The Squeaky Cheese

I've been really diggin' Halloumi cheese of late. It's a semi-firm, slighty salty cheese that's popular in Cyprus and much of the Middle East.

One of the characteristics about this cheese is that when you're chewing it in your mouth, you hear this squeaking noise. Personally, I amused by it and besides, it tastes great!

Today I'm showing you a Greek pasta dish using Χυλοπίτες or egg noodles. For as long as I can remember, I've enjoyed a quick supper of egg noodles that were tossed in brown butter and crumbled feta. It was a simple weeknight or lazy person's pleasure.

Here, I'm taking that same egg noodle and cheese dish and jazzing it up. I'm a grown boy, I now have culinary "baggage"!

This is my first time including mint with pasta but I convinced myself to try it because Halloumi comes in a brine with mint so...the two should remain together right?

Chalk this pasta as one that's ready by the time your noodles are ready. The ingredients fresh, limited complexity, boundless flavour.




Hilopites With Halloumi and Mint (Χυλοπίτες Με χαλουμι και δυόσμο )
(for four)

1 package (500 gr) of egg noodles 1/2 stick of butter
3 Tbsp. olive oil
approx. 1 cup of cubed Halloumi cheese
some all purpose flour
1/2 cup cubed Manouri cheese
4 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint (half if dry)
8 bunches of green onions, chopped splash of Tawny Port wine
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Get a large pot of water boiling. Add a generous amount of salt when the water comes to a boil. Add your egg noodles and cook according to package's instructions.
2. Cube your Halloumi and Manouri. Dredge your Halloumi in flour and shake off the excess flour. Reserve your Manouri.
3. In a large skillet, add your olive oil and a couple of pads of butter on medium-high heat. Brown your cubes of Halloumi and reserve.
4. Add the remaining butter, your green onions and mint and saute on medium heat for 5 minutes. Add your Port wine and reduce for a minute. Take off the heat and reserve.
5. When your noodles are cooked, save some pasta water, strain and then add the noodles to the skillet and add your Halloumi and Manouri cheeses and toss to coat.
   
6. Add some pasta water if needed.
7. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
   

I Think I Love Harissa

One of the goals of my blog is to explore other cuisines, try new dishes and and always, share my experiences with you, my dedicated readers.

My focus is on Greek food but you've seen me branch out into other Mediterranean dishes but I've neglected the other side of the Mediterranean - North Africa.

There's a whole undiscovered culinary territory to be explored. However I will tread carefully, learn the "lay of the land" before getting into the heavy stuff.

I finally picked up Harissa. She's not some gal from the Sultan's Tent but it's a condiment, originally from Tunisia. Harissa is basically a hot pepper paste that's flavoured by cumin, garlic, salt and chillies.

From my early readings, this condiment is used in sauces, marinades and dressings. Here, I've played with Harissa in two different tomato salads.

We're in the middle of winter and I'm not goofing around with imported tomatoes. I found some decent hothouse plum tomatoes, no doubt from the Holland Landing greenhouses.

I halved the tomatoes, laid them out on a tray and I drizzled them with olive oil, coarse salt, cumin and coriander seeds and a sprinkle of sugar.

I roasted them in a pre-heated 350F oven for 45 minutes, turned off the oven and allowed the residual heat to finish off the tomatoes.

I have two warm tomato salads for you, both using Harissa paste in them. The first is a salad of Tunisian origins...sweet and savoury playing off each other.

The second is a fusion of Greek salad with an North African flare...a Harissa vinaigrette. Both salads have a little bit of heat but the sweet tomatoes balance the heat and smokyness of the Harissa and cumin.

I'm going to enjoy my North African journey!

Slow Roasted Tomato Salad a la Tunise

Dressing

1 tsp. Harissa paste
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. chopped coriander (cilantro)
Juice and zest of one orange
1 walnut, ground
4 Tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil
salt to taste

1. Combine all of the above ingredients and leave to stand at room temperature for the flavours to marry.

Harissa Vinaigrette

1 tsp. Harissa paste
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp. dried oregano
salt to taste

1. Combine the above ingredients in a jar and shake well to emulsify. Drizzle over your tomato salad.

Macedonian Sausages

My family comes from Greece's northernmost province, Macedonia. It's capital city is Thessaloniki.

Like much of Greece, Macedonia has mountains, flat lands and sea. Macedonia also has lots of pig.

One of my favourite things to eat is sausage and I mean quality sausage. It could be Italian, Polish, Bratwurst or even Chinese!

My favourite has to be our very own Macedonian Sausage. I'm not expecting everyone of you to go out and make your own sausages but if you enjoy them as much as I do and you want to know what's in them...making them yourself is the only sure way isn't it?

If you live in a city with a sizeable Greek community, ask for Macedonian sausage from your butcher.

I've seen Macedonian sausages at St. Lawrence Market, on the Danforth, Kostas Meat Market and at Highland Farms.

I like sausages on the grill, I like them fried up, I like them baked or...I like them done over the fireplace!

If any of you have made sausages before, you know there's some work involved and at the very least, an assistant is needed (one to plunge the sausage mix into the machine, the other to guide the sausage into the casings, twist the links and replenish casings as they run out).

Macedonian Sausages

20 lbs. medium ground pork
(from pork shoulder)
1/2 case of leeks, cleaned and chopped
1/2 cup black pepper
1/2 cup Boukovo (red chilli)
250 gr. Vegeta seasoning
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1/8 cup dried oregano
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/4 cup sweet paprika
2 little tubs of hog casings

1. Soak the hog casings in cold water for 30 minutes and then rinse. Replenish the cold water and leave them in a bowl of water.
2. Mix all the above ingredients in a large Rubbermaid container and mix well with your hands.
3. Take a handful and fry it off on your stove to taste test. Adjust seasoning.
4. Take a hog casing and place it on the bottom nozzle where your sausage mix will come out.
5. Place the sausage mix on the top entry point of the sausage maker and start pumping out sausages (I have an electric sausage maker).
6. Twist the sausages into links of your desired size.
7. Replenish hog casings to the nozzle of the sausage maker as they run out. Repeat until all of your sausage mix has been made into links.
8. Hang your sausages for a week in a cool, dry place like a cellar or if you have a spare fridge.
9. Freeze the sausages in zip lock bags. They are good for one year (beyond that you're tempting freezer burn).

OPA!

Ever see this flaming dish at a Greek taverna? Ever hear the Greek waiter shout OPA? This next dish is inspired by the many Greek restaurants, eateries and tavernas that serve up this style of fried cheese to a clientele that never ceases to tire of this ritual.

Whoever said presentation never mattered to a dish must have never opened a Greek restaurant. I know of non-Greeks who whenever they go for Greek, they always order the "Flaming Saganaki" dish.

Saganaki is most commonly know as the appetizer of fried cheese. The usual cheese that's used is a Kefalograviera, which is a semi-salty cheese that's fried, flambeed with Ouzo or Metaxa brandy then doused with a good squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Saganaki can come in varied forms as a dish. The word saganaki is a diminutive of sagani, a frying pan with two handles. The Turks call it a sahan.

When your waiter lights up the Saganaki, you're surely going to hear a robust OPA! It (OPA) literally means "to jump" and it's used in many ways to say "bravo", "WoW", "all right" or in today's lingo, "You Go"!

When a Greek says OPA, they are usually dispensing complements, admiring your zest for life, your dancing or drinking prowess or showing their admiration of a performance.

I'm taking a departure from usual cheese for Saganaki and I'm using a Cypriot Halloumi cheese. It's a firm, slightly salty cheese, it's buttery and, it's one of my favourite of the Greek cheeses.

Before you attempt some serious harm on yourself, always pour your liquor of choice into a shot glass and then empty it into the vessel you're using for a flambe. NEVER pour hard liquor from the bottle into the flambe vessel...the flame can travel all the way up into the bottle and cause your very own kitchen nightmare.

Now that we're beyond living dangerously in the kitchen, WoW your house guests and light up the Saganaki, and get everyone to shout out, OPA!!!!!!!!!!!

Fried Saganaki With Halloumi

1-2 slices of Halloumi cheese
egg wash
all purpose flour
sesame seeds
1 Tbsp. olive oil
a shot of Ouzo or brandy
juice of 1/4 of a lemon

1. Organize 3 plates for 1) dredging your cheese in flour; 2) coating the cheese in eggwash ; 3) coating the cheese in sesame seeds.
2. Slice your cheese and coat in flour, then egg wash and finally coat it in sesame seeds.
3. Place your fry pan (Saganaki) on medium-high neat and add your olive oil. Drop a sesame seed to see if the oil is hot enough (if the seeds crackles, you're ready for frying).
4. Fry your cheese for 2 minutes and then flip to fry on the other side for just over a minute.
5. Take the Saganaki off the heat and pour in your shot of liquor and ignite the alcohol.
6. Squeeze fresh lemon juice and serve immediately with toasted pitas or crusty bread.
   

Seafood Medley With Fusilli Corti Bucati

Looking back at my recent posts, it seems I'm on a seafood kick of late. I've been fortunate enough to find some good quality fresh seafood and I recently also found a really good frozen seafood product.

For years I've seen frozen bags of mixed seafood at the grocery store but the quality was sub-par, what with teeny shrimp, imitation crab and rubbery cuttlefish.

I found this seafood medley to contain mussels, shrimp, calamari and octopus - all Aces for my appetite.

I also had been meaning to try out a new pasta shape, Fusilli Corti Bucati. This pasta is native to Calabria, southern Italy which means it's located at the "toe" of the Italian peninsula.

I chose this pasta because of it's corkscrew shape which is supposed to be good for thick, rich sauces, like my Roasted Red Pepper Sauce.

The last time I used this roasted red pepper sauce was with my Lobster Linguine and I was craving this sauce again. I don't want to be labeled a Bourgeoisie so, I opted for the Pauper's version with the seafood medley.

As expected, the pasta dish was delicious, not too difficult to prepare and dramatic in it's appearance.

As a short cut, I've been pre-roasting cherry tomatoes and red peppers, then freezing them for future use in dishes like these.

If you're like me and you love tomatoes all year 'round but despise tasteless winter tomatoes, then opt for cherry tomatoes.

Cherry (or grape tomatoes) are the only ones that in fact retain a good flavour in the winter months. Be sure that your cherry tomatoes are locally grown and the hot-house variety. Otherwise, you'll biting into a tomato that tastes like it's been bumping around in the back of a semi-truck.

Seafood Medley With Fusilli Corti Bucati
(for 4)

1 package of seafood medley (thawed)
1 package of Fusilli Corti Bucati
2 pints of cherry tomatoes, roasted
1 red bell pepper, roasted
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/3 cup of dry white wine
1 Tbsp. of smoked paprika
1 tsp. chili flakes
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
splash of heavy cream

1. Pre-roast your cherry tomatoes and red pepper by placing them in a vessel, drizzle them with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in a preheated 450F oven for 30-45 minutes or until the skins are blistered. Turn the heat off in the oven and allow the residual heat to continue roasting the tomatoes and peppers for another half hour.
2. Take the tomatoes and pepper out of the oven. Place your red pepper in a paper or plastic bag and allow it to sweat for 30 minutes. When it's cool enough to handle, peel the charred skins from the pepper and remove the seeds.
3. Add your cherry tomatoes, juices and roasted red pepper and puree in a food processor or blender. Reserve.
4. Get a large pot of water to boil and season generously with salt when boiling commences. Cook your fusilli according to the package's instructions.
5. In a large skillet, heat your olive oil on medium-high heat and add the seafood. Saute for the seafood to take some colour. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve.
6. Add your onions and garlic and saute for 5 minutes on medium heat so that they soften. Add your tomato and red pepper puree, paprika, chili flakes and the wine and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium-low and simmer until the sauce has the sauce has thickened.
7. Add your chopped basil, cream and adjust seasoning.
8. Strain your pasta (reserve some pasta water) and toss your pasta with the sauce and the seafood medley. Add some pasta water if you want the sauce to be a little looser.
   

Ouzo-Cured Salmon

One of my new blog buddies is Laurie of Tastes Like Home, Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska. She recently shared how she cures salmon and I was immediately drawn to this method of treating salmon.

The curing method has it's origins in Sweden and the end result is called Gravlax. I love fish, love salmon, love smoked salmon and Gravlax. It was a no-brainer for me to want to play around with this approach to salmon.

Gravlax literally means "buried salmon" and the name refers to the traditional method of preparation for this food: fresh salmon was heavy salted and buried in dry sand to ferment and cure. Most Gravlax recipes involve sandwiching two fillets together with the dill and salt mixture being in the middle. I cured just one fillet and the result still was excellent.

One of my sources of new recipe ideas is to peruse the menus of Greek restaurants and often they can be a good source of inspiration for a new dish.

I've seen that a few restaurants that are reinvigorating Greek cuisine have offerings of salmon cured in Ouzo. Laurie armed me with the knowledge on how to do this.

One of the goals of this blog is to show my readers how I think Greek food should look and taste, share this rich cuisine with all of you and show that Greek food is much more than just Souvlaki and Spanokopita.

Salmon is not a fish native to the Mediterranean waters but it is often found and sold in Greece, usually imported from Scandanavia.

Here, I'm taking a non-traditonal Greek ingredient, a foreign cooking method and applying Greek flavours to it.

Ouzo perfumes the aroma of the salmon, sea salt reunites with the flesh of the fish, dill heightens the flavour of the salmon.

Curing a salmon was remarkably easy. The key to this dish is using only the freshest of fish and trusting that your final result will turn out fine and that your going to slide a piece of salmon in your mouth and savour it's oily, rich flavour.

My guinea pigs for my Ouzo-cured salmon were my parents. You should know that Greeks don't take too well to their meat being rare, they have an aversion to sushi and question any meat that hasn't been licked by the flames of fire.

What was their reaction to my Ouzo-cured salmon? "When are you making it again"?

Ouzo-Cured Salmon
(ingredient listing per pound of salmon)

1 lb. fresh salmon fillet, pin-bones removed
2 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
2 Tbsp. sugar 2 tsp. cracked black pepper
1 tsp. Boukovo (red chile flakes)
1 tsp. grated orange zest
1 good shot of Ouzo
plastic cling-wrap
a heavy weight

1. If using a wild, freshly caught salmon, ensure that you have frozen the fish for alt least 7 days. Otherwise, most commercially sold salmon has been frozen at some point and you're safe from any existing parasites.
2. Although you've bought a fillet of salmon, inspect the salmon visually and with your fingers to see if any pin pones were missed by your fish monger. If you find any, you can used needle-nose pliers to remove them.
3. Place the salmon on a large piece of plastic wrap (about three to four times the length of the fillet) with the skin side down, pink flesh facing up.
4. Put the salt, sugar, and black pepper, zest, chili flakes into a bowl and mix until evenly distributed. Reserve.
5. Pour the shot of Ouzo over the fillet.
6. Spoon the mixture onto the exposed salmon flesh, making sure to cover as much of the exposed areas as possible.
7. Place the dill on top of the salmon. If the dill is too long to fit on top of the fillet, then snap off the stems or fold the dill over. If you have 2 fillets, place the second one flesh side down on top of the dill (making a sandwich of the fillets).
   
8. Wrap the salmon up well and taut with the plastic wrap and place in a vessel. The container is there to catch the juices that will seep out of the salmon during the curing process.
9. Place a heavy weight on top of the salmon ( I use a large can of plum tomatoes) and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, maximum 3 days (the longer, the better the flavour).
10. Unwrap the salmon, remove the dill and and rinse off the salt mixture and then pat dry with paper towels.
11. Use a sharp knife to thinly slice your salmon.
12. Serve it as an open-faced sandwich, as an appetizer or a first course.
    

Amaranth Greens (βλήτα)

Greeks eat alot of greens in their diet and you should too! Amaranth greens or as we call it, "Vlee-ta", is eaten lot with fish and seafood and it can be found growing wild throughout Greece.

What others consider weeds and a garden nuisance is another's culinary gold!
It's of course also cultivated to supply the large Greek demand for the tasty, slightly bitter greens.

Amaranth is a close relative of spinach and beets so you know it's packing lots of iron and this kind of stuff it's good for your blood. As Louise from Zoomie Station says, " ya gotta groove well on chlorophyll"!

I'm offering Amaranth as my entry for this week's edition of Weekend herb Blogging, hosted this time 'round by Anna of Anna's Cool Finds.

For those in North America, I've attached a photo of Amaranth as it looks like when you're seeking it out at the market. The beautiful photo is provided by Alanna Kellogg of Kitchen Parade.

I often find Amaranth in Asian markets, I'm sure you will too!

Amaranth Greens (βλήτα)

1 bunch of Amaranth greens
water
salt
extra virgin olive oil
juice of half a lemon

1. Fill your kitchen basin with water. Chop your greens and place in the water to soak and release it's sand and dirt. Repeat the process until the water is no longer sandy or dirty (usually 2 or 3 times).
2. Rinse your Amaranth and get a large pot of water boiling. Add a generous amut of salt to the water and and your greens when the water boils.
3. Lower to medium and simmer for approx. 15 minutes or until the stems are fork tender.
4. Empty boiled Amaranth into a strainer and allow the excess water to drain.
5. Empty into a bowl and add some extra virgin olive oil, juice of half a lemon and toss to coat well. Adjust for seasoning with salt.
6. Serve warm or cold with fish or seafood.
   

Deep-Fried Mussels (Μυδια τηγανιτα)

One of the most enjoyable items of seafood out there are mussels. They taste of the sea, they are affordable, available fresh or frozen in many places and they are so versatile.

Greeks love mussels in a Saganaki, a soup, seafood pizza or in this case, deep-fried. The second largest city in Greece is Thessaloniki and deep friend mussels are a specialty of this northern Greek city.

When I visited Constantinople, I was also pleased to see that Turks also enjoyed eating mussels alot and although their presentation was different (on a skewer), the flavour was the same. As much as our two peoples have differences, the similarites are equal on the other side of the ledger.

I'm making these mussels for Ivy, over at Kopiaste, to Greek Hospitality. Ivy is a Cypriot-born Greek who now resides on Athens with her family and she shares her kitchen creations daily. I encourage you to visit her site, I'd eat any of her dishes.

Ivy also recently was on a Greek TV show that had a recipe contest. She did not not win the grand prize but she was the 3rd place finisher and that earned her a trip for two to visit the fair city of Thessaloniki (be sure to congratulate her).

Ivy, don't forget to order Midia Tiganita when in Thessaloniki.

Midia Tiganita (Μυδια τηγανιτα)

Approx. 1lb. of shelled mussel meat
1 cup of all purpose flour
1/3 cup of corn flour
salt and pepper
bowl of ice cold water
Sunflower oil for frying
Lemon wedges

1. Rinse and pat dry your mussel meat, reserve.
2. In a large bowl, mix your flour, corn flour, salt and pepper and reserve.
3. Get you oil good & hot for deep-frying.
4. Dredge the mussels in the the flour mixture and shake off any excess flour.
5. When the oil is hot, dunk each mussel in the cold water and then carefully drop them in the oil.
6. The mussels are done when they turn a golden-brown. Repeat and cook in batches.
7. Place on a paper-lined plate to absorb excess oil and season with salt and toss.
8. Serve immediately with some lemon wedges.

Cream of Vegetable Soup

It's no secret that I love my soups in the cold months. I love brothy soups, chunky soups, soups with noodles and creamy soups.

Lately, people shy away from creamy soups thinking that they are packed with flour or heavy cream as a thickener. Sometimes those ingredients are called for but I've discovered that potato can act as a great thickening agent for your soup.

The first time I discovered this method is when I made my clam chowder which included grated potatoes. The starches from the potatoes are what thickens your soup and the proof is realized when you finally puree your soup. You get a thick, velvety soup without the starch of the flour.

Before I forget, I still finish off my soups with a splash of heavy cream.

Cream of Vegetable Soup

1/2 stick of unsalted butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 head of broccoli, broken into pieces (1 cup)
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
3 medium potatoes, grated
2 bay leaves
3 sprigs of thyme
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
7 cups of chicken/vegetable stock
splash of heavy cream

1. Place a large pot on your stove to medium high heat. Add your butter, onions, carrots, celery, broccoli, garlic, some salt, bay leaves, thyme and parsley. Saute and stir occasionally for 5-10 minutes on medium heat.
2. Grate your potatoes into the pot and stir to mix in well. When the mixture starts to become pasty, add a little stock to prevent anything from burning. Simmer for about 5 minutes.
3. Add your stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium, cover with a lid and simmer for 45 minutes.
4. Uncover and simmer for another 15 minutes. Remove bay leaves.
   
5. Take off the heat and puree your soup with your hand blender ( I like leaving some vegetables in tact).
6. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and add a splash of cream. Garnish with parsley and serve.
   

Stew of Veal With Carrots (Μοσχαρaki με καροτα)

When I was young, I didn't like having the "Greek" meals like the one here. I didn't like carrots, I thought bay leaves and spices were weird.

What led to my awakening to good food and all food Greek? Perhaps it was spending summers traveling and being absent from my mom's home cooking or perhaps it was eating too much of one of my aunt's bad cooking or combination of both.

How can one not love this dish? Look at it. Look at the ingredients. Look at the flaky meat! I prepared this dish using a pressure cooker to save time but you may certainly brown the veal and then braise all the contents in a dutch oven. My way took one hour, the slow way takes 2 1/2 hours. Your choice.


Stew of Veal With Carrots (Μοσχαρaki με καροτα)

1 kg. of stewing veal, cut in large pieces
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup of canned tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 cup of dry white wine
3 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 large onion, roughly chopped
3 bay leaves
3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 tsp. dried rosemary
5-6 carrots, sliced into
1/2 inch rounds
5 peppercorns
4 whole cloves
1 Tbsp. sea salt
1 tsp. black pepper

1. Cut your veal into large pieces and place in the pressure cooker.
2. Add the remaining ingredients into the pressure cooker and stir well.
3. Close the lid of the pressure cooker and turn your heat to high. Your seal will have formed when the pressure cooker starts whistling.
4. Reduce the heat to medium and allow the pressure and steam to do it's work for 45 minutes and break down the meat and other ingredients.
5. Turn off the heat, remove the pressure cooker from the burner and switch the valve that releases the steam and pressure.
6. Only open the pressure cooker when the whistling and steam have all escaped.
7. Stir your stew and taste for seasoning, adjust with salt and pepper.
8. Continue to simmer if you wish the sauce to be thicker or combine 1 Tbsp of corn starch with 1 tsp. of cold water and mix into the stew to thicken.
9. Serve with roast potatoes and crusty bread..."kai VOUTA"!
   

Beets (παντζάρια )

It's winter time and yes, the beet dishes are all over the internet, in your markets, in your grocery bags and on your table.

I can remember beets beyond a part of my family's cuisine since I was a young, Greek "palikari".

I'm going to show you beets done 2 ways: the first is the simple, Greek family style beet salad and the second is also a beet salad with Greek ingredients, from the luvable southern belle, Paula Deen.

Beet Salad (παντζάρια σαλάτα)

1 bunch of beets (with greens)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 clove of garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut the bulbs of the beets from the greens and rinse. Wrap the beets together in aluminum foil and roast in the oven for 40 minutes at 400F. Allow to cool before handling.
2. In the meantime, fill your sink with cold water and soak the beet greens to remove sand and grit. You may have to repeat this process one or two more times to remove the dirt.
3. Get a pot of water to boil and and salt. When the water boils, chop your greens and throw them in the water and count 5 minutes from when the water returns to a boil to know they have been cooked.
   
4. Strain the beet greens and blanche them in a strainer with cold running water. Allow the water to drain.
5. Open the foil around the beet bulbs and peel away and discard the skins (you want to use gloves as the beet juices are also a strong dye).
6. Cut the red beets into wedges and place in your salad bowl along with the beet greens.
7. Add your olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper and toss to coat.
   
8. Adjust seasoning and serve cool or room temperature.

Next up, we have a Roasted Beet Salad from Paula Dean. Even though I haven't tried many of her recipes, I love her like an aunt and I'd love to have her over for dinner...she'd be a riot, Y'ALL!

I was so impressed with the ingredients in this salad...beets, garlic, pitted olives, olive oil, vinegar, dill - all topped up by a piece of feta cheese! This dish screams of Greek influences. My bet is the southern belle (Paula) must have knicked this recipe from a Greek friend.

Today, I'm taking it back!

Greek Coffee (Ελληνικός καφές)

In my last entry, I told you have I've cut smoking but I still have plenty of other sins such as drinking alcohol, decadent foods (and other things your dad warned you about).

For about a month now I've been exclusively drinking Greek coffee. I've rediscovered Greek coffee and I've been enjoying making it:

the ritual watching over the coffee coming to a boil, of waiting for the coffee grounds to settle and then, sipping it until you taste the mud at the bottom.

Greek coffee is a strong brew, served with foam on top (Kai-maki) and the coffee grounds on the bottom. One is served a Greek coffee in a demi-tasse cup (like an espresso cup).

In Greece, the ritual of drinking Greek coffee occurs twice a day. The first Greek coffee is sipped in the morning as a jolt to wake up the the morning and the second jolt comes after waking up
from the afternoon siesta or "mesimerianos ipnos".

Greek coffee is always served with a tall glass of cold water and a small cookie lika a Koulouraki or sweet on the side, like a biscotti (Paximathi), Melomekarena or in this case, Amygdalota.

Greek coffee is easy to make. You'll need to buy Greek coffee, which is a fine grind and you'll find in small, vacuum packed bags at most stores that sell Greek food and drink items.

To make Greek coffee, you'll need a briki, cold water, sugar and of course, the coffee. Greek coffee can be made in four different ways. It can be sketos (without sugar, strong and bitter), metrios (medium, usually with one teaspoonful of sugar), glykys or vari glykos (almost honey-sweet) and glykys vrastos - sweet but boiled more then once so it loses most of its froth.

Depending on which kind of Greek Coffee you like, measure and add into the briki the coffee, a teaspoonful of coffee per cup, and the sugar. For a medium coffee the best balance is to add the same amount of sugar as coffee. For a medium coffee the best balance is to add the same amount of sugar as coffee.

Greek Coffee (Ελληνικός καφές)

• Greek coffee
• Sugar (if used)
• A briki (μπρίκι)
• Demitasse cups
• Cold water
• Water glasses

1. Using the demi-tasse cup, measure the amount of cold water will need to make your servings of coffee and add the appropriate amount of sugar (you can only make one kind per order).
2. Using a spoon, stir to dissolve the coffee and sugar in the water. Place the briki on your flame and watch over your coffee closely (do not leave it alone).
3. You want to serve Greek coffee with the foam (kai-maki) and as soon as you start to see the coffee rise and foam, quickly take the briki off the heat and pour into your guests' demi-tasses.
4. Serve with a glass of cold water and a cookie or a sweet.

Crispy Roast Chicken With Tarragon and Lemon Verbena

Guys are bad with remembering dates, birthdays or anniversaries. Our agenda books are our lifeline.

I'm pretty good with remembering events in my life through a song on the radio, a smell, a meal or just a vibe. I get sentimental about vacations, friends & good times of yore, concerts and the dearly departed grandparents.

I just realized that I've been cigarette-free for two years! Oh, I smoke the odd cigar or cigarillo but I don't inhale (Clinton coached me well).

I don't think I can go back to cigarettes. I'm tasting things again as they should be, without the ashtray breath.

I can taste this fantastic new Greek dish. This is another recipe from the Greek food mag "Gastronomos" and the dish is the creation of Myrsini Lambraki.

It's a roast chicken of tarragon and lemon verbena, both herbs are found in Greece but only now are they a part of the awakening of Nouveau Greek Cuisine.

This dish is rustic, not the Kolonaki-snot-nosed chef style of Greek cooking that tries to be French. Once again, Greek cuisine should about using the ingredients that are at hand in the land and utilizing traditional Greek cooking techniques in new dishes.

I think this roast chicken fits that bill. For those not familiar with lemon verbena, it's a shrub tree that has aromatic leaves that give off a sweet, lemon aroma. Up until this time, I've only enjoyed lemon verbena as a tea or a Mojito.

When this chicken was roasting, the aromas were dreamy. I was like a giddy child impatiently waiting to open his Christmas presents. As always, if you can't find fresh herbs, use half the amount with the dried kind.

Crispy Roast Chicken With Tarragon and Lemon Verbena

1 whole roaster chicken
1/2 small lemon
2 1/2 Tbsp. fresh tarragon
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon verbena, chopped
1 clove of garlic, smashed
1 clove of garlic, minced
approx. 1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/3 cup dry white wine
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp. corn starch
1 tsp. water

Preheated 400F oven, approx cook time 90 minutes

1. Rinse and pat-dry your chicken. In a bowl, add your olive oil, minced garlic, tarragon and lemon verbena and reserve.
2. Insert a smashed clove of garlic, along with the 1/2 lemon, some of the herbs and truss (tie your chicken).
3. Rub the herb/oil mixture all over the bird and then season with sea salt and ground black pepper.
4. Place in a roasting pan with a grate, so that the chicken is suspended over the drippings. Pour about 1/2 cup of water in the pan to prevent burning.
5. Roast uncovered for 30 minutes or until the chicken has achieved a golden-brown, crispy colour.
6. Reduce the oven heat to 375F roast for another half hour and replenish water if need be in the pan.
   
7. For the last half hour, take the chicken out of the oven and using a large fork or tongs, carefully pick up the chicken and tilt to empty the juices that have amassed in the cavity (important as this will make your sauce). Place the chicken back in the oven and roast until the juices run clear.
8. Remove the chicken from the roasting pan and allow to rest before carving .
9. Remove the grate and place the roasting pan on the stove top and pour in your wine and deglaze the drippings from the chicken. Adjust seasoning and add your corn starch slurry to thicken the sauce.
10. Carve your chicken and pour over the pan sauce on the chicken.
    

One Potato Salad, Hold The Mayo

A couple of weeks ago when I was having some fish, I couldn't decide on a side dish/starch. I love potato salads but the usual recipes with mayonnaise aren't a good match with fish.

I recalled making a potato salad last summer in Greece that went very well with fish and the Mayo was absent.

In the winter time, one doesn't want cold salad from the fridge but, served at room temperature or warm, this hits the spot.

I was also invited to participate in another food event called "Game Night Party", timed for the upcoming Superbowl. The event is hosted by Mansi of Fun & Food.

Anyone participating is asked to present a vegetarian dish (no meat or seafood) and I'm offering up this light, zesty potato salad...sans mayonnaise.

The bold ingredient in this recipe is mustard. Pick your mustard of choice...hot dog, Dijon or grain mustard...all would work well.

Dijon Potato Salad

1 kg. Yukon Gold potatoes
coarse salt
cracked black pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. capers, drained and chopped
1/4 cup pickle juice
1/4 cup finely chopped dill pickles
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
3 scallions, chopped
1/2 cup of chopped fresh dill
juice of 1/4 of a lemon

1. Put the potatoes in pot of cold water. Season with salt and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Drain the potatoes and allow to cool (you may place in cold water).
2. In a large bowl, make your dressing by adding the olive oil, mustard, lemon juice and pickle juice and whisk to form an emulsion. Reserve.
   
3. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel the skins off with the back of a knife. Cut the potatoes into chunky pieces and add to the salad bowl.
4. Add your parsley, chopped pickles, scallions and dill and toss to coat the potatoes well. Adjust seasoning with coarse salt and fresh ground pepper.
5. Serve warm or at room temperature.
   

Comforting Chicken Paprikash

A few years ago while on my way to Greece for my summer vacation, I stopped for a few days in Budapest, Hungary.

Budapest is really two cities: Buda sits on the hilly western bank of the Danube River and Pest to the east. Combined the two cities are known as Budapest.

Hungary is known for it's rich history of striving to be independant, Hungarians are great at business, some of the prettiest women I've seen were in Budapest and, they also boast of a rich cuisine that is washed down with their excellent wines.

Hungarian cuisine is dominated by the use of paprika which is made by drying and grinding red peppers into a fine powder. Paprika can be found sweet, hot or smoked and it's used to season soups, stews and sausages.

Today, I went with a more lean approach to Chicken Paprikash by using boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Although the meat was tender, it still had a dry texture and I'll use boneless, skinless chicken thighs for the next time Paprikash is summoned to the table.

Chicken Paprikash is remarkably easy, a one skillet dish (along with some egg noodles) and the flavour scale is quite high considering how easy this is. Make sure you add the sour cream mixture at the end...it'll provide your Paprikash with the right thickness and stick well to the noodles.

Chicken Paprikash

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup all purpose flour
salt and pepper
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 large onion, sliced
1 large green bell pepper, sliced
1 bay leaf
1/4 dry white wine
1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
2 cups of chicken stock
1 pint of roasted cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 scallion, sliced

1. Wash and pat-dry your chicken. Season with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour.
   
2. Add the olive oil to a large skillet and brown the chicken breasts under medium heat or 2 1/2 minutes a side. Brown in batches and reserve the chicken.
3. In the same skillet, add some more oil and toss in the onions, green peppers and garlic and bay leaf and saute for about 5 minutes for the vegetables to soften.
4. Add the wine and deglaze the brown bits from the pan. Now add the paprika, your chicken stock and cherry tomatoes and bring to a boil.
   
5. Cut your chicken breasts into fork sized strips. Add your chicken into the skillet, stir in and simmer with the lid on for about 30 minutes. Cook uncovered for another 10 minutes for the sauce to thicken. Take off the heat and reserve.
   
6. In a cup, mix the sour cream with the corn starch. While stirring, mix in the sour cream mixture into the Paprikash.
7. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped scallions. Serve on a bed of egg noodles.
   

Balsamic Asparagus Salad

Last night the temperature dropped and we now have colder, normal Canadian weather with us once again.

I've just finished bringing in the evening's firewood from the garage. I'll be making dinner in the fireplace over cherry wood with some Keftedes, Macedonian Sausages, roasted red peppers, tomato slices, feta cheese and some crusty bread.

The spread's gonna be meat-heavy so, I was thinking of how to balance out the meal with some more vegetables.

I had some asparagus in the fridge that had to be cooked before it got thrown away. I found this recipe for Balsamic Asparagus Salad at www.recipezaar.com and I just finished dressing the salad. It's simply delicious!

I omitted the sliced mushrooms and cheese, this salad is just fine as I'm presenting it to you today.

Balsamic Asparagus Salad

2 bunches of thin asparagus
2 tsp. of fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. of balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. of Dijon mustard
1 large clove of garlic,
6 Tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup of loosely packed chopped basil
(I used 1/4 cup frozen basil)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Trim the asparagus from the fibrous, woody ends (discard) and cut into 1 inch pieces.
2. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add a good amount of salt and blanch the asparagus for about 5-7 minutes.
3. Pour the asparagus into a strainer and run cold water to stop the cooking process. Allow the water to drain for about 5 minutes.
4. In a salad bowl, add the garlic, vinegar, mustardand lemon juice and some salt and pepper and mix well. While whisking, pour in the olive oil until your dressing is emulsified.
5. Add your asparagus and basil to the bowl and toss to coat the asparagus with the dressing.
6. Season with salt and pepper and serve cool or at room temperature.

Gambas al Pil Pil (Sizzling Garlic Prawns)

Today I'm so excited to show you this quick and easy Tapas dish. Tapas are one and the same like Greek mezedes or...appetizers.

Today, I cook for Nuria, my dear blog friend at Spanish Recipes. Pay a visit to her site as she injects humour, info on Spanish cuisine and culture and she'll even sing a song for you.

I loved this dish for it's simplicity, quick cooking time and fabulous flavour.

Look at the photo...it tasted as good as it looks!



Gambas al Pil Pil (Sizzling Garlic Prawns)
(for 2)

Olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 Small red chilli
12 medium-sized shrimp, peeled, deveined with the tail
Salt
2 Tbsp. white wine
2 tsp. chopped parsley

1. Add olive oil to a frying pan until about 1.5cm deep. Heat over medium high heat.
   
2. Add garlic, chilli and they should be sizzling. Cook for 15 seconds then turn the prawns over.
3. Add salt, white wine and parsley. Spoon prawns into a serving dish and pour over juices.
   

Avgolemeno Soup

As I've written previously, Avgolemeno (eggs & lemon) are one of the most used bases and flavours for Greek cooking.

Here, we see Agvolemeno being used in it's most rudimentary yet most satisfying and comforting way, as a chicken soup.

Avgolemeno soup is the Greek's answer to chicken noodle soup. I swear, this soup will cure the common cold, warm you on a cold, winter night, or satisfy you for lunch with a sandwich.

The key to any good soup starts with good stock. Avgolemeno requires good chicken or turkey stock. If you don't have any (nor the patience), then use some good quality (low sodium) commercial stock.

Greeks will enjoy this soup with or without the chicken meat inside. This time around is just soup and noodles.

Another variance is Avgolemeno can be served with rice in it. I could eat it with rice or with noodles, but I prefer the family favourite, noodles.

Greeks will often use φιδές (fee-thess) or Vermicelli nests as the noodle of choice. One of my biggest pet peeves as a kid was trying to negotiate those long, awkward noodles found in Campbell's chicken noodle soup...φιδές solves that problem!

Avgolemeno Soup

10 cups of Chicken or Turkey Stock
6 nests of φιδές or Vermicelli (fine) nests
salt to taste

Avgolemeno

2 eggs
1 tsp. flour
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/2 cup cold water

1. Bring your stock to a boil. Once it's boiling, break up the φιδές with you hand and drop into the boiling stock. Boil for 10 minutes and turn off the heat.
2. Start making your Avgolemeno by adding your aeggs and flour in a big bowl and whisk them together with a fork.
3. While still beating, whisk in your lemon juice until incorporated and then whisk in the cold water.
   
4. Take the pot of soup off the element.
5. While whisking, add one ladle at a time of the soup to the Avgolemeno mixture (to a total of 4 ladles) to temper the heat of the Agvolemeno).
6. Add the contents of of the bowl back into the soup and stir in. Let the soup rest for about 5 minutes.
7. Adjust seasoning with salt and serve with cracked black pepper, chives, crackers or bread.

Figs In Mavrodaphne With Manouri (Συκα και Μαυροδαφνη με μανουρι)

Last year I found many recipes for this Greek dessert on the internet. I've patiently waited for the winter to come so that I may finally try this recipe.

This post is a long time coming. I haven't had a sweet fig since I got back from Greece in September of last year.

I love figs. A lot! I love figs so much because they are some of the sweetest fruit one will ever taste. To those that have tasted tree-ripened figs, you'll know that they are sweet as jam.

To everyone else who hasn't had the pleasure, I hope you get to taste a fresh, ripe fig. Not one that's been transported cross-country from California to the eastern seaboard or from the Mediterranean to north and western Europe.

I compare the taste of a fresh fig to the pleasure of a biting into a vine-ripe tomato, a just ripe grape or a perfectly orange, ripe and aromatic mango.

Last summer, I tried looking for recipes that used fresh figs and there aren't many. I tried a few that would highlight and complement the fig's natural taste. It's winter, and those recipes will have to wait until later this summer.

In the meantime, let's play with dried figs. Here's an ingredient that captures the epitome of summer. A fig that's picked at just the right time, dried by the same sun that gave it life, flavour, beauty. To be enjoyed anew during the long winter months until Summer teases us again for just a few months.

I love figs. Greece has lots of figs - free figs! Greece has fig trees the way Canada has maple trees. Neighbors encourage to you pick-off their fig trees before they over-ripen and attract bees and such.

This recipe is said to be offered in many popular tavernas in Athens. Here I have figs poached in a Greek fortified wine (Mavrodaphne) and spices familiar to Greek cuisine and a bed of fresh, mildly savory Manouri cheese.

Figs In Mavrodaphne With Manouri (Συκα και Μαυροδαφνη με μανουρι)

12 dried Calimyrna (Greek) figs
2/3 cup Mavrodaphne wine (or any other fortified, red wine)
1 cinnamon stick
4 whole cloves
1/2 cup Greek thyme honey
1 Tbsp cold water
1 tsp. corn starch
mint for garnish
some slices of Manouri cheese
boiling water

1. In a bowl, place the figs inside and pour enough boiling water to cover the figs. Cover the bowl and allow the figs to soften for an hour.
2. Discard the water and add the softened figs to a pot along with the wine, cinnamon, cloves and honey.
3. Bring to a boil and then reduce and simmer for 30-45 until the figs are plump and tender and the sauce has reduced to half.
4. Mix your cold water with the corn starch and stir it in to the sauce. You should now have a a sweet, thick, dark syrup. If you need to sweeten it a bit, add another splash of Mavrodaphne.
   
5. Arrange your slices of Manouri cheese on a plate and carefully place the figs on top and spoon over some of the syrup over the figs.
6. Garnish with mint and serve warm.
   

Chillies & Cheese Snack (Σνακ με κεφαλογραβιερα και Mπoukobo)

I recently made a post of a poached pears recipe and a good discussion on Greek words ensued in the comments section.

It was revealed that the Greeks have a word for everything. I once witnessed a lecture conducted in English but he exclusively used Greek-routed words. Awesome!

If the Greeks have a word for everything, then why is there no word in Greek for Snack (Σνακ)?

I came across this recipe from the November issue of Gastrononos, found in Greece's broadsheet, Kathemerini.

They titled the recipe as " Σνακ με κεφαλογραβιερα και Mπoukobo" or a Snack With Kefalograviera With Boukovo.

Today was my first time making this snack and to my surprise, the family loved it! I'm in awe because my toughest critics are my family. We have full-blown arguments about how to cook things, proper seasoning, correct ingredients, method of cooking, sources of food, blah, blah, blah.

We take our food seriously and that's a double-edged sword. I've witnessed arguments about feta, tzatziki, oregano, olive oil, honey, salt, vinegar, ouzo, retsina and wine and the list goes on!

Before today, I've never had this Greek snack. It's a pan-cooked snack that contains flour, cheese and Boukovo.

Boukovo is a Greek red chili flake. What makes it unique is that Boukovo is oven dried or better yet, the red chili gets dried over smoky, burning embers. Think smoky red chili flakes.

I'm presenting Boukovo to you and to Weekend Herb Blogging, this week being hosted by Rinku of Cooking in Westchester.

The other Greek ingredient in this snack is Kefalograviera. It's an aged white sheep's milk hard cheese with a light brown rind. It's salt content can be described as being somewhere in the middle between Romano and Parmesan.

For this snack, you'll need a non stick pan and a lid. They make a great snack, an appetizer or a nibble with some wine.




Chillies & Cheese Snack (Σνακ με κεφαλογραβιερα και Mπoukobo)

1 cup all purpose white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 heaping Tbsp. of baking powder
2 eggs
6 Tbsp. of plain Greek yogurt
6 Tbsp. of olive oil
1/2 cup grated Kefalograviera
1 Tbsp. of Boukovo (red chili flakes)
salt & pepper to taste

1. Add all your ingredients into one big bowl and mix until thoroughly incorporated. The dough should be wet but firm (add some more yogurt and oil if too dry, more flour if too wet).
2. Turn on your stovetop to a medium-low, place the non-stick pan on the burner with the cover on and allow the pan the warm up for about 5-7 minutes.
3. Without pouring any oil into the pan, use a teaspoon to scoop and place pieces of dough in the pan. Cover with the lid and cook for 6-7 minutes and flip and cook another 6-7 minutes.
   
4. Repeat step#3 for the second batch. This recipe makes about 30 pieces. Serve warm or room temperature.
   

Cooking With.........A Stapler?

You know what this blog needs? Is more brown paper bags! I've enjoyed baking fish in a brown paper bag and I'm satisfied that there are no health risks to using them for cooking purposes.

Let me assure you that brown paper lunch bags are not made of recycled paper, the cooking time (2.5 minutes) will do nothing to the paper and the use of one staple is not dangerous, it will not spark in your microwave and no damage will be done to you or your appliance.

I also recently tripped upon Alton Brown's method of "make your own microwave popcorn" and I'm very pleased to say that the method works, kinda. I found his recipe when I was concerned about the recent news of commercial microwave popcorn being not that good for you (albeit still tasty).

I first tried his recipe with fine sea salt and olive oil but sadly it didn't taste that good as the olive oil was too heavy and the sea salt fell to the bottom of the bag (rather than adhere to the kernels).

My second attempt was marginally better with the use of more sea salt and corn oil.

My third, final and most successful attempt was achieved when I finally found popcorn salt at my local bulk food store.

Alton is right (again), this fine popcorn salt adheres better to the popcorn and it tasted as good as any other microwave popcorn that's out there. You may also add a dash of any of the popcorn flavourings that are out there. So long Orville Redenbacher!



Microwave Popcorn at Home

1/4 cup good popping corn
2 tsp. of corn oil
1/2 tsp. of popcorn salt
paper lunch bag
stapler

1. In a bowl, toss the popcorn with the oil and salt. Slide the contents into a brown paper lunch bag.
2. Fold the top of the bag and staple once.
3. Microwave on "High" for 2.2 minutes (no burnt popcorn).
4. Carefully take the bag out of the microwave, pour into a bowl and add any other flavouring you desire.

Επιδορπιο (Dessert)

Last year, I learned a new Greek word I never heard before, eπιδορπιο.

Επιδορπιο (Epidorpio) simply means dessert but I've quizzed my Greek friends on how to say dessert in Greek and they look at me like I'm daft.

"Γλυκά (Glyka) are sweets, DUH", was the response I usually got.

I kept on the telling everyone, including my dad that they were wrong, that here's a more precise word for dessert. Επιδορπιο is my new Greek word of the month. I think of ways to inject it into my Greek conversations.

After surfing the 'net and perusing the menus of Greek estiatoria (restatarants), my suspicions were correct. Επιδορπιο was how uppity Greeks liked to call their desserts. When one is dining in one of Athens' upper crust estiatoria, you will order a dessert from the Επιδορπιο menu.

I think I've flogged this word enough (for today), on to dessert. (Επιδορπιο, DAMN, I said it again)

This dessert was inspired by a recipe I saw in the September issue of Olive Magazine (Greece version) and it's a Greek dessert in that I've used wine from the island of Samos, pears, Greek honey, cloves, cinnamon and I made a pseudo Greek coffee.

The island of Samos is in the Aegean and it's within site of Turkey. Samos is renowned for it's Moscato grape varietal of wines. I had some Samos Muscat left over from the holidays and poaching some pears seemed like a noble way to finish the bottle.

Muscat (Moscato) wine is usually enjoyed with a dessert and in this case, it's in the dessert. This wine is sweeter than regular whites but nowhere near as sweet as a port or sherry.

I think 2008 will be a big year for Greek wine. Last year's dry weather was ideal for a good wine harvest, the Greeks are flogging their products better than ever and the demand for lesser known wine varietals is up. What's old is new again!

Poached Pears in Muscat
(for 6)

6 Bosc pears (with stems)
1 cinnamon stick
4-5 cloves
1/4 cup honey
1 slice of ginger
1/2 cup Samos Muscat (or Moscato wine)

For the Pseudo-Greek Coffee

A scoop of good chocolate ice cream per serving, melted

1. Peel the skins of your pears with a vegetable peeler but leave the stems on. Core each pear (from th bottom) to remove the core and seeds.
2. Into a medium sized pot, add your wine, cloves, cinnamon and honey and place your pears upright in the poaching liquid and bring to a boil.
3. As soon as the liquid is boiling, reduce to medium low and simmer (lid on) for 30-40 minutes. Take out the pears and reserve.
4. Uncover the pot and reduce the remaining liquid until it comes to the consistency of a syrup.
5. Arrange the poached pear in a plate, pour the syrup over top and garnish with nuts and a side of Pseudo-Greek coffee.
   

French Canadian Pea Soup

For those not in the know, Canada is a bilingual country where our two official languages are French and English. Most of the Francophones live in the province of Quebec and some families can trace their roots to the first settlers in North America.

English and French Canadians are similar yet different. I won't get into Canadian politics but French-Canadians are a unique bunch. Did you know that advertisers have to devise totally separate campaigns for Quebecers? They do have varying tastes: prefer Pepsi to Coke, a strange love of corn dogs, a sweet spot for rich snack cakes (Mae west) and they like to spread pork fat (Creton) on toast.

Beyond some of their quirky eating habits, the Quebecois also have a rich history of loving food and of having a wonderfully delicious local cuisine.

One of my favourite French-Canadian soups is the the Split Pea Soup. It's a very simple dish but it requires one quality ingredient...a smoked ham hock.

At first, you wonder if this dish will amount to anything good but allow the simmering of the ham to extract all it's flavour. This is one of my favourite soups for it's ease in preparation, high taste factor and very comforting.


French-Canadian Pea Soup

1 smoked ham hock
one 16oz. package of yellow split peas
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
7 cups of water
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. ground pepper
1 bay leaf
salt to taste

1. In a large pot, add the water, ham hock, split peas, allspice, onions, carrots, peppercorns and bay leaf.
   
2. Bring to a boil then cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook on medium-low heat for approx. an hour.
3. Remove the ham hock and bay leaf from the soup. Adjust seasoning of the soup with salt and pepper. Using your hand blender, puree the soup to the consistency of your choice (I left some peas in tact).
4. Using a fork and knife, scrap the meat off the bone and flake the meat into bite sized pieces. Add your ham meat back into the soup, stir in and serve hot.

Greco Linguine

I'm naughty. Not naughty in the "twirling neighborhood cats by their tail" way or not naughty in the "star of my own XXX-rated home movies", but naughty. I'll let Greek bureaucrats (Zaxopoulos) corner the home DVD market!

I was recently at the dentist's and while waiting for the "as usual late dentist"out to attend to me, I was perusing the orphaned, often out-dated magazines that get donated to doctors' offices all the time.

These magazines can be a great source of recipes. I help rid the world of back issues of magazines. Sometimes I see a good recipe, I rip out the page. Sometimes I see a few good recipes, I nick the whole magazine. Mea culpa.

I recently "liberated" the latest issue of Chalelaine magazine and a gorgeous, easy and delicious recipe for a linguine dish jumped right out at me.

I followed the recipe quite closely but I used roasted cherry tomatoes, rather that the canned tomatoes they called for. This dish was a hit with the natives (Greeks).

I was a little concerned with this dish being too salty from the olives and feta but the flavour was just right.

In this instance, I don't think Kalamata olives work. I used "Throumpes" olives which are cured and aged in salt, thus giving them their wrinkled look. I soaked them in water to rid them of their saltyness.

Another important aspect of this dish is using quality feta. Cheap, grocery store feta is usually of cow's milk, crumbled, in a plastic bag or small container and offensively salty. Also, there are many pretenders to feta and in Europe, only this style of cheese made in Greece can be called Feta.

The bottom line, this is a an easy dish with some remarkably simple flavours: starch from the linguine, sweet shrimp, salty feta, smoky roasted tomato and savoury olive. Use quality ingredients and this siple dish will shine.

Greco Linguine
(for four)

1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, oven roasted with their juices
1/2 cup pitted black olives (Throumpes), halved 1 Tbsp. dried Greek oregano
splash of balsamic vinegar
1 green zucchini, halved & cut into semi-circle pieces
24 medium-sized shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup of crumbled feta
1 cup of chopped fresh parsley
Extra-virgin olive oil for finishing
1lb. of linguine
some pasta water

1. In a large pot, get some water to a boil. Add a good amount of salt when the water comes to a boil and cook your linguine according to the package's instructions.
2. In a large skillet, add your olive oil and bring up to a medium high heat. Add your garlic and cook for a minute. Now add your cherry tomatoes, oregano, olives and simmer for 1o-12 minutes.
   
3. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar, your zucchini and shrimp and stir in. Leave the skillet on the burner but turn off the heat.
4. When your linguine is cooked, strain the pasta and then add it immediately to the sauce along with the feta and parsley. Toss to coat the pasta well for about 5 minutes. The residual heat from the hot pasta should finish cooking your shrimp.
5. Drizzle some good extra-virgin olive oil on top.
   

Zucchini Sticks

Years ago, when I was of legal age to drink - no wait. Years ago when I would I would get into a bar underage, it was often for "wing night".

I'd have to say that chicken wings became a bar staple from the mid-1980's. Back then I worked as a gas bar attendant, part time of course. Each Tuesday was "wing nite" at Wizards Pub & Tavern.

I would take the mechanics, the owners of the garage & gas station, my parents, some cousins, some friends and we would feast on 10 cent wings! Back then I would usually eat 20 wings, we'd share pitchers of beer and we always ordered sides of zucchini sticks.

I knew these were pre-made, frozen bar munchies that were thrown in the deep fryer made to order.

I know deep frying makes everything tasty but this 40 year old has to start watching what and how I eat. Oh, don't worry...I want selling out to a diet of flax seed but there's nothing wrong with eating smart.

If these weren't as good as the deep-fried zucchinis, I would be sharing this recipe for you. I was motivated to dry baked zucchini sticks from seeing a post similar to this over at Janet Is Hungry.

Janet hasn't been writing of late but I hope she's back soon. I enjoyed her food and her sense of humour. Janet, come back!

Zucchini Sticks

2 zucchini, quartered then cut into sticks
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup corn flour
2 tsp. sea salt
1 Tbsp Italian mixed dry herbs
1 egg, whisked with some milk

Preheated 425F oven

1. Wash and cut the ends of your zucchini. Quarter each zucchini (lengthwise) and reserve.
2. In one bowl, mix your flour, corn flour, dry herbs, salt and pepper.
3. In another bowl, whisk the egg and some milk with a fork.
4. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and treat with cooking spray.
5. Dip your zucchini in the egg, then dredge them in the flour mix and finally lay them on the baking tray.
6. Set your rack to the upper-middle part of the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until they are golden brown.
7. Season with salt and serve warm with sour cream.

Skate With a Lemon Caper Sauce (σελάχι με λεμονι & καπαρη)

No meat today. That's okay because I get to treat myself to seafood. What's that you see in the photo? It's skate wing.

First off, don't be freaked out by trying this seafood out. It's inexpensive ($1.99/lb), easy to cook, it's tasty, has a tender, flaky white meat and there are no pin bones.

Skate has a bone that has the texture of cartilage and one can eat skate with your hands or simply flake off the meat with your fork. Either way it's easy to eat and it's delicious!

Another thing you should know about skate is that it's quite easy to tell if it's fresh or not. Your first indicator is smell. Get up close and take a whiff of your skate. If you get any remote ammonia-like odour, don't buy it. Also, the skate wing should be smooth, not slimy to the touch.

All fresh seafood should smell of the sea. If any other odour comes to you, leave it alone. There's an old saying, "the best seafood is the freshest seafood". Next time you feel like having seafood, ask the fish monger what's the freshest catch of the day. You will end up with superior results.

For Christmas, I received a new cook book, Greek of course and it's called New Greek Cusine, written by Aristedes Pasparakis and Byron Ayanoglu. I personally know Byron as he used to be a client of mine at the bank.

Byron's been writing, traveling and enjoying food for many years and he's written many other books on different cuisines. He'll also appear with Anthony Bourdain in No Reservations where he guides Tony through the Greek Islands.

This skate dish was inspired by Byron and Aristedes' recipe but I tweaked it to my liking. The skate was delicate, contrasted by the crust from the flour and, the lemon, oil and salty capers topped off a refreshing seafood dish. I'm looking forward to trying more recipes from this book!

Skate With a Lemon Caper Sauce (σελάχι με λεμονι & καπαρη)
(for two)

1 skate wing, cut into long slices
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup corn flour
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup capers
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 lemon slices
1 tsp. caper brine

1. Whisk together the wine, oil and season with salt & pepper to your taste. Set aside.
2. In a small pot, cover the lemon slices with just enough water to cover them. Place the lid on the pot and simmer for 10 minutes or until the rind is soft. Drain and set aside.
3. Rinse your skate wing and pat dry. Cut it into long thin strips, perpendicular to the main bone column.
4. In a large skillet, mix your flour, corn flour with some salt and pepper and dredge the pieces of skate in the flour mixture.
5. Heat a large fry pan on high. Add 2 turns of olive oil in pan and reduce to medium, then place your pieces of skate into the skillet and cook for five minutes. Flip the skate pieces and fry for another five minutes. Add some butter and swirl the skillet so the butter can reach the whole surface of the skillet. Transfer your skate to a plate and keep warm.
6. Put the same skillet back on the the stove on medium heat and add the lemon slices, oil, capers, caper brine and reduce for 2-3 minutes. Add a slurry of corn starch and water (1 tsp corn starch & 1 Tbsp. water) if you wish to thicken the sauce.
   

Swedish Meatballs in Sour Cream Dill Sauce

I've had Swedish Meatballs on mind for awhile and I don't mean since The Muppet Show last aired either! When I worked at a downtown bank, there was a diner I used to go to for lunch that had the same specials on the same day, each week.

Monday was schnitzel, Tuesday was chicken, Wednesday was Swedish Meatballs. They used to serve them BIG and on a bed of rice.

I've seen Swedish Meatballs served with potatoes, on pasta but for nostalgic reasons, I served it with rice. Oh what hell, it's Wednesday today....must be Swedish Meatballs!

You should know, this isn't the first time I've tried Swedish Meatballs. Other attempts were, shall I say...even snorted at by the dogs.

I'm very happy with the result of this dish. The flavours surprisingly appealed to my Greek parents and I think it's quite wonderful that a Swedish dish would include nutmeg, allspice, dill, sour cream (reminiscent of yogurt).

Another aspect that pleased me was that I successfully by-passed pan-frying the meatballs. I have no problems with sauteeing, frying or browning but I just don't like ground meat being fried. One often has to cook them off in batches, wasting time over the stove and often you end up with burnt bits rather than brown bits.

With my approach, I baked the meatballs off in the oven and the colour was like from a grill, some pan drippings and a healthier meatball.

Swedish Meatballs
(for 4)

1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 lb. ground pork
2 tsp. ground all spice
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 egg
1/2 to 3/4 bread crumbs
1 medium onion, grated
1 clove of garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large bowl, grate your onion and add your minced garlic. Add your ground meat, egg, spices, salt, pepper and bread crumbs. Mix well with your hands. Add more breadcrumbs until the mixture holds together well in your hand. Microwave or fry off a small meatball to taste test. Adjust seasoning and refrigerate for at least two hours.
2. Take your meatball mixture out of the fridge and form the meatballs.
3. Preheat your oven to 400F (middle rack). Grease a large, oven-safe skillet with some sunflower oil and lay the meatballs out on the tray.
   
4. Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes (turn them halfway through) until they are browned. Reserve the meatballs and keep warm.

Sour Cream Dill Sauce

2 Tbsp. of butter
2 Tbsp. of flour
1 cup of beef broth
1/2 cup of sour cream
2 Tbsp. of chopped fresh dill
1 tsp. of paprika
salt and pepper to taste

1. Return the same skillet to low heat on the stove and add your butter. Once it's melted, add your lour and stir it for 1-2 minutes until it's turned light brown.
2. Add your beef broth and paprika then bring the heat up to medium and keep stirring until you see the sauce thickening.
3. Lower the heat a bit and add your sour cream one spoonful at a time. Stir each spoonful until it's incorporated into the sauce.
4. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Add your chopped dill, stir it in and add your meatballs to heat through in the sauce.
5. Serve immediately over a bed of rice or pasta.
   

Shrimp Bisque

The first time I ever had a bisque was in the late 80's, at Toronto's now defunct Whistling Oyster. A bisque is a thick, creamy , highly seasoned soup, classically using shrimp, crab or lobster. It is of French origin and it's the snobbish cousin of chowder.

I saved this recipe from the Toronto Star, written by Marion Kane, who describes her very first taste of lobster bisque as:

"I can only describe the texture as akin to silky smooth, slightly melted soft ice cream. In every bite, there was a chunk of tender, toothsome lobster. The flavour was full-bodied and robust with a hint of sherry, a sweetish seafood taste laced with saltiness and, of course, cream."

I echo her same thoughts on tasting a bisque. This is one of my best soup experiences, ever. I know shrimp cannot compare with lobster but you'll understand how fantastic the flavours are when you taste your first spoonful.

This soup requires of you to take a few extra steps but don't cut corners. It's supposed to be a rich soup and it should be aptly served for a special occasion.

One final note...this soup is thickened by pureeing the rice, half the seafood and of course, the cream. Uncle Ben's converted rice is recommended but I found the starches in Arborio rice to work just fine.

Without the intent of sounding racy, are you ready for an orgasmic experience? I made relatives moan when they tasted this bisque. A pleasantly odd moment. I think they enjoyed it.

Shrimp Bisque

1 1/2lbs. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, peeled & chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled & chopped
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups of fish or chicken stock or clam juice
2 cups of water
2 cups dry white wine
2 cups of canned tomatoes, chopped with juices
1/2 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup brandy
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme (1/2 tsp. dried)
1/2 cup arborio rice or Uncle Bens converted rice
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 Tbsp. dry white wine
2/3 cup whipping cream
seat salt and fresh ground black pepper

1. Peel shrimp. Reserve shells. Chop shrimp into 2 or 3 pieces each. Reserve shrimp in the fridge.
2. In a large heavy saucepan, heat 1 Tbsp. of butter and oil over medium-low heat and add your onions, celery, carrots and garlic. Cook until soft or for 15 minutes (but not browned).
3. Add the shrimp shells and cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Add flour and cook while stirring for a minute or so. Add wine (2 cups), stock, water, tomatoes, half each of sherry and cognac and the thyme.
4. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer , covered for 45 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Strain through a sieve into another large saucepan, pushing down all the solids with a wooden spoon to remove all the liquid and extract all the flavours from the vegetables. Discard solids.
5. Add your rice and tomato paste to the mixture in the saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce to low and simmer, covered. Stir occasionally to make sure the rice doesn't stick to the bottom. Simmer for another 30-45 minutes or until the rice is cooked.
6. Meanwhile, add the remaining butter to a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the shrimp, cook while stirring for about 4 minutes until they have just turned pink. Add the remaining wine (2 Tbsp.) to the skillet to deglaze.
7. Add half of the cooked shrimp along with any juices to the bisque mixture. Transfer to a blender or a food processor and puree until smooth and creamy.
8. Whisk in whipping cream along with remaining sherry and brandy.
9. Add salt, pepper and remaining shrimp. Adjust taste with a squeeze of lemon, if desired.
10. Heat over low heat to serve. Do not over boil.
    

Roasted Loin of Pork With a Fennel Seed Crust

I tried this dish a few years ago. I was trying to impress my cousin's wife who is German and she knows a thing or two about roast pork. I had her Sunday roast pork with gravy, potatoes and braised purple cabbage. She impressed me!

I have found that fennel seeds really complement the taste of pork meat. Fennel seeds aren't used as much as other spices but they should!

Fennel seeds are native to the Mediterranean and also found in Asia (especially India). It has a licorice like flavour, similar to anise but slightly different.

In India, fennel seeds are often chewed after dinner as a breath freshener. In ancient Greek, fennel was called marathon (μάραθον).

Fennel seeds often provide quick and effective relief from gas, cramps and indigestion.

I'm offering this post for this week's edition of Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted by Vani at Batasari.

The hostess Vani will soon provide the readers with a "round up" of all the recipes, stories and information provided by many bloggers like me.

What happened to that pork? Oh yeah...no leftovers is what happened! My trusted meat thermometer worked like a charm, leaving me with a moist and tender roast loin of pork.

Roast Loin of Pork With a Fennel Seed Crust
(feeds 6)

1 loin of pork (I used boneless, 8lbs)
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
2 tsp. fennel seeds + 2 tsp. fennel seeds for topping
1 medium onion, grated
1 tsp ground pepper
coarse sea salt
cracked black pepper
Preheated 425F oven

1. Rinse and pat-dry your pork loin. In a bowl, mix your grated onion, mustard, garlic powder, thyme, fennel seeds and ground pepper. Rub the pork thoroughly with the marinade and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Bring back to room temperature before roasting.
2. Place the pork loin in a roasting pan, fat side up. Generously sprinkle coarse salt and cracked black pepper only on the top part of the loin. Sprinkle some more fennel seeds on top.
3. Roast in the oven uncovered for 40 minutes (at 425F) and then reduce the heat to 375F and add a cup of water to the bottom of the pan to prevent burning.
   
4. Cook until the internal temperature of the pork has reached 170F. Remove the roast from the pan and let stand for 15-20 minutes before carving. Time to make your gravy.

Pork-Apple Gravy

1 cup of pork jus, skimmed, deglazed and strained from the pan
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
2 Tbsp. flour
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup apple juice
salt and pepper to taste

1. Skim the fat from the roasting pan and discard. Place the pan on a burner and add your water to deglaze. Scrape the pan to loosen the brown bits. Strain and reserve in a cup.
2. In a medium sized saucepan, add your butter and flour and cook your flour while stirring under medium heat for 5 minutes.
3. Add your pork jus, stock and apple juice and simmer while stirring. Reduce until you've achieved your desired thickness. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
4. Serve over your pork and mashed potatoes.
   

Sardines and Such

You see them on the shelves of your grocery store. You see them in the discount bin, you have them in your cellar (a whole case), just in case Armegeddon arrives.

You can now have them included in your recipe box. My first experiment with sardine tins came in the fall of 2007 and I read an article on sardines in a Greek magazine. Sardines are packed in Omega 3 fats and because they are low on the food chain of fish, they have little (if any) exposure to mercury.

The article reviewed different tins of sardines and then it went on to show different ideas for the maligned sardine tin. The one that caught my eye was Sardine Dip!

Sardine Dip

2 tins of sardines, boned (do not drain the oil)
2 cloves of garlic
1 scallion, chopped
1/2 sweet banana pepper, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
3 Tbsp. of parsley

1. Add all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until you achieve your desired consistency.
2. Serve on toasted pita bread, crostinis or rustic bread.

Later in 2007, I came across a post about a bread dip mix at Pam's Sidewalk Shoes. She showed us all how to make Carrabbas Italian Dread Dip Mix and enjoy at home.

At first I thought the ingredients would make this dip "busy" but "au contraire, mon frere"...the mix goes great with warm bread and good extra virgin olive oil. I even went further by drizzling some good balsamic vinegar in the oil and adding some Parmesan.

The Carrabbas Dip is a great way to get your appetite going!

Are you still with me? Both of the above recipes are connected with what I'm about to show you next.

I recently caught one of Rachel Ray's 30 minute meal's and although I'm not a huge fan of her, I have warmed up to some of her dishes, including her take on Sicilian-Style Sardine Pasta.

You can use her recipe or you can try mine. What I did was to "snaz up" the bread crumbs and mellow out the fishyness sardines can sometimes give out.

This pasta dish turned out to be quick, affordable, healthy, filling and certainly delicious. I'm telling ya, sardines are back and I'd have no problem surprising friends with this dish.


Linguine With Sardines and Bread Crumbs
(serves 4)

1/4 cup olive oil
8 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups of bread crumbs
4 tsp. of Carrabbas Bread Dip Mix
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
coarse salt
cracked black pepper
2 tins of sardines, boned, drained and roughly chopped
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 lb. linguine
salted water

1. Get a large pot of water boiling. Add a generous amount of salt and add your linguine. Cook according to package's instructions.
2. In a large skillet preheated to medium heat, add 1/4 cup olive oil and your garlic and let them infuse their flavour in the oil for a bout a minute. Stir in your bread crumbs until all the oil is absorbed and the crumbs have turned golden brown.
3. Add your Carrabbas bread dip mix into the bread crumbs, mix well and transfer them to a bowl and reserve.
4. In the same skillet, return to a medium heat and add the extra-virgin olive oil, the sardines and chilli flakes. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Add the hot linguine and the bread crumbs to the skillet and toss thoroughly to combine everything well.
6. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and serve.

Marinated Olives

If you're a fan of Greek cuisine, you'll notice that we don't include olives in many of our dishes. Rather, we like to have olives included at our table, to be included with the meal or as part of an array of Mezedes (appetizers).

Olives are almost always present on the Greek table. The variety of olives are infinite and a Greek can endlessly argue as to which kind are the best, the tastiest.

I've been called a "food snob" (I don't know why) but I'm not too fussy when it comes to olives...as long as they aren't too salty, I luv'em!

Here, I'm showing you one way to dress your olives, that is by marinating them. I found this recipe in a booklet that showcased some Spanish dishes. These olives would, no doubt, appear at a table in Spain or Greece.

Use this method as a base to marinate your own olives with your favourite flavours. Try lemon peel, coriander seeds, rosemary or any other combiantions of herbs and spices. This method works best with olives that have been simply jarred in a brine.

Olive is a fruit. It is native to the whole region surrounding the Mediterranean. Olives and it's derivative are heart healthy as they are concentrated in monosaturated fats and they are a good source of vitamin E.

I'm offering this post as my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted this week by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen.

Marinated Olives

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
4 bay leaves
1 clove of garlic, thinly
wide strip of orange rind
1/2 tsp finely chopped red chilli
a few whole peppercorns
2 cups of green olives

1. Combine oil, vinegar, bay leaves and garlic in a small saucepan and place over low heat until just warm. Remove from heat, add orange rind, chilli, peppercorns and then combine with olives in a bowl.
2. Stand olives for at least 3 hours before serving at room temperature.
3. Olives will keep airtight in a container/jar for up to a week.
   

Spaghetti With Aspragus and Shrimp

Having eaten rich foods over the holidays, I wanted to eat something lighter (without raiding my birds' seed mixture).

Up here in Canada, we've been getting some decent produce from South America (primarily Chile), due to it's growing season being the opposite of Canada's.

For the past couple of weeks, I've noticed some decent and affordable asparagus in the market and I've enjoyed them in fritattas, as a side veggie dish and today, in pasta.

This dish is light, has no cheese and is refreshing with the aroma of lemon zest and the zing of paprika and chile flakes.

I also find that many of the best pasta dishes are the simple, quick ones where the sauce is ready in the time it takes for the pasta to be cooked. This spaghetti dish is one of those simple delights.

Spaghetti With Asparagus and Shrimp
(for tw0)

1 dozen shrimp, peeled and de-veined
salt
1 tsp of paprika
1 tsp. of chile flakes
1 dozen asparagus spears, wood parts trimmed and then cut into 1 inch pieces
1/3 cup olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 small red onion, diced
1/4 cup white wine (Chardonnay)
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1/2 a lemon
some pasta water
2 handfuls of spaghetti

1. Get a large pot of water boiling for your pasta. When the water begins to boil, add a generous amount of salt and cook your pasta according to the package's instructions.
   
2. In a bowl, toss your shrimp with some salt, paprika and chile flakes. Place a skillet on a burner on medium high-heat and pour in your olive oil. Add the shrimp and saute until they've just turned pink (about 2 minutes). Remove your shrimp with a slotted spoon and reserve.
3. In the same skillet add your garlic, onions and asparagus and saute them on medium heat for about 5 minutes (or enough to soften).
4. Add your wine and reduce until there's barely any liquid left. Take the skillet off the heat and reserve (you may remove the garlic, if you wish).
   
5. As soon as your spaghetti is cooked, reserve some pasta water and strain the spaghetti.
6. Place you skillet back on the burner (heat off) and add your pasta, shrimp, zest and lemon juice and toss to coat the pasta with the remaining ingredients. Add some pasta water if the sauce is too dry.
7. Serve with a nice Chardonnay.
   

The Ultimate Cheesecake

I've been enjoying this recipe for cheesecake for a few years. It's simply the ultimate, as in Tyler Florence's Ultimate Cheesecake.

Just by merely looking at the Wikipedia entry on cheesecake, I learned that there are many approaches to cheesecake from many countries , that cheesecakes were even being made in Greco-Roman times!

It appears that the version I'm showing you today follows the Ann Arbor-style of cheesecake. Cheesecake has to one of my favourite desserts. I love the sweet and sour one gets with each velvety taste.

Another thing I love about this recipe is that it also shows you how to make the blueberry topping. No more tinny fruit toppings here.

The next time you have to bring a food or dessert item as a host/hostess gift, try Tyler's Ultimate Cheesecake...they'll ask you for the recipe!

Seafood Croquettes

I do enjoy my seafood and one has an excuse to splurge on more expensive seafood during the holiday season.

If your budget allows, you can certainly go 100% with crab meat for this appetizer (or main) but this seafood alternative is delicious, relatively easy and not too hard on the budget.

I've tried many crab, seafood, cod cakes and often there is too much filling or they fall apart or they are greasy from being fried. I think I've avoided all these problems with this seafood croquette.

After trying different approaches to seafood croquettes (cakes), I've found boiled, mashed potato to work best as a binder. I'm also a big fan of Japanese Panko Flakes and if one is to use breading in a recipe, Panko is the way to go!

Late last year, I showed you my Mustard Skordalia and I recently served it alongside with the seafood croquettes. They made a perfect match!

Finally, my recipe is a "no fry" croquette. These are decadent enough so, to offset any guilt from eating these, I baked them so as no one will hesitate to come back to the tray for more.

Seafood Croquettes
(makes 2 trays)

400gr. good quality crab meat, shredded
400 gr. of de-boned salt cod
400 gr. of shrimp, peeled and de-veined
400 gr. of bay scallops
4 medium potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 stalk of celery, diced
2 scallions, finely diced
1/2 cup of mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. Herbs de Provence
juice of 1/2 lemon
Panko bread crumbs
cooking spray

400F oven

1. The day before you are to make your croquettes, soak your salt cod in a bowl of water and change the water every few hours to draw the salt out of the cod.
   
2. Boil the cod in water for about 5 minutes, let cool and reserve.
3. Peel and place your potatoes in boiling salted water for 15 minutes. Drain the water and mash the potato. Reserve.
4. In a large skillet, pour in your olive oil on medium-high heat. Add your onion, celery, red pepper and reduce to medium heat and cook to soften for 10-12 minutes. Add your scallions, mix in well and take of the heat and allow to cool.
5. Peel, de-vein and rinse your shrimp, rinse your scallops and shred your boiled cod fish using your hands. Pat dry all seafood of any excess water. Roughly chop your shrimp and scallops (rough dice).
   
6. Into a large bowl, add your seafood, mashed potato, cooled sauteed vegetables, mayonnaise, mustard, salt, pepper, herbs de provence, paprika, lemon juice and mix all the ingredients well with your hands.
7. Make one croquette and fry it off to taste test for seasoning and binding. Adjust accordingly with salt and pepper and you may add some bread crumbs if the mixture is too wet.
8. Using your hands, form the mixture into patties. In another bowl, pour in your Panko bread crumbs.
9. Coat your seafood croquettes well with the Panko bread crumbs and place on a baking tray that's been treated with cooking spray.
10. Bake on the middle for 12-15 minutes, then flip the croquettes and bake for an additional 12 minutes. Serve warm with Mustard Skordalia.

Vassilopita

Happy New Year to everyone and health and happiness in 2008!

I'll make this brief as I have guests arriving soon but I'd like to share with you the background behind Greeks' cutting of the New Year's cake, as related by Nancy Gaifyllia from www.about.com:

As the New Year rolls over, Greek families all over the world will share the tradition of cutting the Vassilopita, our Greek New Year's cake. January 1st is the name day (saint's day) of Aghios Vassilis (St. Basil), the Greek Santa Claus, and the cake is named in his honor. While Christmas is a more solemn occasion, January 1st is filled with celebrations and the exchange of gifts.

However it's fixed, cutting the Vassilopita is a celebration of wishes for the new year.

Each Vassilopita is baked with a coin or medallion hidden inside which, according to tradition, will bring great good fortune in the new year to the person who gets it, so the cutting is all-important and the focus of great scrutiny! Traditionally, pieces are cut ceremoniously by the head of the household and allocated to the church (Holy Trinity and Virgin Mary), then the head of the household (male), his wife, their children (oldest to youngest), other family members by degree of relatedness, then guests.

Vassilopita

500 gr. unsalted butter
600 gr. sugar
650 gr. all purpose flour
12 eggs (whites & yolks separated)
2 shots of orange liquer
2 heaping Tbsp. of baking powder
zest of 2 oranges

Pre-heated 350F oven

1. Whip your egg whites into a meringue and reserve.
2. In a large bowl, use a mixer to blend the butter, sugar and add eggs, one at a time.
3. Add the liquer and the zest.
4. Add the flour and baking powder
5. Slowly fold the meringue into the batter.
6. Place a foil-wrapped coin randomly into the cake mix.
   
7. Bake on the middle rack for 50 minutes.
8. Let cool on a rack for an hour.
9. Make a paper stencil of the new year you're celebrating, place it on the cake and dust the top of the cake with icing sugar. Remove stencil and reserve to cut at New Year's.