Exploring the Intersection of Food, Culture and Identity

Courtesy Clarkson Potter

Fall is cookbook season (bet you didn’t know that, right?) the time when the floor in my office becomes completely obscured by gigantic tomes meant to prepare you for cold winter nights around the table. This year’s crop featured a notable windfall by celebrity chefs. We’re talking Mario Batali, Jamie Oliver, John Besh, Todd English, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Heston Blumenthal and…wait for it….Ferran Adria. But even Adria, the king of molecular gastronomy, is delving into comfort food, homey meals of macaroni and cheese, buttermilk pancakes and Sunday roasts. So you think you can cook? Please check out my story if you want to prove you got the goods.

This is my Sittau, Alice Kayal

Like most families, we looked forward to the day AFTER Thanksgiving more than the feast itself. Part of that was because Sittau only cooked American once a year, so the meal wasn’t her best work. But the day after….the bird became her famous Syrian turkey stew. Please see the recipe below, adapted from my family’s cookbook A Taste of Syria — and check out my story about Thanksgiving turns us all into Americans.

Sittau’s Turkey Stew

Makes 4 servings

1 can (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes, or peeled whole tomatoes, crushed

1 cup chicken stock

3 tablespoons fresh or bottled lemon juice

2 cups cooked turkey, cubed

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1 10-oz package frozen peas

Heat tomatoes, broth and lemon juice in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, cover, and let cook 20 minutes.

Add the salt, allspice and turkey, and simmer five more minutes. Add the peas and simmer until heated through, about five minutes. Serve over rice.

Whether you’ve got a meatball fiend, an armchair traveler, a rock n’ roll groupie or a plain old celebrity chef stalker on your gift list, cookbook publishers have provided. Please check out my story for some ideas about what to get the cook on your list.