Sharing great food with suppliers we have been buying from for years make these evenings lovely. They are long days but always worth it.

While in Dubai we had the luxury of an extra day or two to explore the area markets and eat in more restaurants.��Observing��the food culture in the��Gulf States��was very different than in Lebanon, or Europe or the US. We ate in both formal and fast casual format restaurants and enjoyed them all. An extra bonus for us was that we have family there, and it was a wonderful opportunity to visit and enjoy a meal with them.

Dubai is over the top in architecture and design -- and the restaurants��are equally��ambitious. We had so many memorable meals. Expect to see that inspiration in our new spring and summer cafe menus!

This salad has romaine lettuce, toasted pine nuts, Greek barrel aged feta cheese, baby kale, slivered fennel, scallions, baby pepper rings and Persian cucumbers. Topped with pomegranate seeds and a handful of fennel fronds, it was as beautiful to eat as it was to look at. The dressing is both tart and a little sweet and the pomegranate molasses gives it a lovely velvety texture. Its texture and freshness makes it a must among all the other rich dishes.

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Pomegranate Vinaigrette

1/4 cup pomegranate molasses (such as Zejd)

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 heaping tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon honey, or more to taste

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (we prefer Lebanese oil)

��Whisk together the pomegranate molasses, vinegar, mustard, honey and salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until emulsified. Drizzle over your greens of choice!

One of the best ways to do a casual party is to make a beautiful board. Arrange a little bit of cheese and charcuterie with some lovely vegetables and pickles -- and voila! Then, there are the dips. This year I did a delicious roasted red pepper hummus to complement the other offerings. It was smooth and rich with a little bite from the Aleppo pepper -- it was perfect. All I did was take one pound of our hummus and add 1/2 of a large roasted red pepper, dried well on a paper towel and��blended it right into the hummus in the food processor. Then, I added 1 teaspoon of Aleppo pepper and blitzed it to finish. I finished it off with a drizzle of fine extra virgin olive oil and��we��were ready to go.

I hope everyone reading this had a wonderful holiday weekend, however you celebrate!

This recipe is in the Nutty chapter of��Flavors of the Sun. The book is divided into five chapters: Bright, Savory, Spiced, Nutty, and Sweet so you can shortcut to exactly what you're craving. You can��order your copy now��from wherever books are sold.

SERVES 6
1/4 cup [60 ml] plus 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup [60 g] pine nuts, preferably Spanish
1/4 cup [60 ml] white wine vinegar (such as prosecco or champagne)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
8 oz [230 g] mixed baby greens
4 baby red bell peppers, sliced into rings, or 1 large red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and thinly sliced
1 small fennel bulb, halved lengthwise then sliced thinly crosswise
1/2 small red onion, sliced into half moons
1/2 cup [80 g] diced Turkish dried apricots or cranberries
4 oz [115 g] chunk Parmigiano-Reggiano, the best quality you can find

In a sauté pan, warm the ¼ cup [60 ml] olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the pine nuts and sauté until browned, about 4 minutes, stirring often. Strain the oil into a small bowl, then spread the pine nuts on paper towels to drain. Let the nuts and oil cool completely.

Add the remaining 2 Tbsp of olive oil to the cooled pine nut oil. Whisk in the vinegar, garlic, salt, and Aleppo and black peppers.

Put the greens in a large bowl. Add the bell peppers, fennel, onion, and dried fruit and toss to combine. Use a vegetable peeler to shave the cheese over the salad in large curls. Just before serving, drizzle with the dressing and toss well. Sprinkle with the pine nuts and serve immediately.

People always ask me how I came to love cooking and food in general. Since I grew up in a food family and always had different, delicious, unique things to taste it comes naturally to me. Being part of a Lebanese and Syrian family meant food was always the center of our household and continues to be. Food is our love language. We entertain frequently and the meal is always central — whether it’s an Easter brunch, a Memorial Day BBQ, Birthday meze, or a Graduation blowout. The first question we get is always, “What are you serving?” For Women’s History Month, I thought I’d share a little more about the women who are often preparing the meals.

We are known far and wide for indulgent lazy meals, where the expectation is that you will sit and eat and pick for hours while laughing and sharing special times. Many of our holidays are open house so you never know who will arrive, but the crowd is always lively and arrives hungry!

In our extended family, my Mom (Audrey) and I set the menu. Then we get together over sushi and sauvignon blanc to go over execution of the plan. That may seem odd, but when working with food all the time and then having people over to eat in our home, we enjoy being served one of our favorite indulgences while planning our next fete. My daughter Cait often joins us for this stage of planning.

There is something soul satisfying about cooking with your Mom and your daughter.�� The very act of preparing food together and serving it to our loved ones is deeply fulfilling.�� Many a conversation that may have never happened is brought to the surface while beating, stirring, whisking and plating.�� Vacations get planned and colleges and life get spoken about all while hands are busy.�� Sharing a glass of wine while we all prepare a meal is precious time spent together.�� We may reminisce about a girls trip we have all taken or laugh about a past party we all planned.�� “Remember sitting in the cheese market enjoying a plate with Victoria [my niece] in Paris?”�� Memories are always made around food in our home.

Since we have been doing this for decades, Mom and I have our own routines. We both know our roles and what we will bring to the meal. It is a familiar dance that I wouldn’t change for the world. Cait is the sous chef: dicing, chopping, frosting and plating to keep us in motion. The kitchen smells like roasted vegetables perfumed with herbs de Provence and heady thick with extra virgin olive oil. The smell of Aleppo pepper jelly glazed salmon fills the air and my Mom’s famous fancy salad with shaved Reggiano parmesan and olive oil toasted pine nuts sits ready to be tossed and sprinkled with cranberries. Sides simmer and meats roast or are thrown on the BBQ. All the while we talk, three generations cooking together.

Photo��by Vanina��Feldsztein