For those familiar with Toronto, you might remember the Whistling Oyster. Although I’m not a fan of basement establishments, this once used to be innovative, had an open kitchen, one could sit at a table or eat casually at the bar. I’ve been told it has since closed but I hold dear memories of eating [...]
Growing in a Greek household, yogurt has been part of our diet since as early as I can recall. My mom would make homemade yogurt starting with a large pot of milk on the stovetop that she would bring to just scalding then take off the heat and add reserved batch/starter of yogurt and allow [...]
A short while ago I wrote about having lunch at one of Toronto’s great new places to eat seafood – Diana’s in Scarborough. As sexy as it was having a Lobster Club House sandwich, the real star of that lunch were the steamed mussels in a white wine and fennel sauce. Tremendous. I asked our [...]
It’s time for another saganaki dish. There are a lot of “saganaki” dishes on this blog but this one is the tastiest. REALLY! Most of you are familiar with the flaming cheese saganaki (a taverna favourite) but there are many types of saganaki dishes. Saganaki is the two-handled dish that it’s served in – so [...]
Eggplants are in season in Greece from August and here in Canada, you can still find sweet (not bitter) eggplants at your local grocer or farmer’s market. Eggplant is one of the ingredients in classic vegetarian dish called Briam and the similar dish (we’re cooking today) called Tourlou. Toulou is like a ratatouille but not [...]
Razor clams are perhaps the most perverted food I’ve seen at a market. Long and kind a phallic – the live mollusk wiggling and poking out of its shell. Open the shell up and surprise…the inside looks akin to a woman’s naughty bits. Innuendos, blushing brides and 40-year old virgins be damned – razor clams [...]
Cockles are a type of clam that’s found in the Mediterranean and “it warms my cockles” when my good friend George brings me some from when he goes diving. Had I received more I would have made a simple pasta with white wine, garlic, lemon zest and juice and fresh parsley. I only received a [...]
In Greece, a favourite pasta shape is that of kritharaki…our name for orzo. This pasta is usually featured in a baked Giouvestsi or stove-top manestra – both very comforting dishes that still transport me to Yiayia’s cooking. Today, I’m making Kritharotto…a play on risotto. Rather than toast Arborio rice then patiently alternate between stirring and [...]
Lobster is a splurge and each and every time I eat it…it’s special, a delight to eat and I savour each morsel. I use almost everything in the lobster, save the gills (which get discarded). Lobster is not cheap and you may as well squeeze out as much value as you can from this expensive [...]
One of the best, tastiest and “big show” ways to entertain family and friends is to host a seafood boil. A seafood boil is an informal meal where an array of seafood are boiled in a seasoned liquid and when cooked, the contents are simply laid out for all to pick and eat what they [...]
