Grilled Chicken With Mustard (Ψητά κοτόπουλο με μουστάρδα)

A condiment that's been embraced by Greeks is mustard. I see it incorporated in dressings, sauces, on plates with meat or in this case - as part of a marinade.

The key to this marinade is good mustard. The mustard in Greece reminds one of a ballpark mustard but it is much milder, not as sharp nor as yellow.

I think the best way to describe it is a hybrid between a French Dijon and what we're used in North America (ballpark/hot dog mustard).

Choose any mustard you like and I'm sure this marinade will become a family favourite. Toronto's having a warm spell and the weather is prime for some more outdoor grilling.

I bought some wonderful boneless & skinless chicken breasts the other day and they were going to be my canvass for my marinade.

If you prefer other cuts of chicken - got for it. I too prefer legs and thighs but these breasts were had for a good deal and I wanted to really test this marinade on chicken breast (which needs all the flavour it can get).

This recipe is also versatile...the chicken gets seared then finished with indirect heat so outdoor grilling or cooking in the kitchen will both work here. If grilling (as I did)...sear the chicken on both sides, then finish off with indirect heat.

If you don't have a grill or it's too cold outside for you (pansies), sear your chicken with an indoor grilling skillet and finish off in the oven.

The final touch is basting your chicken with the reserved marinade you put aside when making the marinade.

Grilled Chicken With Mustard (Ψητά κοτόπουλο με μουστάρδα)
serves 4

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup sunflower oil
8 Tbsp. of mustard
2 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. ground black pepper
4 Tbsp. honey
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp. dried Greek oregano
juice of 1 lemon

1. Rinse and pat-dry your chicken breasts. Place in a zip-lock bag & reserve. In a bowl, mix all of the marinade ingredients and whisk to emulsify. Adjust seasoning and marinade ingredients to your tastes. Pour half the marinade in the bag with the chicken and reserve the other half for basting later. Place your chicken in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours. Bring back to room temperature before grilling.
2. Pre-heat your gas grill to a high heat. Brush the grill to remove any residue from your last grilling session. Using a some paper towel that's been doused in vegetable oil, brush/treat your grill surface with it to lubricate it (prevents sticking).
3. Wipe off the excess marinade from your chicken and discard the marinade in the bag (this will prevent sticking and burning).
4. Turn off the heat on one side of your grill and lace your chicken breasts on thehot side of the grill and sear both sides of your breasts for 2-3 minutes a side.
5. Place your chicken on the side of the grill with no heat and close the cover. Your chicken will now cook through using indirect heat.
6. Cook your chicken until the juices run clear or if using a meat thermometer, the internal temperature has reached 180F.
   
7. Take the chicken off the grill and brush the reserved marinade on both sides. Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
8. Sprinkle dry Greek oregano over each breast, serve with some rice, grilled vegetables and a wedge of lemon.
   

Grilled Pork Chops With Mustard, Honey & Sage

Anyone living in Canada or anyone who's visited here or knows a Canadian, will understand why we're sometimes called "crazy canucks".

From a cooking perspective, throw any bad weather at us and if we want to eat something grilled, we'll grill it in the worst of weather conditions.

I'll grilled outdoors when it's pouring rain, extreme cold and yes, even when it snows. I think the only time I haven't grilled is when it's hailing (hail hurts my head).

The weather around here is definitely closer to winter than it is to summer. It was just a week ago that I had the A/C on. The switch on the thermostat has been flicked towards the furnace...exit...stage winter!

I love me a good pork chop but I do get bored with the same ole' slab of pig on the grill. This quick and easy marinade did the trick, however.

I have autumn flavours working here...sage, mustard, honey, oregano and bay...sound good so far?

I also wanted to test out my new coffee grinder which will never be used to grind coffee.

I've seen many food personalities use this contraption to grind spice mixtures into a fine powder.

I want that too!

Let's grill!

Grilled Pork Chops With Mustard, Honey & Sage
(for 4)

2 Tbsp. of fresh sage
2 tsp. of dry oregano
1 bay leaf
2 tsp. of whole, mixed peppercorns
1 tsp. coarse sea salt
4 tsp. of Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. honey
4 tsp. of canola/sunflower oil
zest of 1/2 lemon
squeeze of fresh lemon juice

1. Using a mortar & pestle or dedicated coffee grinder for spices, add your sage. oregano, bay leaf, salt and peppercorns and grind into powder.
2. Now empty the spice mixture into a large Zip-lock bag, along with the honey, mustard, oil, zest and lemon juice. Mix to incorporate the marinade and taste-test and adjust accordingly.
3. Add your pork chops into the bag and squish the contents so that the marinade has coated all the chops. Throw in the fridge for at least at at least and hour (ideally three hours) and return to room temperature before grilling.
4. Pre-heat your grill to a medium high heat (should be able to count to five when placing your hand over the heat). Brush your grill well to remove any residue and treat it by wiping some canola oil.
5. Season your pork chops with some salt and a little more black pepper and place on your grill.
6. Your pork chops should take 4-5 minutes per side. When the chops are done, allow to rest for a few minutes before serving.
   

Calamari Souvlaki (Καλαμάρια Σουβλάκι)

Yesterday in Naxos, today back at my homebase of Halkidiki, where our summer home is. No worries, we're still be the sea.

For years (since 1980), my family has been coming to Nea Kallikratia for our summer vacations. Here in Toronto, people head north to their cottages to spend the summers but us...we just go to Greece!

The Psarotaverna (seafood tavern) where my family & friends' frequent is called Kapetan Giakoumis and it operates summer & winter and patronized by Greeks and tourists alike for it's fresh, local seafood and affordable prices.

I don't think anyone's paid more than 20 euros (per person) for an array of seafood appetizers and lots of Tsipouro.

Each year that I visit Greece I see new dishes, new takes on classics and I'm all too happy to share these food experiences with you all.

In Greece, "dinner" is eaten late and whenever we go out ( 9 or 10pm), our tables are surrounded by Greeks, as the tourists dine early.

Today's feature is a souvlaki made from calamari. I've seen this done before but what struck me this time was the simplicity and beauty of the presentation.

What "Giakoumis" did was to simply cut the squid then skewer the pieces to reform the shape of the squid's body with alternating coloured peppers and sweet red onions. Brilliant!

There are two paths you can take with this dish: one is to use smaller squids and serve them up as appetizers or go the entree route and use larger squid for each plating.

I've taken the latter approach, using one large squid per person. I do love calamarai, be it poached or fried but when it's grilled, it takes on a whole new dimension...it's my favourite.

Try Calamari Souvlaki...charred calamari, tender to the bite that's balanced by crunchy and sweet peppers and onions between each bite!

Calamari Souvlaki (Καλαμάρια Σουβλάκι)
(per skewer)

1 whole squid, cleaned and cut into equal pieces
wooden skewers (soaked in water overnight)
some red onion (cut to the size of squid pieces)
red, yellow and green peppers (cut to the size of squid)

Marinade
olive oil
minced garlic (or garlic powder)
sea salt
black pepper
balsamic vinegar
dry Greek oregano

1. Even using wooden skewers, soak them the night before so that when they hit the grill, they don't burn away or...use metal skewers like I did today.
2. After you've cleaned your squid, the cut it up in equal pieces but remember to keep the pieces in the sequence of the squid's body.
3. Start skewering the squid, starting from the tail and finishing at the other end with the tentacles, with you alternating a piece of onion or pepper in between each squid segment.
4. Once you've skewered your squid and vegetables, marinate them by first drizzling olive oil, splash of balsamic vinegar, minced garlic, black peppers, a little sea salt ( more later) and some Greek oregano. Allow the calamari to marinade for 1 hour room temperature.
5. Pre-heat your gas or charcoal grill until you have a medium-high heat. You should be able to count up to five when you put you hand above the grill (before it gets to hot).
6. Now season your calamari with sea salt and before grilling, ensure you've brushed your grill when and that you've treated it with some vegetable oil (this will prevent sticking).
7. Grill your squid for about a couple of minutes on each side (until charred) and keep turning the skewers until all sides have that char-grilled look.
8. Drizzle with good olive oil, squeeze some fresh lemon juice and sprinkle some dried Greek oregano.
9. Serve hot with a salad, rice pilaf and some crusty bread.

Tequila Chicken

There's just one more night before I head off to sunny, inviting, satiating and glorious Greece. Like anyone about to go on vacation, my days are filled with tying up loose ends at work, tidying up around the house and eating what I have left in the fridge.

To those that can look into your fridge and whip up an almost gourmet meal, I tip my hat to you! I'm faced with this challenge this week but I had all the ingredients needed for this simple marinated and grilled chicken dish.

If you take a look around the plate.....we have three flavours everyone should consider when prepping a dish.

The chicken represents heat. I don't mean by blow your head off heat but heat as in some spice. Next up is what I call an accordion potato, which represents the savoury part of the plate.

I throughly washed a whole potato and then cut the spud downwards but entirely to the bottom, thus keeping the potato in tact. I melted some butter, poured it over the potato (ensuring butter got into each crevice) and then seasoned it well with a Montreal Steak Spice mixture. Wrap her in a foil blanket at 425F for 30-40 minutes and you have a delish spud with a neat presentation.

Finally, there's a corn on the cob. If you've had corn here in the Americas, you know how naturally sweet the corn is here. This corn represents the sweet side of the plate.

I simply soaked the corn (with it's husk on) in water for a few hours and then I grill for a few minutes side, rotating the corn to grill evenly. No butter, seasonings or spices...just the natural sweetness of the corn.

Don't worry, here's the chicken recipe...it's quick marinade, it's easy and it's delicious.

The marinade makes use of some Mexican ingredients and I think my blogging amigo Ben of What's Cooking would very much approve.

Tequila....Jalapeno, citrus, cilantro. Break out the Mariachi band...we're having Mexican tonight!

Tequila Chicken

1 1/2 lbs. of chicken drums
2 good shots of Tequila
2 Jalapeno peppers, seeded & minced
2 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
juice of 1 lemon (or lime)
1/4 cup of honey
a few good splashes of hot sauce
1 heaping tsp. of ground cumin
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 cup vegetable oil
sea salt

1. Rinse the chicken thoroughly and pat-dry.
2. Add all your marinade ingredients into a zip-lock bag and before you add the chicken, taste to make any adjustments to your marinade and reserve about 1/3 of it for basting later.
   
3. Add your chicken, seal and squish the contents so that the marinade coats all the chicken drums. Place in your fridge for at least 4 hours.
4. Bring your chicken back to room temperature and pre-heat your grill to a medium heat. Season your chicken with salt & place your drumsticks on the grill for about 10 minutes a side or until crispy. Don't forget to brush some reserved marinade on the chicken while grilling.
5. Serve immediately with your favourite summer side dishes.
   

Herbed Sea Salt

First off, I want to thank everyone who responded and replied to my Blogging Rant (see two posts down in my blog) and also for joining the chorus of pissed off bloggers on the topic of ATK.

If you haven't heard what went on, then you were perhaps on a space shuttle mission or you live in a hippie commune, cut off from the rest of the world.

I recently caught an episode of Bobby Flay's Boy Meets Grill and I was pleasantly surprised to see him blend sea salt and herbs to dress some lamb chops.

Although I've seen sea salt and dried oregano used as a finishing seasoning in Greece for many grilled meats, Bobby's approach is to put the mixture on the meat just before grilling. Simple, but brilliant.

I've tried this "method", if you will on three instances...once with a grilled fish, another time with chicken on the barbecue and most recently grilling lamb chops.

Each time I was left with a deeply flavourful dish that's been simply seasoned with sea salt and your choice of fresh herb(s).

All one has to do is add some coarse sea salt and the herb of your choice in to a food processor and then pulse the mixture until it's well blended.

The other day I tried Bobby Flay's flavouring of sea salt with fresh rosemary and I simply brushed some olive oil on the lamb chops, sprinkle the rosemary salt on the meat and grilled the chops for 2 minutes a side for a nice, pink finish to my meat.

People, this is my summer grilling method of the year. Take your sea salt, food processor and pulse away with your favourite herbs. You'll find the herbs really flavour whatever you're grilling and this another one of those instances where you smack yourself on your forehead (okay, I did it twice) and say DUH!!!

Souvlaki

I don't think this blog can go on much longer without including a recipe for souvlaki. You've all had it at Greek restaurants and tavernas, at the diners owned by Greek families and at practically every eating establishment in Greece.

To truly enjoy a souvlaki, one should try it in the home of a Greek. Here, I marinade pork butt into tender grilled morsels.

I find pork butt to be the most flavourful and there's just enough fat in the cut to heighten taste and keep the meat moist. You may certainly use a leaner cut of pork but the butt (shoulder) is my preference.

Souvlaki is what I served at my Birthday party as the meat portion of the evening. As I was serving an array of dishes, I cut the pork into small, bite-sized pieces. When in Greece, you'll notice the souvlakis are smaller than what we see here at Greek restaurants, where the souvlaki and accompaniments are made into a dinner.

In Greeece, souvlaki is more of a street food. Within each block of a city, a small souvlaki and gyro shop will be present with few seats and lots of spots for patrons to stand up, eat a few "kalamakia" (sticks), with some Tzatziki, a beer and some bread.

This marinade is simple, it's got good taste and you can certainly apply it to chicken or lamb souvlaki.

Pork Souvlaki

1 boneless pork butt (shoulder)
1 medium onion, grated
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 heaping tsp. salt
1 heaping tsp. black pepper
1/4 vegetable oil
1 heaping tsp. dried Greek oregano
wooden skewers (soaked overnight)

1. Trim excess fat from your pork butt and cut into uniform pieces.
2. In a large bowl, add your remaining marinade ingredients along with the pork pieces and toss to mix and coat all the meat. Place in the fridge for at least 5 hours and for best results, overnight.
3. Place your wooden skewers in a shallow baking dish that's filled with water. Allow the wooden skewers to soak overnight (so they don't disintegrate when grilling).
4. The next day, a couple of hours before you are going to grill your souvlaki, allow the pork to come to room temperature and then start skewering your meat (it's easier when your meat's at room temperature).
5. Pre-heat your gas grill (or prepare your charcoal grill) and when you have a medium-high heat, grill your souvlakia for 3-4 minutes a side and then keep warm until all the souvlaki are cooked.
6. Squeeze fresh lemon juice on your souvlakia with a sprinkle of fine sea salt and dried Greek oregano.
7. Serve with some crusty bread and Tzatziki.
   

No Fear Blogging

One of the bonuses of food blogging is you sometimes get to meet your fellow bloggers. An even rarer occurance is when you meet one from your same town/city and you greet each other as though we were old friends getting together to play "catch up" and spend the day together.

Such was the case this past Thursday when Judy of No Fear Entertaining and family (posse) came to downtown Toronto to meet me for drinks, lunch and some shopping.

We had lunch in one of the city's dining jewels, located in Cabbagetown and then we headed over to Kensington Market to do some grocery shopping from street-side food stands and some fish from the Greek fellows I know.

As someone who love's food, there can be nothing better than being in the company of others like you who recognize and enjoy good food, never tire of talking about good food or seek out good food. That's how our day went and I wouldn't change a thing about it!

My advice as a blogger is get to know the people who frequent and comment on your blog, use some common sense with who to approach and seek others who share similar life paths. Judy and I grew up in the same era and our jokes, life experiences and Toronto upbringing brought us together (along with the attraction to each other's food).

Without throwing caution to the wind, try and organize a gathering, seek out bloggers where you might go to vacation or extend an invite to anyone who might be visiting your town. In my instance, I got lucky by meeting new friends...thanks Judy and Mr. T!

On to some food, as it's as much about sharing as it is about taste, flavour and aroma. I'll be having some friends over at my place for a BBQ and in the ensuing days, I'll share with you some of my favourite dishes (that Souvlaki recipe is coming) and some new ones and even a "Kalofagas Mama" recipe for a Strawberry Shortcake!

Not being the type to blog without offering up a dish, I leave you with a surprisingly delicious pork chop recipe that's easy to prep, gives neutral pork a punch and it's easy enough to whip for the family for a weeknight barbecue.

What we have here is a Cumin-Crusted Pork Chop with a zesty peach salsa. It's latin inspired with the use of crushed cumin seeds and cilantro perfuming the salsa. I added my own stamp on the dish with some oregano to complement the cumin.

This dish is obviously for those who enjoy the aroma and flavour of cumin. This dish works best if you pound or crush cumin seeds...the ground up crap doesn't cut here and the final result is a mellow, flavourful recipe that puts some new life in the staid grilled pork chop.

Grilled Sesame Scallops

It's playtime by the grill again kiddies. We've been having some hot, dry days that are followed by cool, great for sleep evenings and there's no sign of rain for days. At last, summer as I know it is here.

This means that the cooking theater known as the patio is back in action. Everything tastes good on the grill: meat, chicken, vegetables and in this case, seafood.

Up for grilling today are some sea scallops. This appetizer is Asian inspired and it's very simple, the ingredients aren't hard to locate and it's a nice change from your usual bacon-wrapped scallop.

What we have at play here are scallops, ginger, lime zest, black pepper and toasted sesame oil....wanna taste?

Grilled Sesame Scallops

12 sea scallops, rinsed and patted dry
12 Cremini mushroom caps
12 wooden skewers
3 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
zest of 1 lime
juice of 1/2 lime
1 Tbsp. grated ginger
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
sesame seeds for garnish

1. Fill a container with some water and place your wooden skewers in and allow to soak for a couple of hours.
2. In a large bowl, add your sesame oil, lime zest, ginger, garlic, chives and black pepper and whisk to mix. Adjust according to your tastes and set aside some of the marinade to pour over your grilled scallops.
3. Add your scallops to the bowl and marinade for 1 hour (room temp.) or a couple of hours in the fridge. When you're ready to grill, Add the juice of 1/2 lime into the marinade and toss the mixture and place your scallops and mushroom cap alternately on the soaked skewers.
4. Season your skewers with coarse sea salt and grill on high heat for 2-3 minutes a side.
5. Pour over the reserved marinade as a finishing sauce and and serve immediately.
   

Korean BBQ (Kalbi)

This past week I was downtown and between meetings and I was left with a few free hours in between.

After scouring Yonge Street for a dinner, I finally settled on having some Korean BBQ. What you have here is beef short ribs that are marinated over night and then quickly grilled over high heat to give you a slightly smoky, sweet and spicy serving of beef that's best eaten with chopsticks or your hands.

I remember reading Ruth's post on Korean BBQ and I knew it was time to try my hand at this fantastic beef dish.

Drawing from deep into the bookmarked abyss of recipes, I tried out the marinade as provided by Jen Lee, as shown on Bobby Flay's Boy Meets Grill.

Now allow me to go on a brief tangent on trying out a recipe from a foreign cuisine. If you're going to test/try a recipe...may I suggest going to the source or a trusted person in that cuisine?

If I'm looking for THE Italian recipe...I seek a recipe from an Italian. Same goes for Greek food. Does some bloke who's spent six weeks in Greece and has been brought up eating watercress sandwiches really have a perspective on Greek food?

In the case of Korean BBQ, even a Top Chef like Bobby Flay stepped aside and allowed Jen Lee (Korean gal) to show him the basics of Korean food and some great "mothership" recipes.

I've done the same here.

Korean BBQ's best know dish is Kalbi (pronounced Galbi) and it uses the cut known as beef short ribs.

The easiest route to finding this cut to visit your local Asian market. They aren't that expensive and one should find them for, at the most $2/lb. When buying these short ribs, look for a lean cut of beef and buy about 8-10 lbs. if serving a family or as part of a party. There's some bones in there and although they look like alot, you'll be surprised at how quickly they are eaten!

When I ate the Kalbi at the Korean restaurant...I had a food epiphany and I knew at that moment that I was, er HAD to try and emulate them at home.

This recipe is bang on and although I won't go through the trouble of making all the accompanying Korean sides...Kalbi will surely make future appearances at summer grill.

A few notes about the recipe: marinate overnight to get the full effect of the flavours and give the meat sufficient time to marinate. As for the pear, you're using the Asian pear here, looks like a light-brown skinned apple but tastes like a mild pear. Finally, these beef short ribs come thin sliced and have been marinated so, 2-3 minutes per side over a highly heated grill works best.

How do I describe the flavour of these short ribs? How about tender, succulent, sweet, savory from the Soy, spicy from the black and red pepper (paprika). If you like a little more heat, squeeze some Sriracha Sauce into the marinade and always....taste & adjust your marinade before adding the meat into the mix but do include the 7-UP...it's a must.

Korean BBQ, I love you!

Something Old, Something New - Seafood Edition

Last Friday was one of the few evenings where it hasn't rained around dinner time. We're now officially into summer and it's been quite rainy. Me thinks summer in Toronto might be cancelled. This is one of the few instances where I hope I'm wrong.

I have two dishes at the plate today. The "something old" would be fried calamari - you know...squid.

Here, I've deep-fried calamari rings. You'll find decent, frozen calamari rings at your supermarket and if you love calamari, this good convenience product saves you from the trouble of having to clean squid.

There's no rocket science here, the calamari rings are dredged in a seasoned combo of all-purpose and corn flour. If you want to have fried calamari at your home just the way you first tasted it at the Greek "psarotaverna", the simple and straightforward approach can be viewed here.

The "something new" is a shrimp dish I saw, gawked at, and tried. Now I'm sharing it with you. It's easy, quick, hard to screw up and delicious.

This recipe comes from Bobby Flay's Boy Meets Grill but interestingly (and refreshingly) this dish is not his but it comes from Bobby's inlaws.

Bobby Flay married Stephanie March, best know for her work in Law & Order. In this episode, she and her sis and mother make an appearance and share their family favourites with Bobby and the viewer.

I love this shrimp dish because it's easy, a little spicy, incorporates some quick grilling and when you taste the shrimp, you get the tangy zing from the lime and then bite into a contrast of naturally sweet, succulent shrimp.

Folks, this is a family favourite from Texas and now I know why...it's easy and tastes "dang good".

One final note...as instructed, leave the shrimp shells on. Eat this shrimp dish with your hands...suck the juices out of it, peel & eat to your enjoyment and damn to all who insist on cutlery.

Leave that for the the loopy characters in Seinfeld who ate the Snickers Bar with a fork & knife!

Chicken in 360 Degrees

One of my favourite ways to prepare chicken is in my grill, summer time, beer can chicken style.

Last year, one of the earlier posts I made was for a more classic version of this American gift to BBQ.

This year, I kick it up a notch, shake up the ingredients and use the same, "shove the beer can up the chicken's ass" method.

One of the best sources of outdoor grilling has to be Steve Raichlen's Barbecue University.

Today, I'm showing you his Ragin' Cajun' Beer Can Chicken recipe or rather, his method of beer can chicken.

I've dumbed it down a bit as I'm using a gas grill but you get the same, smoky effect from the ingredients, moist, aromatic meat and crispy as Hell skin...Umm UMM GOOD!

Ragin' Cajun Beer Can Chicken

1 can of beer
1 whole chicken
1 tsp. liquid smoke
1 1/2 Tbsp. Cajun seasoning
1 1/2 Tbsp. Old Bay Seasoning
2 tsp. vegetable oil

1. Open your can of beer pop the tab off and using a can opener, make two more holes in the can. Now pour in your liquid smoke ad stir with a skewer to mix it well. Reserve.
   
2. Remove the giblets, etc. from the cavity of the chicken and throughly wash the chicken and pat dry. Remove any excess fat and place the chicken in a large bowl. Pour about a third of the beer & liquid smoke mixture over the chicken ans place in the frdge for an hour (turning a couple of times).
3. Place your can of beer onto the stand (if you have one) until your chicken is ready.
4. Return the chicken to room temperature and mix the Cajun & Old Bay seasonings in a bowl.
5. Rub some vegetable oil on your chicken (olive oil will burn) and rub some seasoning in the cavity and the rest all over the outside of the chicken.
6. Place your chicken on top of the beer can (and stand) and place a tray underneath to catch any drippings.
7. Preheat your grill with one side of the grill's gas turned on and the other side being turned off. Close the lid and wait until the temperature reads 360F.
8. Transfer your chicken over to the side of the grill that's not turned on and close the lid.
9. Roast your chicken for 70-80 minutes or until the juices run clear.
10. Allow 15 minutes for the chicken before carving.