You're All Invited

Why don't you all come over to my place for dinner? I'm having a Big Fat Greek Thanksgiving Dinner.

Tomorrow I'll post all the delicious dishes...from mezedes to Epidorpio (dessert).

In the meantime...would you like a nibble of some Greek "sushi"?

Seafood Pie With Rösti Topping

Last year I recall seeing many seafood & fish pie dishes being presented by my Brit friends 'oer across the pond. To all of you, each and every pie you baked had me salivating and I promised you all and myself to add this dish to my roster.

The kicker for this dish is what the book calls a "rösti" topping. For those not in the know, rösti is a Swiss dish of grated potato, usually mixed with butter or animal fat and fried into lovely patties of spud goodness.

This seafood pie emulates that taste and texture on the topping. Many fish & seafood pies get the mashed potato topping but when I read this technique, I loved it from the the "get go" and the result is a textured, fab looking topping that will please the eye and the belly on these cold autumn nights.

The dish comes from a book called Easy Entertaining by Julia Aitkens. There are few few photographs in the book but it's jammed with many simple dishes that will WOW your guests with little effort.

This recipe originally called for smoked salmon - I had smoked mackerel. It's all good as long as you added something smoked for the proper flavour mix.

Seafood Pie With Rösti Topping

Filling
1 1 1/4 cups of cold milk
1 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter
1lb cod, haddock or other white fish 8oz. raw shrimp, peeled & deveined 8oz. of bay scallops
2 cups of frozen mixed vegetables (thawed & rinsed)
4oz. of smoked salmon
3-4 bunches of scallions, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup minced dill pickles
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill
splash of Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. of black pepper
1/4 tsp. of salt
1 large bay leaf
1 clove of garlic

Topping
2 large Yukon Gold potatoes
1/3 cup of melted butter
salt and pepper

Pre-heated 400F oven

1. For the filling: In a large sauepan over medium-high heat, combine the milk, wine and flour, bay leaf and whisk until smooth. Stir in butter and bring to a boil while whisking and the mixture becomes smooth and bubbly. Reduce to medium and whisk for a couple of minutes until it thickens.
2. Add the fish and seafood, mixed vegetables, scallions, herbs, pickles and Worcestershire, salt and pepper and stir gently. Taste & adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and remove the bay leaf and garlic clove. Spoon/pour the mixture into a 11 by 7 inch baking lined with parchment.
3. For the topping: Add the potatoes (skin on) to a large pot of water and fill with enough water to just cover. Bring to a boil and add salt and boil for 15-20 minutes, until just under-cooked. Drain and place in cold water to cool down just enough for you to safely handle them.
4. Peel the skins off the potatoes with the aid of the back of a knife and using the largest holes of your box grater, grate the potatoes evenly over the surface of your seafood pie mixture.
5. Using a brush, dip it in your melted butter and sprinkle over top of your potato topping. Lightly season the topping with salt and pepper and place in your pre-heated oven for 40-45 minutes. If necessary, heat the broiler and the broil your seafood pie for 2-3 minutes to get a golden-brown topping.
6. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for 10 minutes, cut into portions and serve immediately with a dry white wine.
   

Foodbuzz's Official Launch

Foodbuzz is a website that acts as a meeting place for most of the food blogs that exist out there. From Foodbuzz, one can search for your favourite recipe, read reviews of eateries in your city or perhaps even a city you'll soon be traveling to.

I've been with Foodbuzz for nearly a year and it's put me in touch with many wonderful people, their blogs and the staff at Foodbuzz have been most helpful with blog & networking advice.

This past September, Foodbuzz also spearheaded the 24, 24, 24 Event whereby twenty-four dinners were hosted in twenty-four cities in twenty-four hours.

In case you missed it, there's a cool YouTube clip that's a musical slide show of the fabulous dinners hosted around the world.



I was on holidays when 24, 24, 24 was announced, which made it impossible for me to participate. I promised myself to jump at the opportunity to host such a blog and food event if the opportunity presented itself again.

If I'm not visiting blogs or posting as much, it's because I've been extremely busy. Stay tuned...this weekend's gonna be "buzzing" with activity!

Aromatic Giouvetsi (γιουβέτσι με αρωματικά)

When you get this dish simmering down, you'll understand exactly why I call this version "aromatic giouvetsi".

This version is not a family recipe as my mom's versions usually just employes bay leaves and sometimes allspice berries. Here, a quadruple kick of spices sends the aroma and flavour of this traditional dish to new heights.

You all know of that kitchen aromatherapy when the apple pie is resting on the window sill? This aromatic giouvetsi offers up that same experience only here it's the savory experience.

It's not hard to find this dish if you're dining in Greece. Many tavernas that cater to locals and tourists will often have a giouvetsi on the menu.

It's a bonus when it's baked in these individual earthenware pots or "gastres". Like in any country, there's good food and bad food to be had.

Try & find out where the locals go and you're off to a good start. As for giouvetsi, if you're looking for this version, let your nose show you the way. This dish has bay leaves, allspice berries, cloves and cinnamon.

I like to call this "Greek four spice" blend and if you add ground black pepper....ya have a Greek five-spice blend.

If you can't make it to Greece just yet...relax, jot down this recipe or add some paper to your printer and the HP inkjet will do the work.

If you can't find the eartherware pots, a family-style serving in a casserole dish is also standard fare back in Greece.

Enough chit-chat...let's eat!

Aromatic Giouvetsi (γιουβέτσι με αρωματικά)
(serves 4)

1.5 lbs. of veal, large pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
2 large, ripe tomatoes or
1 1/2 cups of plum tomato puree
1 large onion, grated
3-4 cloves of minced garlic
1 Tbsp. of tomato paste
2-3 bay leaves
4-5 allspice berries
4-5 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
enough veal stock or water to cover the meat
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of elbow macaroni per serving
butter
grated Kefalotyri cheese (or a Pecorino Romano)

1. Rinse and pat-dry your pieces of veal. Season with salt and pepper and pre-heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and brown your pieces of veal.
2. Now fill the the pot with enough veal stock (or water) to just cover the meat. Now add your grated onions, tomato puree, paste, garlic, and all the spices and bring to a boil. Add some salt and pepper and cover with the lid slightly ajar and simmer until you left with a thickened sauce (about 45 minutes). Adjust seasoning with salt & pepper, remove the spices with a slotted spoon and reserve.
3. Get a large pot of water boiling, add a good amount of salt and cook your elbow macaroni as per package instructions. You should now pre-heat your oven to 400F.
   
4. When the pasta is done, strain and add back to the pot and stir in some butter to coat all the macaroni. Now add 3/4 of the tomato sauce and toss to coat.
5. Spoon the macaroni into the individual "gastres" (earthenware vessels) or pour into a casserole dish and place the pieces of veal on top. Pour the remaining sauce over top along with a drizzle of olive oil and some more fresh ground pepper. Place the "gastres" on a baking tray in your pre-heated over for about 10 minutes or until just slightly golden.
6. Remove your tray of giouvetsi and allow to cool for a couple of minutes.
7. Serve immediately with some grated Kefalotyri cheese (Romano works fine).