There’s  alot of good things happening with this salad, you’re gonna learn a couple of things, be frugal and fancy all in one dish! The centerpiece of the salad is the phyllo cigars filled with Feta cheese, walnuts and almonds, some lemon zest and ground anise. There’s more licorice flavour echoed in the salad greens [...]

I’ve been very busy of late with a lot of my time in the kitchen being devoted to making phyllo pastry by hand and selling these creations to many here in Toronto. Often times I’ve found myself without an iota of an idea about what to have for dinner and that has to change. I [...]

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 [...]

For a few years now there’s been talk of “sustainable” sources of fish, produce and meat. Today I ask you to consider the rabbit – mild in flavour (like chicken), lean, healthy (no skin) , sustainable and delish. Before I get any comments from the Philistines, the rabbit you see in recipes is not “Fluffy” [...]

For those that have been to Istanbul, you know what I mean when I say it’s surreal: the density of the city, the endless traffic, boats and ships running up and down the Bosphorus, the seemingly endless city filled with historical landmarks and everywhere…I mean everywhere – there’s food to be had. When you’re a [...]

Last year my brother married a gal of Polish origin which makes me automatically interested in the ways, culture and food of this northern European neighbor. This past weekend while looking for cookbooks at thrift shops and used book stores I tripped upon a a couple of Polish cookbooks which were quickly snapped up. I [...]

Recipe update from December 2007, I’ve switched wild boar for more widely available pork shoulder…a favourite cut of mine as it’s affordable, forgiving and versatile. I’ve lost count of how many pork dishes I’ve made using pork butt. Greeks eat alot of pork these days which wasn’t always the case. Souvlaki and Gyro are most [...]

I’m convinced that the prices of meat cuts have more to do with popularity rather than its true value. Chicken wings used to be given for almost nothing yet now cost almost $10 for a lb. of wings at the bar. How about flank steak? That used to be the cheap “every man’s steak” but [...]

This past summer I was out at one of these “Tweet-ups” where folks who have been connected through Twitter (hopefully with similar interests) get together. Most of the folks who gathered were food-centered, I knew some of the people attending and I was hungry! We met at a pizza joint and ever since I began [...]

Anytime I travel I like to do some homework on the particular destination and the research becomes feverish when I look into food options. Last year I went to Istanbul for the second time and regardless of if you’re been to Istanbul or not – its reputation as a “food lover’s city” is justified. I [...]