Chili & Chives

Ever since Talal and I got married, one unspoken tradition is that we enjoy a big breakfast, typically made with eggs on Saturday and Sunday mornings. For a while, we were eating good-old scrambled eggs, egg sandwiches or omelets. I tried to think of another way we could enjoy our weekend tradition with a twist. Between you and me, I was getting sick of eggs every weekend. One morning, it occurred to me to make Shakshouka with the leftover harissa(a Tunisian hot pepper paste,

Before our big meeting at Delta Airlines HQ in Atlanta, Colton, Mehzabeen, Farhin Lynn and I wanted to load up on a big breakfast as we finalized our strategy for the meeting. We bundled up and got ready to take on the day. We walked the few blocks to the Ritz-Carlton and ordered a hearty breakfast. 'Twas a ritzy morning! At the Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta With my PES students #bagel #salmon #eggs #caper

Apparently the United States has recently rediscovered the avocado. Suddenly avocado is on everything, including bread. It always felt like the thing that all the 'ladies who brunch' eat. I couldn't quite wrap my head around it as an entire meal, but I thought that I'd try it at the Dunlavy for this SEI Labor Day brunch. It was white toast, with a dry ricotta cheese, a generous helping of avocado slices, a drizzle of olive oil, lemon zest, and flaky salt. It's delicious, but

#christmas #tenderloin #eggs #fig #bread

After carefully transporting our dozen duck eggs over night, I knew that I had to make something absolutely perfect with them. No eggs in the world have ever been as coddled as these duck eggs were for the 200 mile drive from San Antonio to Houston. The had thick yellow yolks - much larger than the chicken egg. I made the simple crust with flour, salt, and butter - same as last time. I froze the crust and lined it with thin slices of Boar's Head Pepper Mill Turkey. I sautéed

For some reason, Talal can go all night without a proper dinner. Of course he says no dinner, but one peek at my food and he gets excited take a bite. One bite, two bite, three.. Next thing you know, I need to get seconds because Talal ate half of my meal. He and I started our evening out at Little Pappasito's. For the first time ever, we made it in time for Happy Hour. $7.95 for the Gold Margarita! It was smooth and delicious, but I was still full from my big lunch - so no f

Today's menu consisted of the usual Lebanese brunch: Kishik, Balila, Eggs with Awerma, Olives, Jams, Labneh, Feta with Zaatar, tomatoes, and vegetables. "It's a Suki Thing" was involved here. After we finally napped and digested, it was time to make dinner. We made Tabouleh with White Quinoa instead of Burghul (thus Gluten Free) and French Fries from scratch. We are on a mission to make crispy fries. I tried frying in the wok with fresh oil and frying them twice. We are getti

I planned a whole day out for Father's Day. We started with Fooul, then went to watch Secret Ocean 3D at the IMAX, cards at the Marriott, and finished by grilling some seafood for dinner. We grilled shrimp (coated in the homemade habanero hot sauce), salmon (coated in Paul Prudhomme's salmon seasoning, Cayenne pepper and Oregano) and lobster tails. We didn't do anything absurdly unique to the food, but we spent the day building up to the delicious food. It was an awesome day!

I woke up on Wednesday after Tropical Storm Bill. It didn't rain. It didn't flood, but hey, who said meteorology was an exact science. Despite the lack of drama, the whole family stayed home. Per usual, mother and father had their coffee and Tina was still sleeping. I wanted protein. I pulled out the eggs and Daddy suggested adding heavy cream. For some complexity. I sauteed onions. I sliced the spicy Spanish Chorizo and threw them in the pan with the onions. The color turned