Shouk

Update: No longer open.

For two days straight I was having naughty thoughts involving baba ghanoush from Shouk. Naughty as in good.

Shouk is a Middle Eastern restaurant and shisha lounge located at 6^th and Bainbridge that specializes in small plates of Israeli food. Shouk opened February 2006, and, by coincidence, my partner and I were strolling past the first night the restaurant and lounge opened. The glowing sign of a hookah (a.k.a. shisha) hanging over the sidewalk enticed us. We were escorted past the mosaic dining tables downstairs and lead upstairs to a dark, plush, Moroccan-esque shisha lounge. As we smoked fruit flavored tobacco, hunkered comfortably in cushions, friends of the owners showed up to celebrate the opening and generously shared their wine with us.

Back at Shouk the other week, we ordered a handful of reasonably priced small plates. Let me exclaim that the baba ghanoush is dreamy! It has a smooth, creamy texture with subtle, smoky flavor and not a trace of bitterness from tahini. I would love to get this recipe. Can I pretend to be a famous magazine, call them up, and get the recipe?

Halloumi is on the menu, so we had to get that. We also ordered beet and feta salad, and tomato and carrot couscous. Everything was spectacular! The couscous was good, but probably the blandest and most ordinary dish we ordered. I was trying to see what was in the couscous, but the lights were so dim, that I could not make out the colors of the ingredients. The brighter colors of the other dishes were distinguishable, though. I wouldn’t turn the lights up, as low lights combined with alcohol (they have excellent martinis), tobacco, and hip music make for a great date.

It’s not everyday that pineapple is on a restaurant’s dessert menu, so we ordered the homemade pineapple tart. Excellent, but the side crust was a little too thick. Now, I’m just being picky! Feed me pineapple tart any day!

I can’t wait to go back to Shouk, gorge myself, smoke a hookah, and make out…with the baba ghanoush!

Shouk, 622 S. Sixth St., Philadelphia, PA, 19103, (215)-627-3344
Tues.-Thurs., 6-11pm; Fri.-Sat., 6pm-midnight; Sun., 6pm-11pm

New Potato Pizza

I ate a lot of pizza last month, thanks to the handy-dandy pizza dough at Trader Joes. They offer plain, whole wheat, and herbed dough. Stick with the plain. The whole-wheat dough is too heavy and the herbed dough competes with toppings.

Pizza #1 – Caramelized Sweet Onions and Brie. The dough was brushed with olive oil and topped with Brie and two large, sliced, caramelized onions. (I would eat this again!)

Pizza #2 – Spinach and Feta. The dough was topped with tomato sauce, sautéed onions and spinach, sun dried tomatoes, and feta. (Kind of ordinary. Take it or leave it.)

Pizza #3 – New Potato, Port-Salut, and Rosemary. The dough was brushed with olive oil and topped with thinly sliced new potatoes, Port-Salut, and rosemary. (The winner! This one is dinner party worthy. I was very sad when the leftovers were gone.)

New Potato Pizza

pizza dough
5-8 new potatoes, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic head, roasted and mashed
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
6 ounces Port-Salut cheese, diced or sliced
salt and pepper to taste

• Slice potatoes and boil for 5 minutes or until just done.
• Mix olive oil, garlic, and rosemary in a large bowl.
  
• Add potatoes to bowl with olive oil mixture. Toss to coat.
• Top pizza dough with cheese, potato mixture, and season to taste.

Luscious Young Pig Livers

I just finished off a Ziplock bag of frozen strawberries picked and given to me by my friend. Everyone reuses Ziplock bags. I’m all about recycling, but I’m not sure about this one.

I snickered when I saw the label of the previous contents. Not only did this bag once contain pig livers, but they were luscious young pig livers. Now, that’s some sweet meat!

Raisin Kugel

I bring you the kugel – something I’m unfamiliar with. My first and only kugel was from the Famous Fourth Street Deli in Philadephia about a year ago. As far as I can tell, kugel is Yiddish/Jewish for casserole, but not just any casserole! Kugels can be sweet or savory. Kugels can be made from noodles, farfel, potatoes, or matzo.

At the beginning of the week I experimented in making a savory kugel with noodles, mushrooms, and leeks. After proudly presenting these to the boy, he said that this wasn’t right. His exact words were, “They’re OK. I can tell you made them.” Well! You could eat my fist instead!

He prefers the sweet kugels and said that savory kugels are usually made with farfel or potatoes. I guess you shouldn’t mess with tradition. I think sweet kugels taste like dessert, but they’re usually eaten as part of the main meal. I grew up eating sweet potato soufflé (essentially sweet potato pie without a crust) during the main meal, so have no space to balk.

Raisin Kugel

16 ounce package wide egg noodles
12 ounces sour cream (reduced fat works, too)
12 ounces small curd cottage cheese (reduced fat works, too)
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup raisins
2 cups corn flakes, coarsely crushed
2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, melted

• Cook noodles and drain.
• Combine sour cream, cottage cheese, eggs, sugar, and raisins in a large bowl.
• Add cooked noodles to wet mixture in bowl and coat noodles thoroughly
• Combine corn flakes, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl.
• Drizzle melted butter on corn flake mixture and combine.
• Place noodle mixture in a greased 13x9x2-inch pan. Top with cornflake mixture.
• Bake for 1 hour in a preheated 350 degree oven.
  

Green Tea Cake

I just TJ-hoarded…again! That’s what one must do when one fears the demise or long absence of a product at Trader Joe’s. And the sad thing is that I hoarded without even knowing if the product was going to be good. Luckily the green tea cake mix I just found on the “New Items” end cap turned out to be good.

Always check the “New Items” end cap to see interesting new arrivals. (Like the dried hibiscus flowers that I’ve yet to use.) These items may make it into the regular rotation, or TJ’s may make it walk the plank.

My intuition tells me that this is not going to be a smashing hit with the general public, and will disappear when the initial lot is sold. Ppsh, the general public does not know what is good for me! I love green tea flavored anything. My survival instincts kicked in and I hoarded.

The mild green tea flavored cake would be excellent with ginger sour cream frosting. The cake looks greener than the picture on the box and the picture I took, so would be excellent for a funky cake.

Challah Back, Yo!

The Jewish High Holy Days are going on this week, so I made my boyfriend challah. Challah is traditional Jewish sweet bread often eaten on Shabbat and on holidays. Always wanting to make braided bread, I figured now was the time. Although not Jewish, I do worship French toast - challah’s second calling.

Challah is typically braided, but during Rosh Hashanah it is baked in a spiral to symbolize the cyclical nature of life, and the hope that the coming year will be complete and unbroken by misfortune. The addition of raisins is common and represents the sweet New Year, but I was drinking and dancing in the kitchen so forgot to add the raisins. Damn, I already screwed up my Jewish New Year. Oh well, my intentions were sweet.

I used the challah recipe in Baking with Julia and all went well. The bread rose higher than any bread I’ve made, but deflated when I applied the egg wash with my hands. I need to work on “gentle touch” and purchasing a pastry brush. I’m such a beast.

Food History

I added a most fascinating site under the Tools heading in my sidebar – The Food Timeline. This is a site created by a reference librarian with a passion for food history. You can click on a food item on the timeline and view it’s history. Hours of educational fun for the whole family!

It amazes me that someone thought to harvest wheat, grind the seeds into flour, add water, and heat the dough to make bread. So much more tasty than chewing heads of wheat.

Not nearly as in depth, but worth a peek, is the Smithsonian’s Key Ingredients: America By Food. (Not in sidebar.)