Sometimes I make a recipe that leaves me with some leftover store-bought phyllo and I can usually make some Baklava with the rest or Tyropitakia (cheese-filled phyllo triangles). The other alternative is to take some sheets of phyllo, cut them into triangles and roll some shrimp in them and fry them up! This idea is [...]
I have a confession: when I bought an ice cream machine last summer it was for the sole purpose of making this ice cream – baklava ice cream. Inspiration comes from many: I first saw this concept at Jenn The Leftover Queen’s. There’s George Calombaris’ take on it and then there’s my friend David Tsirekas’ [...]
You know I love fish and seafood and one of the tastiest fish has to be salmon. Canada boasts some of the best salmon in the world (both Atlantic and Pacific). Much of what we eat is farm-raised but wild salmon is also still sold and frankly, preferred. Salmon is sold whole, in steaks (with [...]
Just last month I was in Greece and even though I was there for a a mere 12 days, I squeezed in all the activities I could: seeing family and friends, visiting markets, trying out new eateries and…making new friends. One of the new friends I made was Vefa Alexiadou – the Julia Child of [...]
This dessert was inspired by Eton Mess, an easy concoction that’s usually made by whipping cream, incorporating crumbled Meringues and ripe strawberries (which are the usual fruit). The Eton Mess was traditionally served at Eton College’s annually cricket game against Winchester College. Now this is where the dessert deviates. I’ve never been impressed with baked [...]
This dish instantly takes me back to Thessaloniki (and Greece) – just this past May. I stayed for about a week at my favourite uncle’s place, “Theo Mitso”. My uncle saved his drachmas, built a wonderful new home in the suburbs and surrounded the family with a lawn, gardens, olive and varied fruit trees. In [...]
In Greece, there are many souvlaki and gyro joints all over the country and on nearly every corner. Then there are tavernas, small eateries that specialize in grilled meats that go beyond souvlaki and gyro, serving pork chops, biftekia, sausages, lamb chops, whole roast lamb on the spit, kokoretsi and kontosouvli. Kontosouvli another rotisserie offering [...]
One aspect of the kitchen that I’ve really never enjoyed is washing pots, pans – doing the dishes. Sometimes it can’t be avoided and other times I might even forego making something that requires alot of clean-up…depends on my mood I suppose. Sometimes I also crave a dish but I don’t want the huge clean-up [...]
The first time I met Patrick McMurray was at the original Rodney’s Oyster House here in Toronto (on Adelaide). Patrick was shucking oysters behind the bar at this Toronto food destination spot and if I recall, this was where I first tried raw oysters. Tasting oysters is akin to wine: there are many types [...]
Have you ever reflected on what you used to eat, how you cooked/what you cooked in the past versus the present? What ingredients were you using? Were the ingredients seasonal, were the dishes complex or were they straight-forward and rustic? Have you learned anything new in the kitchen..technique, new garnish or passion for a new [...]
