As a convenience to the many readers of this blog, I’ve amassed all the Lenten (and Lent-friendly) dishes that I have posted thus far. Most of the dishes are Greek and appropriate for Lent and some are foreign but due to their ingredients, they fit in nicely with the Greek Lent in [...]
When in Greece you’ll likely dine at one of the tavernas that dot the entire country. These eateries are more informal, great meeting/gathering places for family and friends and usually the prices are affordable. I love taverna fare as you often get a combo of classics and some of the chef/owner’s creativity in the menu [...]
I decided to organize some Christmas dishes for you to consider when you’re planning your Christmas, holiday and New Year’s menus. These are some options divided simply in savory and sweet categories. Eat when you drink, drink when you eat and reach out and invite someone extra to the table. You’ll feel good! Savory [...]
This past summer I took a day trip to the middle finger or peninsula of Halkidiki, known to Greeks as Sithonia. Halkidiki comprises of three peninsulas, it’s located just east of Thessaloniki with the nearest being the peninsula of Kassandra and the most distant being Agio Oros. To visit Halkidiki one gets the feel of [...]
It’s been really busy around the Kalofagas camp – prepping and cooking for over 2000 guests at TUM, planning, recipe-testing and executing my last Greek Supper Club, I’m participating in a Taco Throwdown this week and in between all this I am also entertaining friends from out of town and finding the time to feed [...]
The darling of my last Greek Supper Club had to be these canapes with shrimp butter, poached shrimp and caviar on top. To ensure that these didn’t get gobbled-up prematurely I had sent them out to our hungry guests one platter at a time. This works in theory unless your guests barge into the kitchen [...]
This past Tuesday I cooked for my second Greek Supper Club with a menu inspired by the cuisine of the Cyclades islands. The menu was ambitious, lots of thought and work went into the meal, with an eye to providing my guests with Greek hospitality like one experiences when visiting a Greek home. The location [...]
Yesterday was another gorgeous Spring day here in Toronto and it was also March 25th, Greek Independence Day – celebrating the beginning of the struggle for Greek independence from the Ottomans (Turks). After taking in the parade (most of it), we left early for the Greek Grill to get some seats before it was too [...]
As a general rule, cheese and fish & seafood shouldn’t be mixed but there are always exceptions and when it comes to Greek food, we have some wonderful cheese and seafood combos like Shrimp Saganaki and Mussels Saganaki. Today I’m taking this delicate but delicious combo of cheese and seafood to calamari aka squid. For [...]
One of the cornerstones of Greek cuisine has to be it’s cheeses…varied in taste, texture and many offerings coming from all parts of the country. I brought a cheese from Greece is called Batzos – not Batsos (Greek slang for Police/Cop). Batzos come from northern Greece and more specifically from central to western Macedonia (Naoussa [...]
