Lemon Madeleines

Image by Murrundie Frew for ITP Publishing

It's a beautiful Sunday morning here in Dubai, especially because I get to spend it with my Mom who arrived from Beirut a few days ago :) I have loads of work to do, but I've missed her so much that all I want to do is sit and chat with her for hours.. And that's just what I'm going to do as everything else can wait! I'm spending most of my mornings at home lately and been on a baking streak for some kind of reason.. 

So today I woke up and made my Lemon Madeleines which are perfect for morning coffee with Mami and actually made me reminisce about growing up in Paris.. Yummy, the scent of French bakeries, Boulangerie's, is something that is engraved in my soul! Walking into the Boulangerie by our house and choosing amongst Baguettes, Croissants, Pain au Chocolats, Chausson aux Pommes and buttery Madeleines to bring back home and enjoy for breakfast with the family is one of the fondest memories I have of growing up :)

Easy. Prep & cook time: 25 minutes

Serves 4 – 6

• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup white sugar
• zest of one lemon
• 5 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tbsp almond meal
• ¼ cup flour
• ¼ tsp vanilla essence
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ¼ baking powder
• 2 tbsp honey
• pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a Madeleine baking pan with some butter. Sift the flour, salt, baking soda and powder and set aside. With an electric mixer, mix eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy, then add the lemon zest and half the butter, combining well.

Fold in the almond meal and flour mixture gently, then finish by adding the honey and remaining butter.

Bake in preheated 180C oven for 8 – 10 minutes until golden. Dust with some icing sugar before serving. Delicious!

(As featured in Harper's Bazaar Arabia September 2011)

Raspberry & White Chocolate Cake

I woke up this morning not feeling too hot so decided to stay home and start the day with a yummy bake.. As I looked through my fridge I found raspberries that needed to be eaten within the day so I decided to bake a cake with them.. I thought of white choco which would complement well, but didn't have any so I used dark instead.. And even though the result was absolutely delicious I will use white choco next time as the sweetness of the choco and the sour touch of the raspberries will fit beautifully. Oh and Happy Diwali from D's Kitchen♥

Easy. Prep & Cook Time: ~60 minutes

Makes 1 small cake. Use 16cm - 18cm cake tin

• 1 cup flour, sifted
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp butter, softened
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup white chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup raspberries

Preheat the oven to 180C. Cream the butter, oil and sugar then add the egg and blend well. 

Alternate adding the flour and milk, but don't over mix. Fold in the chocolate and raspberries and pour into a non stick cake pan. 

Bake for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Yummy!

Thank you Rasha & Zeina for the most wonderful day ;)

Today I'm not posting the traditional recipe as we spent a lovely Saturday afternoon organized by two of my very close friends, and I really feel like sharing.. It's funny how this blog has really become my own little, personal journal :)

My closies Zeina and Rasha wanted to throw a baby shower, but they knew me well enough and realized I wouldn't be too keen on the traditional baby shower thing.. So they decided to organize a unisex get together at our home instead.. With unisex I mean a small group of close friends, ladies & gents, enjoying an afternoon lunch, followed by chilling by the pool.. The menu included Bruschetta, salads, Spaghetti al Vongole, Tenderloin Truffle Sandwiches, Chicken Wings & Drumsticks, Chicken Pie, Olive Oil Cake and Fried Ice Cream.. What a treat :) The catch was, that for once, I wasn't allowed to do anything -  nothing at all!! It felt so weird not preparing anything, whether cooking nor organizing, as the ladies prepared it all and little miss D was completely spoiled having a beautiful glass of mixed fruit juice :) The food was delish, the mood amazing, the music divine and the day incredible.. Thank you so much my girlies!! Love you!! And a big fat thank you for the lovely gifts friends brought along for mini Soubra ;) It's funny because on days like these you realize what makes you happiest, and that's being surrounded by family and friends. Everything else really is secondary.. Yes, my pregnant state is making me more emotional than I already am, but it's true. So to health, love, family and true friendships! 

Much Love, D xx

Decadent Sticky Date Pudding

Image by Chris Mejorada for CPI Publishing

I have no clue why but I'm not the happiest bunny today.. It's one of those days where I just want to be splattered on the couch, eat, watch TV and go in and out of sleep.. But the best remedy for a day like that is something sweet :) I was going to munch on some Duplo chocolate but then decided to post this recipe which was my dessert feature for BBC Good Food's Ramadan issue.. And now after seeing the pic of my beautiful treat I decided to actually make myself sticky date pudding for dinner - that should put the smile right back on my face ;) xx

Serves 6 – 8

• 250g dates, de-seeded
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1/3 cup milk
• 4 tbsp butter
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp honey

For the sauce:

• 250ml cooking cream
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Vanilla ice cream and toasted nuts for garnish

Preheat oven to 180C. In a small bowl, combine the dates with a little hot water and let them soak before blending them in a food processor into a paste. 


In another bowl, mix the butter, honey and sugar until smooth and add one egg at a time mixing well. Fold in the date paste until smooth, then alternate adding the flour (mixed with salt, baking powder and soda) and milk until well combined but not over mixed. Pour into a cake tin and bake for 20 – 25 minutes.

In a saucepan, heat the cooking cream, butter, sugar and salt. Simmer on low heat until it thickens, for a few minutes or so.

Place a 2 slices of date cake on a plate, drizzle with sauce, add the ice cream and sprinkle with nuts. Delicious!

(As featured in BBC Good Food ME - August 2011)

Braised Lamb Shanks, Pomegranate & Butternut Squash

Image by Chris Mejorada for CPI Publishing

I'm going through an exciting yet also a nerve racking phase to be honest. The fact of having a baby soon inshAllah, is forcing me to look at things in a different way. First of all, it's starting to put a lot of things in perspective, things that matter, things that don't, and making me realize that very soon, my priorities in life will completely change! I actually feel like I have a deadline and even though I am meant to take it easy, I'm trying to get things done before due date! But mainly from home.. I promise! :)

Yesterday Phiras cooked a beautiful lamb shoulder for dinner, but I forgot to take a picture of it so I leave you with another beautiful lamb delicacy which was featured in BBC Good Food's Ramadan issue.. Even though it takes about 3 1/2 hours, most of the time the lamb spends in the oven so don't be turned off by the lengthy process as it's well worth the effort ;)

Medium Difficulty. Prep & Cook Time: 3.5 hours

Serves  4 - 6

• 6 lamb shanks
• 6 garlic cloves
• ¼ cup sherry vinegar
• 500ml beef stock
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• juice of 3 pomegranates
• seeds of 1 pomegranate
• 1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• knob of butter
• salt and cracked pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 150C. Rub the shanks with olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper. In a large pot, brown the shanks on all sides, and set aside.

Add the garlic to the same pot, and cook for a few minutes. Deglaze the pan with sherry vinegar, add the beef stock, bay leaves and return the shanks to the pot. Cover with a lid and place in the oven for 2 ½ hours, turning the shanks every 45 minutes or so. If there isn’t enough liquid left in the pot, add a little stock or hot water.

In a pan, heat some olive oil on low heat and add the butternut squash. Sprinkle with sugar, salt, pepper and cook until soft and a little caramelized, for about 15 minutes. Set aside until serving.

Once the shanks are ready, place them on a serving plate and cover with foil. Remove the liquid from the pot, pass it through a sieve and pour it in a saucepan. Add the pomegranate juice, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until it thickens slightly. Finish with a knob of butter and season to taste. Now add the warmed squash to the lamb shanks, pour the sauce over the dish and sprinkle with the pomegranate seeds. Divine!
(As featured in BBC Good Food ME  - August 2011)

Fried Eggs, Tomatoes & Mushrooms on Country Bread

Good Morning beautiful people! As you may have noticed, I am in love with breakfast, it really is my favourite meal of the day.. And for some kind of reason, I was craving Eggs Hussard from Pastis in New York.. It's probably my favourite egg dish out there, poached eggs with roasted tomatoes, mushrooms and a Hussard sauce which is this meaty kind of broth.. But the actual Hussard sauce seemed too lengthy to make in the morning (I was starving), and so I came up with my own version to satisfy the crave.. And it absolutely did.. Gorgeous!

Easy. Prep & Cook Time: 20 minutes

Serves 2

• 4 organic eggs
• 1/2 pack mushroom, sliced 
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 cup mushroom broth or vegetable broth
• 3 tbsp light cooking cream
• 1tsp corn flour
• 1 large tomato, sliced 
• a knob of butter
• salt & cracked pepper
• 2 slices of country bread, toasted

Sauté the mushrooms in a little butter for a few minutes, then add the hot broth, season with salt and pepper and add a bit of corn flour. Let it simmer and thicken on low heat as you preparing the rest. 

In a dry pan, fry the tomato slices and set them aside. Add a little butter to the pan and fry the eggs the way you like them (I would go for a little runny). 

Add the cream to the mushroom sauce and remove from the heat. Season one last time to taste.

Now assemble the dish by starting with the toasted bread, the tomatoes on top, then the egg, and finish with the mushroom sauce. Enjoy ;)

Veal Limone

As mentioned a few days ago, I've been ordered to slow down my pace a little these days as I'm apparently too active, hehe.. And so I have been working from home as much as possible and even finished decorating the baby's room, thanks to my incredible sis Joujou - I LOVE YOU (in case she didn't know :) I think I'm probably the only woman on the planet that had not gotten one single baby's item until now so late in the pregnancy, in my 8th month! I don't know why I kept thinking I still had time but apparently I don't have that much time left anymore, so Joujou dragged me to the stores and we got some adorable stuff for the little one :)


Yesterday, the lovely Kate from Harper's Bazaar asked me to recommend a yummy and romantic dish from my blog, and I thought of this one. So I'm refreshing this very old D's Kitchen post, which so deserves a second run as it's absolutely delicious!


The first time I made Veal Limone, was in my first year of college, after becoming addicted to the Veal Limoni at Cipriani's restaurant in Downtown New York.. It's best to do this dish for only a few people as veal scalopines are tricky to do for a large group since they have to be seared quickly in a pan. Serve this with some simple linguine on the side (olive oil, salt and pepper) or some fluffy rice as the lemon sauce is perfect for it!

Easy - Medium Difficulty. Prep & Cook Time: ~25minutes
Serves 2- 3

• 8 thinly pounded veal scaloppines (the thinner the scaloppines, the yummier the dish)
• 1/4 cup of lemon juice
• 1/2 cup of white wine
• 1/2 cup of chicken stock
• a little flour for drenching
• a large knob of butter
• olive oil
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• salt & cracked pepper to taste

Preheat the oven at 180C. Heat a pan (stainless if possible) on med-high heat. Drench the veal in a little flour, removing the excess. Then add a little olive oil and a knob of butter to the pan, when it sizzles place the veal, searing them quickly about 30 - 60 seconds on each side. Put them in a oven safe dish and place them in the preheated oven or warming drawer to keep them warm.

Now deglaze the pan with the white wine, scraping all the yummy brown bits. This is what gives this dish ALL the flavour, so keep on scraping! Add the lemon juice & stock and simmer until it thickens a little. Add the knob of buttter, salt and pepper to taste and finish with the chopped parsley. Take the veal out of the oven, and pour the Limoni sauce over them. Beautiful!

Baked Rigatoni

MashAllah, my little angels Kayan and Dalia (yes, mini-me!) 

My sister and her family just moved from Madrid to Dubai and I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am! Joujou, is like my other half, has always been my closest friend and living apart for all these years has really not been easy. Especially that I miss my four little nephews tremendously! I have no experience in being a mami yet, but I have the experience of Being Auntie D, and my little angels have brought so much joy to my life :)

So now that they live here, they come over for lunch and I get to cook for a few more little persons- which I absolutely love! I'm also experimenting with dishes that are more "kid friendly" if that makes any sense.. Spontaneously  Joujou called saying they would pop over for lunch, and I had 1 hour to prepare lunch as the kids were starving.. I looked through my pantry and fridge, found rigatoni, cheese, carrots, peas, minced meat and so I opted for a Baked Rigatoni which the little angels absolutely adored! Super easy, and delish for kids and grown ups as well!

(I usually use low fat milk and little less butter for my béchamel sauce which you can see in other gratin recipes, but for the kids I went all out ;)

Easy. Prep & Cook Time: ~1 hour

Serves 6 - 8

• 750g rigatoni pasta
• 350g minced beef (lean)
• 350g minced lamb
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 carrots, cut in rounds 
• 1 pack of frozen peas
• 2 cans of chopped tomatoes
• 2 cups Ementhal cheese, grated
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and cracked pepper to taste

for the béchamel sauce

• 1 liter milk
• 3 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 4 tbsp flour
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
• freshly grated nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven at 180C.  In a pan, heat olive oil and sauté the onions until translucent. Add the garlic, cook for a minute or so, then add the minced meat, lamb, thyme and bay leaves. Cook until the minced meat turns golden and looks cooked through, then add the carrots and peas. Continue cooking everything on medium heat, then add the chopped tomatoes, sugar, salt, pepper and simmer for about 10 minutes.

In the mean time, cook the pasta in boiling salt water but not until it's done, just half the amount it says on the pack (about 6 minutes), so basically pre cook the rigatoni as they will cook more in the oven later and you do not want them to be too gooey!

In a saucepan, melt the butter and olive oil, add the flour and cook it through, until it turns golden brown. Add the milk and simmer until it thickens, then season with salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg. When the béchamel has the consistency of a thick sauce, add the cheddar cheese and set aside. 

Add the meat mixture to the pasta, mix everything well (don't forget to season to taste) and start assembling your bake in the dish. Pour the pasta and meat in the dish, and top with the béchamel sauce. Finish off with the grated cheese and place in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes or until golden. Enjoy with a simple green salad. Yummy comfort food!