Onions
Jan 15th, 2012 |
By Peter Minakis 
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 [...]
Posted in Beef, Featured, Greek Wine, Herbs, Istanbul, Main, Meze, Olive Oil, Onions, Peppers, Recipes, Turkish, Vegetables | 17 comments
Jan 10th, 2012 |
By Peter Minakis 
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 [...]
Posted in Featured, Festive, Fish, Greek Wine, Herbs, Main, Olive Oil, Onions, Polish, Recipes, Sauce | 13 comments
Jan 3rd, 2012 |
By Peter Minakis 
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 [...]
Posted in Christmas, Featured, Greek, Greek Traditions, Greek Wine, Main, Olive Oil, Onions, Peppers, Pork, Potato, Roasting | 30 comments
Dec 19th, 2011 |
By Peter Minakis 
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 [...]
Posted in Dairy, Featured, Greek, Greek Wine, Herbs, Main, Mushrooms, Olive Oil, Onions, Pork, Sauce | 11 comments
Dec 17th, 2011 |
By Peter Minakis 
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 [...]
Posted in Baking, Cheese, Dough, Featured, Gadgets, Herbs, Main, Mushrooms, Olive Oil, Onions, Pizza, Pork, Recipes, Vegetables | 6 comments
Dec 13th, 2011 |
By Peter Minakis 
A couple of weeks ago I did a cooking demo at Toronto’s Harbourfront. No stranger to crowds, cooking in front of strangers didn’t present a problem and besides..I was doing what I love – sharing good, comforting food. When I was asked to conduct some cooking demos the prerequisite was that I showcase comforting dishes [...]
Posted in Canadiana, Cheese, Dairy, Featured, Herbs, Main, Onions, Pasta, Recipes, Spices, Vegetarian | 3 comments
Dec 12th, 2011 |
By Peter Minakis 
Here’s a dish my family’s made since I can recall holiday dinners like Thanksgiving and Christmas. This rice comes together rather easily which is good to have in your arsenal of holiday side dishes, what with the mad dash going on in the kitchen. The dish would originally be made with “ksinolahano”…a coarser Greek version [...]
Posted in Cabbage, Featured, Festive, Onions, Recipes, Rice, Side, Spices | 6 comments
Dec 12th, 2011 |
By Peter Minakis 
This dish was first inspired when I saw Anthony head back to home territory (New York) and tour the city’s great old-skool eateries. If you’ve ever been to New York you know that there’s an endless selection of places to eat with every culture and cuisine present and a combo of trendy and traditional restaurants. [...]
Posted in Beer, Featured, Festive, German, Greek Wine, Herbs, Main, Onions, Pork, Quinces, Recipes, Roasting, Salt, Sauce, Stock | 7 comments
Dec 2nd, 2011 |
By Peter Minakis 
Greek cuisine has always been about simplicity, the dishes are not complex but rely on seasonal, fresh and seasonal ingredients. Many of Greece’s most popular dishes were born out of need and necessity – peasant dishes. More than ever, a return to more traditional ingredients is the mindshift in Greece – be it out of [...]
Posted in Beef, Dairy, FAGE, Featured, Greek, Leftovers, Main, Onions, Rice, Sauce | 8 comments
Dec 1st, 2011 |
By Peter Minakis 
This past summer in Greece i didn’t get a chance to go to Istanbul but memories from last year are still vivid: people everywhere, a mix of modern and traditional as Istanbul is a city over 20 million that straddles both Europe and Asia, the smells of street vendors hawking their food, the restaurants for [...]
Posted in Baking, Featured, Herbs, Istanbul, Lamb, Main, Meat, Olive Oil, Onions, Pizza, Recipes, Spices, Turkish, Vegetables | 16 comments