Chicken Shawarma Meatballs

Chicken sawarma is all about the spices and the paper thin cut chicken. I didn't feel like going through the process of cutting up chicken breast, the overnight marination, and trying to roast them correctly, so I decided to make this dish into meatballs and go from there. The process was quite simple and the great flavors of the dish come out in every bite.

1 lb Chicken, minced
1/2 Lemon, juice only
2 Tbsp Greek yogurt
1/4 tsp Allspice
1/4 tsp Cumin
1/4 tsp Cardamom
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Paprika
dash Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Salt
pepper

Pita Bread
Tzatziki Sauce (video on this site)
Lettuce
Onion
Tomato

Add the minced chicken to a large bowl. Squeeze in the lemon, and add the yogurt and spices. Mix everything together until well incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap, and let sit in the firdge for at least an hour (a few hours would be better). With moist hands, take a heaping tablespoon of the chicken mixture and roll into a ball (about the size of the golf ball). Place on a cooking sheet a few inches apart. Place the cooking sheet under the broiler for 10 minutes. Remove and turn the meatballs over and place under the broiler for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest under a foil tent for 10 minutes. To build your sandwich - put down the pita bread and spread on some tzatziki sauce, add 4/5 of your chicken shawarma meatballs, then lettuce, tomato, and onion. Eat & Enjoy!

Happy Cooking!

~Nikko

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Not Quite Bruschetta...

This is called not quite bruschetta because there's no bread involved - there's cheese... I had an amazing lunch the other day that involved some of the best marinated tomatoes I've ever had (The French Pantry in Jacksonville Fl). I had to see if I could even come close to their amazingness... These turned out really good, but they still need a little work.

2 Cups Roma tomatoes, diced (about 4-6)
Fresh Mozzarella Cheese
1 tsp Oregano, dried
1/4 Cup Basil, either torn or chiffonade
1/4 Cup Olive oil
2 Tbsp White Balsamic vinegar
Salt
Pepper

My World Famous Greek Stuffed Sweet peppers

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!

Happy Cooking & Eating!

~Nikko

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The Hummus Wrap

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!

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko

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Skyline Chili

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.

Lamb Chops - Broiled

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....

The finished chops! They were so delicious!

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko

The Greek Chicken Dinner

The Greek Chicken Dinner

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...

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko
CookingMyWay@hotmail.com





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Chilled Cucumber-Chickpea Soup

This is a start to finish in 25 minutes dinner...

1 Coriander Paprika Spice Rub mix (see below)
1/2 Lb peeled and deveined cooked shrimp chopped
2 Medium cucumbers seeded and chopped
1 15-oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup packed fresh mint leaves
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp honey
2 Cloves garlic minced
1 1/2 Tsp ground coriander
1/4 Tsp cayenne pepper
3 Cups ice cubes
1/2 Cup cherry tomatoes, halved
4 Green onions, thinly sliced

For the Coriander Paprika Spice Rub

1 Tsp ground Coriander
1/2 Tsp paprika
1/4 Tsp salt
1/4 Tsp ground black pepper

1. Prepare the Coriander Paprika Spice Rub. In a medium bowl toss the shrimp with the spice rub; set aside. Thinly slice enough cucumber to measure 1/3 cup; set aside. Peel, seed, and cut up the remaining cucumbers.

2. In a blender combine the cut-up cucumbers, chickpeas, tahini, mint, lemon juice, olive oil, honey, garlic, coriander, cayenne, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and black pepper. Cover and blend until smooth, scraping the sides as needed.

3. Just before serving, with the motor running, add ice cubes, a few at a time, through the lid opening until smooth and thickened (blender should be about full). Pour into bowls. Top soup with the shrimp, sliced cucumber, tomatoes, and green onions.

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko

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Video Coming August 09 2009...

Moussaka

I have to admit that Pastichio is my favorite Greek food but I also love moussaka...

4 Large eggplants

Meat mixture

2 Lb Lamb ground
1 Lb Beef ground
1 Large onion diced
4 Tbs Penzeys Greek seasoning
1/4 Tsp nutmeg
1/4 Tsp cinnamon

Sauce

4 Tbs Butter
4 Tbs Flour
4 Cups Milk
3 Egg Yokes
1 Cup Kefalotiri cheese grated


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!

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko

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Roasted Leg of Lamb

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...