4 posts tagged “greek”

Yeah, so earlier in the week I had posted about staring at Peter’s (of Kalofagas) delicious Eggs Benedict recipe…Staring at Peter’s recipes is nothing new for me.  His site is a daily read.  He has a wonderful sense of humor, and is a phenomenal cook.  You should SEE some of the delicious things he cooks up!  He is of Greek descent, and, luckily for us, he shares his mouthwatering recipes, and the fun stories of Greece and his heritage that go along with them.  Not too long ago he had posted his recipe for Cheese Stuffed Keftides (couldn’t you just *die* at how good those sound?)…well, I knew I had to put those on the menu.  I mean, Come ON!  Keftides?  Stuffed with Cheese?  I may have fainted into my keyboard.  Actually, I’m pretty sure I did, because I had these weird square bruises on my forehead. This week, I could wait no more.  Monday I bought the ingredients to make his hellaciously good recipe. 

I’m not going to post Peter’s recipe, because I actually followed it pretty much to the letter…I had to substitute Gouda cheese (see it trying to escape there? lol) for the Greek cheese, though, since I can’t get the types he recommended for the recipe.

To go along with these delicious morsels of Greek joy, I decided to make a fresh tzatziki (pictured here) and hummus (pictured below).

 

 

The hummus was an excellent dip for both the keftides and the pitas.  I tell you, this is perfect summer food, you guys. The next time you plan on grilling plain old burgers? Forget that idea, and make these instead! Seriously, they are amazing.

For the tzatziki and hummus recipes, please visit: http://canarygirl.com/?p=182

There are so many awesome Greek food bloggers out there on my regular reading list…Peter, Elly and Valli spring immediately to mind….seeing all their delectable dishes, and hearing wonderful stories of Greece and the Greek language spark my desire to visit the idyllic islands even more….Greece is my dream vacation spot…I have wanted to go for years and years….and will probably have to wait years and years before I actually get the chance to go. :(  In the meantime, reading all about these lucky folks and their fabulous food, I’ve been craving Greek.  While this is certainly not Greek, it does have Greek flavors….the idea was to use Spanakopita filling nestled within a chicken breast.  The pictures this time are disappointing…I’m still adjusting to the new kitchen, and am finding it more and more necessary to get to work constructing a photo box, because the dreary overhead fluorescent light and the auxiliary halogen lamp are just not cutting it. :P  I miss my kitchen window!  Wah!  Ok, ok….enough whining for this post. lol  The rice is something I just threw together….sort of like a pilaf, I guess…sauteed garlic, onions, bay and oregano with rice, chicken broth and sliced almonds…a little lemon juice squeezed on to serve and there you have it.  I hope in spite of the photos the recipe will appeal to you guys as much as it did me….even my picky pants kids loved it!

Recipes are here: http://canarygirl.com/?p=153

Wine recommendation?  Pinot Grigio of some kind, I think.  I had it with plain old white table wine..ok, but not great. LOL

 

 

I don't really know where to start with this post...I've been cooking Middle Eastern a lot lately, but some of the recipes were already posted, some not...so this is sort of a hodgepodge of what's been on our table of late.  I've got to tell you, it may not be soup weather for some of you anymore (a concept that I can't quite grasp, since I am a soup addict. Case in point?  I had soup for breakfast this morning.  And soup for dinner last night.  And probably will again tonight. lol)....but definitely save it for later or a rainy day.  The recipe is something I've recreated from a restaurant I used to go to in Minneapolis; Christo's on Nicollet Avenue...I notice that it's no longer on the menu, but it should be!  The Shirazi salad and stuffed grape leaves are recipes that I've tried to recreate from an Iranian restaurant we go to very frequently here in Las Palmas; Tehran on Bernardo de la Torre...side note...the next time we go, I'm going to bring my camera and shoot some pics of the beautiful, delicious food they serve, so watch for that! :)  Anyway, I'm rambling here, I suppose I should get to the food! lol

 

 Curried Pumpkin Soup

 

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh pumpkin, peeled and roughly chopped

1 onion, minced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 stalks celery, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1 sweet potato, peeled and roughly chopped

3 potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

2 tablespoons butter

1 beef double boullion cube (Knorr)

3 tablespoons curry, or more to taste

water to cover vegetables

salt and pepper to taste

cream and chopped cilantro for garnish

Preparation:

In a large soup pot, melt butter over medium heat.

Add garlic and lightly brown, then add onion and celery and sautee until just tender.

Add in remaining vegetables and give it a good stir.

Add seasonings and water--just enough to cover the vegetables...you want a nice thick soup after pureeing.

Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low.

Simmer 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Puree soup with an immersion blender, or in batches in a blender or food processor (in the latter case, it's best to allow the soup to cool a bit to avoid burning yourself).

Garnish with cream and cilantro and serve hot or cold.

Shirazi Salad 

 

Ingredients:

1 cucumber, diced

2-3 ripe tomatoes, diced (or a bunch of quartered cherry tomatoes, like I've done here)

1/2 red onion, minced

1 smaller bunch mint, chopped

juice of 1 lemon

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste.

Preparation:

Toss together all ingredients and refrigerate 30 minutes to allow flavors to meld.

Serve garnished with a sprig of mint.

Stuffed Grape Leaves 

 

Ingredients:

10 grape leaves

1/2 pound ground beef or lamb, or a mixture of the two

1 1/2 cups cooked white rice

1/2 small onion, minced

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cumin

salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste

1 tablespoon tamarind paste

2 cups water

Preparation:

In a medium sized bowl, mix together meat, rice, onion, and seasonings.

Rinse grape leaves and pat dry.

Fill each leaf with a couple of tablespoons of meat filling.

Roll up leaves like you would a burrito or egg roll, folding in first the sides, then rolling from the bottom up.

Reserve on a plate.

Meanwhile, dissolve tamarind paste in water in a saucepan over medium heat.

Carefully place stuffed grape leaves in the tamarind sauce, try to pack them fairly tightly, to avoid them opening while cooking.

Cover and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes or until meat is cooked through.

Serve with tamarind sauce.

And what the heck....I'm going to throw in a bonus pic of Alvaro and me at Tehran...it's a little old...taken a year and a half ago....if you look closely, you can see Sam (my youngest) peeking out from behind the table. hehehe

 

 

Oh. My. God.  Elly posted her grandmother's recipe for Pastitsio yesterday...I MUST advise all of you to go to your food store, buy the ingredients and make this dish as soon as you possibly can.  Delicious, creamy sauce with a crunchy crumb and cheese topping, delicious, fIavorful saucy beef nestled among cheesy pasta......I think I might have a foodie crush on her now.....Look at this:

 

 

 

Now GO!  SCOOT! ;) :)