The Life of Ange ...

Ingredients
1 leg of lamb (bone in, well trimmed of fat, approx. 4 lbs)
2 tbsp dijon mustard
3 cloves of garlic minced
2 cloves of garlic sliced
1 tsp pepper
3 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
4 baking potatos (I used Yukon Gold) sliced and peeled
3 sweet potatos sliced and peeled
2 large onions sliced
1 tsp salt
1 cup dry white wine / chicken stock (I used) / water

Instructions
1. Rinse and pat lamb dry.
2. Insert slivers of garlic into pockets of lamb (make slits if necessary).
3. In small bowl, combine mustard, half of pepper, and 2 tsp rosemary - spread over lamb and let stand while preparing potatos.
4. Arrange potatos, onions and remaining minced garlic in bottom of roasting pan. Sprinkle with remaining rosemary, pepper and salt. Pour wine (or stock) over top.
5. Place lamb on top of potatos. Roast in preheated 400 degree oven for 80-90 minutes for rare. DO NOT OVERCOOK. Lamb must be pink. Turn once after 45 minutes.
6. Allow roast to rest for 10 minutes before carving. Cover loosely with tin foil.
7. Slice thinly and serve.

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This was amazing - we had it last night for Thanksgiving dinner, as we had the leg of lamb and didn't know what to do with it - we needed the larger group of people to validate cooking it. It was tasty, cooked to perfection, and very easy. The pan we used was very shallow and had a large surface area, so I found our stock boiled away - we should have added a bit more. As it was, some of the potatos stuck to the bottom, but most were covered by a nice glaze from the stock and lamb drippings. It was a great success.

Ingredients
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus more for drizzling
4 cloves garlic, grated
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons spicy brown or Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika
1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce
2 to 2 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts or thighs
4 stone fruits (such as plums, nectarines or peaches - I used peaches), halved
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 sprigs rosemary, leaves stripped and chopped

Instructions
1. Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium-high. In a large bowl, combine 1/4 cup EVOO and the garlic, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, paprika and hot pepper sauce. Add the chicken, turn to coat evenly and let marinate for 15 minutes. Grill, turning once, until the juices run clear when the chicken is pierced, about 5 minutes on each side.
2. Drizzle the stone fruits with EVOO and season with salt and pepper. Place on a grill, without touching the chicken, and cook until grill marks appear, 5 to 6 minutes.
3. In a small saucepan, bring the vinegar, brown sugar and rosemary to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until reduced by about half, 6 to 7 minutes (watch carefully to avoid burning). Serve the chicken with the fruit alongside and drizzle the sauce over both.

Source
Everyday with Rachael Ray (August 2007)

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Amazing. I can't really say much more than this, nor do I need to. It was an experiment as I've had very few dishes which combine fruit/meat that I like. Neša wouldn't touch the peaches, but he ate the chicken no problem. Only change I would make would be to marinate the chicken overnight, or possibly slice the chicken in half (to make it thinner) so that the flavour better penetrates the meat.

Official Website

Efes Turkish Restaurant is named after Efes (Ephesus), a historical city in Aagean Turkey. It was once the Roman's capital of Asia, it was also the site of the temple of Artemis one of the seven wonders of the World.

Efes Turkish Restaurant has been established since 2006. We offer authentic food and beverages from Turkey as one of the very popular Turkish restaurant in the Ottawa area . With pleasant atmosphere, delicious Turkish food and good service, we welcome all customers to our restaurant.

The food - was amazing to saw the least. Everything was flavourful, nothing bland. Spices and sauces were used appropriately (meaning they accented and did not overload the dish). Each appetizer came surrounding a small salad which had a nice tangy vinigrette dressing. The main courses came with rice, salad and potato wedges. Pita bread was served in abundance. Drink wise they do not serve alcohol, but have the general pop and juices (including Mango, which made me happy, and Cranberry, which made Neša happy). They also offer coffee and a variety of teas as well as Turkish coffee and tea. I love Turkish coffee, so that was great, but the Turkish tea was nice as well - if not a bit more bitter than other tea. There were only three desserts available last night, even though there are five listed on the website. We tried all three - and they were all tasty. Kevin enjoyed his Baklava, my brother raved about his Kadayif (a sugary noodle pastry) and everyone else enjoyed the Keskul, a coconut pudding-type dish. In terms of variety, they offer Chicken, Lamb, Beef, Seafood and Vegetarian courses, while all meat used is 100% Halal.

The service - there were only two people that we saw the entire time we were there (three hours) - our server/hostess and a man we concluded must be the cook. It is a small restaurant (maybe 10 tables total) so this was fine. The server was attentive, very friendly and very helpful. The only thing that wasn't perfect about the service was when she forgot about the coffee and tea, so we waited quite a while for that.

The atmosphere - very peaceful, quiet and comfortable. The decor is simple but has a nice homey feeling to it. They have pictures of Turkey, traditional Turkish decor and brightly painted walls. Table settings include cloth napkins but paper placemats (which actually came in handy, as Nesa was able to colour on them).

The price - inexpensive to average. A main course will run you from $12 to $16 for a plate. Appetizers are very reasonable (both of ours came with 5 pieces for about $4), desserts are downright cheap. For the portion size and quality, the prices are great.

I didn't bring a camera - so didn't take any photos - but read reviews here and here.

Dishes we tried are as follows -

Appetizers
Dolma
Spinach Borek

Main Course
Doner Kebab
Shish Kebab (Lamb)
Shish Kofte
(Two others I can't find on the online menu)

Dessert
Baklava
Kadayif
Keskul

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Address:
484 Preston St. Ottawa, ON K1S 4N8
Telephone: (613) 230-8828

Ingredients
6 Ruby Red Grapefruit
2 tbsp butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 egg, separated
1/2 cup 10% cream
1 tbsp dark or amber rum
1 tbsp packed brown sugar

Instructions
1. Cut off rind and outer membranes of grapefruit. Working over sieve set over bowl, cut between membrane and pulp to release fruit into sieve. Let drain for 20 minutes (took me over an hour to seperate all 6 grapefruits); reserve juice for another use.

2. Meanwhile, in bowl, blend butter, all but 1 tbsp of the sugar, cornstarch, and egg yolk. In saucepan, heat cream over medium heat until bubbles form around edge; whisk into bowl. Return to pan and bring to boil over medium heat; boil gently, stirring, until thick enough to coat spoon - about 3 minutes. Whisk in rum. Pour custard into clean bowl.

3. In small bowl, beat egg white until soft peaks form; beat in remaining sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold into custard.

4. Arrange grapefruit in 1.5L dish. Spoon custard over top. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Broil until golden, about 1.5 minutes.

Nutritional Information per serving (makes 6 servings)
209 calories
3 g protein
7 g total fat (4 g sat fat)
36 g carbs
3 g fibre

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This is so tasty. I originally saved the recipe because it looked simple and was totally different than anything else I've tried. Turns out it's not that easy - have you ever tried to seperate the membranes from 6 whole grapefruit? Lots of work. But the custard was easy, and it was more than worth the work. It has a nice light consistency, being mainly fruit with not much custard per serving. The custard and brown sugar compliments the grapefruit. I absolutely love this!

Ingredients
1.5 cups penne pasta

2 chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4 inch thickness
salt and pepper

1 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed (I used 1 tbsp of minced)
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1 cup cannellini beans, rinsed (=white kidney beans)
2 tbsp diced roasted red pepper (I used 4 tbsp)
4 cups baby spinach leaves
2 tbsp grated Parmesan

Instructions
1. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. While pasta is boiling, season chicken on each side with salt and pepper, and sear over medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.

3. Add oil, garlic, rosemary, beans, red pepper, and spinach to the skillet. Cook, turning frequently, until the spinach wilts (1 to 2 minutes).

4. Slice the chicken and drain the pasta - toss them together with the bean mixture. Spoon pasta into two bowls and top each with 1 tbsp of Parmesan. Makes TWO servings.

Nutritional Information per serving
412 calories
42 g protein
7 g fat (2 g sat fat)
9 g fibre

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We had this for dinner last night, and it was great. I'm not usually a fan of pasta without some sort of sauce, but the different flavours of the rosemary, parmesan and red pepper really went well together and made it tasty. We're both rather fond of anything with either baby spinach or chicken, so both of them together was a bonus! It was really tasty, and we'll be keeping this recipe.

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

Instructions
1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup tomato sauce (I used what we had in the fridge - Vodka Sauce)
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (didn't have any)

Instructions

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom in hot oil for three minutes.

2. Stir in onion and garlic, and cook until soft.

3. Cut each chicken breast half into 4 pieces, and add to skillet; cook for about 5 to 8 minutes.

4. Season with salt, red pepper flakes, coriander, and cumin. Stir in the tomato sauce and water. Continue cooking for 10 minutes.

5. Stir in buttermilk, and cook for 5 to 8 minutes. Just before serving, mix in the parsley.

Nutritional Information per serving

340 Calories
11.8 g Fat
21.9 g Carbs
37.7 g Protein

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This is AMAZING. We had this for dinner last night, but had whole wheat noodles with it as we'd had rice the night before. I only used half the amount of red pepper flakes, as Neša doesn't like things too spicy, but it still had zing, and the flavour was awesome. Next time, I'll try for just Kevin and I, and will use all the hot pepper flakes and see how that is. The sauce had a great flavour, was nice and creamy, and seemed very authentic tasting.

Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 1/2 tsp each baking soda and caraway seeds
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups cooking or fancy molasses

Instructions
1. Grease 9x5" (2L) loaf pan, set aside. Preheat oven to 375 F.

2. In large bowl, whisk together flours, oats, wheat germ, baking soda, caraway seeds and salt With pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter until in fine crumbs.

3. In separate bowl, whisk buttermilk with molasses. Stir into flour mixture to make soft dough.

4. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Knead lightly about ten times. Shape into 8 inch long oval and dust top with flour. With serrated knife, cut shallow slash lengthwise down centre. Transfer to prepared pan.

5. Bake about 45 minutes, until loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes. Turn out onto rack and cool completely before slicing.

(Store for 4 days or freeze for up to 2 weeks)

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Yummy. I made this the night I made the chicken with oats and it went very well together. It's very tasty, has a nice texture and works really well as both a sandwich bread and as a nice thick slice slathered with butter/margarine. Keeper.