How To
Feb 5th, 2012 |
By Peter Minakis 
Last year when I visited the Gerovassliou winery in Epanomi (near Thessaloniki), it was my second time for a tour of the winery and museum. As you will recall the first visit was cut-short because I arrived late and the winery was closing. I had to wait one whole year to come back tho this [...]
Posted in Braising, Eggplant, Featured, Greek Wine, Herbs, How To, Main, Olive Oil, Spices, Thessaloniki, Vegetables | 5 comments
Dec 30th, 2011 |
By Peter Minakis 
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 [...]
Posted in Down Home, Featured, Flour, Frying, How To, Main, Poultry, Recipes, Southern, Spices | 15 comments
Dec 6th, 2011 |
By Peter Minakis 
I love the ritual making Greek coffee: Measuring out the water with a demi-tasse then emptying it in the demi-tasse cup, adding the almost powder-like ground coffee and sugar to taste and watching over the “briki” coming to a boil, of waiting for the coffee grounds to settle and then, sipping it until you taste [...]
Posted in Beverage, Coffee, Featured, Gadgets, Greek Traditions, How To, Turkish | 20 comments
Nov 26th, 2011 |
By Peter Minakis 
Can you identify any of the fish on display in the photo above? I found recent articles in The Atlantic and investigative reports from the Boston Globe covering the topic of “bait & switch” when it comes to restaurants and fish mongers advertising one fish when in fact through genetic tests conducted (in Guelph, Ontario) [...]
Posted in Featured, Fish, Greek, Greek Grill, Greek Wine, Herbs, How To, Lemon, Main, Olive Oil, Xanthi | 5 comments
Nov 25th, 2011 |
By Peter Minakis 
The basis for any good soup is a good stock and that’s especially important for getting the most flavour. When I make a stock, I buy the carcasses (three) from a chicken (you can use one whole chicken) or the leftover carcass of a roasted turkey and place them in a pot with a carrot, [...]
Posted in Featured, How To, Recipes, Soup, Stock | 5 comments
Nov 1st, 2011 |
By Peter Minakis 
Recipe Update from May 2008 My eating diet can be summed up in two seasons: Soup season and salad season. With the exception of the cold soup, it’s salad days indeed. The only other exception I make when it comes to eating a salad ‘year ’round is a Caesar Salad. We’ve all had Caesar Salad [...]
Posted in American, Bacon, Cheese, Dressing, Featured, How To, Lemon, Main, Recipes, Salad, Side | 46 comments
Oct 28th, 2011 |
By Peter Minakis 
Most Greeks are named after patron saints (others given ancient Greek names) and each person celebrates their “name day” on the day their namesake (patron [...]
Posted in Almonds, Butter, Dessert, Featured, Greek, How To, Snacks, Sugar, Thessaly | 10 comments
Oct 26th, 2011 |
By Peter Minakis 
According to Larousse Gastronomique, a Ballotine is made of a piece of meat, fowl or game (or fish) which is boned, stuffed and rolled into a bundle. Don’t let the fancy French term nor the appearance of the dish intimidate you – this is easy to prepare and you’ll impress yourself as well as your [...]
Posted in Bacon, Cheese, Featured, French, Greek, Greek Wine, Herbs, How To, Main, Mushrooms, Stuffing | 7 comments
Oct 17th, 2011 |
By Peter Minakis 
A few weeks back I made Hosafi, a dish from the Pontian Greeks and I alluded that I would share with you in due course and the time has come. This past summer in Greece, I spent a weekend visiting the diverse, delicious and distant city of Xanthi…a Greek city closer to the Turkish border [...]
Posted in Appetizer, Beans, Featured, Greek, How To, Lent, Meze, Ouzo, Pickling, Pontian, Vegetarian, Xanthi | 5 comments
Sep 22nd, 2011 |
By Peter Minakis 
I love this garnish as it adds height to a dish, it’s easy to make and you’re damn right they taste good! The key here is to thinly slice the onions and I use my mandoline. Serve with a steak or any other meat & potatoes dish or even a big bowl for friends to [...]
Posted in Corn Flour, Frying, Garnish, How To, Onions, Recipes | 3 comments