I had some cabbage that needed used up one day and this is what came out of it. I was going to make some regular coleslaw but I decided to Greek it up a bit - it worked...
2 Cups Cabbage, sliced thin
3 Tbsp White Balsamic
1 Tbsp Penzey's Greek seasoning (www.penzeys.com)
1/2 Cup Feta cheese
In a medium sized bowl, add the balsamic and Penzey's Greek seasoning. Mix together and let sit for a few minutes. In the meantime slice the cabbage thin and crumble the feta cheese. Add them into the bowl and mix well. Eat & Enjoy!
This is a pretty easy dish to make. I've made this 20 times or so and it's always a hit!
1 LB Ground lamb Sweet red peppers 2 Cloves garlic, minced 1 Egg 1 tsp Olive oil 1/2 Cup Bread crumbs, I used panko 1 Cup Feta cheese, crumbled 1 tsp Greek Oregano, www.penzeys.com 1 tsp Basil Salt, pinch Pepper, pinch
In a medium sized bowl mix everything but the sweet peppers together. Do not over mix this mixture... Once you have a good mix cover and put in the fridge for an hour - this will make the stuffing go a lot easier if you ask me. While your mixture is cooling off prep the peppers - start by cutting off the root end and cleaning out all the seeds. Once this is done wash the peppers in cold water and pat them dry. Take the mixture out of the fridge and using your hands stuff the peppers full. I like to cut off the bottom tip of the peppers just in case there is mega expansion that happens when baking. Put in a baking dish and drizzle a little olive oil over the top of the peppers. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for about an hour. Serve with rice, pasta etc... Eat & Enjoy!
This can be a nice appetizer plate, a party plate, or I like to call it lunch (breakfast, or dinner) sometimes... All this but the Penzeys' Greek spice can be found at your local Mediterranean store. In Jacksonville we have a place called Hala that has everything, and I'm sure your city probably has someplace you can find it all. I get my hummus at Costco. The brand Costco has is really dang good and is about the same cost as if I made it myself... On the Feta - I love a good Greek feta but the French and the Danish make good varieties too - I've yet to find one made in the US that was worth it - but in a pinch...
Kalamata Olives Ajavar (a roasted red pepper mixture) Hummus Feta Baked Pita Strips
The trick here is just to make everything look pretty. The hardest thing you have to do is to cut the pita into strips, butter it, sprinkle it with a bit of Penzeys Greek Seasoning and bake it at 400 for a few minutes until it gets crisp.
Tzatziki goes well with a myriad of food stuffs. Lamb, beef, chicken, veg, even some fish benefit from it's wonderful flavor. The twist in this version comes in from the feta cheese that I added. It really added a nice zing! It's not something I do with it every time but every once and a while it's a nice change.
1 Cucumber, peeled seeded and diced 1/4 Cup onion, diced 1.5 Cups Greek yogurt .25 Lb Greek Feta Mint - 4-5 sprigs will do, minced Fennel - if you have it, if not no biggie
Start off by peeling your cucumber. You're going to want to take out the seeds as well - you can use a spoon or a knife. Dice the cucumber into small pieces and put them in a good sized bowl (you're going to be mixing stuff in there so use one that will accommodate that). Dice up half of a small onion and add it to the bowl. Mince up some mint and fennel (if you have it - it's not really part of the recipe but it looked good in the garden so I used it and it worked)... Add the herbs, yogurt, feta, a shot of pepper, and mix everything well. It's best to let it sit for a bit so everyone gets happy. Eat & Enjoy...
First things first - Start with a good wrap - I've said it before and I'll say it again, until I'm proven wrong the best wraps I've used come from Tumaro's Tortillas. This is one of my favorite wraps to do and it's the very first wrap in my upcoming book 101 Things To Do With A Tortilla!
Tumaro's Spinach wrap Shredded lettuce Red Onion Cucumber, seeded Tomato Feta Cheese Hummus Salt Pepper
To build - Lay down your wrap and slather on some hummus. Top that with the lettuce, cucumber, tomato, feta, and salt and pepper (given the feta is salty watch how much salt you use). Fold in the sides of the wrap and start rolling from the back. Eat & Enjoy!
1 lb ground lamb 1 small onion diced 1 tsp mint 1 Tbsp Penzeys Greek seasoning 2 Tbsp soda water Salt Pepper
Arugula Tzatziki sauce Baguette
You will need a large enough bowl to handle a pound of meat, a grill or grill pan (can use a broiler if you want, I've done it and it works just fine), and a set of hands (or a spoon)...
In a large bowl add everything but the arugula, tzatziki sauce, and the baguette. Mix with a large spoon or your hands until everything is well incorporated. Form into long thinner patties. Grill your lamb burgers until they are cooked to your preferred temperature. Like I said you can do this on a grill, on the stove in a pan, or under the broiler - I've used them all and they all work well...
Build - Cut the baguette into pieces that will accommodate the burgers (if you really want to get crazy you can toast the baguette before use). Spread the tzatziki sauce on both sides of the baguette. Put some of the arugula down on the bottom of the baguette, top with the burger then put on the top piece - Eat & Enjoy!
I love Skyline Chili. The only problem is that the closest one to me is some 300 miles away. That's actually probably a good thing or I would go there almost every day and weigh 300 pounds. They're recipe comes from my country of Greece (and no that's not the only reason I like it). The chili has a fantastic flavor. Some markets sell cans of the chili or you can find it in some frozen sections. You can get it directly from the Skyline website too. www.skylinechili.com I've always thought it was cool that they severed it over pasta. I can still remember going in for the first time when I was a 13 or so with my mother - I remember thinking - Pasta, Chili, Cheese what could be wrong with that - NOTHING was the answer. I fell in love after the first bite. There are multiple ways you can order your chili:
The 3-Way - Spaghetti, chili, and shredded cheddar cheese. (My favorite)
The 4-Way - A 3-Way with diced onions or red beans
The 5-Way - A 3-Way with diced onions and red beans
Chili Spaghetti - Spaghetti and chili only
I've met some people who are pretty passionate about the way they order their Skyline chili. I have only had the 3-way - It's so dang good why go anywhere else? It just can't get any better by adding anything to it...
They do have some pretty dang good coneys - mini hot dogs covered with the chili and cheese...
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Sitting at the counter watching them make the goods...
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Here is a recipe that will get you pretty close to what they make.
2 lbs ground beef 2 cups chopped onions 4 cups beef stock 2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce 2-3 Tbsp chili powder 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce 1/2 ounce grated unsweetened chocolate or 2 3/4 Tbsp cocoa 2 tsp instant minced garlic 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp ground red pepper or cayenne pepper 1/4 tsp ground allspice 1/4 tsp ground cloves 1 bay leaf or 1/8 tsp bay leaf powder
Directions
Brown ground beef and onion, once cooked drain well. Add the beef stock to beef mixture and simmer 10 minutes. Add remaining 13 ingredients, simmer uncovered 1 hour. Remove bay leaf, skim off extra fat. Serve over hot spaghetti, or hot dogs in buns for chili dogs. Top with plenty of cheese and other optional toppings.
I love ribs, but I'm pretty picky as to the ribs I will eat. I usually reserve that for just a few places in town or my own... Normally when I go out to a BBQ joint I order a chopped brisket sandwich with a side of slaw.
Step 1 - order 1 Brisket sandwich & 1 side of slaw - Make sure to ask for it on Texas Toast instead of a bun - It makes it better that way (don't argue just accept)...
Step 2 - Remove sandwich 'lid' and dump slaw on top of sandwich - discard slaw bowl
Step 3 - Replace the sandwich lid - Roll up your sleeves - Eat & Enjoy...
If you ask me this is the only way to eat a Chopped Brisket Sandwich... If you like BBQ sauce (which I'm not all that fond of) pour it on before you add the slaw...
I love salads of all types. There's just so many things you can do with a salad. When I've had a hard day at work and don't want to worry about cooking something that's too heavy or that's too time consuming - a nice salad is usually my answer.
Onto the show...
The Greek Salad
Lettuce Tomatoes Red onion Feta Cheese Bell Pepper Capers Kalamata olives White balsamic vinegar Oregano Pepper Salt
There you go have fun...
Ok I won't leave you with just that.
The lettuce - Pick a nice mix or some Romaine. I'm a fan of Iceberg lettuce for it's nice crispness, but it lacks in flavor. What I do like to mix a bit of it into a spring mix when I make salads so you get the nice flavors of the spring mix and the crunch of the Iceberg. I prefer to rip up the lettuce into bite sized pieces.
Tomatoes - Use any kind you like - cut them how you like or if using the smaller cherry/grape ones leave them whole. When I'm using tomatoes that have been cut I like to put a smidge of salt on them. There's feta, and capers in this dish which is very salty so a little will go a long way - All I will say is that tomatoes love salt...
Red onion - I like the look that red onions give to a dish, and I like their flavor. I usually cut them pretty fine when putting them into a salad because I don't want to bite into a huge chunk on onion. They don't have to be shaved but a thin slice is best if you ask me.
Feta - Nothing beets a good Greek feta. The French make a good one but Greek feta is my favorite. I'm lucky to have a market here that imports all kinds of feta (Greek, French, Danish, etc...) so I can get good feta when needed. If you have no other option that what's at your market - just use it... Feta is quite salty so don't go overboard with it. I tend to but that's because I love it...
Bell pepper - I would use something other than a green bell pepper - red, yellow, and orange are less bitter and usually sweeter.
Capers - Capers are essential to a Greek salad. They bring that little extra something. Most people don't use them - I beg you to do so! You will be happy with the decision!
Kalamata olives - Olives are another essential component to this salad. Just about every market caries Kalamata olives so they should be easy to find. The regular black olives really just don't work in a Greek salad if you ask me - you need something with better flavor.
The rest - I like to use the white balsamic vinegar because it has a good flavor and it doesn't darken the dish up. I put a spot of Oregano in the salad because it adds a really good flavor - you only need a nice pinch. Pepper goes without needing to explain (I hope). And we've talked about the salt - just a small pinch because we have other salty items in the salad...
I've said it before, and I'll say it again - I Love lamb. Although you don't get a lot of meat off of them, lamb chops are so succulent if not over cooked. My favorite way to cook lamb is on the grill but when that's not a option I use the broiler. It's just an upside down grill right? I like lamb so much because it fits into almost every culture. It's good dressed up or just with a bit of salt and pepper...
I went with a Herbs de Provence flavor on the chops.
A normal HdP has basil, fennel, lavender, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, savory, and thyme.
I didn't have any marjoram or fennel but I didn't let that stop me - I soldiered right on...
Rub a spot of oil on the chops so the herbs stick well...
Under the broiler getting happy...
With a preheated broiler it only takes 4-7 minutes on each side. Like always - never leave the broiler when you have food in there! It could catch fire....
Well I'm Greek and I love Greek food - not a stretch there right? The odd thing is that I cannot ever remember having anyone in the family ever roast a chicken. It was made 100 other ways but never roasted whole. My Yia Yia Sofia (off the boat from Greece great grandmother) would break down the chicken then roast it but never whole.
Anyway, I wanted to make a special dinner and I decided on a nice roasted Chicken.
I started the meal with a quick and easy appetizer plate with Kalamata Olives, ajavar (a spicy red pepper dip), hummus, feta, and some, baked pita strips (pita, a dash of olive oil, & Penzeys Greek seasoning baked in the oven).
The chicken was quite simple - I took a roaster, washed it out and trimmed all the excess skin/fat off. I coated it well under the skin of the breasts, thighs, and legs with Penzeys Greek seasoning, salt, pepper, and a bit of extra oregano. I squeezed the juice from 2 lemons over the top of the bird and shoved as many halved lemons, and a handful of garlic cloves up it's bum as I could. I wash and slice the taters and placed them in the bottom of the roasting pan. I drizzled them with some olive oil, salt, pepper, Greek seasoning, and mixed them well so they were all coated well.
Preheat the oven to 400F - Roast for 2 - 2.5 hours
There was some Greek salad as well but the photo of it didn't turn out so well... Simple salad greens, thinly sliced red onion, olives, feta, oil and white balsamic vinegar.
Dessert consisted of some greek treets I picked up at the store (Hala here in Jacksonville). They were good and rounded out the meal...
There was enough food to feed 4 hungry people so we had plenty of leftovers. The next day we made Greek chicken and potato hash - but that's another story...
Add meat and onion to a heated pan - add the Penzeys Greek seasoning, nutmeg, and cinnamon - mix in well. Once cooked drain off all the fat - set aside. Slice the eggplant into rounds and place on a sheet pan. Lightly salt the eggplant and cook at 400 degrees for 10 min or so just to soften them up a bit. Melt the butter in a large pan then add the flour to form a roux. Slowly add the milk and bring back to temperature so it thickens. Temper the egg yokes, then add to the bashamel. Stir in the cheese and mix well. Coat the bottom of a large pan with a bit of the sauce. Put down a layer of eggplant, lay on all the meat. Layer on the rest of the eggplant. Cover with the remaining sauce. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until it is nice and brown on top. Eat and enjoy - drink ouzo - dance - throw dishes and yell Opa!
I'm Greek so loving the flavor of lamb is in my DNA. I'll take lamb just about any way I can get it. Chops, loin, leg, roast - Gimme! When I was a kid my uncle Tony would sit out in the garage with his makeshift BBQ pit (he put down bricks then piled coals ontop of them and hand cranked an old Q he got in Greece... He would sit out there all day with a leg of lamb (or 2 or 3 or 4) drink ouzo, smoke cigars and talk to his buddies or my other uncles. I'll never forget the first time he let me come and hang out with him. It was truly a right of passage in our family. Anyhow - Tina and I do lamb once a month or so and here's a good one we did...
1 Bone in leg of lamb 1 Cup Olive oil 6 cloves garlic minced 3-6 Tbs rosemary 9 Anchovy fillets (no we're not kidding) Salt Pepper
Put your leg of lam on a rack in a roasting pan. In a bowl combine the olive oil, rosemary, anchovy, a bit of pepper and mix well. Cut small slits into the lamb and stick in some garlic and spices into each hole. Cover the rest of the lamb with the oil/spice mixture. Let sit for an hour covered or put in the fridge for 5 hours or so. Preheat oven to 400 degrees - cook lamb for about an hour or until medium rare - about 160 degrees F.
There are other things made in this video - beats, beat greens, rice... I'll let you watch the video to see how they're done...
Bon Appetit...
~Nikko
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As someone who loves animals - Make sure you buy your meat from ranchers/companies who treat their animals well...
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