CzaMama's in the Kitchen

Chances are, if you are at my house for a function or I bring food to you, you are my guinea pig. I LOVE trying new recipes out...and I throw caution to the wind and serve it to people without ever making it before. (Don't ever say you weren't warned)

Recently I've tried out 3 new recipes that I really like. So much so I'm going to post them for you.

For CiBaby's birthday party I made a massive amount of really yummy hummus. It was so good I heard mutterings later that people wanted to slather their bodies with it.

Hummus bi Tahini -Nantucket Open-House Cookbook...word for word

3 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup sesame tahini paste
1 cup water
6 cups canned chick-peas (garbanzo), rinsed and drained
1 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
Salt to taste
3 Tbsp fruity olive oil
Sweet Hungarian paprika
Lemon slices, Greek olives, and fresh mint or parsley sprigs for garnish

Place the garlic, lemon juice and tahini in a food processor fitted with the steel blade; process to a smooth paste. Add the water and chick-peas and process until the mixture is very smooth, almost fluffy. Season with the cumin and salt to taste. Transfer the hummus to an earthenware bowl. Pour the oil over the top and swirl lightly with the tip of a knife. Sprinkle with the paprika, and garnish with lemon slices, olives and mint or parsley sprigs. Makes 6 cups


I recently hosted a bridal shower and decided the day before it to make some baked french toast. I was accused of definitely being a 50's housewife with this one. It was damn good!

Stuffed Baked French Toast - Dining in the Spirit of Naniboujou

Preheat the oven to 350F (in the morning!)
Butter a 9x12" pan1
lb french bread, cubed8 oz cream cheese, diced into 1" pieces
8 large eggs
2-1/2 cups Half and half
6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup maple syrup
cinnamon

Put one half of the bread cubes in the prepared pan. Spread (I just "scattered") the cream cheese evenly on top. Add the rest of the bread cubes. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs well. Add the half and half, butter and maple syrup. Pour the mixture evenly over the top of the bread. Press the bread down slightly to make sure everything is moistened. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Sprinkle with a little cinnamon before baking. Bake about 45 minutes, or until golden brown.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy!


And last, but definitely not least, for my new book club I made a delicious African appetizer. We read Pretty Little Mistakes, an adult "choose your own adventure" book. It was quite fun, albeit a bit odd. Well, my character went to Berkeley after high school and ultimately ended up in Africa.

Macadamia Dukkah - from Jo Jo Vasquez, Chef at The Banyan Tree Restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton Kapalaua, via Travel Goddess M.

1/4 cup coriander seeds
1/4 cup caraway seeds
1/4 cup poppy seeds
1/4 cup black sesame seeds
1/4 cup white sesame seeds
1/8 cup fennel seeds
1/4 cup fine bread crumbs
1/4 cup macadamia nuts, ground to cornmeal texture
Salt and pepper to taste (I actually toasted whole pepper corns and added to the mix)

Toast all the seeds, the crumbs and the nuts. (It might be best to do the seeds together, the bread crumbs on their own and the nuts on their own). Grind to a powder (in a blender or food processor, or with a mortar and pestle). Season with salt and pepper to your taste. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

(Music to blog by: The Kitchen Song by The Bowmans)