“I work with a lot of different stores and purveyors. I love Tops for a lot of my ingredients, a lot of my meats. I also love Nichols (Supermarket) in Liverpool. I love Liehs & Steigerwald. I like Mazzye’s Meats.

I do find that people are resistant to lamb because maybe they’ve had bad experiences with it. The way that we prepare the lamb, I feel that the Lebanese and Middle Eastern cultures, nobody does lamb better than we do….It’s the No. 1 protein that we eat.”

I would look for local, or domestic. And make sure that it’s nice and fresh. Has good coloring. But my main point would be domestic or local.

“These are lamb loin chops, on the bone. You could get nice lamb off the bone, you can cut it yourself at home. Get a leg (for the kebabs). The kafta kababs – I would say I love to use lamb shoulder for this (the ground meat).”

This day, Sageer used beef for the kebabs in both recipes. In most of her recipes, either meat works — or you can use a combination. 

“Taboulie tools of the trade: A nice big, deep mortar and pestle. You can find these in wood, in marble. It’s the best way to create a garlic paste…..if somebody doesn’t have this, you can use a garlic press.”

“Another tool of my trade would be my rolling pins, which I’m launching. It’s a thin, Mediterranean rolling pin. I’m working with Cazenovia Cut Block.

“They are light weight. They are so easy to use. The American ones, with the handles, they are heavy. They are so thick…you kind of hammer away at the dough.”

“I have them in black walnut, maple and cherry. They’re an heirloom, they are something that you would have forever. I have a 20-inch and a 10-inch.”

“My other tool of the trade would be a nice knife. This is a nice, sharp serrated nice. I use this to make taboulie and all the salads I have in the book. It’s really, easy comfortable to use.

The serration cuts through the vegetables, like the tomatoes. And it shaves the herbs beautifully. I make a chiffonade and you don’t have to keep running your knife through it. You’re not bruising the leaves.”

To chiffonade herbs or greens, pile them into a stack like a deck of cards, then roll up, like a cigar. Slice through the roll to create ribbons.

“I use a food processor for the kafta (ground meat) we’re doing today. And for my hummus and all my spreads. But I don’t recommend it for the taboulie. Because it just wilts the leaves.”

This pulverized mixture includes onions, parsley, beef and seven spice — a blend of pepper, allspice, cinnamon, cadamom, cumin, cloves and nutmeg. It’s for the kafta kababs.

“Get one really great cast iron pot. I love Le Creuset or KitchenAid, that’s my favorite brand. Then that could be your go-to-pot to make your stews and things like that. Get yourself a nice, quality cast iron grill pan. You just need that one. You don’t have to buy a whole set of so many things. I think that people overbuy on pots and pans. If you can just simplify to a few things.

And you don’t really need a juicer. You can just use your hands for lemons and citrus.”