Saturday, October 16, 2010

Turkish Shortbread (Un Kurabiyesi)

400 gr butter/margarine, at room temperature
9-10 Tbsp powdered sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
3 cups corn starch
2 cups all purpose flour,
½ cup powdered sugar for top (optional)

Take powdered sugar and soft butter/margarine in a large bowl. Knead until it gets homogeneous. Add starch slowly, while kneading. Also, add vanilla as well. Then, add flour slowly. Knead until the dough becomes smooth and soft. If you use excess flour, it will be difficult the give stable shapes. So, you do not need to use all the flour mentioned, if you think the dough is already soft and smooth (I used 2 cups of flour, though).
Grab large pieces of dough and on a flat surface roll it with your hands to make a long stick, thick as your thumb. Using a knife cut 1 inch pieces diagonally. Make stripes with the back of a fork on each piece pressing gently on the surface. Use the same procedure for the remaining dough. Place them over a greased oven tray leaving room between.
Bake in a preheated 325F (160 C) oven for about 20-30 minutes or until their bottoms get pinkish. Make sure the tops remain white. Make sure they do not turn pinkish.
Let them cool for a while and if you desire sprinkle with powdered sugar on tops with a strainer.
ENJOY

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TURKCE
400 gr tereyag/margarin, oda sicakliginda
9-10 yemek kasigi pudra sekeri
1 yemek kasigi vanilya
3 su bardagi nisasta
2 su bardagi un
½ su bardagi pudra sekeri, uzeri icin (istege bagli)

Bir kaba pudra sekeri ve oda sicakligindaki tereyag/margarin alin ve guzelce yogurun. Sonra yavas yavas yedirerek nisastayi ilave edin. Vanilyayi da ekledikten sonra yine yavas yavas unu ilave edip yedirmeye calisin. Elde edeceginiz hamur cok yumusak ve puruzsuz olmalidir. Eger unu fazla gelirse sekil vermekte gucluk cekersiniz. Eger hamurun yeterince yumusak ve puruzsuz oldugunu dusunurseniz unun hepsini kullanmak zorunda degilsiniz (ben tam olarak 2 su bardagi un kullandim).
Hamurdan parcalar kopararak sert bir zemin uzerinde uzun silindirik seritler yapin (yaklasik bas parmaginiz kalinliginda). Bu seritten 2-3 cm uzunlugunda verev sekilde lokmalar kesin ve uzerlerine catal ile hafifce bastirark cizgi deseni verin. Ayni islemi geri kalan hamura da uygulayin. Yaglanmis firin tepsisine aralikli olarak dizin.
Onceden isitilmis 160C (325F) firinda yaklasik 20-30 dakika pisirin. Uzerleri pembe olmadan, sadece altlari hafif pembelesince cikarin.
Kurabiyeler biraz soguyunca uzerlerine arzuya gore suzgec yardimiyla pudra seker serpebilirsiniz.
AFIYET OLSUN

Thursday, October 14, 2010


I'd like to thank to Burciko's for awarding me with these awesome awards. It's very nice of you Burciko!

Burciko'ya beni bu guzel odullere layik gorup, odullendirdigi icin cok tesekkur ediyorum.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Stuffed Bell Peppers with Ground Beef (Kiymali Biber Dolmasi)

2 lb (~1kg) bell/large peppers
1 cup rice, washed and drained
½ lb ground beef
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tomato, petite diced
1 tsp tomato paste
½ cup olive oil
1-2 cups hot water
1 Tbsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
1- ½ tomato, sliced in pieces for tops (optional)

Wash the bell/large peppers, cut the tops off, and remove seeds. In a bowl, place all the stuffing ingredients, but water. Mix them all and with a spoon fill the peppers up to 2/3 with the mixture. If desired, place one slice of tomato as a cap on top of each pepper. In a large saucepan or pot, place the stuffed bell peppers and add hot water, enough to almost cover half height of the peppers.
Close the lid and cook on low-medium heat, until the peppers get soft and rice is cooked, for about 20-30 minutes. Serve hot or warm.
ENJOY

TURKCE
~1kg dolmalik/buyuk uzun biber
1 su bardagi pirinc, yikanip suzulmus
200-250 gr kiyma
1 sogan, ince dogranmis
1 domates, dogranmis
1 tatli kasigi domates salcasi
½ su bardagi zeytin yagi
1-2 su bardagi sicak su
1 yemek kasigi tuz
1 cay kasigi karabiber
1- ½ domates, dilimlenmis (biberlerin uzerine koymak icin)-istege bagli

Biberleri yikayin ve tepesini duzgunce kesin (ya da saplarini cikarin), cekirdeklerini temizleyin. Genis bir kaseye butun ic malzemelerini (su haric) alin ve hepsini guzelce karistirin. Bir kasik yardimiyla biberlerin icini 2/3’u dolu olacak sekilde doldurun. Her biberin uzerine dilimlediginiz domatesten bir parca koyun(istege bagli). Genis bir tava ya da tencere dibine doldurdugunuz biberleri yerlestirin. Biberlerin yuksekliginin yarisina cikacak kadar sicak su ilave edin.
Kapagini kapatip, kisik ateste biberler ve pirincler pisene dek yaklasik 20-30 dakika pisirin. Sicak ya da ilik servis yapin.
AFIYET OLSUN

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Shrimp with Olive Oil (Zeytinyagli Karides Pilaki)

1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 onion, chopped
½ lb mushroom, washed
1 carrot, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tomatoes (1 cup), diced
1 big potato, diced
1 Tbsp salt to taste
½ tsp black pepper
½ cup hot water
Fresh parsley for garnish

Take olive oil and onion in a pot. Saute for about 3 minutes over medium heat. Stir in garlic and shrimp. Saute for 2 minutes and, add potatoes, carrots and mushrooms. Cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes. Then, add tomatoes, salt and hot water.
Bring to a boil and turn the heat low. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are softened. Sprinkle with black pepper and garnish with parsley if desired.
ENJOY

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TURKCE
½ kg karides, temizlenmis
1 sogan, dogranmis
250 gr mantar, yikanmis
1 havuc, yuvarlak dogranmis
3 dis sarimsak, kucuk dogranmis
1/3 su bardagi zeytinyagi
2 domates (1 su bardagi), dogranmis
1 buyuk boy patates, dogranmis
½ su bardagi sicak su
1 yemek kasigi tuz
1 cay kasigi karabiber
Suslemek icin taze maydanoz

Zeytinyagi ve sogani bir tencereye alin. Orta ateste 3 dakika kadar soteleyin. Sarimsak ve karidesi ilave edin. Yaklasik 2 dakika daha soteledikten sonra; patates, havuc ve mantari ilave edin. Orta ateste yaklasik 4-5 dakika cevirin ve domatesi ilave edin. Tuz ve sicak suyu da ekleyin.
Kaynamaya baslayinca altini kisin ve patatesler pisene dek yaklasik 20 dakika kadar pisirin. Uzerine karabiber serperek ve maydanoz ile susleyerek servis yapabilirsiniz.
AFIYET OLSUN

Friday, October 1, 2010

Pan Seared Mahi Mahi (Tavada Lambuka Baligi)

1 lb mahi mahi fillets, skinned and boned
2-3 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
2 gloves of garlic, finely diced
½ tsp salt to taste
¼ tsp black pepper
1 lb spinach, washed and chopped
½ medium onion, chopped

Take one Tbsp of butter and onions. Saute over medium heat and stir in spinach. Saute them for about 3-5 minutes.
Wash Mahi Mahi fillets under cold water and dry with paper towel. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Rub with your hands. Sizzle the remaining butter in the frying pan and fry Mahi fillets pouring balsamic vinegar over. Once they are fried, turn upside down and sprinkle with garlic. Fry both sides.
Take sautéed spinach over the serving plates and place the fried Mahi Mahi on top. Serve hot/warm.

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TURKCE
½ kg Lambuka baligi fileto, derisi ve kemikleri alinmis
2-3 yemek kasigi tereyag
2 yemek kasigi balsamik sirke
2 dis sarimsak, kucuk dogranmis
1 cay kasigi tuz
½ cay kasigi karabiber
½ kg ispanak, yikanmis ve dogranmis
½ orta boy sogan, dogranmis

Tavaya bir yemek kasigi tereyagini ve soganlari alin ve soteleyin. Ispanagi ilave edin ve iyice sonup, renkleri koyulasana dek sote edin (3-5 dakika).
Lambuka baligini soguk su altinda yikayin ve kagit havlu ile kurulayin. Tuz ve karabiber serperek elinizle ovalayarak balik filetolarina yedirin. Geri kalan tereyagini kizartma tavasina alin ve filetolarin uzerine balsamic sirkeyi dokun orta ateste kizartin. Bir taraflari kizardiktan sonra diger tarafini cevirin ve uzerlerine sarimsaklari serpin. Her iki tarafini da guzelce kizartin.
Servis tabagina sotelenmis ispanagi alin ve uzerine kizarmis lambuka filetoyu yerlestirin. Sicak servis yapin.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Peach Tart (Seftalili Tart)

This recipe is from my dear sister.
3 eggs
½ cup+1 Tbsp sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
¼ cup canola oil
50-60 gr margarine/butter, softened
3 peaches, peeled and sliced

Sprinkle 1 Tbsp sugar over the peach slices and leave aside.
Take remaining sugar and eggs in a bowl. Mix them well and add margarine/butter. After mixing them all, start adding flour slowly. Stir in baking powder and vanilla. Knead until the dough gets soft as the cookie dough.
Grease a large Pyrex or tart tray and arrange the dough over evenly (make sure to make ~1/3 inch thick).
Arrange the peach slices on top. Bake at 400 F (200 C) preheated oven until the top gets lightly brown (for about 30-45 minutes).
Let it cool, slice and serve.
ENJOY

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TURKCE
Sevgili kardesime bu guzel tarifi paylastigi icin cok tesekkur ediyorum.

3 yumurta
½ su bardagi + 1 yemek kasigi seker
2 su bardagi un
1 tatli kasigi vanilya
1 tatli kasigi kabartma tozu
¼ su bardagi kanola yagi
50-60 gr margarin/tereyag, oda sicakliginda
3 seftali, soyulmus ve dilimlenmis

Seftali dilimlerinin uzerine bir yemek kasigi sekeri serpin ve bir kenarda bekletin.
Seker ve yumurtayi bir kaba alin guzelce karistirin. Margarin/tereyag ve kanola yagini ilave ederek karistirmaya devam edin. Yavas yavas unu dokmeye baslayin ve yogurun. Vanilya ve kabartma tozunu ekleyin. Unu yavas yavas yedirerek yumusak bir hamur elde edene kadar yogurun.
Yagladiginiz buyuk boy borcam ya da tart tepsisine hamuru esit olarak yayin (1 cm’den ince olmali). Uzerine seftali dilimlerini istediginiz sekilde dizin.
200 C (400 F) firinda tart pisip seftaliler kizarana dek pisirin (30-45 dakika).
Sogumasini bekleyin. Dilimleyerek servis yapin.
AFIYET OLSUN

Monday, September 20, 2010

Tomato Soup with Meatballs (Kofteli Domates Corbasi)

1 cup tomatoes, crushed
2 Tbsp tomato paste
3 Tbsp canola oil
3 Tbsp flour
6 cups (1 ½ L) water

For the meatballs:
½ lb ground beef
¼ tsp black pepper
½ small onion, finely chopped
½ tsp salt to taste

Take meatball ingredients in a bowl and mix them all using your hands. Make hazelnut size or walnut size meatballs. Keep them in the refrigerator for about 15-30 minutes.
Meanwhile, take canola oil in a pot and stir in flour. Over medium heat sauté for about 3 minutes or until the flour turns yellow. Stir in tomato paste and tomatoes. Cook for about 3-4 minutes stirring occasionally.
Add 6 cups of water and bring to a boil. Add the meatballs and cook over low-medium heat until the meatballs are cooked (for about 15-20 minutes). Sprinkle with pepper.
Serve hot/warm.
ENJOY

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TURKCE
1 su bardagi domates, rendelenmis
2 yemek kasigi domates salcasi
3 yemek kasigi kanola yagi
3 yemek kasigi un
6 su bardagi (1 ½ lt) su

Kofteler icin:
250 gr kiyma
½ cay kasigi karabiber
½ kucuk sogan, ince dogranmis
1 cay kasigi tuz

Kofte malzemelerini bi kapta iyice karistirin. Elinizle yogurabilirsiniz. Cevizden biraz daha kucuk ya da findik buyuklugunde yuvarlak kofteler yapin. Buzdolabinda yaklasik 15-30 dakika dinlendirin.
Bu sirada, tencereye kanola yagini alin. Orta ateste unu 3 dakika kadar sararana dek kavurun. Salca ve domatesleri ilave edin. Yine 3-4 dakika kadar cevirin.
Alti su bardagi suyu ilave edin ve kaynamasini bekleyin. Kaynamaya baslayinca, kofteleri icine atin ve kisik ateste kofteler pisene dek pisirin (yaklasik 15-20 dakika). Karabiber serpin.
Sicak servis yapin.
AFIYET OLSUN