Chuckling Pig™ food blog

Biscuits are one of the things that make me wish I had been born in the south where the best biscuits are made. I am biscuit fan and when I find a place that makes a good biscuit I have a hard time stopping at just one. Biscuits are a staple of diner food and it sometimes seems as if there are almost as many biscuit recipes as there are cooks. This recipe produces a buttery biscuit with a slightly coarse texture. I enjoy these biscuits on their own, in sandwiches or covered in sausage gravy.

Living in Michigan, we are used to short summers and we work hard to make the most out of them. Summertime cookouts are one way to do this and we have several each year. As a result, I am constantly looking for easy side dishes that can be served at our barbecues. Since I spend a lot of time over the grill during these events, the side dishes need to be made ahead of time or made in a way that requires very little attention. These crock pot barbecue beans compliment grilled meats nicely and require very little attention once they are in the crock pot. I avoided making my own beans for many years assuming that it was going to be a long and complicated process. However, I eventually decided to take the plunge. After some online research and several experiments, I was able to cobble together a recipe that I enjoy and that isn’t too complicated.

Kibbeh is a general term for an Arabic dish made from bulgur and ground meat. Kibbeh or kibbe can be prepared using a variety of methods including raw, fried, boiled or baked. Many of you may be familiar with the fried versions as they are quite popular at many of the specialty grocers and delis. Traditionally, many kibbehs were made with lamb. The version I make is made with ground chuck and is baked in the oven and served with yogurt on the side. What’s that you say ? Another Lebanese dish from the Chuckling Pig ? I am sure by now you are thinking, “Hey CP, where are the diner classics you promised us.” Don’t worry, the Chuckling Pig test kitchen is filled with activity as we refine some of our diner favorites like biscuits and gravy or silver dollar pancakes. In the meantime, I think you will enjoy the ethnic dishes here at Chuckling Pig and there is a method to the madness. Ethnic comfort foods are just as much a part of diner history as some of the more well known diner dishes. The interesting thing about diners is that they always seem to come with some sort of an ethnic twist. In my area, many of the original diners were started by Greeks and Greek dishes are common place. In other areas, the local diners are influenced by other ethnicities such as Italian, Portuguese, Jewish, Asian or Middle Eastern. Our country is a country of immigrants and our local eateries reflect this melting pot. Ok, enough of that tangent, I guess it’s time to get back on topic and the topic of this post is baked kibbeh. To make baked kibbeh, two kibbeh mixtures are prepared. The first will serve as the stuffing for the baked kibbeh and the second is basically kibbeh nayyeh. Kibbeh nayyeh is a bulgur and meat mixture that is traditionally served and eaten raw (not by this blogger for sure but I hear it is popular elsewhere). In the case of baked kibbeh, the stuffing is placed between two layers of kibbeh nayyeh and the entire thing is baked. The kibbeh is scored prior to baking which allows for easy serving once it is done. Serve the kibbeh squares with flat bread and plain yogurt for dipping (or try sour cream if you don’t like yogurt).

Taboulleh is a dish that we make frequently in my house and it is another one of the recipes that I inherited from my father-in-law. Taboulleh is a Lebanese salad with bulgur, parsley, tomatoes, onion and mint. The ingredients are chopped and combined and then lemon juice and olive oil are used to dress the salad.

In my opinion, macaroni salad is part of the mayonnaise side salad trinity along with coleslaw and potato salad.   I cannot recall a deli, diner or family picnic that did not have one (or all) of these salads available.  My version is lightened with yogurt and includes a hint of mustard. The green pepper and red onion provide great flavor and good color to the dish.

Coleslaw is a fairly standard side in any diner and it seems there are as many recipes for it as there are places that serve the dish.  This version is fairly simple and can be easily tailored to your tastes. I prefer a lighter coleslaw so there is not a lot of mayonnaise in this one.

This hearty soup is really great for the winter.  I prefer a thick tomato based pasta e fagioli with a little bit of a kick.  This recipe is exactly that.  I love to eat it with parmesan, olive oil and some crusty bread.

Is there anything more diner than macaroni and cheese ?  The blue box people have made homemade mac and cheese a second class citizen.  I can’t even win the battle at home where my youngest still prefers the blue box over dad’s homemade mac. Luckily for me, the rest of the family prefers this extra creamy dish.

My father-in-law is Lebanese and he is also a fantastic cook. When he was very young, his father ran a bakery in Fall River, Massachusetts and meat pies were definitely on the menu. The bakery was sold long ago but the love of meat pies stayed with him. When I came into the family, I was introduced to the Lebanese meat pies and I have been addicted to them ever since. The recipe below is my rendition of the meat pie.

There are three things that I expect from a cookie: it has to be big, it has to be chewy and it has to be full of flavor. This cookie has all three in spades. If you love butterscotch then you will love this cookie. It is full of butterscotch chips from one side of the cookie to the other.