlfriends to a local champagne bar (In Milwaukee, who knew?). Very exciting. I’ve lived here twelve years and had no idea there was such a thing until I was doing research for a bar my heroine could go to in a certain neighborhood and stumbled across it.

Now onto the next course in our 60th anniversary celebration dinner!

First, set the scene, let’s imagine this is a dinner party for you and Mr. Fill-In-the-Blank. Since this is a fancy meal (we’ll do other kinds later) you need a guy who can wear a tux. So picture your fantasy man (Gerard Butler for me) with a nice buzz going from the champagne, wowed by your class and beauty, and getting hungrier all the time. You escort him to the lovely table for two, set anywhere you want (darkened beach? deck of a cruise ship? your charming mansion? You tell me!), and seat him. Then you (or your minions) bring out this soup, which is one of my favorites because it’s good hot, cold or room temperature, it’s easy and it tastes fabulous. I can’t remember where I got the recipe, so if I’m impinging on anyone’s copyright, feel free to sue me.

Pea Zucchini Soup

Serves 4-6

3/4 lb zucchini (3 medium), chopped
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped white of scallion
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (e.g. Swanson’s)
2 cups frozen peas, thawed
salt and pepper
sour cream for garnish

In large saucepan, saute zucchini, onion and scallions in vegetable oil, three minutes. Add thyme and broth, bring to boil and lower heat to simmer, covered, six minutes. Reserve 1/3 cup peas for garnish, add the rest and simmer uncovered for six minutes. Puree (let cool slightly if using blender, hot liquids can explode out of them and you don’t want this soup on your ceiling). Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve, garnished with reserved peas and sour cream.

Until next month!

Isabel

Greetings! It’s the fifteenth of the month and time for another recipe! Last month we had a fabulous champagne cocktail flavored with pomegranate and ginger. This month I thought I’d offer something to eat alongside, because if you’re like me, champagne goes straight to your brain and begins its work in a big (and sometimes embarrassing) way.

I’ve picked out what I consider a perfect hors d’oeuvre to serve at your next cocktail party (snort, yeah, we all throw those weekly) or with drinks before dinner, as long as your meal isn’t incredibly rich. It’s my favorite type of recipe—elegant, impressive, delicious, and e-e-e-e-asy. You can toss it together and pop in the oven before your guests have time to towel off from their swim off your yacht. Or wipe their feet after a step or two in your inflatable wading pool.

The source is once again that recipe collection of all recipe collections, epicurious.com. Prosciutto and Gruyere Pinwheels.

Try smoked ham if you’d rather, cheat with Swiss cheese if you’re perennially on a budget like me, and experiment with fresh basil or rosemary in place of the sage. Then serve to your guests and prepare to be worshiped. We Blaze babes deserve nothing less.

Until next month!

Isabel