www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Middle Eastern Food Festival

Hey Y'all!

Anyone in the Birmingham area come on over for our Food Festival
October 9, 10, 11.

KIBBEE: Finely ground very lean beef, mixed with cracked wheat, onions, pine nuts, spices, brushed with butter and baked to perfection.
ROLLED GRAPE LEAVES: Ground chuck mixed with rice and spices, rolled in grape leaves and cooked in a water & lemon juice mixture until tender.
BAKED CHICKEN: Half chickens marinated in lemon juice and butter, seasoned with a blend of spices, oregano and baked to a moist golden brown.
SPINACH PIE: Spinach, onions, lemon juice, olive oil, and spices wrapped in fresh yeast dough in the shape of a triangle and baked.
MEAT PIE: Browned ground beef, onions, spices and cream cheese mixed an wrapped in fresh yeast dough in the shape of a triangle and baked.
FALAFEL: Ground chick peas, onions, spices, parsley and cumin rolled into a ball and deep fried.
GREEN BEANS: Italian beans simmered with crushed tomatoes, butter, spices, onions and garlic.
ZALABIEH: Yeast dough made with a blend of anise, mahalab and sugar, deep fried, dipped piping hot into a special syrup and topped with powdered sugar. Simply delicious!
http://www.saintgeorgeonline.org/

YUM!!!

Kibbee is heaven! If anyone here has not tried it, I advise and recommend that you do!

I remember the first time I tried it..I was 14, and a girlfriend of mine in high school was of Lebanese descent. Her neighborhood was having a block party...a very New York thing. Anyway, her dad had a barbeque out and made some. I tasted it, and it put the lowly hamburger to shame. I will never forget how delicious it was!

Her mom also made a mean taboule. I am surprised that you are not having that on the menu as well.

Also, for those who fast on Fridays, fresh falafel is delicious.

Zalabieh sounds alot like the Greek 'loukoumades'..Greeks eat them with a honey syrup, but at festivals in the U.S. they also offer powedered sugar as an alternative, as many non-Greeks like it that way--having been more familiarized with the similar Italian version called 'zeppoli'.

I am now hungry...

Hope your festival is super successful! Enjoy!

Alice

oh Alice can you believe that people here just toss it in the trash, taboule in the trash! I guess they can't handle eating a parsley salad. That is why they do the humus on request, because people were throwing it away I can tell you it is good! We made something like 15,000 grape leaves this year. It actually takes five days to make enough Kibee for the festival. Some years ago, Fr. said we won't do it on Sunday anymore - it just gotten even larger. Every year, we have to make more food on Friday night to get through Saturday - well, when you make more than you sell the previous year and you still run out - it's just crazy! We start cooking in August to have the food ready, it is an amazing process that takes place. Yes, we have a huge kitchen by church standards.

Thank you for the prayers!

I know that it isn't as authentic, but I have had tabouleh in this country where the bulgur is in greater porportion to the parsley and/or tomatoes, and that seems to suit the American palate better.

Alice

De gustibus non est disputandum - I prefer my kibbee uncooked.

Fr. Serge

Dear Father Serge,

Do you mean 'steak tartare'?

I used to like it very much too. I then got scared, however, and haven't eaten it for twenty years.

In Christ,
Alice

The Health Department made us quit selling in raw, maybe ten years ago. It was truly a favorite, and kept iced very well, there was never a problem. I guess modern health can't wrap their mind around 'raw kibbee' How many centuries has it been fixed and served?

Eat some for me since I can't attend!

How's your shoulder doing?