Leek and Cheese Pie - Prassopita (Πρασόπιτα)

Another year is behind us and I would be lying if I told you it was a great year for most. With these trying economic times, we're seeing the flipside of globalization. Local events can and are being affected by economic factors halfway around the world from where one lives.

We all seem to be in step with trends, fads, news and we're wired closer to each other but we're also tethered by economic forces that affect us all.

It's a time for reflection, a time to again give thanks for what we have and what matters to our lives, our families and our loved ones. As us Greeks say, health above all. If you don't have your good health, you have NOTHING! I'm thankful for what I have, where I am and content that I can direct my future. Not so many are this fortunate. Remember this and live your lives accordingly.

Tonight, New Year's Eve, I will be joining a party of 14 friends for what will be a sumptuous meal at one of my favourite eateries in Toronto and we'll usher in the New Year with bubbly, good wine, hugs, kisses and lots & lots of laughs.

There's no way I'm cooking tonight, even I need a break from the kitchen but tomorrow's another story. We're having folks over for a New Year's Day dinner but the menu is iron-clad, no surprises and it will allow for me to sleep in and practically prepare the meal in my sleep.

I'll be roasting another Prime Rib, whipping up some mashed potatoes, green beans with slivered almonds and crispy bacon, a salad with greens and a Pomegranate vinaigrette, a fine-tuned cream of mushroom and chestnut soup and the return of the Quince Bougatsa with the season's last of the quince.

As is customary for Greeks, a Vassilopita is also usually presented after dinner to be blessed and then cut into pieces and divided amongst the guests. Like many other cultures, celebrating New Year's "properly" is to assure one of entering the NewYear with some good fortune, and good health.

The Vassilopita's recipe varies from home to home but you can have a look our family's take here. The Vassilopita contains a coin hidden in it and whoever gets the piece with the coin is annointed "the one" with the good luck in the coming year.

This year, our family's decided to take the Vassilopita tradition back to my early days as a boy where my mom would hide the coin in one of her Spanakopitas or Tyropitas.

Recently, my mom and I managed to share and cook in the same kitchen without starting a Third World War and banging out some pretty awesome food. I continue my apprenticeship of making homemade phyllo and beyond watching or reading the instructions from a recipe, the key here is practice, practice, practice.

Another family favourite in the repotoire of savory phyllo pies is the Leek and Cheese Pie or, Prassopita. If you have friends from the northern province of Macedonia, you might be lucky enough to try a piece of this savory pie, generous with a filling of sauteed leeks, zucchini, Feta and fresh Myzithra (ricotta) cheese.

My mom & made the homemade phyllo, just like we did when we made Spanakopita and just ued the filling for the Prassopita (Leek and Cheese Pie). Once again, homemade phyllo requires practice but if you're adept at handling store-bought phyllo, that would work great here too!

I would to wish all of you a Happy New Year, continued prosperity and good health to all. See you next year!

Prassopita (Πρασόπιτα)

Filling
500gr. fresh Myzithra (ricotta) cheese
500gr. crumbled Feta cheese
1 bunch of leeks (3-4), cleaned, chopped & sauteed in olive oil
2 zucchinis, peeled and grated
3 eggs
1/2 bunch of chopped fresh dill
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut the green parts off the leeks and save for a soup or stock. Cut down the length of the leeks, almost to the root and open the layers of leeks with your fingers and run through cold water.
   
2. Finely chop your leeks and place in a large skillet with a few turns of olive oil and saute until softened and translucent. You may now quickly peel your zucchinis and grate them and add them to the already sauteeing leeks. Add some salt to help draw out the moisture and saute on medium-low heat (covered for about 30 minutes).
3. Allow the leek mixture to come to room temperature and then add the remaining ingredients (eggs, cheeses, salt and pepper, chopped dill).
4. Prepare the dough and phyllo as per the Spanakopita recipe and add leek and cheese filling. Bake as per instructions.
   

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.blogspot.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author. © 2007-2008 Peter Minakis

Roasted Acorn Squash With Meringue

It's that time again to reveal my contribution for this month's Royal Foodie Joust, hosted by Jenn the Leftover Queen.

Iron Chef has nothing on this competition. The Food Network challenge involves one secret ingredient whereas Joust participants must prep a dish using three ingredients, as chosen by the previous month's winner.

Last month's win was secured by Sticky, Creamy, Chewy with her Gorgonzola, fennel and pear tart. For this month's challenge, "Sticky" chose acorn squash, orange and sage as THE feature ingredients.

From the get-go, I knew this month's challenge would be tough...how does one combine orange and sage in either a savory or sweet dish? I got a headache, frustration and ultimately almost opted to not submit an entry...this combo is quite difficult.

I finally settle on prepping some acorn squash as a dessert. Many fall Sunday dinners include yams and sweet potatoes as a sweet side dish or as a dessert. I decided this was going to be direction to make my entry to.

What we have here is slices of acorn squash, poached then seasoned and baked in a fluffy dollop of meringue to offer up a different dessert that's easy to prepare and a sexy dessert for presentation.


Roasted Acorn Squash With Meringue
(for four)

1 acorn squash, quartered and seeded
1 1/2 cups of water
1 1/2 cups of orange juice
1/2 cup sugar
3 egg whites
cream of tartar
Aprrox. 100gr. icing sugar
4 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. fresh sage, finely chopped
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 tsp. ground anise seeds
some melted butter

Pre-heated 400F oven

1. Place a pot on your stove-top large enough to hold all the squash quarters. Fill with orange juice, water and sugar and bring to a boil. Poach your squash for about 10-15 minutes, until almost fork tender (squash will finish cooking in the oven). Remove the squash from the liquid and place in cold water to stop the cooking process. Pat dry and reserve.
2. In a small bowl, mix your brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, sage and ground anise and reserve. Now brush your squash quarters with melted butter and sprinkle the sugar & spice mixture all over the flesh of the squash. Place on a baking sheet and reserve.
3. Using a clean bowl, add your egg whites and some cream of tarter and beat your egg whites with a hand mixer for a couple of minutes or until it starts to stiffen. Add your icing sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks are formed.
4. Place dollops of meringue on top of each squash quarter and bake on the middle rack of your oven for 5-10 minutes or until meringue is golden brown.
5. Serve immediately.
   

Linguine Carbonara

This is an Italian classic but I first tasted this dish when I visited the Greek island of Corfu in 1988. The Italian food Caribinieri will insist that this dish NOT contain any cream.

Lucky for the Italians, I can pull off this dish without cream but if you're the type that likes it in the mix, who am I to stop you?

Carbonara is very popular in Greece and it's often found on menus alongside other pastas & pizzas on offer.

After spending five weeks in Greece, I craved something a little different and this quick, filling and most satisfying dish always hits the spot.

There are many legends as to the origins of the dish...you pick the one you like and spout it off to your dinner guests...they'll think you cooked under the tutelage of Mario Batali!

Linguine Carbonara
(per serving)

1 handful of dry linguine
2 egg yolks
cracked black pepper to taste
grated Romano cheese
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup of diced bacon, pancetta or guanciale
splash of dry white wine
pasta water
chopped fresh parsley

1. Get a pot of water to boil and then add a generous amount of salt and cook your pasta to just under al dente (6-7 minutes).
2. In a large skillet, add your bacon and some water and place over high heat. The water will boil down to nothing and then your bacon will render better and crisp up nicely. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, remove most of the remaining fat (save a Tbsp.) and reserve.
   
3. Allow your skillet to cool down a bit and add your diced onions and garlic (add a bit of olive oil if the skillet has too little fat) over medium heat and stir frequently for 1-2 minutes.
4. Add a splash of white wine and deglaze the pan and take off the heat (you may remove the garlic cloves now, if you wish).
   
5. In a small bowl, whisk your egg yolks, black pepper and Romano cheese and reserve.
6. When your pasta is ready, strain while remembering to reserve some pasta water. Add the pasta to the skillet (off the heat) along with some pasta water and your egg yolk mixture.
7. At this point the residual heat of the hot pasta and pasta water should cook and bind your mixture into a thick & creamy sauce.
8. Add your chopped parsley and adjust seasoning with salt (rarely needed) and cracked black pepper to taste. Grate some additional Romano cheese on top if desired.
   

Apricot and Pistachio Cake (Κέικ με φιστίκια και βερίκοκα)

I have a pleasant surprise here for you all. I'm presenting you with a Greek dessert that's not in my family's recipe book, I've never personally heard of nor tried this cake...until now.

I'm also excited to present this cake for this month's Royal Foodie Joust, hosted by Jenn the Leftover Queen. Think of it as our own Iron Chef but the twist here is that your dish must contain three ingredients, as chosen by the victor from the previous month.

For those interested, you have a few days yet in June to get your entry in.

This month's challenge was to prepare a dish that contained butter, apricots and ginger.Check!

This recipe comes from a Greek cookbook I have called "Food of the World - Greece" and this cake uses some of Greece's favourite ingredients and satisfies the criteria for this month's Joust and most importantly, it tastes great!

There are three components to this easy cake: the cake itself, the syrup and the topping. Before I go on with the recipe I would like to add that I surprised my toughest food critic - my mom!

Her reaction after trying this cake? "Where did you get this recipe and write it down for me"!

Apricot and Pistachio Cake (Κέικ με φιστίκια και βερίκοκα)

1/2 cup dried apricots
zest and juice of 1 large orange
1 stick of unsalted butter (room temp.)
3/4 cup icing sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 2/3 cups fine semolina flour
1 Tbsp. ground ginger
1 cup ground almonds

For the Syrup
3/4 cup Greek honey
1/3 cup orange juice
2 tsp. lemon juice

For the Topping
1 1/2 cups Greek Yogurt
2 Tbsp. icing sugar
couple of drops of almond extract
2/3 cup shelled, unsalted pistachio nuts, chopped

1. The evening before you want to bake this cake, put the apricots, zest and orange in a bowl and allow to soak for at least 12 hours (in the fridge). It's also good to place your yogurt in a mesh strainer(with a pot underneath to catch the water) and place that in the fridge overnight to strain.
2. The next morning, pre-heat your oven to 35oF and grease and line a round, 9 inch(23 cm) loose-bottomed cake pan. Transfer the apricots and juice to a food processor and blend until smooth.
   
3. Add the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat together until light & fluffy. Add the egg yolk, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the semolina and ground almonds and mix well together and now add the semolina and ground almonds and mix well together. Fold in apricot puree.
4. Whisk the egg whites until stiff then fold into the batter mixture. Turn the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 45 minutes, or until the top is a light, golden brown.
5. In the meantime, make the syrup by adding the orange juice, honey and lemon juice into a small saucepan and bring to a boil, then simmer for 2-3 minutes. Keep the syrup just hot.
   
6. When has baked, let it stand in the pan for about 5 minutes before removing, then remove from the pan and place on a wire rack (with a plate underneath). Prick the top of the cake all over with a skewer and then spoon over the the hot syrup over the warm cake and leave on the wire rack to cool.
7. When the cake has cooled and all the syrup has been absorbed, place in the fridge until ready to serve. When you're ready to serve the cake, bring to room temperature and mix the icing sugar and almond extract with the strained yogurt.
   
8. Spread the yogurt over the cake and top with the chopped pistachio nuts.
   

Lemon Linguine

Most of you who are food enthusiasts (freaks) like myself, you've noticed by now that many items on your grocery bill have gone up.

One glaring spike in prices is with lemons. Limes I can find for 6 for $1, oranges are decently priced but lemons? The best deal I've found so far this year is 2 for $1.

Are lemons going to become a luxury item? Will we have to resort to using bottles of "real remon" juice? I don't think so.

Citrus is a staple in our house and if Canada didn't have a pipeline of oranges, lemons & limes heading up north, we'd be the scurvy capital of the world.

To help ward off any signs of scurvy, I whipped up this light but substantive pasta dish, borrowing from the style of Carbonara , where egg yolks make the sauce.

I originally was inspired (forced) to make such a dish from watching Paula Deen make a similar dish using sour cream, milk and lemon juice.

Do not make this dish. My insticts were telling me this would be too sharp, tart & sour - and I was right. The two bowls of pasta were chucked in the garbage.

On to the second attempt and Lemon Linguine Carbonara and the YES....success. Basically, I'm slowly sauteing some onions and garlic 'til translucent, then I hit the pan with some fresh squeezed lemon juice and take off the heat and reserve.

While your pasta is boiling, whisk some egg yolks with cream, grated Romano and lots of cracked black pepper and sett aside until your pasta is done.

Lemon Linguine Carbonara
(for 2)

1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, smashed
juice of 1/2 lemon
zest of 1 whole lemon
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup cream
grated Romano cheese
lots of cracked black pepper
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
approx. 4 oz. of dry linguine
reserved pasta water
salt to taste

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a good amount of salt upon boiling and add your linguine. Cook as per package's directions.
2. In a skillet over medium heat, add your olive oil and onions and garlic and saute on medium to low heat for about 5 minutes or until soft and translucent. Add your lemon juice and set aside.
3. In a bowl, whisk your eggs, cream, black pepper and grated cheese and set aside.
4. When your pasta is done, reserve some pasta water then drain and now add the linguine into the skillet along with the egg/cream mixture, lemon zest and some pasta water.
5. Toss the egg/cream mixture until the residual heat of the pasta has turned the mixture into a creamy sauce. Taste and adjust for seasonig and add the chives and parsley before giving one final toss.
6. Plate and serve immediately.
   

Kourkouto With Zucchini (κουρκούτo με κολοκυθάκια)

Despite being a ten hour plane ride away from Greece, technology and media has brought the world (and myself) closer to our respective homelands.

I measure the pulse of Greek food through the internet, Greek magazines, word of mouth, frequent visits to Greece and through the miracle of satellite TV.

Today, I caught a morning Greek show and I was fortunate enough to catch the cooking segment, hosted by Chef Dina Nikolaou.

Today she featured a dish that I suppose one could call a "cheater's pita" as there's no phyllo involved yet the ingredients and flavour would mimic one.

In reality, this is somewhere between a quiche and a frittata, utilizing Greek ingredients to offer up a flavourful, light main course for lunch. Serve this with a side salad and consider lunch served.

The dish's title contains the word Kourkouto (from Kourkouti), which means a "batter" and a major component of the dish is flour. This dish is easy, it's Greek, you won't freak out about how to handle phyllo and it's wonderful hot or cold.

In the ingredient's list, the two cheeses used are Feta and Kasseri.
The name Kasseri is also a protected designation name (PDO) and it's a mild, sheep's or goat's milk cheddar. Many Greek markets and delis carry Kasseri. If you can't find it, a mild cheddar would do just fine here.

Kourkouto With Zucchini (κουρκούτo με κολοκυθάκια)

5 large eggs
1 cup of strained Greek yogurt
1 cup of self-rising flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup olive oil
3 bunches of scallions, finely chopped 3 zucchinis, diced
1 cup Feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup Kasseri, grated
1 cup of chopped fresh dill
ground pepper to taste
sweet paprika to taste (and for garnish) slices of zucchini rounds (for finishing)
a 15" X 10" baking tray, greased with vegetable oil

Pre-heated 350F oven

1. Into a large skillet, add your olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add your chopped onions and diced zucchini (with some salt) and saute over medium heat for about 20 minutes to soften and have most of the water content evaporate (should reduce to about half). Take off the heat and reserve.
2. In a large bowl, whisk your eggs for a couple of minutes until mixed well and then add your flour and baking powder and mix in. Add your yogurt and stir in to mix.
   
3. Now add your grated cheeses and sauteed vegetables and mix to incorporate. Add some ground black pepper and sweet paprika. Have a taste and adjust seasoning (probably will not need any salt).
4. Stir in the the chopped fresh dill and pour the mixture into your greased baking dish.
5. Top with round slices of zucchini and sprinkle some sweet paprika over the entire mixture.
6. Place on the middle rack of your pre-heated oven and baked for approx. 1 hour.
   
7. Allow to rest for about 15 minutes and then cut up into slices.
8. Serve warm or room temperature with a side salad.
   

Death By Guilt, Courtesy of Mom

Last year, I took it upon myself to make my mother Eggs Benedict, delivered to her bedside.

Instead of "thenk-you, Pee'rre...you thaught-fal, kind son", I got..."I know, you feed me reech food, fool aaf butter breakfast too geeve me haart-attack. You want to keel me aaf, get rid of me? Niiice Mother's Day prresent....ZOAN (animal)"!

For those that are Greek, you'll know that any kind gesture towards you're mom will be answered by a healthy dose of Greek Guilt. I serve her eggs benedict, I get grief and the urge to drink...alot!

All kidding aside, I wish all the moms, mothers, grand mothers (and soon to be moms) a wonderful Mother's Day...milk the day for all you can...you'll probably get everything you ask for!

Eggs Benedict are one of my favourite breakfasts/brunches. It is a rich meal but having it from time to time won't kill you but I found, whisking the Hollandaise Sauce over the double-boiler will!

How boring is it to sit over and whisk egg yolks for 10-15 minutes? I don't have that kind of patience in the morning and timing the English muffins, warm ham/bacon, poached eggs AND getting the perfect Hollandaise Sauce is just too much stress for someone who's just woken up.

Here's a shortcut method to poaching eggs and making a great Hollandaise Sauce. Around these parts, Eggs Benedict consists of one English Muffin, halved and toasted, 2 poached eggs (little runny), a side of home fries and the crowning Hollandaise Sauce in all it's glory.

(Notes taken from the Alberta Egg Producers)

Eggs Benedict
(for 2)

2 English muffins, toasted
4 eggs, poached
slices of ham, bacon or peameal bacon slices
2 potatoes, par-boiled and then skillet-fried (non-stick)
water
white vinegar

Hollandaise Sauce
1/2 cup of butter
3 eggs yolks
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
pinch of salt
dash of Tabasco Sauce
sweet paprika (garnish)
chopped fresh chives (garnish)

1. Add about 3 inches of water into a medium pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a gentle simmer and add a few dashes of white vinegar.
2. Break the cold eggs, one at a time into a small bowl. Give your water a swirl and drop your eggs in, one at a time. Cook in the barely simmering water for 3-5 minutes.
3. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on the end piece of your loaf of slice bread (no one eats it anyway) to absorb the excess water.
   

Tips

• A shallow saucepan with large surface area is best for poaching eggs.

• For poached eggs with a compact oval shape, use the freshest eggs available. Rapid boiling will cause egg to break up as it cooks.
• A few drops of vinegar will keep poached eggs compact.
• Poached eggs can be made ahead of time and held for up to two days.Undercook them slightly so that the yolks remain runny when reheated.
• Refrigerate, covered, or store in ice water, deep enough to cover eggs, until ready to use. To complete cooking, immerse in barely simmering water for 1 to 2 minutes.
• Eggs can be poached in dry white wine, chicken broth or tomato juice.
  

Here are two ways to make your Hollandaise Sauce quickly and without having a morning heart attack stressing over it:

Stove Top

1. Melt the butter until bubbly but not browned and remove from the heat. Place yolks, lemon juice, salt and tabasco in a blender container and start blending on high. Remove the lid and start pouring the melted butter in a slow but steady stream.
   
2. Blend for another 30 seconds and serve warm over your poached eggs.

Microwave

1. In a microwave-safe measuring glass, nuke the butter on high for 1 -2 minutes or until the butter's melted. Meanwhile, in another glass measuring cup, whisk the eggs, lemon juice, salt and Tabasco. Gradually whisk the melted butter into the egg yolk mixture, beating constantly.
2. Microwave on medium (50%) for 30 seconds, whisk for a bit and then microwave again for another 30 seconds until smooth, creamy. Serve Warm over your poached eggs.

Tips

Curdling may occur due to over beating or adding butter too quickly. To rescue a curdled sauce, try one of the following:

• Beat another egg yolk in a small bowl. With a whisk or fork, gradually beat the curdled Hollandaise Sauce.
• Place 15 mL (1 tbsp) water in a small bowl. With a whisk or fork, beat in a small amount of separated sauce until it becomes smooth. Keep adding sauce slowly, while continuing to beat vigorously.
• Hollandaise Sauce may be frozen. To use, thaw in refrigerator. Warm in a double boiler over hot (not boiling) water, stirring constantly. If sauce should separate, use procedure outlined above.
  

Strapatsatha (Στραπατσάδα)

In 1492, any Jews who did not convert to Christianity were obliged to leave Spain, their homes and belongings behind.

Exiled Jews were accepted in different parts of the Ottoman Empire and many Jews settled in Thessaloniki, Greece's 2nd largest city, in northern Greece.

What little the Jews could bring with them was their faith, sense of survival and culture. A big part of anyone's culture is their food.

Up until the beginning of WWII, Thessaloniki had a thriving Jewish population of over 50,000.

As long as I can remember, my family and relatives have enjoyed Strapatsatha as a brunch as Greece, a late night supper. A 6Pm dinner in Greece is unheard of!

Strapatsatha was a dish brought to Greece by the Sephardic Jews from Spain. It's a loose omelet of tomatoes and feta and there are many variations of ingredients in between.

What you have here is my family's interpretation and you may certainly take the basic premise of the dish and run with it. I like adding thin slices of fried spicy sausage. Try some Chorizo, Kielbasa or even Pepperoni...all fantastic!

The key to this dish is having very ripe, tasty tomatoes otherwise, don't bother! This dish is also similar to the Greek omelet called Kagiana. Strapatsatha is a loose omelet and perfect for mopping up with some good, rustic bread.

Strapatsatha (Στραπατσάδα)
(for 1)

2 Tbsp. olive oil
Slices of Chorizo sausage
1 ripe tomato
1/4 cup diced sweet banana pepper
3 scallions, diced
handful of crumbled feta
2 eggs

1. Pour your olive oil into your skillet and heat up on medium-high heat. Add your sausage and and saute for a couple of minutes to brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve. Wait 5 minutes for your oil to cool in your skillet
   
2. Using a box grater, grate your tomato into the skillet and reduce to medium to simmer for a couple of minutes or until most of the water is gone. Now add the scallions and saute for a minute or two.
3. Add your crumbled feta and let it heat through for a minute. Now add your eggs and sausage and stir the eggs to scramble them until you have cooked your eggs to a loose mixture of an omelet. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
   
4. Plate your omelet, drizzle some extra-virgin olive oil and serve with crusty bread.
   

The View From Here

I've seen some people in my blogging realm that are posting views from their kitchen and I love this idea. This is the brainchild of LuLu's Bay from Cairo.

It's a window on the world and a window on what us food bloggers see when in our kitchens.

As you can see, my yard faces a large park, I have bird feeder that keeps on getting pillaged by the squirrels and...lot's of snow.

I'm extending an invite for anyone who wants to come over for a BBQ...pick your seat!

I also want to share my weekend indulgence with you...a big breakfast fry-up. I do bacon & eggs, buttered toast, a glass of orange juice and coffee, with some fruit to cap off a glorious breakfast.

For the record, margarine sucks. The only time margarine is actually better than butter is when it's used for making grilled cheese sandwiches.

I use margarine on toast...that's it. Otherwise, it's olive oil or in this case, butter for breakfast...and why not? I do my bacon in the microwave between paper towels...no grease and they're done to a crispy finish.

My eggs need butter. I put one dab of butter, when I hear a sizzle I add my eggs, season with salt and as you can see, a sprinkle of smoked paprika gives eggs sunnyside up a new brilliance.

I cover my fry pan with a plate to cook the top part of my eggs, time my toasts to pop-up just at that moment when my eggs are ready. A crack of fresh black pepper and breakfast is served.

I head to the TV set, put my feet on the table and dip my toast in runny egg yolks, sip my juice, eat some bacon, then repeat.

Bottom line:

Margarine blows and EVERYTHING'S better with butter.
(My recent physical at my family doctor has given me a clean bill of health with low blood pressure, low cholestrol, normal blood-sugar).

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.

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!

Baked Omelet

If you like the flavours of a western omelet, then you'll surely enjoy Ina Garten's omelet for two. Despite it's title, I think the recipe is ample enough to feed four.

I liked this omelet more than the classic western because it combines potato in it and it didn't give me the usual heartburn I get from burnt onions or greasy pork product.

It's an easy dish, comes together quickly and the aroma will surely awaken your S.O. or other family members still in their deep sleep slumber.

One final note, Ina uses jalapeno peppers in the recipe and despite my love of heat and spicy foods, I substituted jalapeno with a fine dice of green bell pepper.

In my rule book, spicy foods appear after noon time. It's breakfast/brunch time...plenty of hours in the day to take in spicy foods.

Egg Salad, I Did it "Myyyyyy Way"

If Ol' Blue Eyes Frank Sinatra were still around, how would he like his egg salad? That's the approach I took when thinking of how to "pep up" this old sandwich standby.

Eggs have a delicate flavour and I didn't want the ingredients to overpower but highlight egg's creamyness in the salad.

This will be my entry for this week's Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Astrid of Paulchen's Food Blog. I'm highlighting my use of chives.

They are like mini-green onions, very easy to grow (perennial) and delicate in their "scallion" flavour.

If you're someone who's put off by the stronger onion, scallion or leek, give chives a try and you'll come around to loving this delicious herb. One last thing I'd like to mention is the use of a pastry blender was utilized to mash the eggs. I saw this method used at Nicole's Pinch My Salt recipe and I'm sure it contributed to the "saffron yellowness" of my egg salad.

Egg Salad for Ol' Blue Eyes

Serves 2

2 -3 tbsp Mayonnaise
1 1/2 stalks of celery, thinly diced
1 tbsp Keane's dry mustard powder
4 tbsp chopped fresh chives
1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 tsp celery salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
4 hard boiled eggs

1. Place the eggs in a bowl and use a pastry blender to mash the eggs up
2. Add your celery, dry mustard, paprika, Worcestershire and Old Bay Seasoning and mix well.
3. Adjust for seasoning by adding celery salt and ground pepper. Add your chives, mix well.