More Zucchini and Some Shout Outs

Earlier this week I received an email from Foodbuzz that announced the winners of their contest to see which food blogs could increase their traffic the most.

It was a pleasantly surprise to find out that I had come in third place, right behind Emiline of Sugar Plum and Allan of Eating Out Loud.

I'd like to extend my congratulations to both of them and I would like to thank all of you, my regular readers who made this possible.

My love affair with zucchini continues. Last year, I too made a Zucchini Carpaccio and a Zucchini Linguine AND during last year's vacation in Greece, I even surprised my friends and relatives with this refreshing salad.

Although zucchini is a much enjoyed vegetable in Greece, Greeks aren't the keenest on rare meats, seafood or certain vegetables like...zucchini. Conventional Greek cooking calls for them to be cooked.

Much to my surprise (and theirs), they enjoyed "raw" zucchini. Surprise your guests with a zucchini salad (or carpaccio).

Here, I've gone with the more rustic approach and I've sliced ribbons of zucchini with a vegetable peeler. Some of you might have seen Jamie Oliver make his own zucchini salad in his latest series, Jamie At Home. He's not the first nor the last one to make a salad of raw zucchini.

Herb-wise, I'm using what's available in my garden - chives and the new addition of lemon thyme. Play around and make this salad your way. Add some summer squash for colour, try different herbs, flavoured vinegars, add some berries. You'll add another salad to your roster and impress the heck out of your guests with little effort at all!

Salad of Zucchini Ribbons
(for 4)

2 green zucchinis
juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
1 fresh chilli, finely chopped
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
coarse sea salt
2 tsp. chopped fresh lemon thyme
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives

1. Using a vegetable peeler, slice your zucchini lengthwise to make long, thin ribbons of zucchini and drop them in a bowl.
   
2. Just minutes from when you're ready to serve your meal, add the lemon zest and a good sprinkle of coarse sea salt and allow the citrus and salt to "marinate" the zucchini for about 5 minutes.
3. Add approx. 1/2 cup of extra-virgin olive oil, your chilli and chopped fresh herbs and toss to coat. Adjust salad according to your tastes with salt, lemon juice or olive oil.
4. Serve immediately.

Μακαρονάδα με θαλασσινά

Today, I'm not even offering up a translation of the title in English. The photos speak for themselves.

What you have here is the essence of where I spend my vacations in Greece...Halkidiki. This pasta is an ode to the summer...summers in Greece, summer in the Mediterranean...summer anywhere you may be spending it this year.

Take advantage of the warm weather, eat outside, invite friends over for food, drink and have lots of laughter. Invite the kids along. Is there anything better than the sound of kids playing, screaming, fighting in the background?

Put away those winter clothes, the boots, the scarves, the long johns. Pull out the shorts, the bathing suits, the sun-tan lotion. Go pick up some beer, wine and any liquor that's needed to make your favourite cocktails.

Go to the open markets, touch the produce, get up close & personal with the meat and seafood. Think of the possibilities. Think of how you can transform these raw materials through the magic of your imagination into victual delights.I did just that yesterday.

My trip to Greece is coming together nicely. It will be a busy vacation but it will still be relaxation for me. I don't have any set itinerary but I do have a loose agenda of what I want to do & see this summer.

My vacation doesn't begin in another two months but one can anticipate can't I? I'm sharing a favourite dish of mine and I can't claim it as my own but it is a favourite of mine and likely all around the Mediterranean.

Μακαρονάδα με θαλασσινά is simply "pasta with seafood" and here I'm using ingredients that are found in Greece...right down to the spaghetti. Here, I'm using the King of Greek pasta, Misko Spaghetti #5, with the hole in them! This particular pasta rocks because sauce gets inside the spaghetti...deeee-licious!

The next time you're having seafood, let their flavours shine. Choose ingredients that complement the seafood - not cover it.


Μακαρονάδα με θαλασσινά
(for 4)

1/3 olive oil
2 Tbsp. butter
1 small red onion, diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
20 shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 lb. of mussels, cleaned, scrubbed and de-bearded
1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 Tbsp. red chilli flakes (Boukovo)
4 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 package of Misko spaghetti #5

1. Get a large pot of water to a boil. Add a generous amount of salt and cook your pasta according to package's instructions.
2. In a bowl, toss your shrimp with the smoked paprika and salt.
3. In a large skillet, heat up your olive oil and butter over medium-high heat heat. Add the shrimp and do a quick saute until the shrimp have just turned pink. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve in large bowl.
   
4. Now add your diced onions, garlic and saute for a minute. Now add your mussels and wine and turn to to high. Place the cover on and and allow your mussels to steam for 5-7 minutes or until they've opened. Discard any mussels that have not opened.
5. Remove your mussels and add to the large bowl with the shrimp (cover to keep warm).
6. When your pasta is cooked to "al dente", strain the spaghetti (reserve some pasta liquid) and it to your skillet with the sauce along with the shrimp and mussels, lemon juice and zest, chilli flakes and parsley.
7. Toss your pasta to incorporate and add some reserved pasta water if the sauce is too dry.
8. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and enjoy!
   

A Love Affair

Boy do I love zucchini. How I could go a year of food writing without posting a recipe of Kolokithokeftedes is beyond me. I blame all of you (and thank you) for sending me off on many food tangents through this blog's year of existence.

I'm in love with food, my blog, reading my friends' blogs daily and being the lifelong student - always willing to learn new things.

I find inspiration and sometimes crave to eat the same dishes as my food blogging friends. Maria from Organically Cooked just posted her Courgette Patties recipe and I had my on making my own batch too!

For those not familiar with Maria, she's a New Zealand-raised Greek who's moved back to Crete, lives with her husband and children in Hania and she shares her thoughts, offers a window on Cretan life and shares her kitchen creations with us. I encourage you to pay a visit to her blog.

Kolokithokeftedes are translated from Greek to English as Zucchini Meatballs. These are also known as fritters, rissoles or patties. Call it what you want, they make for a vegetarian main, a tasty snack and one of my favourite Greek mezedes.

There are many varying recipes for this dish but I think the key to Kolokithokeftedes' success is getting the mixture to bind properly. This in turn relies heavily upon your ability to leech and squeeze out as much liquid from the grated zucchini as possible.

The second point I'd like to make is that the amount of bread crumb in this recipe is approximate. Again, the amount will depend on how much liquid you squeezed out of your zucchini that will be needed to bind your mixture.

Thirdly, I have kolokithokeftedes with and without cheese and naturally, I prefer version with cheese. Usually, grated Kefalotyri is used here but I also added some grated Smoked Metsovone...a winning combo.

Finally, allow me to share the spotlight with Val from More Than Burnt Toast who recently shared a Cat Cora recipe of Tzatziki with avocado. It made for a wonderful accompaniment to the Kolokithokeftedes and if you're looking for a neat twist on Tzatziki, Pete says go for it!

Kolokithokeftedes ( Κολοκυθοκεφτέδες)
(makes a dozen)

2 whole zucchinis, washed and grated (or 1 cup squeezed of water)
1 small onion, diced olive oil
1 scallion or 3 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large egg
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated Kefalotyri
1/4 cup grated smoked Metsovone
salt and pepper to taste
all-purpose flour for dredging
vegetable oil for frying

1. Using your box grater (largest holes), grate your zucchini into a mesh strainer and sprinkle some coarse sea salt over top. Allow the liquid from the zucchini to leach for a couple of hours. Using a cheese cloth or tea towel, place the grated zucchini inside and twist and turn the tea towel to help squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Dump the zucchini in a bowl and reserve.
2. In a skillet, add some olive oil and add your onions and a pinch of salt and saute for about 5 minutes or until the onions are softened. Set aside to cool.
3. Add your remaining ingredients into the bowl and mix to incorporate. Fry-off a small meatball to taste-test your mixture. Adjust ingredient amounts remedy any binding problems or rectify taste. Roll the mixture into tight balls and then flatten into patties.
   
4. In a non-stick skillet, add enough vegetable oil to reach 1/2 inch in height. Your oil should be approx 360F to fry.
5. Just when you're ready to fry, lightly dredge your Kolokithokeftdes and deep fry in batches. Fry on each side until golden brown (2 minutes a side) and reserve on a plate lined with paper towel.
6. Serve warm or room temperature with some Tzatziki sauce on the side.
   

Lamb Giouvetsi

One of the most rustic and beloved Greek dishes has to be Giouvetsi. Traditionally, this meal is baked in clay pots.

There are many variations on this dish from the type of meat used to the spices included in the ingredient mix.

Here, I'm using lamb shoulder that's been rendered down to a fall-off the bone state and some delicious lamb stock became a wonderful by-product.

To get the tender lamb meat and stock, I once again employed the use of my trusty pressure cooker. Those who are regular readers of my blog will know that I find the pressure cooker to be a valuable kitchen tool and a time saver. Rather than boil down bones or meat over a stove top for hours, the pressure cooker will do the same job in about 45 minutes.

If you still don't have a pressure cooker, I highly recommend you get one. They are a good investment, should last a lifetime and again, a time saver.

This dish can still be prepared without the use of a pressure cooker. Start the dish off by browning some pieces of stewing lamb meat and then pick up and continue with my recipe.

The classic pasta of choice for Greeks is "Kritharaki", or orzo. Last week, I was pleased to see that some large-chain supermarkets are expanding the array of international products that are located in the "ethnic food" aisles of the market. It's about time ethnic food reaches beyond Asian and Mexican ingredients.

If you can't find Greek Kritharaki, orzo will do just fine.

Lamb Giouvetsi
(for 4)

1 1/2 -2 lbs of lamb meat, coarse pieces (stewed or browned-off)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 bell pepper (red or green), diced
1 large onion, diced
1 1/2 cups of Kritharaki (orzo)
1/4 cup strained tomato puree (Passata)
6 cups of lamb (or stock or your choice)
salt and pepper to taste
grated Kefalotyri Cheese

Pre-heated 375F oven

1. In a skillet, over medium heat, add your onions and peppers and saute for 5-7 minutes or until softened.
2. Add the Kritharaki and stir for a few minutes to toast the kernels.
3. Add the hot stock and tomato puree and bring to a boil while stirring. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
   
4. Transfer to an oven-proof baking vessel and add the meat and bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes or until most of the juices have been absorbed and the top is golden brown.
5. Serve hot with some fresh ground pepper and grated Kefalotyri cheese.
   

Grilled Mackerel (Σκουμπρί)

I writing and sharing about my delight in enjoying this often maligned fish, the mackerel. We often associate mackerel with it being smoked or canned (including myself).

It's a fish I see at the fish monger's all the time, it's fresh, it's cheap. Why didn't I try it sooner?

For those that have eaten an array of Mediterranean seafood and in particlular, sardines...you're going to really enjoy mackerel.

First off, let me tell you about the health benefits: mackerel are loaded with omega-3 fatty acids.

Secondly, this fish has no scales and merely has to be gutted so...it's an easy fish to handle and again, the large spinal structure makes for an easy fish to eat.

Thirdly, mackerel taste wonderful. It's a fish high in oils and I found the skin to have a hint of a smoky flvour (which I like). The meat very much reminded me of sardines so for those who like sardines, give mackerel a try.

Before I get on with the simple preparation of this fish, I must emphasize that you buy ONLY the freshest of mackerel. It spoils quicker than other fish and frankly, no fish is edible when it's not at it's peak freshness.

Once again, I'm enjoying a fresh fish in a very simple manner: oil, salt, pepper, herbs, fresh squeezed lemon juice. I first had grilled mackerel last year in Greece, based solely on the recommendation of my Greek fish monger. I'm glad I listened to him.

A trick I recently read of and found to work quite well is to generously season your fish with coarse sea salt on the outside. The coarse salt will season your fish and act as lubricant against your grill. I was able to flip my fish without tearing or losing any of the fish. As you can see, my mackerel was plated in tact.

Finally, I'm using a new herb to my garden...lemon thyme. It looks just like regular thyme but a pronounced lemon aroma hits your senses when you brush the leaves. It was perfect for my grilled mackerel.

Grilled Mackerel (Σκουμπρί)

Fresh mackerel, gutted and cleaned coarse sea salt
fresh ground pepper
vegetable oil
sprigs of lemon thyme
sprigs of fresh rosemary
toothpicks
extra-virgin olive oil
fresh lemon juice

1. Rinse and pat dry your your mackerel. Season on the inside with salt and pepper and place a sprig of rosemary and lemon thyme inside. Close the cavity with a toothpick.
2. Get your gas or charcoal grill pre-heated (say 400F) and brush the grill and free from any grilling residue from your previous grilling.
   
3. Using a sharp knife, make three slits into each side of the fish. Rub some vegetable oil on both sides of the fish and well with coarse sea salt and fresh ground pepper.
4. Before grilling, wipe some vegetable oil on your grill to lubricate it and help prevent any sticking.
5. Place your mackerel on the grill and cook for 5 minutes to a side.
6. Remove your fish and plate. Remove the tooth picks and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and hit the mackerel with a fresh squeeze of lemon juice.
7. Serve with grilled packet potatoes and a seasonal salad. Have some bread handy to mop-up the tasty olive oil in the plate.

Linguine With Zucchini, Garlic, Black Olives, and Toasted Breadcrumbs

When the weather is this good, it's hard to blog or catch-up on my friends' kitchen action but here I am...adding to the din.

Last week, Martha Stewart lined up a whack of celebrity chefs to show off and show the viewers quick and easy recipes that you & I can can whip up in no time.

This pasta dish jumped right out of my TV screen and I scurried over to my computer to bookmark it.

This pasta dish is so easy that the sauce is ready EVEN before the linguine has been cooked to "al dente".

The recipe comes courtesy of Pino Luongo and Mark Straussman and the book is called "Two Meatballs in the Italian Kitchen".

I love this simple, refreshing pasta dish. It's light, it's flavourful and the olives give one a nice burst of salt. It's been a week since I saw the recipe on TV and I've made it twice.

Linguine With Zucchini, Garlic, Black Olives, and Toasted Breadcrumbs
(Serves 4 to 6)

• Coarse salt
• 1 pound linguine
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 large red onion, thinly sliced
• 4 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise, then sliced very thinly crosswise
• 20 Gaeta or Nicoise olives, pitted
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, preferably Sicilian
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup toasted breadcrumbs
  
• Grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese
  

1. Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat and salt. Add pasta, stir until water returns to a boil, and cook pasta, according to package directions, until "al dente".
2. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add oil and garlic, onions and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Add zucchini and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add olives, oregano, and red pepper flakes; season with salt to taste.
3. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water. Add pasta to skillet and toss to combine. If pasta seems dry, add reserved cooking water 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing between each addition. Transfer pasta to a large platter, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with bread crumbs; serve immediately.

Karydopita (Καρυδόπιτα)

Feeling a little nostalgic, I asked my mom to share her Karydopita recipe with me. Karydopita is a Greek walnut cake but the amazing thing about this dessert is that there's no flour in it!

I'm not a big fan of super-syrupy Greek desserts but this is one cake that requires a simple syrup to complete the moist yet gritty texture one gets in each bite.

Karydopita can be surely be found at a Greek bakery and you might have even been lucky enough to try a piece over at your Greek friend's house.

In keeping with my goal to show you more of my sweet side, I'm sharing this wonderful family recipe.

There are three components to this cake: wet ingredients, dry ingredients and the syrup. The syrup measurements ask for 2 cups of water and sugar. If you're going to serve this to a large group of guests and you know it'll be eaten that day, stick with 2 cups. If however, this cake is just for the family and it might be laying around for the week, pump up the syrup amounts to 3 & 3 cups. The cake will absorb the syrup and stay moist for the week.

Karydopita (Καρυδόπιτα)

Dry Ingredients
10 Tbsp. of ground rusk (Zwieback toasts are fine)
10 Tbsp. fine Semolina flour
10 Tbsp. of pounded walnuts
2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
2 tsp. baking powder

Wet Ingredients
10 eggs
10 Tbsp. sugar

Syrup
2 cups of water
2 cups of sugar
1 cinnamon stick
6-8 whole cloves
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 shot of Cognac
ground clove to taste
9" X 14" baking pan, buttered

Pre-heated 350F oven

1. Using your food processor, keep on pulsing your walnuts until you get a medium ground mixture of walnuts that are fine and some noticeable pieces of walnuts.
2. Add to a large bowl along with the remaining dry ingredients. Mix and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, add your sugar and eggs and beat with a hand mixer until you achieve a consistency of almost stiff peaks.
4. Fold the dry ingredients in small batches (DO NOT add all the dry at once). As the wet absorbs the dry, add more until all the dry ingredients are incorporated.
5. Carefully pour the cake batter into the baking pan and place in your preheated oven (middle rack) for 30-35 minutes.
6. In the meantime, make your syrup by adding the water, sugar, cinnamon stick, whole cloves and bring to a boil. Now simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the lemon juice and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Add the Cognac and and some ground clove if desired (according to taste).
7. To complete your Karydopita correctly, the cake must absorb the syrup. There are two ways to do this: add cool syrup to just out of the oven cake or add hot syrup to room temperature cake. My mother prefers to add cooled syrup to a just out of the oven cake. The choice is yours. Time the two components. Remove the cinnamon stick and cloves and pour the syrup one ladle at a time time until all the syrup has been absorbed by the cake.
   
8. Cut your Karydopita into diamond shaped pieces and serve at room temperature. Store in a sealed container for up to one week.
   

I'm Feeling Kinda' Blue

As in blue cheese, that is.

During one of my recent food shopping adventures, I was lucky to find some English Stilton for a very good price.

Stilton is one of the family of blue cheeses and as the saying goes, "the stinkier, the better".

I have two dishes for you today, the first being a salad that eats like a meal and the second being an easy pasta dish with blue cheese.

In both dishes, blue cheese is the star. With the salad, you get the crunch of the julienned apple and crisp lettuce, contrasted by the creamy blue.

With the pasta, a little blue cheese goes a long way to flavour this full-bodied pasta dish. Cheese lovers will lick the pasta bowl here.

Crisp Romaine Salad With Apple and Blue Cheese
(for 4)

1 Granny Smith apple, cored and julienned
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 head of Romaine lettuce, washed, dried and hand torn
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tsp. of Dijon mustard
1 tsp. of chopped fresh tarragon
4 Tbsp. of Balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
crumbled blue cheese

1. In a large bowl, add your garlic, vinegar and mustard and mix. Now while whisking, slowly add your olive oil until you get a nice, thick emulsified dressing. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Using a mandoline, julienne your apple and add to your bowl of dressing. Toss the julienned apples in the dressing.
3. Add your Romaine lettuce and chopped tarragon and toss your salad.
4. Serve with chopped walnuts and crumbled blue cheese

Pasta With Blue Cheese and Walnuts
(for 2)

handful of walnuts, chopped
2 Tbsp. of Marsala wine
1 small onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 Tbsp. of butter
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/3 cup of heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

1. Get a large pot of water boiling and and add a generous amount of salt when aboil. Cook your pasta (penne or taglioni) according to instructions.
2. Place a skillet on medium-high heat and add your onion, garlic and mushrooms and saute for 5-7 minutes or until softened and the mushrooms are cooked. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, add your blue cheese and mash it with a fork. Add your cream, Marsala and parsley and mix in, set aside.
   
4. When your pasta is ready, reserve some pasta liquid and drain your pasta. Add the pasta to the skillet along with your blue cheese mixture, walnuts and toss to coat. Add some pasta water if the sauce is too thick.
5. Grind some fresh ground black pepper (you shouldn't need any additional salt).
   

Fiddleheads

Fiddleheads belong to the fern family of plants and from my knowledge, they only grow in the northeast of Canada and the United States.

Their growing season is relatively small and yesterday I bought them for $3.99/lb. - not exactly cheap.

From what I've read, they are best picked when they just emerge from the damp soil, four or five inches in height, tightly coiled to resemble the tuning head of a violin.

I like eating these with a simple preparation: Salt, pepper, minced garlic, extra-virgin olive oil and lemon juice.

Fiddleheads

1 lb. of fresh fiddleheads
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
squeeze of fresh lemon juice
salt & pepper to taste

1. Rinse them several times(usually 3-4 times works), to clean off the remaining brown scales.
   
2. Chop off the yellowish or brownish ends of the stems. Bring a pot of water to boil and add some salt.
   
3. Add the fiddleheads to the boiling water. Cook until they are tender, about 6 to 8 minutes.
4. Dress with minced garlic, salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Serve hot.
   

Tangy Maple Mustard Rack of Lamb

This recipe is about ten years old. My ex and I would have these wonderful days of shopping, cooking, eating with each other. When picking up wine, we'd often also collect recipe cards that were produced by local Ontario wineries.

To this date, I cannot find the recipe card but I've made this dish enough times to remember the ingredients and with some playing around with the measurements, I've got it down.

Before anyone excuses me of snapping up a recipe as my own...let it be said that I only recall that this recipe was in a booklet of dishes presented by the winery Jackson-Triggs. If anyone recognizes the recipe and remembers the chef who created this dish, please let me know so that I can give due credit.

There are many who are "iffy" on lamb. This is the dish that will convert the lamb-hater. Worried about lamb's gamey flavour? Not here.

Looking for a lamb recipe that's moist and succulent? This is the one.

Want to impress someone on a date or dinner guests with minimal effort? Try this recipe.

Preparation need only be done one hour ahead of time. I like to serve couscous and some type of seasonal green with the lamb. As you can see in the photo, fiddleheads were the chosen green.

Without further adieu, here's the marinade for these succulent lamb chops...guaranteed to be fingah-lickin' good!

Tangy Maple Mustard Rack of Lamb
(for 4)

2 racks of lamb loin
1/4 cup of olive oil
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 tsp. black pepper
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 cup of Maple syrup
1 tsp. orange zest
1 tsp. sea salt

Pre-heated oven, set to broil

1. Rinse and pat-dry your racks of lamb. Turn the racks to their underside and using a knife, scrape some of the silver skin to loosen enough of it to be held by your fingers. Tear if off the racks and discard it.
2. In a bowl, add all the ingredients together, mix with a spoon and spread the marinade all over your racks of lamb. Marinate at room temperature for an hour.
3. Pre-heat your broiler and place your oven rack to the position closest to the broiler. Reserve any excess marinade and place in a small sauce pan and gently heat up and reserve. Season your lamb racks with some coarse salt and fresh ground pepper.
   
4. Set your racks of lamb face up (bone side down) on the tray and place under the broiler for 5 minutes a side for medium-rare. Brush reserved warm marinade over the top of the racks of lamb.
   
5. Allow your racks of lamb to rest for 5 minutes before carving.
6. Serve with fluffed couscous and some seasonal vegetables.
   

Amygdalota

Today is the Patron Saints' Day for Constantine & Helen in the Greek-Orthodox calendar. For those of you who are Greek or those who are friends of Greeks, you'll know that we have alot of Constantines and Helens out there.

My brother plus three first cousins share being named after my maternal grandfather, Konstantinos. My mom's sister is named Eleni. My uncle's wife is named Elly (from Helen). One of my first cousins just gave birth to a baby girl who will be baptized Konstantina. We have friends of the family who also have Constantines & Helens in the family.

The phones will be ringing off the hook in our household and in Greece. It is a modern custom to give family or friends a phone call to wish the person who's celebrating their "Name Day" a "Hronia Polla"!

This modern custom is an extension of a fading tradition where friends and relatives would drop by the home and pay their respects with their presence. However, the custom is that on this day, guests DO NOT bring gifts. The celebrant (or family) is responsible for treating guests to an offering of food, snacks, a drink or a coffee with sweets.

This past weekend when Sam from Greek Food, Recipes & Reflections dropped by, my mom was in the midst of making some Greek Amygdalota cookies in anticipation of friends and relatives dropping by.

Amygdalota are a fabulous little cookie. Think Amaretti but the almonds are not roasted. Think Macaroon, but with ground almond. The first time I had these cookies was in the small, postcard perfect Greek island of Hydra.

It's located in the Saronic Gulf, not too far from Athens and it's town bylaws prohibit the use of automobiles (save for municipal services) on the island.

Through my travels to many Greek islands, I've noticed that a few other islands have jumped on the Amygdalota bandwagon and go on to produce their own island's version.

Today, these almond cookies can be found all over Greece and can be bought in practically every bakery. There are nuances to the recipes, like the use of different essences, orange blossom being the most common.

My mom's recipe stick's to the key ingredient, almonds and she adds a few drops of almond extract to underline this delicate cookie's main ingredient.

Amygdalota

4 cups of blanched almonds
1 1/2 cups of white sugar
4 tsp. of almond extract
4 egg whites, room temp.

A large handful of of almonds, cut in half

1. In a blender or food processor, pulse the almonds in batches into a fine grind.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
3. In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients with a wooden spoon until well-mixed and stiff.
4. Drop 1 inch mounds (1 inch apart) onto the sheet. Gently place an almond half into the center of each cookie.
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until firm at the edges but still soft in the center and golden.
6. Remove from the oven and foil or parchment to a wire rack to cool. When cool, peel off and store in a tightly covered container.
   

Broiled Red Mullet With Garlic and Herbs

Can you tell which pair of fish are Red Mullets and which are the pretenders? These two species of Mediterranean fish get mixed up all the time and often, one gets ripped off with the poorer, harder to clean cousin.

Red Mullet is a prized fish of the Mediterranean, ever costly and like much of the tastier fish, harder to find. It's imposter is the Koutsomoura(goatfish).

Although both fish taste good, the red mullet is prized for it's red colour, tastes great and I think most importantly, for it's large spinal column structure. In short, this fish is easy to eat - as their are fewer pin bones for the eater to fuss about with.

I know the suspense is killing you all, right? Riiiiiight!

The top pair of fish are Koutsomoures (goatfish) and the bottom pair are Red Mullets (Barbounia). Bottom line? Recognize the difference if you see them at your fish monger.

The red mullet is expensive for a reason - it tastes good and it's easy to clean and bone. The goatfish is an imposter who's a tough customer when it comes to cleaning. Don't get ripped off by paying a high price for goatfish.

I was quite lucky to find some red mullet this week at one of the fish mongers I frequent. It's been a couple of years since I last ate them and I bought them without thinking twice about the price.

My preference would have been to grill them but Toronto's had another bout of cold weather and I really wasn't in the mood to shiver. Solution? The broiler.

Again, when available fresh, I always opt for bone-in, whole fish as I find them tastier and moist. If one visits Greece, one should indulge in the bounty of the sea and ask your waiter for the catch of the day.

Today, I recommend red mullet.

Broiled Red Mullet With Garlic & Herbs
(for 2)

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. olive oil
sea salt and pepper
2 red mullets, scaled & gutted
1 tsp. of lemon thyme
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Finishing garnish
extra-virgin olive oil
coarse sea salt
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp dried Greek oregano
lemon wedges

1. Pre-heat your broiler. To a bowl, add your lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper, parsley and thyme and whisk together. Brush the mixture inside & out of the fish and place on a greased baking sheet.
2. Broil the fish for about 5 minutes, baste again and turn over and broil for another 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, mix the the garlic, parsley and oregano and sprinkle over top of the just cooked fish. Finish with some good extra-virgin olive oil and coarse sea salt.
   

Caesar Salad

My eating diet can be summed up in two seasons: Soup season and salad season. With the exception of the cold soup, it's salad days indeed. The only other exception I make when it comes to eating a salad 'year 'round is a Caesar Salad.

We've all had Caesar Salad and surely we've all had a bad Caesar Salad. Your quest for the ultimate Caesar Salad ends here. I have, what I consider to be the ultimate Caesar Salad.

Another early influence on my foodie DNA has to be my Theo (uncle) Vangeli, 1st cousin to my mom. Theo Vangeli came to Canada a young man and worked the restaurant trade for all of his working life.

This man to this day is culinary gold, having worked in an age when family restaurants made EVERYTHING from scratch. Theo Vangeli was an early riser, making the morning shift his work preference. In the old'skool fashion, he'd make sauces, soups of the day, prepare daily specials like Shepherd's Pie or a big tray of lasagna. His morning was also not complete without the preparation of a big, heaping pail of Caesar Salad dressing.

Today, I'm sharing with you, my Theo Vangeli's Caesar Salad dressing. It's a keeper.

An important note: this recipe uses only fresh, farm eggs so anyone sheepish about Salmonella or pregnant women might want to coddle your eggs before proceeding with this recipe.

Another aspect (s) I'd like to point out with a proper Caesar Salad is pay attention to detail:

• wash & dry your Romaine lettuce thoroughly
• make your own Croutons
• use real bacon

Caesar Salad

Dressing
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 fresh farm egg yolks
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. anchovy paste (or 2 fillets)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp. black pepper
splash of water
1/3 cup olive oil + 2/3 cup vegetable oil
salt to taste

Romaine Lettuce, throughly washed and dried
Homemade Croutons
Crispy bacon pieces

1. Using your food processor, add all the dressing ingredients except for the oil and the salt. Start processing on a medium speed for a couple of minutes or until you have a thick, yellowish cream.
2. Slowly pour your oil through the spout until you get a thick, creamy Caesar dressing.
3. Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and sometimes, some more lemon juice. Keeps for up to 1 week in the fridge.
4. In a large salad bowl, add your Romaine lettuce and a dollop of dressing and toss to coat. If the salad is too dry, add some more dressing and toss to coat.
5. Grate some fresh Parmesan, a squeeze of lemon juice, a turn of fresh black pepper and top with Croutons and crispy bacon.
   

Baklava For Breakfast?

Well, almost. Baklava is a rich dessert of nuts and spices, sandwiched by thin sheets of phyllo and finished off with a lemony syrup.

Who would imagine having such a decadent dessert for breakfast? Why, it would be Elly of Elly Says OPA!

Elly is much like myself, a first-generation Greek who grew up outside of Greece but held onto her culture, religion and cuisine.

It was only yesterday that Elly posted her take on a breakfast baklava. She incorporated the fundamental flavours of baklava into a French Toast.

Here in Canada, it's a long weekend and we're celebrating Victoria Day, a testament to this country's Anglo beginnings. What does one do when you have an extra day off?

Make a decadent breakfast!

Breakfast Baklava French Toast
(for 2)

4 slices of bread, crusts trimmed off
3 large eggs
splash of orange juice
1 tsp. lemon zest
splash of vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. of honey
splash of milk
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
butter
Maple Syrup

Baklava filling
1 handful of nuts (I used walnuts)
1 tsp. of ground clove
1 tsp. of honey

1. Using your food processor, add the nuts and ground cloves and pulse until you get a granular consistency (like that of coarse salt. Remove contents and add to a bowl and and mix in the honey with a spoon and reserve.
2. In a bowl large enough to hold your slices of bread, add the eggs, orange juice, honey, milk, vanilla and cinnamon and whisk until incorporated.
3. Pre-heat a large, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
4. Place some baklava filling in between two slices of bread to form a sandwich (reserve some filling for garnish).
5. Carefully dunk the both sides of your "sandwich" into the egg mixture and make sure enough liquid has penetrated the bread (this makes for a moister French toast).
6. Add some butter to your skillet and when it starts to sizzle, place your French toast in the skillet and fry each side for a couple of minutes or until golden-brown. Keep warm and fry off your remaining French toasts in batches.
7. Carefully cut your French toast diagonally in half (this emulates the usual diamond shape of a piece of baklava). Plate your French toast, finish with some reserved baklava filling, good Maple Syrup, a sprinkle of cinnamon and icing sugar and some lemon peel for garnish.