Octopus Souvlaki Meze With Greek-Style Chimichurri
This past summer was a busy one filled with Greek Supper Clubs and catering dinner parties. I love entertaining and now that it’s become a full-time job, I get to try many of the ideas I have swirling in my head. Greek loves octopus and we cook/prepare it in many ways but my favourite is […]
Milk Braised Pork With Leeks and Celery
I had heard of this milk-braised pork dish, seen it on TV even and finally, I was able to taste a fantastic version earlier this year when I had lunch at the Purple Pig in downtown Chicago. The restaurant’s chef is half-Greek Jimmy Bannos Jr. and this is my riff on that superb pork dish […]
Beet Salad With Herbed Goat Cheese and Greens
Although it’s autumn and I now gravitate more towards soups, I do still enjoy a hearty salad. In Greece, they are blessed to have winter vegetables and greens (climate) and beets are very popular. Here, I roast beets then poach in sweet/sour combination of red wine and balsamic vinegars. The beets alone are very sweet […]
Lamb Two-Ways
Here’s a dish for a special occasion/dinner or something to prepare on the weekends. It’s Lamb Two Ways…not really that hard, just an extra step when preparing the lamb.What I’ve done here is separate the ribs from the loin from a Frenched rack of lamb that I bought from my butcher. If you’re not too […]
Easy Tyropitakia in a Pan
While here in Greece, many leave the city for their ancestral town/village or they head to their summer homes/vacation spot. It could be the mountains or in my family’s case, our summer home in Halkidiki. Greeks like to socialize and most of the time you can find Greeks going for a walk (volta) or hang […]
Octopus Ravioli
If you’re a regular reader of this blog you know that I love octopus and if you love Greek food or have visited Greece – you know octopus is cooked in array of ways from braised to grilled, roasted to pickled. When one buys an octopus, you get eight tentacles and the head. Everything but […]
Greek Food Gazette 26/07/14
Win a trip for two to Greece, courtesy of Greek National Tourist Org Boutari Wines adapting to the changing times Ten of the Mediterranean’s 30 most popular island vacation destinations this summer are Greek Wine Spectator honours two restaurants in Athens Koufonissia in the Aegean your secret seaside awaits you Wine makes a comeback in […]
Boiled Greens With Grilled Garlic Scapes
At last month’s Greek Supper Club, I served up whole grilled lavraki flown in from Greece and although it wasn’t on the menu, I decided to serve boiled horta (greens) as a side to the fish. It’s a MUST. In Greece, folks will go for walks to forage wild edible greens with the most common […]
Squid Ink Spaghetti With Zesty Calamari
Here’s an easy pasta dish that combines inspiration from the south in Crete, from the seaside tavernas and from northern Greece with the use of Boukovo…Greek chilli flakes. I first has cuttlefish and squid served covered in their squid ink…an odd sight at first but jet-black delicious! One can buy squid ink from finer grocers […]
Snails Stifado With Creamy Sour Trahana
A couple of weeks ago I hosted a Cretan-themed dinner, featuring traditional dishes from Greece’s largest island – Crete. This island is considered the birthplace of the Mediterranean Diet and these folks like to stick to their traditions. That includes using their staples with include snails and sour trahana. Snails…you want to call them escargot? […]