Restaurant Review: Habashi House

Habashi House is located in the River Market District in Kansas City.

Habashi House offers some of the best Middle Eastern food in Kansas City.  I've been to multiple Middle Eastern restaurants around the metro area, this one beats the others hands-down. Not only is the food superior, but it's also cheaper. For an added perk, they even have complimentary hot tea.

Don't let the styrofoam plates fool you, it's great food!
We ordered 2 "meaty combos" and some dolmas.

I also enjoy the quaint dining area. In summer months, you can opt to sit outside and take in sights of sounds of the city market, Habashi House is located on the perimeter of the market square.

Cooking: Waldorf Salad

Ok, not really "cooking", more just "mixing". But Waldorf Salad is awesome! I always add pomegranate seeds to mine because they are so pretty and tasty.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of recipes out there for Waldorf Salad. Here's mine:

Salad parts:
Apples (I used 2 of each: braeburn, pink lady, honeycrisp, and granny smith)
Grapes, whatever kind are your favorite
2-3 stalks of celery
Pomegranate seeds
Walnuts

Dressing:
1 cup mayo
lemon juice, to taste
sugar, to taste

Chop up a few stalks of celery.

Cube the apples. Give them a quick dip in lemon juice to prevent browning!

A little trick I learned from Alton Brown, seed the pomegranates in a bowl of water.
1. You don't get squirted by red juice.
2. The seeds sink, the pith floats. Much easier to separate them that way!

I missed getting a photo of the dressing!

Mix everything together.

Final step: Put the yummy in the tummy!

This picture was taken 2 days after the salad was made.
Note that the apples are still almost their original
color, thanks to the lemon-juice bath!

Cooking: Chicken and Fennel Stew

I know I've been posting a lot of stews lately, but it's winter! Perfect soup/stew weather!

This is a recipe I've never made before, Chicken and Fennel Stew, from the cookbook The Primal Blueprint Cookbook.

The beer almost has my name!

Break down chicken. Salt & pepper (recipe didn't call for this, but I typically season my chicken before browning). Brown for about 5 minutes in a pot.

This is how NOT to do the chicken.
I got inpatient and pulled out the chicken
too early. They should be browned more.

Remove chicken and add chopped onion, fennel bulb, and mushrooms (I used a mixture of baby portabella and shitaki). Saute until softened.

Ground fennel seed. I used a mortar & pestle, you could also use a coffee grinder or finely chop with a knife if you don't have a mortar & pestle.
Smash saffron threads with a little bit of Belgian-style beer until they dye the beer.

Yes, my mortar & pestle is pink!

Add 1 1/2 bottles of Belgian-style beer to the pot. (Drink the leftover half a bottle!) Add the ground fennel seed and the saffron mixture. Add fresh minced garlic. Bring to a boil and add the chicken.

Cover and reduce heat to a simmer for about 30 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in 1/2 cup coconut milk. Add chopped kale and stir in until wilted.

Garnish with fresh chopped parsley. Yum!

Things I'll do different next time:

• De-bone and cube chicken instead of cooking whole bone-in pieces.
• Needs more salt. There was no salt called for in the recipe at all. (The recipe said to use either the beer or chicken stock, I obviously chose the beer; perhaps using chicken stock would have been enough salt.)