When I was a kid, I used to watch Margo, my mother, cooking for a family of six men, anticipating her request for assistance. I would skip playing in the yard with the neighborhood friends for the joy of smelling the aromas. She used to enjoy flattery when a neighbor asks her for an advice or a recipe, or a friend requesting a specific dish. She knew she was good… For me she was The Best. I loved
her okra stew in summer, her morning sahlab on Independence Day, her pork BBQ on a cold winter lunch, and her Kibbeh arnabiyyeh on Easter Sunday. I started cooking her recipes at age 18. Now that I’m 55 and an accomplished amateur cook, I do it for the love of this art, and I will always love okra stew in summer, the morning sahlab on Independence Day, a pork BBQ for a cold winter lunch, and Kibbeh arnabiyyeh on Easter Sunday,
The biggest thrill I get from cooking is when I see people’s reactions as they enjoy my food. I love the challenge of learning someone’s likes and dislikes and playing with a recipe to make it perfect for them. While taking other people’s tastes into account, a dish must please me before I present it to someone else. That was my inspiration for opening this page. It began as a collection of Margo’s applied recipes to share with family, friends, and people who wanted to talk about food. As time passed, the memories grew about particular dishes, including the first time I tasted them or how I recreated them. People would refer to things as unusually good whenever they were really impressed. Margo’s kitchen is how I would describe the recipes in this book, so I decided it was a fitting name for the whole page. I’m excited to be able to share all of this with you and your family, friends. Throughout this page you’ll find a number of hints and tips to help you along the way. The idea is that anyone can find something useful or interesting here. I consider every recipe on this page, including Okra, Sahlab, BBQ and Arnabiyyeh to be unusually Good Margo’s Kitchen Food.
