Slow Roasted Pork Belly
Roast pork belly is a fantastic weekend offering. It takes a bit of time but it isn’t that hard. Buy quality pork and pay attention to achieving envious crispy skin (crackling). I love pork belly because the meat is juicy, most of the fat renders (just look at the bottom of your roasting pan) […]
Classic Spinach Salad
I used to order a spinach salad from a lunch counter and it was usually filling enough to be a meal. Iron-rich spinach, protein-packed eggs, immune boosting mushrooms, crispy bacon (needs no touting). Wrap all that in a tangy/sweet dressing and you have a salad that serves well as a main or good starter. Classic […]
Warm Mushroom Salad With Graviera Cheese, Almonds
It can be tough to come up with a tasty salad in the winter months but there are options! I love mushrooms, they are a great meat substitute, great immune system booster and with mushroom cultivation expanding to more than button mushrooms; one can eat an exotic array without breaking the bank. I love cremini, […]
Chicken with Hilopites
My parents, who come from towns in Florina prefecture, would make this dish with Keftedes or in this case, chicken. Both proteins affordable and complementary to such a rustic dish. It’s an easy dish to prepare but in keeping with Greek cooking philosophy, use quality ingredients and they will speak for themselves. Good chicken, ripe […]
Eggs Benedict With Pastourma
One of my favourite breakfast/brunch items to order has to be Eggs Benedict. The classic is served on toasted English Muffin halves, Canadian Bacon (ham), two poached eggs, Hollandaise and crispy diner style potatoes. It’s a hearty dish (rich) and one I order when traveling. I’ll pick up the menu, scan to see what’s available […]
Artisan Bread in Almost 5 Minutes
It’s been a decade since I began to make and bake my own bread at home. I haven’t made anything too adventurous – crusty loaves of bread, pizza dough, pita bread, Koulouria. I’d like to make a good loaf for sandwich bread and that’s a project in the near future. In the meantime, I continue […]
Ekmek Kataifi
One summer while in Greece I had the pleasure of also visiting Constantinople (Istanbul) for a second time. Prior to heading to this huge foodie destination, I knew (and wanted) to sample the many desserts and sweets that were on offer. This post is more about a dessert that’s taken another form from it’s original […]
Black Eyed Peas Salad
I first featured a black eyed peas recipe way back in 2009. In Greek, we call them “mavromatakia” which is pretty close to the English description. Last year I visited New Orleans for the first time and I became familiar with the local cuisine and traditions. I also read about the southern tradition of eating […]
Chocolate Ganache Tart With Caramel Sauce
Most people love chocolate and to the rest who don’t….what’s the matter with you? We near the end of 2020 and the whole world is ready to welcome 2021. As a New Year’s eve dessert, I say make a chocolate ganache tart. It’s easy to make, can be made ahead of time and when you […]
Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies
I miss traveling. Planes, trains and automobiles but mostly planes. Pre-Covid days, air travel was becoming a pain because of security precautions, check-in deadlines, inclement weather. I’ve flown in business class on occasion and yes, the experience is better than in economy but air travel has a certain degree of stress. Here in Toronto, we […]