- Lena is this incredible young, talented pastry chef,
that works in one of the top restaurants in Detroit,
Selden Standard.
Tell me a little bit about Selden.
What type of joint is it?
- So, it's a rustic style, small plates.
We have very tight-knit relationships
with Michigan farmers, Detroit farmers.
We try to keep it in the fam.
I think it's more on the simplistic side.
- Yeah.
- [Lena] We try to take like three ingredients--
- Yeah. - And make them the star.
One of the Lebanese desserts on the menu at Selden Standard
right now, it is called halawet.
Traditionally, it's a sugar base that is taken
to caramel stage, 240 degrees.
And while you're whipping tahini, you pour in the syrup,
and it gets to a nougat-type texture.
I also did a honey version, and it reminded me
of a Snickers bar, so, I dipped it in chocolate,
and now I call it my Lebanese Snickers bar.
- Have your parents been to the restaurant?
- Oh yeah.
I actually gave them a limit on how many times
they're allowed to go in there, because they abuse it.
(laughs) - That's great, I love it.
So, we're leaving downtown Detroit,
and we're heading up to Dearborn.
I know that Dearborn has a large concentration
of Arab-American.
Is there a different between the Arab-American community
in Detroit versus Dearborn, do you think it's similar?
- The Arab population in Dearborn is definitely
more concentrated, but one of the things that I love most
about Detroit, is it's melting pot society.
- Yeah.
- There's so many different people.
If anything, you stand out if you're different,
and people like, you attract people because you're different
and they always like, hold you high, and they love it.
And, I love Detroit.
- What's the Dearborn community like?
- Family, I would say.
Everyone knows each other.
Everywhere you go, you're gonna see someone you know.
- Oh, cool.
- I can't go anywhere without running into a person.
- To a cuz?
- Yeah, to a cousin, to a cousin's cousin.
Yeah, everyone knows each other.
- So Lena, you have Lebanese background.
Were you born here or Lebanon?
- [Lena] I was born here, in Dearborn.
- In Dearborn, so you're born, bred, buttered,
olive oiled, in Dearborn.
- Uh huh, yeah, yeah.
My mom is a convert.
She's Irish, she was born in Boston.
And my dad's family is all Lebanese.
We kind of all, as a family, we're always in the kitchen.
- [Marcus] That's awesome, that's awesome.
- [Lena] Here we are.
- [Marcus] This is nice.
It's a little nice neighborhood.
Can't wait to meet your mom.
- I know, right? - Yeah.
- They can't wait to meet you.
Slippery, hello?
We're here.
- [Marcus] Hi Mom, how are you?
(slow techno music)
- I usually just do like an X motion.
So you get even on all sides.
- Yeah yeah. - If you wanna get in there?
- So, the most important thing.
Did your grandmother approve on the dough,
or what, what's going on here?
Whose recipe is this?
- [Lena] My Mom made the meat mix.
- [Marcus] Oh I see.
- [Lena] Yeah, so it's in the family.
- So I assume there's a lot of cabbage in here then?
(laughing)
- And potatoes, you know, all the Irish ingredients.
- Yeah, yeah.
We're gonna make this dish, Lahembajin,
which is almost like, I would saw Lebanese pizza,
or Lebanese pie, is this similar to a pizza dough?
- [Lena] Yes, yeah, it's a straight dough.
- [Marcus] What are we making?
- You want me do it?
- [Marcus] Yeah, yeah, of course.
- [Lena] Show us the way you do it.
- [Marcus] Do it, please.
The die hard like the first pizza is from like Egypt,
like flat bread, so this is similar to that, right?
- Yeah it was made on accident.
Someone just left out porridge
for too long and it turned into dough.
- [Marcus] So what do you have?
Is this beef or lamb?
- [Lena] It's beef, tomatoes, onions.
- [Marcus] Any spices in here?
- [Lena] Oh yeah, there's sumac, salt and pepper.
- It's great, I love sumac.
It has that beautiful, it has that beautiful
sort of citrus notes in the back.
So what are we doing here, what is this called?
- [Lena] It's a little stretch and pinch.
(speaking in a foreign language)
- [Marcus] Can I work next to you?
- [Grandma] Yeah.
- We can work together.
Ethiopian and a Lebanon work together.
We can do it.
- [Grandma] Okay.
- I believe in you. (laughing)
So who came first, who came from Lebanon?
- [Grandpa] My brother, they call Uncle Sam.
- [Marcus] What time, is this in the 50s?
- [Grandpa] '68, yeah '68.
- The reason she crimps it and makes the crust
is because the fat renders and it will run out into
the pan, but if you do the crust this way
it stays in there, and you get all that juicy yumminess,
it's baked into the bread.
And she's insisting on putting pine nuts in there.
- [Lena] Well, these pine nuts are from Lebanon.
These are from my (mumbles) garden.
My grandfathers picked them in Lebanon.
- It's in a pine cone and he sits there
with the rock, just breaking 'em.
So how long did it take you to make this much,
to open this much pine nuts?
- Seven, eight hours.
- [Marcus] Oh wow.
And what's your favorite dish, Lebanese dish?
- Lahembajin. - Yeah?
- Yeah.
(laughing)
- [Lena] They typically take, like 10 to 12 minutes,
but we're going based on color,
we like that nice gold, deep, flavorful color.
All right, our finished product.
Cheers.
(laughing) - Thank you.
- I like it. - Mmm hmm.
It's not a complex dish,
it's like actually, I like it.
It's just an easy snack.
Something maybe you eat before dinner
or in between lunch and dinner.
It's just really really good.
- I have one more thing that I brought to you from Selden.
Knafeh is a very traditional Lebanese dessert.
You'll see it at every family get together.
- [Marcus] Ooh, is that a little filo on top?
- Oh yeah.
You start with shredded filo dough.
And then traditionally it's made with feta
and mozzarella, but I did goat cheese instead,
because goat cheese gives it a more creamy texture,
and a tangy flavor, which I love.
And then I do a little quenelle of ushta.
Ushta is a Lebanese style clotted cream,
and it's flavored with orange blossom
and rosewater as well.
- [Marcus] This has almost like ricotta texture.
- Yes, oh yeah.
Some places cheat and they just buy ricotta
and flavor it with orange blossom and rose.
- [Marcus] But I don't think your grandmother
would like even let that pass by,
so we're not doing that.
- So when you get the gooey cheese,
that's what you want, right there.
And that's something that probably a majority
of the Lebanese desserts are filled with, ushta.
- Do you infuse a lot of Lebanese flavors
into dishes into the pop up?
- I try to, but then I try not to as well,
'cause I don't want to be so, ya know, predictable.
(laughing)
- I love them.
- 'Cause people are expecting, oh the Lebanese girl
is gonna make a Knafeh, or you know what I mean?
- [Man] I think you should marry it.
- It took me a long time to start cooking
with Ethiopian ingredients.
- [Lena] Oh yeah?
- Because, I didn't really know how would
I incorporate it, it takes time 'cause it's still
for an American audience mostly.
- Yeah, its new.
- Yeah, but I don't care.
(laughing)
When you make desserts like this.
This is so good, this is worth going back and forth.
And more Lebanon in your dessert.
- Yeah.
- This is, this is everything.
- [Lena] Thank you.
- Grandma approve?
- [Grandma] Everything okay.
- Thank you, thank you very much.
(laughing)