For as long as I recall watching cooking shows, we (consumers) have been told that one should not use olive oil for frying as it has a very low smoke point. Smoke point refers to the temperature an oil becomes unstable, burns and breaks down, giving off an unpleasant taste. With respect to olive oil, [...]
I read just last week that fried chicken is “trending”…did it ever go away? I think what is really happening is a movement to fry more at home rather than rely on restaurants and fast food eateries to handle what some consider “heavy lifting” in terms of cooking. Frying food is intimidating, it’s messy and [...]
The first time I saw or heard of octopus meatballs were from Maria’s blog at Kali Orexi (BonAppeti. Maria is a Greek blogger resided in the NYC suburbs and she shares dishes she’s created or ones inspired by her ancestral homeland of the island of Kalymnos. For those not familiar with Greek geography, Kalymnos is [...]
When you’re hungry (especially during Lent) your belly can inspire you to create the simplest and most delicious dishes. One of the easiest dishes to prepare is fried calamari. One need only find fresh or thawed from frozen squid, mix a bowl of seasoned flour and have the confidence to fry in hot oil. Not [...]
How many ways are there to prepare octopus? There’s grilled, boiled, baked, I recently tried “sous vide” (and it was fantastic) and now there is fried. Regardless of how you’re going to eat octopus the key is to tenderize it. The old-school way in Greece was to bash it on rocks at the beach, some [...]
Here in Toronto, we have Greeks from all over Greece, much like other cities in the Greek diaspora. The origins of where those Greeks came [...]
I love eggplant and it especially excels when its given a smoky flavour. The best way to do that is by blackening or charring it – ideally over a charcoal grill but a gas grill or stove-top works pretty good too. Broiling eggplant in the oven doesn’t do the job, save your time. When charring [...]
In Greece, there are big fish and there are little fish. The big fish are usually grilled and the small fish usually get fried. There are always some exceptions but one fish that’s usually fried is the red mullet – prized for its firm but sweet meat that also holds up well to frying. Red [...]
I’ve always been in awe of southern American cooking – both high & low country, born of rustic beginnings and absolutely delicious! There’s corn bread, macaroni & cheese, biscuits, meatloaf, hush puppies, ribs, roast ham and one of my favourites, fried chicken. My very first fried chicken came out of a bucket by way of [...]
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 [...]
