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.
   

Lia's Spinach Carbonara

With autumn taking a firm grip on the weather, thoughts and memories wander back to my summer vacation in Greece. There's Greek countryside, the sea, the people, friends and family.

Most of my mom's side of the family lives there and this is one of the important reasons why I go back to Greece as often as I do.

My first cousin Lia (see the resemblance) is also blessed with being raised and fed by a wonderful cook, my Theia (aunt) Angeliki (my mom's sister).

Each year I make my pilgrimage back to my parents' home town and I always stay at Lia's house. This year, my Theia Angeliki was at my family's summer home so, Lia was left with the cooking duties.

I arrived into Amynteo by train from Thessaloniki...just in time for lunch. Lia had prepared a surprising and delicious meal of Spinach Carbonara.

This is a such an easy and wonderful departure on the classic carbonara but it injects some hearty, healthy spinach into the mix (good way to sneak some greens in for your kids).

I've made this dish twice already...once using thawed frozen spinach and also with fresh baby spinach, wilted at the very end when tossing the sauce together. Either approach works wonderfully.

I'm delighted to share my cousin's recipe of Spinach Carbonara with you...it's quick, it's easy, it's filling and in a usual Kalofagas way, delicious!

Lia's Spinach Carbonara
(serves 4)

1 package (500gr.) dry linguine
12 strips of bacon
4 handfuls of thawed frozen spinach, squeezed of excess water
OR
6 cups of fresh baby spinach, rinsed & pat dry
4 eggs yolks
1/2 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Kefalotyri cheese
lots of cracked black pepper
4 cloves of garlic, smashed
1/2 cup of red onions, diced
1/4 cup dry white wine
some pasta water
some extra grated Kefalotyri (or Romano) cheese

1. Place a large pot of water on your stovetop and bring to a boil. Add a good amount of salt and cook your pasta as per package instructions. In a small bowl, whisk your egg yolks, cream, grated cheese and black pepper and set aside.
   
2. Chop your strips of bacon into bite-sized pieces and place in a large skillet. Add about a 1/3 cup of water and bring to a boil. The water will help render the fat in the bacon and eventually leave you with crispy bacon. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve. Remove excess bacon fat or add some olive oil if the skillet is too dry.
3. Add your onions and smashed garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes over medium-low heat while stirring. Now add the wine and keep on stirring to deglaze and release the brown bits from the bacon. Reduce until there's almost no liquid left, take off the heat and reserve.
4. As soon as your pasta is cooked, reserve some pasta water and drain the pasta. Add the pasta back into the skillet, along with the bacon, egg/cream mixture and your spinach. Begin tossing and folding the sauce into the pasta. If your sauce is too dry, add some of the reserved pasta water and continue to coat. Your sauce should cook and thicken from the residual heat of the pasta. If the sauce is too loose, place your skillet under very low-heat and keep tossing the sauce & the pasta until it thickens.
5. Plate the pasta with some more cracked black pepper and have some grated cheese available at the table.

Bougatsa (Μπουγάτσα)

Before I get on with showing you the dessert offering of Bougatsa for my Greek Thanksgiving, I should give you some background on this much-loved Greek breakfast treat.

Bougatsa is a pastry that consists of phyllo and it can contain a filling of cheese, spinach, spinach & cheese, ground meat or in this case, custard.

You can find Bougatsa all over Greece but Thessaloniki (second largest city in Greece) is the reputed Bougatsa capital of Greece.

There's the Bougatsa made in Crete and it's usually made with the use of Mizithra and you'll find shops offering up Bougatsa across Greece.

I first had Bougatsa as a child when my uncle, "Theo Mitso" brought me a small bag with an aromatic parcel and a chocolate milk for me.

My breakfasts in Greece were never the same after one first taste of Bougatsa.

When one goes to buy Bougatsa in Thessaloniki, finding a shop that sells them is real easy: look for the rush of people coming & coming in & out of the shop and usually one can smell the combo of baked pastry, Greek coffee and cinnamon in the air.

Bougatsa shops do most of their business in the mornings as that's when most of their Bougatsa is sold. There are two camps of Bougatsa fans: the savory lover and like myself, the sweet lover.

Know your order when in the shop. Simply ordering a "Bougatsa" will assure you of a question from the person behind the counter:

"You want Bougatsa with cheese, spinach, spinach & cheese, meat or cream"?

I always order "Bougatsa me krema"!

Upon hearing your order, the person will weigh your portion, place in some paper wrap and cut it into bite-sized squares. The Bougatsa is finished off with a generous shake of cinnamon and icing sugar.

Most take it "se paketo" or to-go but since I'm on holidays, I like to take a seat, enjoy my order of Bougatsa and people watch. The usual drink with Bougatsa is chocolate milk, frappe (ice coffee) or a Greek coffee.

That, my friends, is the inspiration to my dessert offering of Bougatsa for my Greek Thanksgiving dinner. I decided to make individual serving of Bougatsa and include some seasonal Greek ingredients in it...quince and almonds.

If you know your way around phyllo, this dessert is a cinch and it can be pre-made and frozen. For those not familiar with phyllo, buy it from a store that sells alot it...ensuring you get a fresh package that will allow you to work easily with it and save you from those phyllo nightmares.


Bougatsa With Quince and Almonds (Μπουγάτσα με κυδώνια και αμύγδαλα)
makes 12

2-3 quince, peeled, cored and sliced 2/3 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves
3 cups of water

2 sticks of melted unsalted butter
3/4 cup fine semolina
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. orange zest
1 tsp. vanilla extract
couple of drops of vanilla extract
2 cups of whole milk
3/4 cup apple juice
24 sheets of phyllo dough
icing sugar
ground cinnamon

Pre-heated 350F oven

1. In a medium-sized pot, add your water, sugar cinnamon stick and cloves and heat over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Add the quinces. cover and simmer for 3o-40 minutes or until the slices are fork tender. Strain the quince, allow to cool and discard poaching liquid.
2. In a deep pot over medium heat, heat 2 Tbsp. of melted butter and then add the semolina, sugar, zest, vanilla and a couple of drops of vanilla extract. Cook, stirring for a couple of minutes until the butter's absorbed and the semolina is golden but not browned.
3. While whisking, add the milk and apple juice in a steady stream until all the liquid is absorbed. Cook while stirring for 3-4 minutes, until the custard has the texture of loose cream of wheat. Transfer toa bowl and allow to cool.
4. Lay out your phyllo beside your work surface and cover it with a damp towel. Take a phyllo sheet and place it on your work surface. Drizzle the phyllo sheet with melted butter and now place another sheet on top and again, drizzle with melted butter.
5. Place a couple of heaping tablespoons of custard in the middle top third of your buttered phyllo sheets, about 2 inches from the top edge. Place some quince slices on top and press to flatten the custard a bit.
6. Fold over the top flap, then fold over the sides flaps. Now fold the phyllo package downwards towards you. Lightly brush both sides of the pie with melted butter and place on a baking sheet. Place some sliced almonds on the top middle of each pie. Repeat with remaining phyllo, custard and quince until you've made 12 pies.
7. If making ahead of time, cover the baking tray with a large bag (garbage bag) and place in the oven until you're going to bake the Bougatsa. You may bake from frozen into a pre-heated 350F oven and bake for approx 30 minutes or until golden OR
   if baking immediately, place in a pre-heated 350F oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden.
8. Allow to cool a bit, plate and sprinkle a generous amount to icing sugar and ground cinnamon on top. Serve with a Greek coffee.

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.