No Bake Lemon Raspberry Cream Cheese Icebox Cake

Easter is around the corner. And with spring in the air, the trees and flowers blooming I am craving a bright and fresh dessert to serve my guests at Easter. And the best part this dessert can be assembled in advance taking the stress out of holiday entertaining. Its the perfect easy and creamy NO bake dessert. I love making desserts with cream cheese, they are so creamy, rich and delicious. The cream cheese serves as a blank canvas to any flavor you want to add to it. I love pairing fresh fruits like these luscious raspberries with citrus like lemon and lemon zest. Serve your guests a nice slice of this icebox cake, with extra raspberry sauce on the side. The ruby red raspberries that are tucked in the layers of the creamy cake look so pretty once you slice into them making this dessert an easy go to for Easter or any spring celebration. #ad #easterwithphilly #itmustbethephilly

#recipeshare @lovemyphilly

Base ingredients

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream

• 1 cup icing sugar

• 8 ounces room temperature Philadelphia cream cheese

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• Zest of one lemon

Directions

1. Whip heavy cream and icing sugar to soft peaks. Add the vanilla and lemon zest. Whip until you get stiff peaks (don’t overheat it)

2. Beat the room temperature cream until it’s smooth and lump free

3. With a rubber spatula gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese. The mixture will become light and fluffy.

2 ingredients Fresh Raspberry sauce:

• 6 oz. fresh or frozen raspberries, thawed if frozen

• 1-2 tbls of water just enough to thin out the sauce and make it easy to whirl in the blender

• Optional: I don’t add any more sugar but if you like your sauce sweeter or if your raspberries are tart add 1-2 tbs icing sugar

Directions:

Add your ingredients to a high speed blender and blend until the raspberries are smooth and have a nice creamy consistency.

Fresh whipped cream

Ingredients

1 cup cold heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon icing sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Zest of one lemon

Directions

• In your electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or your hand mixer, whip the heavy cream and the icing sugar until soft peaks form

• Add the vanilla and continue to beat until firm. Don't over beat otherwise you will get whipped butter.

To assemble:

Ingredients:

• 7 ounce package of Lady fingers

• Two 6 Oz boxes of fresh raspberries

Directions

1. Line a freezer-safe loaf pan with plastic wrap.

2. Add a base of lady fingers

3. Spoon and level about an inch of the cream cheese mixture.

4. Alternate your cream cheese mixture and the lady fingers. I don’t like the cookies to be all lined up so I add my lady fingers randomly after the base layer.

5. Add about a cup of fresh firm raspberries throughout the cream cheese and lady fingers layers

6. Let your mixture freeze for an hour to set. (This step will prevent your layers from seeping into one another).

7. Add the raspberry glaze all over the top just enough to cover it.

8. Let the mixture freeze for an hour or so

9. Then carefully spread the whipped cream layer over the raspberry layer.

10. Freeze for at least 8 hours or for best results overnight.

11. Unmold the icebox loaf by lifting it out of the pan with the help of the plastic wrap. If you get some resistance let your loaf sit out for a few minutes before you unmold it.

12. Garnish the top whipped cream layer with the remainder of the fresh raspberries. Serve immediately.

Recipe note: store your leftover in the freezer

Best if consumed within 5-7 days. Making this a perfect make ahead dessert.

#fruit #creamycake #iceboxcake #nobakecake #raspberry #creamcheese #easter #easterdessert #holidayentertaining

Hashweh; An Arab Stuffing. A must learn recipe

Hashweh in Arabic means stuffing. We can’t tell you all about the stuffed vegetables and cuts of meats without telling you about my favorite rice of all “the stuffing rice which is called hashweh”. And when I was little i called it party rice. Hashweh could be eaten as a meal on its own with a simple cucumbers and tomatoes salad and often accompanied by a savory yogurt. Or hashweh rice can be part of a holiday spread next to roasted meats like chicken, lamb or roast beef. And hence it’s name it’s also used to stuff meats like chicken, turkey or lamb and also vegetables. The rice has the most beautiful aroma of spices, it perfumes the house as it cooks. The bits of crispy meat add a nice salty savory bite.

Total time: 45 min

Cook time 25-30 min

Serves: 6-8 people

Ingredients:

2 tsp ground allspice

1 tsp cardamom

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Salt and pepper

1 bay leaf

3 tbls ghee, butter or canola oil

3 cups medium grain rice rinsed until water runs clear (you could use jasmine rice or basmati here)

1 pound ground lamb, chicken or beef

4.5 cups Chicken stock or water (enough to cover the rice by half an inch)

1 cups Assorted nuts (pistachios, cashews, almonds and pine nuts are very common)

1 cup assorted diced fruits I love to add chopped dried apricots, figs, cranberries or Persian barberry

Directions

Mix all the spices together

Heat the ghee or the oil in a pot add the ground meat and break it up to brown. Stir in half the spices and season with salt to taste. Cook the meat until its browns and crumbles about 8- 10 minutes it doesn’t have to cook all the way through if you are adding it back with the rice in option 2.

You have two options here:

1. You can take the meat out and use it to top the rice with.

2. Or mix in the rice and the meat and cook again together which is what I am doing here.

So if you are going with option 2 then add in the rinsed rice to the spices browned meat, the remainder of the spice mixture and toss together until combined, add a bit more oil if you need it to toast the rice. Add the bay leaf.

Pour in the boiling hot liquid and bring the rice mixture to a bubble. You want to make sure that your liquid covers the rice by half an inch. Then immediately reduce the heat to low and cover the pot. Cook until the water has completely absorbed about 15 -25 minutes (no peeking, as you will let the steam escape).

While you wait for the rice: sauté your nuts you can toast them in a dry skillet, or sauté them with a little bit of ghee for an added flavor and color.

Chop your dried fruits.

To plate:

Discard the bay leaf. Fluff the rice with a fork (avoid stirring you don’t want break the grains and mush the rice). Mount your rice on a large platter top it with the nuts and fruits. Serve immediately

In my mom’s world the more (nuts) and more variety the better.

Notes:

1. If you are using the rice as a stuffing then cook it half way through it will finish cooking in the meat or whatever else you are stuffing it with.

2. A cup of uncooked rice will yield into 3 cups cooked rice.

3. I usually plan for half a cup of uncooked rice per person if you are serving it as a side dish or part of the main course, but that’s a personal preference.

#rice #stuffing #hashweh #arabfood #middleeasternfood #partyrice #spicedrice

Kousa Mahshi (Stuffed Squash in a Tomatoes Broth)

The word mahshi in Arabic means “stuffed” so kousa mahshi would mean stuffed zucchini. Arabs in general and especially Palestinians love to stuff anything from meats to vegetables. We even stuff our meats with stuffed vegetables ;). Stuffed vegetables are definitely one of my favorites. From zucchini, to eggplants, carrots, onions, cabbage, grape leaves, potatoes, tomatoes and even cucumbers can be stuffed. We use a special tool called “makwara” to hallow the veggies out. But make no mistake we don’t like to waste anything. So the stuff or the pulp of the vegetable that we core out is often used in the dish itself like I did here in this recipe, or cooked separately often sautéed in olive oil with onions and garlic and eaten with bread.

Stuffing vegetables is often seasonal depending on what vegetable is in season. Spring kousa (is often referred to here in the US markets as white zucchini or Mexican squash) is small, more pale in color and so tender. In Palestinian homes the smaller the vegetable for stuffing the better. I have seen people stuff zucchini’s as small as my pinkie, and cooks would take so much pride in that.

The stuffing in Palestinian and most Arab cooking refers to few different kinds:

• Spiced Meat and onion stuffing

• Rice (can use other grains) and spiced meat stuffing

• Or a vegetarian herbal rice stuffing (one of my absolute favorites) The stuffing varies depending on the vegetable or the meat.

I have even seen a large piece of meat like a whole baby lamb stuffed with stuffed vegetables like stuffed squash and stuffed rolled grape leaves. Yep, that’s what I mean by we love stuffing our food with stuff :) okay now say that 10 times.

In this recipe the Kousa is stuffed with a mixture of spiced meat and rice, simmered in a rich tomato broth. It’s a delicious, rustic dish with a sweet scent of cinnamon and spice.

Prep time: 60 min

Cook time: 60 min

Serve: 6 people

Meat and rice filling:

1 pound of grass fed ground lamb or beef, or poultry

2.5 cups short grain white rice rinsed (see note)

1 tsp of cinnamon

1 tsp of ground allspice

1/4 tsp of nutmeg

1/4 tsp of ground cardamom

salt and black pepper to taste

4 tbls olive oil (divided)

Vegetables:

12-14 (about 4 pounds) small zucchini’s (often in the USA referred to as Mexican or white squash), about 5-6 inches long and 1 to 2 inches in diameter

Note: you can use a variety of vegetables just make sure they are similar in size so they cook evenly.

I love to combine: squash and baby eggplant together.

Sauce

2 cups chicken broth I just use water it’s totally fine (enough to submerge the vegetables)

28 oz crushed tomatoes

1 tbls tomatoes paste

You can also use pureed fresh tomatoes (my grandmother’s fav way) you would need about 4 pounds of fresh tomatoes.

3 garlic cloves

Bay leaf

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

First you want to core those zucchinis.

** You can easily find zucchini corers online, and in most Middle Eastern grocery stores.

This is a great technique to learn and practice as it’s used in so many stuffed vegetables. Don’t feel bad if you break few. It takes practice. First Cut off the stems. You would need a Special tool like an apple corer to make the job easier. Just keep coring them out, like carving a pumpkin till you have the walls to about 1/8 inch thick and you reached the bottom. You will do this step few times until you scrape and hallow the zucchini making enough space for the filling. Be careful not to poke a hole in them if possible. If you have an apple corer use that. Don’t discard the pulp. We will also use it in this recipe.

Rinsing rice:

Rinse the rice a few times in cold water until the water runs clear this will get rid of some of the starch in the rice creating a fluffier filling.

Sautéing the meat: (optional) but I like to do it this way. Or you can just add your raw meat to the rinsed rice.

In a heavy bottom skillet, heat the oil, add the meat and spices. Sauté until it’s a bit browned and crumbles. You don’t have to cook the meat all the way as it will finish cooking in the sauce.

Get out a nice deep bowl and mix together all the stuffing ingredients till well blended. (I use my hands for this.)

Gently stuff the zucchini with the mixture using your fingers. Don’t overstuff them! fill only about ¾ of the kousa with the stuffing, and don’t pack it in. Leave room for the rice to expand while cooking.

In a large, heavy bottomed pot, add the additional 2 tbls olive oil and sauté the zucchini pulp (the inside of the zucchini) With the garlic cloves. combine the sauce ingredients and bring to a boil, while stirring. Then lower the heat and simmer for a few minutes to let the flavors marry. Taste for seasoning. Very carefully float the stuffed zucchini in the broth and simmer (make sure the broth is covering the zucchini) for 50-60 Minutes until the rice is cooked and the zucchini is tender. We don’t want the vegetables to fall apart.

Check occasionally during cooking and if the sauce needs more broth or water, add it. Serve in deep bowls, with the tomato sauce on top. Sahtain ! Which is Arabic for “bon appétit,” which literally translates to “Two Healths to you.”

#zucchini #vegtables #stuffedvegetables #kousa #mahshi #arabfood #stuffedfood #comfortfood