Rachael Ray

A semifreddo is a sweet, frozen mousse. You make it almost the exact same way that you would make ice cream, except you don’t need an ice cream maker. Semifreddo means “half-cold,” or half-frozen, in Italian. I think this is because it contains eggs and whipped cream, so it doesn’t freeze solid into a block of ice, but stays soft and pliable, like ice cream. You can flavor a semifreddo with almost anything, whether it’s chocolate, nuts, fruit, fruit juice, jam, or nut butter. Depending on what you put in it, you’ll want to whip up your cream and eggs first, and then fold in fresh fruit, chunks of chocolate, or nuts. Alternately, you may want to melt the chocolate and whisk [...]...

When I visited Istanbul last year, one exotic taste that struck me was the Turkish coffee. The secret was the sweet and fragrant spice cardamom. In Turkey, and in many Arabic countries, coffee is brewed with sugar and cardamom. It has a taste that’s slightly spicy, slightly sweet, and full of character. It helps that in Turkey, coffee and tea are often served with a dish of whole cloves after meals, to cleanse the mouth. This makes the coffee taste even more aromatic. In Turkey and points east, coffee is actually brewed with sugar in it, and it’s up to you if you want to add more once it’s in your cup. Coffee is served and drunk black. Typically, there are grounds [...]...

Yesterday I went to lunch with my husband at a Middle Eastern restaurant. The place is relatively fancy, with white linen tablecloths and fine china. With our meal, they served us a basket of soft, warm pita bread. We could barely finish our meal, let alone the extra bread. I couldn’t stand to let the bread go to waste, so I took it. Very discreetly (I hope), I took the stack of bread out of the basket, wrapped it in a paper napkin (happily, the napkins were not made of linen), and shoved it in my purse. I looked around to see if the waiter saw me, wondering ludicrously whether he might reprimand me, or worse, think I’m cheap. When he [...]...

Right now through the end of January, it’s pomegranate season. These seed-filled fruits have a sweet-and-sour taste and a jewel-like appearance. Although extracting the ruby-red seeds takes a little time, the taste is worth it. Pomegranates have been popular throughout the Middle East since ancient times. They are actually referenced in the Old Testament, and some historians believe that the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden was a pomegranate. On the streets of Istanbul, Turkey, freshly squeezed pomegranate juice is a popular street food. Here in America, pomegranate juice has been marketed as a health tonic, and has reached a wide audience in recent years. You can find it in many supermarkets. In spite of the popularity of the juice, I [...]...

Have you ever tried quince? It’s a fruit that looks like an apple-shaped pear. It’s in season from August-January, and it tastes like an apple with fragrant hints of orange. Don’t eat it raw, though, it’s too astringent. It has to be cooked first, and then it can be added to apple pie or applesauce, or made into jam. The taste is mild and naturally sweet, and with a few warming spices, it makes a perfect holiday gift. It’s very simple to make quince into jam, because it’s naturally high in pectin. Because of its high sugar content, it doesn’t need much additional sweetener. The most basic recipe for quince jam calls for fruit and sugar, but you can embellish it [...]...

When it’s cold and rainy out, what’s better than a warming bowl of soup? Well, here’s a rich and flavorful soup that you can whip up in under an hour. It features cauliflower, a vegetable that has one of the lowest levels of pesticide residue found on produce, and is packed with Vitamin C and potassium. This soup gets its flavor from sautéed onions, garlic, and dried thyme. There’s no need for chicken or vegetable stock here, water will do just fine. After all of the ingredients have simmered together and developed their flavor for about twenty minutes on the stove, the soup gets transferred to a blender where it becomes smooth and creamy. It’s hard to believe this soup only [...]...

I taught this recipe in a cooking class yesterday. It was a big hit because it’s easy, delicious, and can be made the day before. With Thanksgiving around the corner, we could all use more dishes like this in our repertoire. And, if you’ll be feeding a vegetarian this holiday season, stuffed squash makes a perfect entrée. So, remember when your grandmother made stuffed peppers? Well, this is the same idea, except instead of peppers, you use small squash to hold the filling. The only difference in procedure is that you need to cook the squash before you fill it, so the thick flesh is tender when you bite into it. In terms of seasoning, keep it simple with salt and pepper, [...]...

I love winter squash season. I get excited when I see all of those kooky-shaped gourds in varying colors of green, yellow, and flame-bright orange. My favorite of all of the squash varieties is the red kuri, and I was very happy to see it at my neighborhood supermarket this week with a big organic label on it. Now I can even eat the skin! I was surprised to learn that winter squash is on the Organic Consumers Association’s list of produce with the highest pesticide levels [http://www.organicconsumers.org/organic/pesticide-residues.cfm]. Most of the time it doesn’t matter because you wouldn’t want to eat squash skin anyway, but with red kuri, it’s great to have the option because the skin is such a dramatic [...]...

The combination of bread and cheese makes a wonderfully savory breakfast that can be found throughout the Middle East, but it’s not like the bread and cheese you may be thinking of. When I say “bread and cheese” you may picture a baguette and some Brie, French-style, or an English muffin with a melted slice of cheddar. But what I’m talking about is a light, refreshing, dare I say “healthy” bread and cheese combo. In countries such as Israel, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran, on the breakfast table you’ll find some version of flat bread with a soft, fresh, mild cheese that has only been fermented for a short time, such as farmer’s cheese, feta, labneh (a Middle Eastern soft cheese made [...]...