Big Steve’s Tangy Hummus

During the summer of 2016, the Kalil family gathered in (where else?) the kitchen with one goal in mind: to document as many of our recipes as possible in just one weekend. Yes, they’ve been shared before—scribbled onto scraps of paper or typed into an email—and yes, we know many of them by heart—or our own interpretations of them, anyway. They’ve been enjoyed by countless guests at our family’s restaurants, they’ve been the basis of a successful wholesale business, and they’ve made an appearance again and again on our own tables. But the recipes we were raised on have never been gathered into one place until now.

The gathering—both of the recipes and the family—wasn’t an easy undertaking, but it has absolutely been a rewarding one. In the process of producing this blog we’ve learned new things about the foods we love and the people who make them. We’ve remembered stories that haven’t come to mind in years. And we’ve revisited moments with loved ones that are integrally and unforgettably tied to the dishes—their dishes—we continue to enjoy in their absence.

“Preservation” is a word that’s frequently mentioned when discussing food, and it’s a word that has proven to be a key impetus for this project. We want to remember the way Steve layers his Baklava tray. We want our Tabbouleh to turn out exactly like Therese’s. Most importantly, we want to savor the stories and memories that bring richness to the table anytime family is gathered, no matter what’s on the menu.

It took 36 hours, 7 family members, 3 grocery stores, 1 Middle Eastern market, a very helpful canine cleaning assistant, weeks of independent recipe proofing, and over 1,000 photos to produce the posts housed on this blog. Other things we’d recommend having on hand if you attempt all of these recipes in one weekend like we did: a completely empty refrigerator!