Peter is Doing Churrasco

Go out and seek ground bay, RIGHT NOW! If I didn't convince you to buy this unique spice when I introduced it's use with my Greek Ribs, then my Churrasco Chicken will.

My barbecue hasn't even cooled as I'm writing this urgent post to you. This recipe for Churrasco chicken is that good. I had originally bought ground bay months ago in anticipation of trying this recipe out when barbecue season has arrived.

My patience with the melting snow has worn thin. I lifted and dragged my barbecue to a spot on the deck where the sun shines and the snow melts. Open the fridge, crack open a beer and let's celebrate...I can grill again!

The inspiration for this recipe came from an Australian-produced show called Food Safari and it's hosted by Maeve O'Meara. Each episode of the show focuses on a particular cuisine. This time I watched the show's exploration of Portuguese cuisine.

From watching a few of the show's episodes, I get the impression that Canada & Australia are very much alike with an Anglo majority, Aborigine peoples and a multicultural mosaic. This show uses to it's benefit the cooking wisdom of it's immigrant population who flex their culinary might.

Churrasco is Portuguese for barbecue and it can mean anything that's been grilled or barbecued. Toronto also boasts of a substantial Portuguese (and Brazilian) community and there are some shops that sell Churrasco style chicken and we have the world-reknowned Nando's Chicken.

If you been to either eatery, you'll often see whole chicken on the rotisserie or flattened and grilled to perfection as I'm going to show you now.

Go get Ground Bay now! From the time when I finished preparing this marinade and taking the very first whiff, I knew this chicken was going to be spectacular. The aroma lifted my feet off the air.

After grilling the chicken and tearing a piece of the succulent meat off for tasting, my hunch was right, I pumped my fist in the air, yelled out YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS like Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally and I clicked my heels like Dorothy.

Churrasco Chicken is that good. Find some ground bay or even order some online. This chicken is moist, cooks quicker and it's like no other chicken that I've tasted. This is going to be the summer of Churrasco. I will make this chicken often for guests and my relatives in Greece are gonna go "ga-ga" for this chicken.

I've tweaked the original recipe a little and you can see the original recipe here. Churrasco chicken is often served with a Piri Piri sauce and it's spicy but a fantastic complement to this smoky, grilled whole chicken. If you're making just one churrasco chicken, half the Piri Piri recipe will suffice.

Go buy ground Bay now!

Churrasco Chicken With Piri Piri Sauce

Marinade

8 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, grated
Pinch salt
Juice of 2 lemons
1 tsp bay leaf powder
2 tsp paprika
2 shots scotch whiskey
2 tbsp melted butter

1 whole chicken coarse sea salt

1. Mix all ingredients for marinade together.
2. Prepare chicken – trim away excess fat. Then use a sharp knife or kitchen scissors to cut the chicken through the breastbone. Open out, turn over and flatten by pressing down with your hand along the backbone.
3. Make a small cut under each wing to help it flatten further. Make several incisions in the flesh with a knife. This will allow the flesh to absorb the marinade and allow fat to drain. Prick all over with a large fork.
4. Brush both sides with the marinade and sprinkle with rock salt. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 30 – 45 minutes.
5. Cook over a charcoal BBQ (or gas grill). Use indirect heat buy having only the one side of the grill on medium-high heat. Set the chicken face skin-side down on the direct heat and grill for 10 minutes to crisp up the skin. Now flip the chicken over and place on the side the the grill that has no heat. Close the lid of your grill and monitor the internal temperature of your barbecue (should be 375F adjust accordingly).
6. Roast your chicken in the barbecue for about 30-40 minutes or until the juices run clear from your chicken. Cut the chicken into pieces with kitchen scissors and brush with Piri Piri sauce or serve on the side.

Piri Piri Sauce

10 – 12 birdseye chillies, chopped finely
Pinch salt
Juice of ½ lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp garlic powder (not crushed garlic as the mixture will be too runny)

Mix all the above ingredients(except for the olive oil) in your food processor and flick it on to high. Gradually add your olive oil until you've achieved your desired consistency.

Thai Green Curry With Scallops & Shrimp

Can you believe it? It's almost April and the cold weather is finally fading away (Phew). With the end of March here, it means that I should submit my entry into the Royal Foodie Joust for this month.

Last month, Val of More Than Burnt Toast was voted by her peers to have presented the best dish. Val won the esteemed apron and the privilege of choosing the three ingredients for th ensuing Joust.

We were put to task to cook something up that used citrus, seafood and coconut. Hmmm, what can I do that's Greek and has coconut? NOTHING!

Again, the Joust forced me outside of my comfort zone and forced me to cook with ingredients new to me. I chose Thai food. Maybe it's a cop-out but I do enjoy Thai food and this competition would force me to work with new ingredients.

If you love Thai food but you're a little intimidated, try this dish out. Despite the exotic ingredients, it was very simple: boil rice, sear the seafood and make the sauce. Put it together and you have a Thai meal.

If you love curry but others aren't too keen on it, green curry could be the way to entice to the "dark side". Green curry is milder and mellower than red curry, which is hotter and stronger. Most of the ingredients can now be found in the international aisle of your grocery store and if not, you're sure to find everything at your Asian market.

Look for the roundup of the Royal Foodie Joust, hosted this month by Dharm of Dad-Baker & Chef who's guest-hosting for Jenn, who's "goin' to chapel, gonna get mar-ar-ar-ied"!

Thai Green Curry With Scallops & Shrimp
(for 4)

12 fresh sea scallops
16 medium-sized shrimp (peeled and deveined)
salt and pepper
sweet paprika
2-3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 heaping Tbsp. green curry paste
1 Tbsp. dark brown sugar
1-2 stalks lemongrass, bruised with the dull, top part of your knife
1 red bell pepper, cut into slices
zest of 1 lime
400ml coconut milk (1 can)
good splash of Thai fish sauce
small handful of basil, hand torn
juice of 1/2 a lime

1. Pat-dry your scallops and lightly score both sides of them. Add the scallops in a bowl with your shrimp, a splash of vegetable oil, salt, pepper and some sweet paprika. Toss to coat the seafood and meanwhile, place a large skillet over high heat with some vegetable in it.
2. First, sear your scallops for 1 1/2 minutes a side and then reserve. Add some more vegetable oil into the skillet and now quickly sear your shrimp until they've just turned pink (we will finish off cooking through the seafood later). Wipe the excess oil with a towel.
   
3. Heat some more oil in the same skillet. Add the green curry paste and sugar and cook over a fairly high heat for about a minute, stirring with the lemongrass.
   
4. Reduce the heat slightly and add the coconut milk, lime zest, fish sauce and red peppers and bring to a simmer, cooking for 15-20 minutes or until thickened slightly. Stir in the basil and lime juice. Check for seasoning, adding more fish sauce or lime juice.
5. Allow the curry to sit for a few minutes so the sauce becomes creamier. Serve with lots of fragrant Thai jasmine rice.

Strifti Tyropita (Cheese Boureki)

Anyone remember my Spanakopita? Today I present to you the cheese version of Greek pita. Once again, with the immense patience of my mom, I was able to pull off making this coiled, cheese pie.

This coiled cheese pie is called Strifti in much of Greece and in northern Greece we call it Boureki. The word boureki is derived from the Turkish word "burek", meaning bread. What the Cretans call Boureki is far different from what I'm about to show you now.

Once again, homemade phyllo is made, rolled and filled to make a coiled cheese pie that's slightly crunchy on the top and bottom and soft and flaky on the sides. The filling is creamy, with feta, eggs and myzithra (ricotta).

I will make the claim that most households enjoy this type of pita from a Tyropitathiko or they buy a frozen, ready to bake version of this from the supermarket.

Sadly, the art of making your phyllo is a dying art. There are many good quality phyllos out there for purchase but none will give you the look, texture or eating satisfaction that you'll have when biting into one of these.

My apprenticeship in phyllo making will continue. The filling possibilities are endless and I haven't even touched upon phyllo use with desserts. Anyone interested in a Baklava with homemade phyllo? Patience please.

Strifti Tyropita (Cheese Boureki)

Phyllo

1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups of water
1 heaping Tbsp. salt
1/8 cup of white vinegar
4 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
17 inch round baking tray

Cheese Filling
1/2 kg. crumbled feta
800gr. myzithra (ricotta)
4 large eggs
1 tsp. salt

1. In your stand mixer (with the hook), add all of the phyllo ingredients into the bowl and start to mix on low for a couple of minutes or so, until a wet, firm ball forms and it no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl.
2. Take your dough out of the bowl and add some bench flour to your work surface. Start kneading the dough with your palm in a backward/forwards motion. Gradually add 1/2 cup of flour to your dough ball during the kneading.
3. Dissect your dough in half and then divide into ten pieces. Knead each of the ten pieces into small balls, dust with flour and cover with plastic wrap.
4. Allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes.
5. Now roll out each dough ball into flat, pancake sizes (sprinkle more flour on work surface).
6. Cover the dough pancakes with plastic wrap and allow to rest for another 30 minutes.
7. Roll out the edges of each dough pancake and then using your knuckles underneath the dough, stretch the dough carefully and with a spreading out motion of your arms.
8. Drizzle with vegetable oil, fold in half and drizzle the ends and the surface area.
9. Spread 3 heaping Tbsp. of cheese filling across the dough length.
10. Roll up the dough (like a cigar) to seal in the filling.
11. Start forming a coil from the inner most part of the pan. Repeat until the round pan is filled with coils.
12. Brush the top with oil and bake in a pre-heated 350F oven for 1 hour or until the top is golden brown.

Okra Two Ways (μπάμιες με δυο τροπους)

Another staple of the Greek kitchen are okra. Okra is used alot in southern US cooking, Afro-American "soul food", the Louisiana dish of Gumbo's main ingredient is okra and in the Caribbean, Callaloo gets the okra treatment.

Okra look and taste similar to beans but then are obviously thicker and taper like a thin pepper. One of the advantages of okra is that the vegetable also acts as a thickening agent and that's the main reason why it's used in stews..

Here, I'm showing you two okra dishes from the Greek kitchen. One is a vegetarian Okra stew and the other is a stew of okra with veal or beef. The recipes have minor differences but the approach is the same and the great flavour is enjoyed in both.

The vegetarian dish can be served as a side, made into a main course or offered up as a meze. The meat version is of course, a stew that feeds a healthy and balanced meal.

Spice-wise, we don't get too fancy here, allspice berries are the star here and from tasting this dish, you'd think other spices and were added but nah...it's just the allspice.

Lis of La Mia Cucina is hosting a food event called Weekend Cookbook Challenge, an event created by my fellow left-coast Canadian, Sara of I Like To Cook. The only pre-requisite for this challenge is to cook something using a pressure cooker, dutch oven or slow cooker. These okra dishes are perfect for this event...you have here a pressure cooker, some braising and tender, flaky veal in a stew of tomatoes and okra...Yum!

Okra With Veal

1 kg. of stewing veal or beef, cut into large chunks
1lb. of okra (fresh or frozen), stems removed
3 medium onions, sliced
1/2 cup of parsley, chopped
1/2 cup of plum tomatoes, pureed 4-5 cloves of garlic, sliced
8-9 allspice berries
1/4 olive oil
beef/veal stock
salt and pepper to taste

1. Using your pressure cooker, place your veal inside with a little salt and cover with enough water to just cover the meat. Turn the heat to high and when your cooker starts whistling and the seal has been made, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes. Take the pressure cooker off the heat and safely release the pressure.
2. In a separate large pot, add your olive oil, sliced onions and simmer for 10 minutes over medium heat.
3. Add your tomato puree, then the okra, parsley, allspice, garlic and top with the veal. Now pour enough of the veal stock from the pressure cooker to just cover all the ingredients in your pot.
4. Bring to a boil, taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Cover, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 1 hour. Taste for seasoning and let stand for 15 minutes (the okra will thicken the sauce).
5. Serve with some feta cheese, crusty bread and mop-up!

Vegetarian Okra Stew

2 medium onions, sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup parsley
1 lb. okra (fresh or frozen), stems removed
1/3 cup plum tomatoes, pureed
3-4 cloves of garlic
5-6 allspice berries
Approx. 2 cups of vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a pot over medium-high heat, add your olive oil and onions and saute for 10 minutes to soften.
2. Add your okra, tomato puree, parsley, garlic, allspice and vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
3. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook for 30-45 minutes.
4. Serve warm with bread and feta.
   

Shepherd's Pie

I've been emotionally scarred. My father worked all his adult life in the restaurant biz. My father also rarely dines out.

My dad has witnessed many kitchen nightmares and on occasion, he'd share his experiences. Don't get me wrong, I still eat out but I know a few things to look for in a clean restaurant and some foods one should avoid.

I'm sure you've heard this one but if you're dining at a new place, have a quick look into the bathroom and see what the condition is like. The bathroom and kitchen are cleaned by the same staff. You do the math about how the state of the kitchen will be where you're about to eat.

Shepherd's Pie. My father told me to never order it if it was the "special" on a Monday. You see, the leftovers would get ground-up and used to make a Shepherd's Pie special, usually on a Monday.

If you see it on special on an other day, chances are you're getting a decent meal but then again...did you check the bathroom?

Here's my take on Shepherd's Pie. This time I was under close scrutiny from restaurant Nick (my dad) and in his senior years, he's become quite fussy. Without a doubt, restaurant Nick has to be my toughest customer but he grudgingly approved of the meal.

Shepherd's Pie is traditionally made with ground lamb but I've grown up eating it with ground beef. This dish is also known as Cottage Pie and after reading numerous recipes on both sides of the recipe ledger, I can only conclude that the same dish is called Cottage Pie in the UK and Shepherd's Pie, 'oer here in the Colonies.

Shepherd's Pie is a layered, all-in-one meal. You get meat, veggies and starch (potato) - all in one serving. I found the dish quite easy to make, with the toughest part being the piping of the mash potato with the icing bag.

You can surely use a spatula but I find that this action can make your pie layers uneven. My only last note is to use at least 6 medium to large potatoes. The last thing you want is to find out you're piping out the topping and you've run of of mashed potato.

Beyond that, grab some ground beef, thaw some frozen veggies and boil some potatoes...it's Shepherd's Pie tonight!

Shepherd's Pie

Potato Topping
6 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup half/half cream
1 Tbsp. butter
pinch of nutmeg
sweet paprika for topping

Vegetable Filling
2 1/2 cups of frozen mixed vegetables (thawed)

Meat filling
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1kg. lean ground beef
1 large onion, diced
1 large carrot, finely diced
1 stalk of celery, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
2 tsp. dry thyme
1 heaping Tbsp. of flour
1 cup of beef stock
1/2 cup mushroom stock (from a bouillon cube)
1 Tbsp. of Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
14" X 12" baking dish

1. Get a pot of water boiling. Add salt to the water when it boils and add your potatoes. Cool until done. Make them into mashed potatoes, keep warm and reserve.
2. Get a large skillet on medium heat and add your oil, onions, celery, carrots and bay leaves, some salt and saute for about 10 minutes.
   
3. Add your garlic and ground beef and turn the heat to high and brown your meat while stirring. When your meat has browned, add your thyme, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste and stir for a couple of minutes.
4. Now add your flour and stir it in to incorporate. Add your beef and mushroom stock and allow the beef mixture to simmer on medium heat until you get a thick, almost gravy-like sauce. Take off the heat, remove bay leaves and reserve.
5. Preheat your oven to 375F.
6. Assemble your Shepherd's Pie by spreading out the meat mixture on the bottom, then layout your mixed vegetables in the middle and finally using a piping bag, top your Shepherd's Pie with the mashed potatoes. Sprinkle the top with sweet paprika, which will give your topping a beautiful brown colour.
7. Place in the oven on the middle-top rack and bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown.
8. Let your pie rest for 20 minutes before serving.
   

March 25th, 1821

That is the day that Greeks began the uprising against the occupation by the Ottoman Turks. Today in Greece, it's naturally a national holiday and in each town, village and city there will be parades, speeches and commemorative wreaths laid in honour of fallen soldiers.

For us Greeks here in the Diaspora, we are bound to Greece through our church, the associations (syllogi) that are the umbrella for families from the same town and more recently, through the internet and satellite television.

When I was younger, I had no appreciation of how lucky I was to be born of Greek extraction. My awakening as a Greek occurred through my early visits to Greece and it was cemented in my teenage years. I finally was able to appreciate the history, culture, beauty of the land, the food, the language and the people.

Greece has a population of about 11 million and about an equal amount of Greeks live abroad, throughout the rest of the world. Hellenism is an ideal. It's a way of thinking. It's a state of mind, it's a feeling of being some how related to any Greek, no matter how far away from home you are and no matter where you bumped into your fellow Greek.

Greece exists beyond it's Greek borders...South Africa, Europe, Australia, North & South America, in Asia. Everywhere there are Greeks, think of it as a beacon of light, a far far Greek islet still tied to this ancient land's legacy.

The Greek National Anthem still gives me the shivers. Although I'm biased, I think it's one of the most stirring anthems out there.

The lore behind the Greek flag is also very moving.

The stripes represent the number of the syllables in the phrase:

Eleftheria e Thanatos (Liberty or Death). Liberty or Death was the battle cry during the years of the Hellenic Revolution against the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century.

Others claim that the stripes reflect the number of letters in the Greek word for Freedom (Eleftheria).

The cross in the top left of the flag represents our faith, Greek-Orthodox Christianity.The blue stripe represents the Greek seas and white represents the restless Greek tide, white from the glare of the relentless Greek sun.

I leave you with a Greek food custom, which is to eat cod fish on March 25th. The usual fare is Bakaliaro with Skordalia and I'll show you that soon as well.

As a departure from the Bakaliaro, I tried my hand at Cod fish cakes. The cod fish cake is Greek, the sauce could be Greek but it comes from a Canadian food show called "This Food, That Wine".

I tried their Mustard Artichoke Aioli which they served with some crab cakes but I found the cod to be a suitable partner to this tangy dip.

Please note: use the juice of just half a lemon, as the the Aioli is tangy enough from the mustard.

If you would like to try something that's not too garlicky, little tangy and balanced by sweet cod, try Cod Fish Cakes and Mustard Artichoke Aioli.

Cod Fish Cakes and Mustard Artichoke Aioli

500gr. dried salt cod fillets (boned)
4 medium potatoes
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives (or scallions)
1/2 cup red bell pepper, finely diced
1 small onion, grated
1 egg, beaten
2 Tbsp. milk
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 Tbsp. olive oil salt (if necessary)

1. Place the salt cod in a bowl, cover will with cold water; stand overnight. Drain water and cover with water one to two more times to draw out all the salt from the fish.
2. Drain cod, place in a saucepan, cover with cold water and simmer uncovered fro 15 minutes. Drain, pat dry with paper towel. Flake the cod with a fork and remove any bones that might have been missed.
3. Meanwhile, boil your potatoes in salted water until tender, then mash.
4. Pre-heat your oven to 375F. Lightly grease a baking pan.
5. Combine the cod with the remaining ingredients in a bowl and form the mixture into balls, then flatten them out in to patties.
6. Place the patties on the baking tray, brush with oil or treat with cooking spray and bake for 10 minutes and then flip and bake for another 10 minutes.
7. Serve warm or room temperature with Mustard Artichoke Aioli.
   

Jamie Oliver's Baked Chicken Thighs

For the record, I've always been a leg and thigh man. Now let's get on about chicken.

Chicken thighs have to be, hands down, the tastiest part of the bird. Yeah okay, the breast is lean, healthier for you but it's also bland. Why do you think chicken breast tastes so good in a Club sandwich (think bacon)?

I recently caught an episode of Jamie (Oliver) at Home and he did a show on potatoes. The dish that stood out for me was his baked chicken thighs with an array of tomatoes and squashed potatoes.

This dish looks very Greek, the ingredients are quite Greek but the approach...pure Jamie. I'm going to show you my take on this dish...shake up the ingredients a bit and relay a couple of worthy moves Jamie makes in this dish.

Jamie's prep involves three major steps: blanching a medley of heirloom tomatoes to remove the skins, boning and cutting the thighs into smaller pieces and boiling the potatoes before baking.

There are no local heirloom tomatoes(at this time) so I opted for sweet, cherry tomatoes. I boned and cut the thighs into smaller pieces but you may leave the thighs in tact. As for boiling the potatoes, this step is integral to the dish. The boiled potatoes get slightly squished before being place in the roasting pan with the remaining ingredients. This step no doubt is important for what will give you a dish with crispy roast potatoes that are flavoured by the juices of all the ingredients.

I've also made some changes to the herbs. I used dry oregano (Jamie uses fresh). Dry oregano is one of the few instances where it beats out the fresh variety. I also added some fresh rosemary into the mix...an apt addition to a dish of chicken and potatoes.

Jamie has a winner with this meal, there were no leftovers, it's easy to make and if you're Greek, Italian or you enjoy Mediterranean foods, this chicken's for you.

Jamie Oliver's Baked Chicken Thighs
(for 4)

2 trays of chicken thighs, skin on (about 8-10), boned and cut in half)
1 pint. ripe cherry tomatoes
6 medium sized potatoes, peeled
6 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
juice of 1/2 lemon

1. Bone your chicken thighs, cut into smaller pieces (I halved them), season them with salt and pepper and brown them in olive oil. Reserve in the roasting pan.
2. Boil your potatoes in salted water until cooked and then slightly squish each potato and add to the pan with the chicken.
3. Prick one end of your tomatoes and drop them in boiling water for a mere 45 seconds. Fish the tomatoes out of the water and place in another pot with cold water. Now gently pinch each tomato and the skins will easily come off. Discard the skins and add the tomatoes into the roasting pan.
4. Drizzle with oilve oil, add the garlic, lemon juice, oregano and rosemary and some additional salt and pepper.
5. Give the ingredients a gentle toss and place in a pre-heated 375F oven for 40 minutes.
   

Product Review - Honibe Pure Honey & Lemon Drop

A few weeks ago I was contacted by a representative of Honibe and asked if I would like to test a new product.

Honibe is a pure honey and lemon drop, shaped like a honeycomb and it's about the size of a large candy.

One simply drops a honey drop into a hot beverage, stir and enjoy. Honibe's ingredients are listed as being just pure honey and lemon.

I conducted some simple taste tests. I served myself and a friend some hot tea with lemon and honey but I used the Honibe drop secretly.

No difference in taste was indicated by either myself or my friend. The Honibe drop is the equivalent of 1 tsp of honey so if you have a sweeter tooth, you'll have to add a few drops into your tea.

You might ask, why use the Honibe drop instead of real honey? I would likely use real honey (out of a squeeze bottle) but I can see someone who enjoys a tea or other hot beverage at their work station using Honibe.

You won't get your desk all gooey from honey, you don't have to worry about the honey in your bottle crystalizing and the Honibe drops would be easy to hide from those pilfering co-workers!

I stand behind this product as it's a great way to bring honey to your desk, office kitchen or if you're traveling on business.

It's made from pure honey, it's convenient and last but not least, the company is Canadian!

Further info about Honibe and their related products can be found at www.honibe.com

Octopus Krassato (Χταποδι κρασατο)

In case you haven't noticed, I've changed the name of my blog a bit. I'm still the Kalofagas (Greek gourmet) and I'll still be sharing dishes I adore and and enjoy.

The White Rice Couple recently made my Dolmades (with great success) and they introduced my blog as "Greek food & beyond". I liked that. I'm stealing that!

I think this tag is more reflective of what I'm trying to do here at Kalofagas. I'll continue to showcase Greek and Greek inspired dishes, dishes that would be appreciated by Greeks and, introduce and experiment with cuisines that are out of my traditional realm.

Today, we're back home - Greece. I found some more decent octopus at the market and my mom told me about a simple recipe that she learned from her brother's brother-in-law.

This octopus Krassato comes courtesy of Clerhos. My mom's older brother is Dimitris. Dimitris is married to Elly and Elly has a sister name Soula. Soula was married to Clerhos.

Sadly, cancer claimed the life of Clerhos and as Billy Joel sang, "Only the good die young". I'm pleased that this dish came from Clerhos. He was born & raised on a small fishing town in northern Greece and to this day I enjoy taking swims in his beautiful town. I remember eating sun-dried olives (Throumpes) from his mom for the first time and, going to the town's bakery to take our meal for baking in the only oven in town.

For those that love octopus but wanna try their hand at it, this easy recipe. Once again, it's simply braised with a cork and it's own liquid, deglazed then reduced with a red wine reduction and finished off with olive oil and Greek oregano.

Octopus Krassato....simply delicious!






Octopus Krassato (Χταποδι κρασατο)

1 whole octopus, (fresh or thawed from frozen) ink sac & beak removed
1 cork
1/2 cup red wine
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
dried Greek oregano
ground black pepper

wedges of lemon

1. Place your octopus in a pot with just one wine cork. Cover and heat up on high heat. The octopus will release it's own braising liquid. Lower the heat to medium low and braise for 60-90 minutes (or until fork tender).
2. Drain the octopus stock (reserve as a good seafood stock) and deglaze the pot with the red wine for 5-7 minutes on medium heat.
3. Add your olive oil and simmer for another 5 minutes for the oil to heat through.
4. Serve with a topping of dried Greek oregano, black pepper, lemon wedges and crusty bread.

Rated XXX Post....XXX-Tra Deelicious!

I hope I didn't traumatize anyone with my photo of my mating cockatiels photo. Due to popular demand, the video will be coming shortly! ;)

It's Good Friday today for most of you but for us Greeks, it's just another Friday...the beginning of the weekend.

For us Greeks in the Diaspora, Good Friday is usually a day for simply relaxing and trying to find something, anything to do as most stores and such are closed for the observance.

Me? I can cook.

I broke down. I've had meat.

It's been awhile since having a good bowl of Spaghetti and Meatballs. Here, I've adapted a recipe from Rocco DiSpirito, who some will remember as the cute chef on that reality TV show who was intoxicated with fame, signing autographs and ultimately losing his restaurant due to poor management skills.

Here, Rocco shines in this spaghetti dish. No doubt Mama Dispirito taught this guy his cooking chops and if you're looking for a Spaghetti and Meatballs dish...this is the one!

Before I go on to the recipe, let me emphasize that it's real important to include mild Italian sausage in the meatball mix. The meatballs are fabulous with the pork, veal and beef but if you must just use beef, don't skimp on the Italian sausage...it truly gives this dish the Italian taste and aroma.

Don't forget to scroll to the bottom of the recipe, I found some Zeppole at the Italian bakery today...they taste so damn good!


Spaghetti With Meatballs

Meatball Mixture

2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium onion, grated
1/4 lb. mild Italian sausage (removed from casings)
1/4 lb. ground pork
1/4 lb. ground veal
1/2 lean ground beef
1 egg
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
1/2 breadcrumbs
1 Tbsp. Italian parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dry oregano
1 tsp. black pepper
1 -1 1/2 tsp. salt

Tomato Sauce

6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
1 can of plum tomatoes, pureed
1 can of plum tomatoes, crushed by hand
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup white wine
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. dry oregano
1 handful fresh torn basil

1. Add all of the meatball ingredients in a bowl and mix with your hands until thoroughly amalgamated. Make a small meatball and and fry it to taste. Adjust seasoning accordingly.
2. Form into meatballs and fry off in oil in batches or bake in a pre-heated 400F oven turning sides every 15 minutes until nicely browned all over. Reserve.
3. To make the sauce, add your olive oil to a large saucepan and saute your onions for about five minutes to soften. Add your garlic and saute for a minute. Now add your wine, tomato sauce, oregano and simmer for an hour.
   
4. Add your meatballs to the sauce, cover and allow the sauce to thicken and heat the meatballs through.
   
5. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and stir in your fresh torn basil.
6. Serve over a bed of spaghetti with some bread and vino.

Marinated Calamari Salad (Μαριναρισμενα καλαμαρια σαλατα)

Although I'm off my close observance of the Great Lent, I promised myself to eat moderately, choose lighter meals and try (try) to avoid eating meat.

Many of you are witnessing the first signs of Spring...blossoming trees, green grass, wild greens growing, Morel mushrooms soon will be in season. I have yet to see any of these harbingers but I do witness birds hinting Spring is near.

I caught them doing the nasty and just look at their faces! What do you think they are saying? They have the look of just being caught...BUSTED!!!

Enough of bird talk, it's all about the food here. Spring is here and I still can't barbecue (and no I'm not shoveling the 1 1/2 metre snowbank in front of my grill).

One of my favourite seafoods is squid, aka. calamari. I enjoy calamari grilled the most but I don't have that luxury.

The next best thing to do is to poach your squid. All it needs is 5 minutes in simmering water and it's cooked.

Pick your favourite greens (arugula, watercress, mache, spinach, dandelions), make a simple vinaigrette, toss in a fruit of choice. I found some decent pomegranates at the market and I though the pretty red jewels would look great on this salad.

This salad, along with some bread, a dip and maybe a simple pasta will satisfy any person currently observing Lent.

Marinated Calamari Salad (Μαριναρισμενα καλαμαρια σαλατα)
(for 4)

1 lb. of fresh or frozen calamari, cleaned and body cut into rings
1/2 lemon water
1 stalk of celery, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
2 Tbsp. capers, drained
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 tsp. dry oregano
1/3 cup jarred red pepper, diced
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp. sunflower oil

Pomegranate Vinaigrette

1 Tbsp. pomegranate molasses
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. honey
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Take your cleaned calamari and place in a medium sized pot. Fill it up with water until the squid is submerged. Add the lemon, cover and bring to a boil. As soon as the water boils, remove from the heat and allow the squid to poach in the residual heat for 5 minutes. Drain the water with a strainer and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Discard the lemon.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, add your calamari and the remaining ingredients and toss to amalgamate. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Refrigerate for at least a couple of hours for the ingredients to marry.
3. Make your vinaigrette by adding all the vinaigrette ingredients into a jar, seal and shake vigorously to emulsify.Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
4. Serve on a bed of your favourite or seasonal greens