Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines (2021–…): Season 1, Episode 1 - A Family Tradition - full transcript
There you go.
Who wants to have lunch with me?
Anybody?
Nobody?
Welcome, friends, to my kitchen.
Just kidding. Okay.
Mm. Those are strong.
Mm! Mm.
When it comes to cooking,
I'm not a fancy person...
We're gonna just do
this very gracefully.
...but I love being
in the kitchen...
So, let's talk biscuits.
So you just scooch them around.
...and a lot of what
I like to cook
are simple meals that
bring people together.
We've got a lot of
people to feed today.
So whatever you're wanting
to make at home...
Is this gonna get old,
if every time
I'm like, "Oh, that's so good."
...just get creative
and have fun with it...
This is the dream bite.
...because at
the end of the day...
You want to help
Mama cook today?
...it's these moments at the
table with family and friends...
Perfect!
...that matter most.
Today, I'm gonna share with
you one of our family favorites.
It's a Lebanese meal.
So, I grew up with a
multicultural background.
My mother's actually Korean
and my dad is half Lebanese,
half German.
What I'm gonna share
with you today is a meal
that my grandfather made,
his parents made.
It was my dad's birthday meal,
so every year, I'd
make this for my dad,
and it's a tradition that
my family has grown to love.
We're gonna do some fatayer,
which some may know as fata-yer.
It almost tastes like
a hamburger in a biscuit,
because it's meat,
potatoes and bread,
and you can't go
wrong with that.
And then Lebanese salad...
It's just a fresh, yummy salad
that pairs well with a
lot of different main dishes.
We're gonna do some hummus,
which is a fun appetizer,
and baklava for dessert.
What I love about baklava
is it's like a special treat.
The kids love it, because
it's basically just
butter and sugar and
phyllo dough with some nuts.
So we're gonna
start on the baklava,
because this is something
that takes about
four to five hours to set.
It's great to do
the night before,
or even the morning of whenever
you're deciding to serve it.
So we're gonna start
with a nut blend...
I'm gonna do pistachios
today, and raw almonds.
Nuts are easy to burn,
and really, for me, it's when
I can start smelling them,
I know, "Hey, they're
pretty much ready."
Don't wait for them
to get toasty brown.
I'm gonna let them
sit real quick,
and then we're gonna talk
about the phyllo dough...
Because this is something that
I've learned over the years,
that the thicker
the phyllo dough, the better.
So you're gonna open
it like a book.
[ Whispering ]
Oh, it's so pretty.
Please don't tear.
I'm probably not as
gentle as you should be.
Okay.
And you're gonna
take the pan and just
kind of guesstimate,
like, where you think...
This is really
the professional way to do it.
Just like that, and you're just
gonna cut it down the middle.
[ Exhales deeply ]
So once I'm done cutting,
you want to put, like,
a damp towel on top of it,
because phyllo dough can
dry out really quick.
That's so satisfying.
There's a fine balance
between perfection and crap,
and I'm trying to find that
middle place of... oh, there.
That's pretty good.
And it's still folding up,
but you know what?
We don't want things
to be so perfect
that you don't have
fun, you know?
Okay, I can smell...
Ooh, this smells like
I'm at the carnival.
Okay.
I'm gonna take
the almonds and pistachios,
I'm gonna put them in here.
I'm sure there's a better
way to do it, but...
Okay, so you just see, this kind
of makes it look really pretty.
If you get an overhead shot
and you see some
nuts laying around,
it looks really natural,
but I'm gonna actually put it
all back in the food processor.
Is that gross?
That I'm doing this?
Okay.
Make sure there's no
nuts left behind, y'all.
Okay. You can also
change out the spices.
If I'm making it for the kids,
I like to simplify it,
just use a little bit
of nutmeg, some cinnamon,
and of course,
the most important, sugar.
I always say if it tastes like
the middle of a
gooey cinnamon roll,
that's the kind
of baklava I want.
Okay, I'm gonna pulse
this 12 to 15 times,
until it's the consistency
that I know I want
for the middle of the layers.
Sometimes I'm impatient
and I just hold the pulse.
Okay.
[ Chuckles ]
Little extra, just in case.
♪♪
Okay, so this is the filling
that's gonna go
in between the phyllo, so I
think I'm ready to do this.
Okay...
Where was I?
Okay, so now the fun part
is the layering.
I will say, this can tend
to get tedious and confusing,
and I've had to come up with,
like, a chant to tell myself
so that I'm not looking at
the cookbook over and over.
So basically, it's "Six, nut,
six, nut, six, nut, ten."
Does it make sense?
So it's six layers
of phyllo dough, nuts,
six layers of
phyllo dough, nuts,
six layers of phyllo
dough, and then nuts,
and then ten layers.
So if you can just remember that
chant, you're gonna crush it.
So, I have melted 2 1/2 sticks
of butter... I do like butter...
And I'm just gonna start by
buttering the base of this pan,
and then we're gonna start
building this thing.
So we're gonna start
with our first layer.
The first six layers
are just butter in between.
You're basically
building the base.
♪♪
I think this is three? Four?
Who's counting?
It really is like art.
I think that's why
I like it so much.
It's, like, soothing.
It's really like Bob Ross minus
Bob Ross and the trees.
Happy, little phyllos.
Okay, so now you're gonna take
1 cup of this mixture,
smooth it out.
Okay, six more layers.
This is one of those desserts
that if you're making
it, don't rush.
Just have fun with it.
Enjoy the process, because
there's too many steps involved.
Six, nut, six, nut,
six, nut, ten.
I'm on number five, right?
♪♪
So I've done the six, the nut,
the six, the nut,
the six, the nut.
So this is my third layer, and
the final layer is ten sheets,
or whatever you have left.
But sometimes you did the math
wrong and who cares.
Just top it off and you're done.
Baklava's fun to give to
friends during the holidays.
I like to give baked goods
that have that, like, warm,
and the seasonings are,
like, nutmeg and cinnamon,
and there's something about that
that just feels
so holiday to me.
So there we have all of
our layers, the nut mixture,
and now we are going to cut it.
I'm gonna cut it
in little squares.
And you want to use
a really sharp knife,
because this dough,
once there's...
You'll see when
the butter's on it.
It moves.
I like to cut squares and then
cut the square into a diagonal,
kind of bite-size pieces.
My kids always wonder
why I give them a tiny piece,
and then they get it.
They never ask for a second
piece. It's pretty rich.
You want to do this
before you bake it.
It's so much easier, 'cause
if not, it'll just crumble
and it won't be as
pretty of a cut.
I have found that
baking is like,
in some odd ways,
like therapy for me,
so I like to schedule
that into my week,
to make sure that I'm in
the kitchen doing what I love,
which is not only baking,
but eating sweets as well.
I'm almost done.
And you can actually
go a lot quicker,
but I like this step,
so I take my time.
It's like an art project.
I can't wait to show my mom.
Okay, so once I'm done cutting,
I'm gonna put these in the oven
at 350 for 40 to 45 minutes.
♪♪
Okay.
So now I'm going to
clean up here
so that we can finish dessert.
♪♪
GAINES: So, while the baklava's
baking, I'm gonna make the syrup,
so that that can
set and then cool.
This recipe calls for
about a three-inch piece
of orange peel with the pith.
What is the pith, you say?
Well, let me show you,
'cause I had to Google that.
It's the white part,
right there...
And the reasoning behind that,
because the syrup,
as you will see,
has a lot of sugar,
a lot of honey,
and there's something
about the pith
that helps knock
down that sweet,
so I'm gonna add this
to the mixture.
So we're gonna start
with 3/4 cup sugar.
1 cup of water.
1 cup of really
good-quality honey...
Whoa, that's a lot of honey.
And then you're gonna put
the orange peel in there.
[ Burner clicks ]
You're gonna set it to medium.
[ Clicking ]
Hmm. One, two, three.
[ Clicking ]
Y'all.
One day I will get this
right on the first try.
It's going. Okay.
You're gonna set it to
medium, medium-high heat.
Let it come to a boil, then
you're gonna reduce the heat
and you're gonna let it
simmer for about 10 minutes.
You want to keep an eye on it.
I've done this plenty
of times in my life,
where I've walked away
from the stove,
and you don't want this kind
of sticky stuff boiling over,
so I'm gonna just stay here
and hang out for a second.
Got any questions for me?
[ Chuckles ] Monday.
Just kidding. Not really.
It's in my cookbook.
Since my dad is half German,
half Lebanese, my mom is Korean,
my kids grew up with the culture
in them, the tradition.
My mom, when they were little,
she would feed them soups
and things that just had
all of that Korean seasoning,
so now my kids are
just super used to it.
They love it.
It's their favorite,
and I'd say the same with
those Lebanese dishes.
They love them.
Now that this has
come to a boil,
I'm gonna reduce the heat
and let the sauce thicken.
So I'm gonna start prepping
the Lebanese salad.
Anytime I make fatayer,
Chip always wondered,
"What do I dip the fatayer in?"
He wanted, like, a ranch dip
or mustard or a ketchup.
Then he realized, when
I brought him the salad,
there's a lot of
liquids in there.
It's nice to kind of scoop
it up with that salad.
And so this is something
I always serve with fatayer,
because it kind of helps
bring in all the flavors,
and it's nice to, you know,
for people who like to
scoop on their plates
and eat all of it at once,
it's, like, this perfect blend.
So the recipe calls
for white onions,
I think 1/4 of a cup.
But again, I'm that mom that
knows my kids hate onions,
so I'll just put a few in there,
just to give it that flavor.
There's two ways to make this...
You can make this salad
and let it sit in the fridge
and kind of marinade.
It's basically just olive oil
and fresh lemon juice and salt,
and if you stick
it in the fridge
and let it marinate,
it's softer.
I like the salad crunchier,
so what I'm doing right now
is just cutting everything.
I stick it in a bowl, put that
in the fridge, but then when
it's time to take the fatayer
out and it's all ready,
I put the olive oil and
the lemon juice in then,
so it's a little crispier.
Okay, so we've got the onions.
It's always a little
nerve-racking
when people watch you cut, cause
I feel like it's kind of scary.
I'm not scared, so you sh...
You shouldn't be scared.
I've heard you never point
a knife at somebody.
And if you're looking to
learn how to cut things,
this is not the show for you.
Me and my sisters, we just,
when we grew up going
to my grandad's,
he always had cucumbers,
and, you know, when
you'd go in his house,
you could smell these
fresh-cut cucumbers.
He'd put salt on top,
put them on a plate,
and that was, like, the snack.
And he also always
made this salad
with any Lebanese dish
that he cooked.
So just the smell...
It just reminds us of
when we were little.
Even to this day,
when they walk in
and they smell fatayer
and this cucumber salad,
they always say how much
they miss Grandpa.
♪♪
Let me get my bowl.
♪♪
Check on the syrup.
♪♪
Okay.
I consider myself a very
unpredictable and messy cook.
I don't really do things
the same way twice...
Like, sometimes I cut my
tomatoes and quarter them,
but today I'm feeling
like going this way.
You got to invest in a good
knife, I will say that.
If you don't have a good knife,
you are working
harder, not smarter.
Ooh, but you can
smell that syrup.
It's super sweet.
There's almost a cup of sugar
in it, and a full cup of honey.
So, I have the sweet
tooth in the family.
I always make dessert,
because I like dessert,
and then Chip is always like,
"No, I'm full. Why
would I eat dessert?"
And I'm like, "What?
How are we even friends?"
The thing I love about
this Lebanese salad
is it's just a good
thing to have on hand.
And it's funny, 'cause
my kids don't really
like cucumbers or tomatoes,
but they love the salad...
So I don't know what that's
about, but they will eat it.
Okay, so I'm gonna put
this in the fridge,
and then we are going
to check on the baklava.
♪♪
Ooh. Wow, that
looks really good.
I think it's finished.
Okay, so this is
the color that I wanted...
Golden brown, not too dark.
I'm gonna set it here
on the counter.
And you want to do
the syrup right away.
So, this has simmered
for about 10 minutes,
so now I'm gonna add
1 tablespoon of orange juice.
That little bit of citrus
will just cut through
a lot of that sweet,
and it'll also
brighten up the syrup.
It's definitely thickened.
And I'm gonna just spoon
the syrup over the baklava.
[ Crackling ]
[ Exhales deeply ]
Can you hear that?
[ Whispering ] That's fun.
♪♪
And just finish this here.
Okay.
So after I coat this
with all the syrup,
I'm gonna garnish it,
and then you're just gonna
let this sit on a cooling rack.
You want it to cool
for at least four hours,
and that just gets everything
to really come together.
Okay, I'm gonna just
let this cool.
And now for
the main dish, fatayer.
GAINES: My dad calls it
"vatayer," with a V.
My kids call it
"patayer", with a P.
We can just say "meat pie,"
to keep it simple.
The fatayer that I make is
ground beef, white onions,
shredded hash browns,
and shredded cheddar.
The thing that I love
about this dish is that,
first of all, my
grandfather made this.
I remember Sunday afternoons,
my grandad would sit
for a full day and
just grate every potato.
And so, for me, I wanted
to cut that time down,
so what I'm gonna do today
is show you kind of
my shortcut to fatayer.
Okay, so we're gonna start by
sauteing 1/4 cup white onion.
I just want to get
them a little soft.
In traditional recipes,
they use lamb.
My grandad always used beef,
and so that's what I'm used to.
And again, I hope I'm making
my grandfather proud,
but I did add cheese,
so we'll see.
So I use 80 percent
lean ground beef.
I'm gonna add that in here.
Make sure you get a beauty
shot of the ground beef,
'cause it's so pretty.
♪♪
Okay.
♪♪
I don't want to overcook it,
just because it's gonna be
baking in the oven for
about 15 to 20 more minutes.
So you're just gonna do a
little salt and a little pepper.
You can add, really,
any seasoning you want.
Feel free to modify it
to what you love.
Okay, so I'm gonna
drain this meat
and I'm gonna put it
in a large bowl
and we're gonna add
the other ingredients,
and then I'm gonna show
you what we wrap it in.
Has anyone had fatayer here?
No one?
[ Muffled ] No pressure, Jo.
Mm. Okay.
Dump all the meat in here.
♪♪
One of the shortcuts is that
I just get frozen hash browns.
So, these are thawed.
I'm actually gonna eye
this. That looks good.
I'm not gonna put
all of that in there.
So I use just a mild,
shredded cheddar cheese.
But this is just all of the best
ingredients in a bowl.
The butter... that's coming.
So I'm gonna set this
aside and let it cool.
And now for the fun part.
And this is one of my cheats...
I just use canned biscuits.
Oh. That's fun.
How'd that look?
Canned biscuits.
I flatten them out, and then
I do the little wrapping,
and we're done.
So I'm gonna show you
how to assemble the fatayer.
And you always want
to flour your surface,
because it will stick.
And I actually flatten
them all out at once
and just start the pile.
It makes the assembly easier.
This is kind of what you want...
You want it thin and yea big,
whatever that is.
Okay, so I'm just gonna
do all of these,
if you guys want
to cue the music.
♪♪
With me, with every recipe,
there's the long way and
then there's the shortcut.
If it's a busy season
and work is crazy,
I just give myself
a little grace,
just like these canned biscuits.
For me, the best part is when
you can gather everyone
around that table
and eat a good, warm
meal as a family.
Here we go.
And then I'm gonna show you
how to put these together.
I like to kind of put
these in a ball.
♪♪
You just can do three corners,
four corners, just like that,
and then you kind of flatten
it down a little bit
and set it on the pan.
It's all gonna be
varying in size.
It's kind of each one, depending
on how much you rolled it out,
it's gonna to look a little
different, but that's fine.
So, this is one of those
meals that I think is
a great, just, staple
to have for your family,
but also if you're
having guests over
and you want kind of
a prettier dish...
Again, there's familiar flavors,
it's just wrapped up.
I can't believe none of
y'all have had this before.
So I'm gonna put
these in the oven,
350, 15 to 20 minutes.
♪♪
While the fatayer
is finishing up,
I'm gonna get the hummus out,
I did that earlier today.
This is just fun to have as
an appetizer before dinner.
And now I'm going to finish
up this Lebanese salad.
I'm gonna go ahead
and toss it, and...
See how pretty
all those colors are?
And I'm just gonna drizzle
some olive oil and
fresh lemon juice.
And this is all to taste...
So there's measurements
in the cookbook,
but I tend to just
kind of do it as I go.
Some salt.
♪♪
And then I'm gonna
just top it off
with some fresh,
chopped parsley...
Just a little bit, it's
just more for the garnish.
And if you have a pretty bowl,
you want a pretty spoon.
There. Look how pretty that is.
And fresh.
Dinner is almost ready, y'all.
Perfect.
So, there you go. Golden brown.
Put this up here.
So I'm just going to brush
the tops with some melted butter
and I'm gonna just put
a little salt on top.
So this is the fun
and awkward part
where I make myself
a plate of dinner
and eat it all by myself.
I'm gonna just get
a little bit of salad
and I'm gonna pick out...
♪♪
There you go.
Who wants to have lunch with me?
Anybody?
[ Blowing ]
This is how I like to eat it...
I go like this, I find one
tomato, I find one cucumber,
and this is the dream bite.
[ Crunching ]
[ Muffled ] Don't look at me.
[ Laughs ] It's good.
Look that way!
♪♪
Every time I have that bite,
it reminds me of Sundays
at my grandad's
and it takes me back
to the good old days.
And we all know dessert
is actually the best
part of dinner,
so I want you to take a look
at how pretty this dessert is
and see all the layers, and then
I've got to try it, of course.
Okay.
Do you see that?
And this is the fun part.
I get to eat it.
[ Crunching ]
Mm.
That's some good
butter and sugar.
That's really yummy.
Mm. That is good.
It's time to eat, y'all.
Put that camera down.
Y'all, come eat.
I'm gonna take over.
Okay.
Now, y'all pretend like it's
the best thing you ever ate.
Really good. Thank
you, Jo. Okay.
Of course. That is a wrap.
I got to go finish my fatayer.
♪♪
So, an added perk to
having a cooking show
is that I have all
this leftover food.
So I called my dad and told him
I was gonna bring
him some fatayer
so we can put the leftovers
to good use.
♪♪
[ Car door closes ]
Are you hungry?
Do I look like it? [ Laughs ]
I brought you some fatayer.
Vatayer? Fatayer.
My favorite meal.
Your favorite meal.
Well, thank you very
much. How's Mama?
She's... [ Smooches ] very well.
I was talking about all the
different ways we say fatayer.
Vatayer. Fatayer.
Vatayer.
And then the kids are like,
"Are you bringing patayer
home?" with a P.
So I saved a little for the
kids, brought you and Mama some.
Love you, Dad.
Bye. Love you so much.
Goodbye. Bye!
Don't work too hard.
♪♪
Who wants to have lunch with me?
Anybody?
Nobody?
Welcome, friends, to my kitchen.
Just kidding. Okay.
Mm. Those are strong.
Mm! Mm.
When it comes to cooking,
I'm not a fancy person...
We're gonna just do
this very gracefully.
...but I love being
in the kitchen...
So, let's talk biscuits.
So you just scooch them around.
...and a lot of what
I like to cook
are simple meals that
bring people together.
We've got a lot of
people to feed today.
So whatever you're wanting
to make at home...
Is this gonna get old,
if every time
I'm like, "Oh, that's so good."
...just get creative
and have fun with it...
This is the dream bite.
...because at
the end of the day...
You want to help
Mama cook today?
...it's these moments at the
table with family and friends...
Perfect!
...that matter most.
Today, I'm gonna share with
you one of our family favorites.
It's a Lebanese meal.
So, I grew up with a
multicultural background.
My mother's actually Korean
and my dad is half Lebanese,
half German.
What I'm gonna share
with you today is a meal
that my grandfather made,
his parents made.
It was my dad's birthday meal,
so every year, I'd
make this for my dad,
and it's a tradition that
my family has grown to love.
We're gonna do some fatayer,
which some may know as fata-yer.
It almost tastes like
a hamburger in a biscuit,
because it's meat,
potatoes and bread,
and you can't go
wrong with that.
And then Lebanese salad...
It's just a fresh, yummy salad
that pairs well with a
lot of different main dishes.
We're gonna do some hummus,
which is a fun appetizer,
and baklava for dessert.
What I love about baklava
is it's like a special treat.
The kids love it, because
it's basically just
butter and sugar and
phyllo dough with some nuts.
So we're gonna
start on the baklava,
because this is something
that takes about
four to five hours to set.
It's great to do
the night before,
or even the morning of whenever
you're deciding to serve it.
So we're gonna start
with a nut blend...
I'm gonna do pistachios
today, and raw almonds.
Nuts are easy to burn,
and really, for me, it's when
I can start smelling them,
I know, "Hey, they're
pretty much ready."
Don't wait for them
to get toasty brown.
I'm gonna let them
sit real quick,
and then we're gonna talk
about the phyllo dough...
Because this is something that
I've learned over the years,
that the thicker
the phyllo dough, the better.
So you're gonna open
it like a book.
[ Whispering ]
Oh, it's so pretty.
Please don't tear.
I'm probably not as
gentle as you should be.
Okay.
And you're gonna
take the pan and just
kind of guesstimate,
like, where you think...
This is really
the professional way to do it.
Just like that, and you're just
gonna cut it down the middle.
[ Exhales deeply ]
So once I'm done cutting,
you want to put, like,
a damp towel on top of it,
because phyllo dough can
dry out really quick.
That's so satisfying.
There's a fine balance
between perfection and crap,
and I'm trying to find that
middle place of... oh, there.
That's pretty good.
And it's still folding up,
but you know what?
We don't want things
to be so perfect
that you don't have
fun, you know?
Okay, I can smell...
Ooh, this smells like
I'm at the carnival.
Okay.
I'm gonna take
the almonds and pistachios,
I'm gonna put them in here.
I'm sure there's a better
way to do it, but...
Okay, so you just see, this kind
of makes it look really pretty.
If you get an overhead shot
and you see some
nuts laying around,
it looks really natural,
but I'm gonna actually put it
all back in the food processor.
Is that gross?
That I'm doing this?
Okay.
Make sure there's no
nuts left behind, y'all.
Okay. You can also
change out the spices.
If I'm making it for the kids,
I like to simplify it,
just use a little bit
of nutmeg, some cinnamon,
and of course,
the most important, sugar.
I always say if it tastes like
the middle of a
gooey cinnamon roll,
that's the kind
of baklava I want.
Okay, I'm gonna pulse
this 12 to 15 times,
until it's the consistency
that I know I want
for the middle of the layers.
Sometimes I'm impatient
and I just hold the pulse.
Okay.
[ Chuckles ]
Little extra, just in case.
♪♪
Okay, so this is the filling
that's gonna go
in between the phyllo, so I
think I'm ready to do this.
Okay...
Where was I?
Okay, so now the fun part
is the layering.
I will say, this can tend
to get tedious and confusing,
and I've had to come up with,
like, a chant to tell myself
so that I'm not looking at
the cookbook over and over.
So basically, it's "Six, nut,
six, nut, six, nut, ten."
Does it make sense?
So it's six layers
of phyllo dough, nuts,
six layers of
phyllo dough, nuts,
six layers of phyllo
dough, and then nuts,
and then ten layers.
So if you can just remember that
chant, you're gonna crush it.
So, I have melted 2 1/2 sticks
of butter... I do like butter...
And I'm just gonna start by
buttering the base of this pan,
and then we're gonna start
building this thing.
So we're gonna start
with our first layer.
The first six layers
are just butter in between.
You're basically
building the base.
♪♪
I think this is three? Four?
Who's counting?
It really is like art.
I think that's why
I like it so much.
It's, like, soothing.
It's really like Bob Ross minus
Bob Ross and the trees.
Happy, little phyllos.
Okay, so now you're gonna take
1 cup of this mixture,
smooth it out.
Okay, six more layers.
This is one of those desserts
that if you're making
it, don't rush.
Just have fun with it.
Enjoy the process, because
there's too many steps involved.
Six, nut, six, nut,
six, nut, ten.
I'm on number five, right?
♪♪
So I've done the six, the nut,
the six, the nut,
the six, the nut.
So this is my third layer, and
the final layer is ten sheets,
or whatever you have left.
But sometimes you did the math
wrong and who cares.
Just top it off and you're done.
Baklava's fun to give to
friends during the holidays.
I like to give baked goods
that have that, like, warm,
and the seasonings are,
like, nutmeg and cinnamon,
and there's something about that
that just feels
so holiday to me.
So there we have all of
our layers, the nut mixture,
and now we are going to cut it.
I'm gonna cut it
in little squares.
And you want to use
a really sharp knife,
because this dough,
once there's...
You'll see when
the butter's on it.
It moves.
I like to cut squares and then
cut the square into a diagonal,
kind of bite-size pieces.
My kids always wonder
why I give them a tiny piece,
and then they get it.
They never ask for a second
piece. It's pretty rich.
You want to do this
before you bake it.
It's so much easier, 'cause
if not, it'll just crumble
and it won't be as
pretty of a cut.
I have found that
baking is like,
in some odd ways,
like therapy for me,
so I like to schedule
that into my week,
to make sure that I'm in
the kitchen doing what I love,
which is not only baking,
but eating sweets as well.
I'm almost done.
And you can actually
go a lot quicker,
but I like this step,
so I take my time.
It's like an art project.
I can't wait to show my mom.
Okay, so once I'm done cutting,
I'm gonna put these in the oven
at 350 for 40 to 45 minutes.
♪♪
Okay.
So now I'm going to
clean up here
so that we can finish dessert.
♪♪
GAINES: So, while the baklava's
baking, I'm gonna make the syrup,
so that that can
set and then cool.
This recipe calls for
about a three-inch piece
of orange peel with the pith.
What is the pith, you say?
Well, let me show you,
'cause I had to Google that.
It's the white part,
right there...
And the reasoning behind that,
because the syrup,
as you will see,
has a lot of sugar,
a lot of honey,
and there's something
about the pith
that helps knock
down that sweet,
so I'm gonna add this
to the mixture.
So we're gonna start
with 3/4 cup sugar.
1 cup of water.
1 cup of really
good-quality honey...
Whoa, that's a lot of honey.
And then you're gonna put
the orange peel in there.
[ Burner clicks ]
You're gonna set it to medium.
[ Clicking ]
Hmm. One, two, three.
[ Clicking ]
Y'all.
One day I will get this
right on the first try.
It's going. Okay.
You're gonna set it to
medium, medium-high heat.
Let it come to a boil, then
you're gonna reduce the heat
and you're gonna let it
simmer for about 10 minutes.
You want to keep an eye on it.
I've done this plenty
of times in my life,
where I've walked away
from the stove,
and you don't want this kind
of sticky stuff boiling over,
so I'm gonna just stay here
and hang out for a second.
Got any questions for me?
[ Chuckles ] Monday.
Just kidding. Not really.
It's in my cookbook.
Since my dad is half German,
half Lebanese, my mom is Korean,
my kids grew up with the culture
in them, the tradition.
My mom, when they were little,
she would feed them soups
and things that just had
all of that Korean seasoning,
so now my kids are
just super used to it.
They love it.
It's their favorite,
and I'd say the same with
those Lebanese dishes.
They love them.
Now that this has
come to a boil,
I'm gonna reduce the heat
and let the sauce thicken.
So I'm gonna start prepping
the Lebanese salad.
Anytime I make fatayer,
Chip always wondered,
"What do I dip the fatayer in?"
He wanted, like, a ranch dip
or mustard or a ketchup.
Then he realized, when
I brought him the salad,
there's a lot of
liquids in there.
It's nice to kind of scoop
it up with that salad.
And so this is something
I always serve with fatayer,
because it kind of helps
bring in all the flavors,
and it's nice to, you know,
for people who like to
scoop on their plates
and eat all of it at once,
it's, like, this perfect blend.
So the recipe calls
for white onions,
I think 1/4 of a cup.
But again, I'm that mom that
knows my kids hate onions,
so I'll just put a few in there,
just to give it that flavor.
There's two ways to make this...
You can make this salad
and let it sit in the fridge
and kind of marinade.
It's basically just olive oil
and fresh lemon juice and salt,
and if you stick
it in the fridge
and let it marinate,
it's softer.
I like the salad crunchier,
so what I'm doing right now
is just cutting everything.
I stick it in a bowl, put that
in the fridge, but then when
it's time to take the fatayer
out and it's all ready,
I put the olive oil and
the lemon juice in then,
so it's a little crispier.
Okay, so we've got the onions.
It's always a little
nerve-racking
when people watch you cut, cause
I feel like it's kind of scary.
I'm not scared, so you sh...
You shouldn't be scared.
I've heard you never point
a knife at somebody.
And if you're looking to
learn how to cut things,
this is not the show for you.
Me and my sisters, we just,
when we grew up going
to my grandad's,
he always had cucumbers,
and, you know, when
you'd go in his house,
you could smell these
fresh-cut cucumbers.
He'd put salt on top,
put them on a plate,
and that was, like, the snack.
And he also always
made this salad
with any Lebanese dish
that he cooked.
So just the smell...
It just reminds us of
when we were little.
Even to this day,
when they walk in
and they smell fatayer
and this cucumber salad,
they always say how much
they miss Grandpa.
♪♪
Let me get my bowl.
♪♪
Check on the syrup.
♪♪
Okay.
I consider myself a very
unpredictable and messy cook.
I don't really do things
the same way twice...
Like, sometimes I cut my
tomatoes and quarter them,
but today I'm feeling
like going this way.
You got to invest in a good
knife, I will say that.
If you don't have a good knife,
you are working
harder, not smarter.
Ooh, but you can
smell that syrup.
It's super sweet.
There's almost a cup of sugar
in it, and a full cup of honey.
So, I have the sweet
tooth in the family.
I always make dessert,
because I like dessert,
and then Chip is always like,
"No, I'm full. Why
would I eat dessert?"
And I'm like, "What?
How are we even friends?"
The thing I love about
this Lebanese salad
is it's just a good
thing to have on hand.
And it's funny, 'cause
my kids don't really
like cucumbers or tomatoes,
but they love the salad...
So I don't know what that's
about, but they will eat it.
Okay, so I'm gonna put
this in the fridge,
and then we are going
to check on the baklava.
♪♪
Ooh. Wow, that
looks really good.
I think it's finished.
Okay, so this is
the color that I wanted...
Golden brown, not too dark.
I'm gonna set it here
on the counter.
And you want to do
the syrup right away.
So, this has simmered
for about 10 minutes,
so now I'm gonna add
1 tablespoon of orange juice.
That little bit of citrus
will just cut through
a lot of that sweet,
and it'll also
brighten up the syrup.
It's definitely thickened.
And I'm gonna just spoon
the syrup over the baklava.
[ Crackling ]
[ Exhales deeply ]
Can you hear that?
[ Whispering ] That's fun.
♪♪
And just finish this here.
Okay.
So after I coat this
with all the syrup,
I'm gonna garnish it,
and then you're just gonna
let this sit on a cooling rack.
You want it to cool
for at least four hours,
and that just gets everything
to really come together.
Okay, I'm gonna just
let this cool.
And now for
the main dish, fatayer.
GAINES: My dad calls it
"vatayer," with a V.
My kids call it
"patayer", with a P.
We can just say "meat pie,"
to keep it simple.
The fatayer that I make is
ground beef, white onions,
shredded hash browns,
and shredded cheddar.
The thing that I love
about this dish is that,
first of all, my
grandfather made this.
I remember Sunday afternoons,
my grandad would sit
for a full day and
just grate every potato.
And so, for me, I wanted
to cut that time down,
so what I'm gonna do today
is show you kind of
my shortcut to fatayer.
Okay, so we're gonna start by
sauteing 1/4 cup white onion.
I just want to get
them a little soft.
In traditional recipes,
they use lamb.
My grandad always used beef,
and so that's what I'm used to.
And again, I hope I'm making
my grandfather proud,
but I did add cheese,
so we'll see.
So I use 80 percent
lean ground beef.
I'm gonna add that in here.
Make sure you get a beauty
shot of the ground beef,
'cause it's so pretty.
♪♪
Okay.
♪♪
I don't want to overcook it,
just because it's gonna be
baking in the oven for
about 15 to 20 more minutes.
So you're just gonna do a
little salt and a little pepper.
You can add, really,
any seasoning you want.
Feel free to modify it
to what you love.
Okay, so I'm gonna
drain this meat
and I'm gonna put it
in a large bowl
and we're gonna add
the other ingredients,
and then I'm gonna show
you what we wrap it in.
Has anyone had fatayer here?
No one?
[ Muffled ] No pressure, Jo.
Mm. Okay.
Dump all the meat in here.
♪♪
One of the shortcuts is that
I just get frozen hash browns.
So, these are thawed.
I'm actually gonna eye
this. That looks good.
I'm not gonna put
all of that in there.
So I use just a mild,
shredded cheddar cheese.
But this is just all of the best
ingredients in a bowl.
The butter... that's coming.
So I'm gonna set this
aside and let it cool.
And now for the fun part.
And this is one of my cheats...
I just use canned biscuits.
Oh. That's fun.
How'd that look?
Canned biscuits.
I flatten them out, and then
I do the little wrapping,
and we're done.
So I'm gonna show you
how to assemble the fatayer.
And you always want
to flour your surface,
because it will stick.
And I actually flatten
them all out at once
and just start the pile.
It makes the assembly easier.
This is kind of what you want...
You want it thin and yea big,
whatever that is.
Okay, so I'm just gonna
do all of these,
if you guys want
to cue the music.
♪♪
With me, with every recipe,
there's the long way and
then there's the shortcut.
If it's a busy season
and work is crazy,
I just give myself
a little grace,
just like these canned biscuits.
For me, the best part is when
you can gather everyone
around that table
and eat a good, warm
meal as a family.
Here we go.
And then I'm gonna show you
how to put these together.
I like to kind of put
these in a ball.
♪♪
You just can do three corners,
four corners, just like that,
and then you kind of flatten
it down a little bit
and set it on the pan.
It's all gonna be
varying in size.
It's kind of each one, depending
on how much you rolled it out,
it's gonna to look a little
different, but that's fine.
So, this is one of those
meals that I think is
a great, just, staple
to have for your family,
but also if you're
having guests over
and you want kind of
a prettier dish...
Again, there's familiar flavors,
it's just wrapped up.
I can't believe none of
y'all have had this before.
So I'm gonna put
these in the oven,
350, 15 to 20 minutes.
♪♪
While the fatayer
is finishing up,
I'm gonna get the hummus out,
I did that earlier today.
This is just fun to have as
an appetizer before dinner.
And now I'm going to finish
up this Lebanese salad.
I'm gonna go ahead
and toss it, and...
See how pretty
all those colors are?
And I'm just gonna drizzle
some olive oil and
fresh lemon juice.
And this is all to taste...
So there's measurements
in the cookbook,
but I tend to just
kind of do it as I go.
Some salt.
♪♪
And then I'm gonna
just top it off
with some fresh,
chopped parsley...
Just a little bit, it's
just more for the garnish.
And if you have a pretty bowl,
you want a pretty spoon.
There. Look how pretty that is.
And fresh.
Dinner is almost ready, y'all.
Perfect.
So, there you go. Golden brown.
Put this up here.
So I'm just going to brush
the tops with some melted butter
and I'm gonna just put
a little salt on top.
So this is the fun
and awkward part
where I make myself
a plate of dinner
and eat it all by myself.
I'm gonna just get
a little bit of salad
and I'm gonna pick out...
♪♪
There you go.
Who wants to have lunch with me?
Anybody?
[ Blowing ]
This is how I like to eat it...
I go like this, I find one
tomato, I find one cucumber,
and this is the dream bite.
[ Crunching ]
[ Muffled ] Don't look at me.
[ Laughs ] It's good.
Look that way!
♪♪
Every time I have that bite,
it reminds me of Sundays
at my grandad's
and it takes me back
to the good old days.
And we all know dessert
is actually the best
part of dinner,
so I want you to take a look
at how pretty this dessert is
and see all the layers, and then
I've got to try it, of course.
Okay.
Do you see that?
And this is the fun part.
I get to eat it.
[ Crunching ]
Mm.
That's some good
butter and sugar.
That's really yummy.
Mm. That is good.
It's time to eat, y'all.
Put that camera down.
Y'all, come eat.
I'm gonna take over.
Okay.
Now, y'all pretend like it's
the best thing you ever ate.
Really good. Thank
you, Jo. Okay.
Of course. That is a wrap.
I got to go finish my fatayer.
♪♪
So, an added perk to
having a cooking show
is that I have all
this leftover food.
So I called my dad and told him
I was gonna bring
him some fatayer
so we can put the leftovers
to good use.
♪♪
[ Car door closes ]
Are you hungry?
Do I look like it? [ Laughs ]
I brought you some fatayer.
Vatayer? Fatayer.
My favorite meal.
Your favorite meal.
Well, thank you very
much. How's Mama?
She's... [ Smooches ] very well.
I was talking about all the
different ways we say fatayer.
Vatayer. Fatayer.
Vatayer.
And then the kids are like,
"Are you bringing patayer
home?" with a P.
So I saved a little for the
kids, brought you and Mama some.
Love you, Dad.
Bye. Love you so much.
Goodbye. Bye!
Don't work too hard.
♪♪