Ilke describes herself as, “A Turkish Girl Cooking it up in the American South”. And her blog, Ilke’s Kitchen , is wonderful mix of Southern Cooking and Turkish Recipes. Recipes range from a beautiful Baklava (wish I had had the time for this one) to Muhammara (Roasted Red Pepper Dip) to Simit (Turkish yeast bread). Just so many wonderful Turkish dishes to choose from. I knew I didn’t have time for ALL of them, so I settled for just a couple.
I love oatmeal. And I love grits ( I am a southern girl, afterall). But I am always on the lookout for something new and different. And I found it with this Turkish Breakfast dish:
KUYMAK
….described by Ilke as, “which is just a simple combination of cornmeal, butter, and cheese”. How can you go wrong with those ingredients?
Love the stringy Mozarella Cheese in this…..
Cheesy Cornmeal (Kuymak)
•2 cups of water
•1/2 teaspoon salt
•2 tablespoon unsalted butter
•3/4 cup cornmeal
•1 cup mozzarella cheese or Oaxaca cheese
•1/2 teaspoon black pepper
•1/2 teaspoon paprika to garnish
1. Boil water, salt, black pepper and butter in a deep skillet.
2. Reduce the heat to medium. Add cornmeal and stir frequently to break up all the clumps until it reaches a thick consistency.
3. Add cheese and stir until all melts.
4. Sprinkle paprika on top and serve hot.
This was one of the most filling breakfasts ever. But then it is cooked cornmeal. Like Oatmeal and Grits it sticks to your ribs. I cooked it in a cast iron skillet (which is what I think Ilke used) and had plenty of left overs. It is hard to reheat this type of dish so I decided to try browning it in butter like left over grits. WIN!!
I spooned the leftovers into a small cake pan and cooled. Then I sliced it into large wedges and browned quickly in butter. Perfect!
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You all know I am a big-time Tea Drinker. Earl Grey is one of my favs. I always have some loose tea in the kitchen to make a cup (or 5) of CREAM Earl Grey. I had seen a recipe before for an Earl Grey TeaCake, but had not made it yet. When I saw this one had CHOCOLATE in it I knew I had to try it.
Earl Grey Tea Cake
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1 teabag of Earl Grey black tea
1 cup of hot water
3 large eggs
1-1/2 cups of sugar
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2-1/4 cups of cake flour {no cake flour so made a sub: 1 3/4 cups AP + 1/4 cornstarch = 2 cups cake flour}
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup Hersey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder
1/2 cups of chopped hazelnuts
Zest from one orange (optional) {not a single orange in the kitchen so I used a dash of orange oil}
1. Steep the teabag in 1 cup of hot water for 15-20 minutes.
2. Beat eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl until all blend well.
3. Discard the teabag. Add cooled black tea and butter, continue beating until everything is well combined.
4. Add cake flour, baking powder and cocoa. Stir until all well blended.
5. Stir the chopped hazelnuts. Pour the batter in a bundt pan or 9-inch cake pan.
6. Bake at 350-degrees for 45 minutes {since I made mini-bundts mine only needed 35 minutes to bake} or until the toothpick inserted comes clean. (Do not preheat the oven.)
This cake is not real sweet and the taste of orange from the tea and the oil is subtle but tasty. Because it wasn’t too sweet I knew it wouldn’t hurt it to drizzle with a little Nutella. It is already full of chopped hazelnuts – what’s a little more.
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Finally, a quick and tasty side dish….
Turkish Pilaf
Serves 4
1 cup of basmati rice
1/4 cup of thin broken vermicelli
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups of water or chicken stock {I used veggie broth.}
1. Wash the rice in a colander until the water runs clear.
2. Melt the butter in the pan and add vermicelli. Saute vermicelli until it browns slightly.
3. Add rice and salt, saute the rice for another 1 minute.
4. Add water and cover the pan, turn the heat up until it starts to boil. Once the water boils, turn the heat down to low and cook another 20 minutes. The rice will be fluffy when all water is gone.
This is great side dish and a good alternative to everyday rice. Finding this recipe made me very happy I had bought that package of Vermicelli at the local, and very small, MidEast Store last month. I KNEW there was a reason it found it’s way into my kitchen!!
When you get a chance, go visit with with Ilke in her Southern Turkish kitchen and enjoy some of the recipes I am looking at real closely. Like the Borek.
And if you want in on our monthly fun come join Amanda and her Secret Recipe Club.
November 7, 2011 at 7:16 AM
Oh my! Not only one but you made three of my recipes and you made my day! I love how you browned the cornmeal dish the next day. You are right, it was hard to heat up and eat. We complained about it but I did not think to do that. Thank you!
And Nutella over the cake!! Perfect! You are right, already has hazelnuts, what is a little bit more 🙂
Thank you so much for spending time and making my recipes and for your nice words!
November 7, 2011 at 8:47 AM
That cornmeal recipe sounds fantastic but I don’t think I could ever get my hubby to eat it, lol. Maybe I should just come visit you and have you fix it for me:)
November 7, 2011 at 8:49 AM
Well, you’ve been busy… not one but 3 recipes. They all look delicious, I think the Kuymak would work for dinner instead of mashed potatoes as well. And the chocolate earl grey tea cake…. divine!
November 7, 2011 at 9:51 AM
The Turkish pilaf looks like a recipe that we would love. What a wonderful display of recipes. Yum.
November 7, 2011 at 9:59 AM
Wow, three wonderful looking recipes and I especially like what you did with the leftover kuymak.
If you haven’t already, I’d love for you to check out my SRC recipe this month: Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens.
Lisa~~
Cook Lisa Cook
November 7, 2011 at 10:58 AM
Look at all these amazing dishes! That cheesy breakfast dish is calling my name….yum!
November 7, 2011 at 1:55 PM
All of these treats look amazing! I’m particularly into that Earl Grey tea cake…I recently made a baked treat with Earl Grey and loved it…such great flavor, not just for hot tea! 🙂
November 7, 2011 at 8:07 PM
You always go above and beyond with your SRC selection Margaret! I love seeing what you’ll choose each month 🙂 That top one looks insanely good, I’d like to try it one of these days.
November 7, 2011 at 10:18 PM
this dish is made in lebanese kitchens as well, except with semolina.
November 8, 2011 at 2:06 AM
All of your dishes look so delicious. That cheese especially is so tempting.
November 8, 2011 at 2:26 AM
They all look amazing but I definitely want to try the pilaf! That was something I had no idea to make at home. We have a few Turkish markets around here–great spices and an excellent price, and lots of interesting food.
November 8, 2011 at 6:04 AM
I love how you cut and fried your leftovers….sounds delish!
November 8, 2011 at 7:57 AM
Wow, this is an awesome array of foods you have here! They all look interesting and delicious. I love how you are adventurous and willing to try new and different things. That’s what makes cooking fun, right?
November 8, 2011 at 8:00 AM
I love cheese and cornemal but I would not eat it for breakfast – I’d rather eat it for dinner and snarf down that little bundt cake for breakfast 🙂
November 9, 2011 at 6:32 AM
3 recipes in one month. I am inspired. With the amazing blogs we get assigned it seems like a shame to just make one thing in a whole month. I love the idea of the earl grey tea cake. Yum yum ….
November 10, 2011 at 9:36 AM
Three recipes, and they all look amazing! Ilke got my blog for SRC, and I’m so glad because, like when I got yours, I got to discover so many new and great recipes(made the curry twice since lol), when I went to see what she chose. I’m dying to try the Kuymak – so cheesy and unique with the cornmeal, and the Earl Grey cake is stunning! Beautiful and delicious SRC choices!
December 14, 2011 at 12:27 PM
Szuper blog!!! szuper receptekkel!!!Jövök válogatni!!!!!