VittlesVamp

Do Not Try This At Home

There are certain things I leave to the professionals. Dim sum at home? Um, no. I am sure that there are some who could tackle whipping up a dozen or so different Chinese dumplings and other tidbits in no time. I am not one of those people.

Deep frying at home? No again. It splatters everywhere and makes the apartment stink. If I had a backyard, I might get a deep fryer and have at it. But for now, I say no to deep frying in my Brooklyn studio.

Do I own the French Laundry Cookbook? Yes. Have I ever made one of the recipes? No. The number of components I'd need to make to concoct just one dish seems overwhelming - and way too time-consuming for someone with a day job.

Now, I do make actual homemade ice cream, which seems like a major feat to some. However, to me, whipping up a custard, letting it cool, and then tossing it in an ice cream machine, doesn't seem like too much work.

Making bread, though? Too much work. Besides, I live near some fantastic bread bakeries where I can get my baguette fix on in style and without the fuss.

We all have our things that we want to make in our own kitchens, and others that we leave to restaurants and such. And, that's not a bad thing. It's just a thing.

Eating In The Promised Land

This here? This is a marvel of a sandwich! Not only was it as colorful as Joseph's amazing technicolor dreamcoat, but it was absolutely delicious -- and completely vegetarian to boot.

Called a Sabich, it's Israeli street fare as an art form. This Judaic beauty combines thinly sliced, fried eggplant, hardboiled egg, a couple spoonfuls of creamy hummus, a few rings of sweet onion, chopped Arabic salad for crunch and lemony acid, and a smattering each of red cabbage and bright green parsley, all finished with a generous drizzle of tahini, and magically stuffed in a fresh pita.

This should be considered mandatory eating in Tel Aviv. Frankly, I think it might be. (I believe the "Thou shall eat Sabich" commandment can be found in the small print somewhere in the footnotes section of the Old Testament.)

Needless to say, this was only one of many inspiring meals in the Promised Land. And, now I am promising myself free reign in my kitchen to recreate everything from the country's glorious hummus to its spicy shakshuka. Expect to see me tapping into some Ottolenghi and Solomonov and Shani recipes soon...