If you are living in the Washington DC area, you may take advantage of this offer.  During the week of 18 – 26 September 2009, participating Turkish restaurants in the DC area will charge $25/person for a 4 course meal.

You can find the details, including participating restaurants at http://www.turkishrestaurantweekdc.org/

Enjoy Turkish food!

Finally I was able to get some good quince and made the dessert I promised some time ago! Simple and full of elegant flavors; this dessert is one of my favorite fall/winter desserts. If you have a chance to buy nice, firm quinces your dessert would be ready in an hour, with no much effort.

Quince Dessert (6 servings)

• 3 quinces (total of approximately 750gr ~ 25 oz)
• 6 – 7 Tbs sugar
• 6 – 7 whole cloves

1. Wash and cut the quinces lengthwise in half
2. Cut the stem, scoop out the seeds, reserving all. If you like, you can also peel them, again reserving the peels
3. Put the half quince pieces, hollow side facing up in a saucepan with a lid, next to each other, in one layer. Fill the seed holes with sugar (1 Tbs each should be plenty.)
4. Put the seeds, peel and the cloves in the pan (use these to prop up any of the quinces that do not want to stand up on their belly.) Add 2 cups of water to the pan
5. Using low heat, cook the dessert until the water becomes a thick syrup; about an hour
6. Serve warm, if you can, using some of the syrup as a topping. With a mound of whipping cream on top!