Greek Food – Page 2 – Lollipopsicle

May 23, 2013September 25, 2019

The dish that got me on and sent packing on Masterchef’s season 4

Going on the show I thought the last thing I would need to worry about was being on the “bloopers” reel, I take pride and have confidence in my cooking. Well oddly enough…my dish will not even be shown. It was the dish I made for the open call and what I made for the “on camera” audition. The food expert at the open call loved it, I felt confident heading into everything, it was not all bad as an experience, disappointing to say the least but not without a lesson. Some contestants had great back stories and had triumphed though horrible things, others were fire dancers or made robots. The thing we all had in common was to represent ourselves as cooks. I gave it hell I did, I bought all the best products to use, I enjoyed filming actually. I didn’t really expect to like all my cast mates so much, they were awesome! We all kinda instabonded. I loved the wranglers and all the British accents on the crew. If you’ve seen the show you probably figured that I knew what I was in for….but I naively really believed in it, believed that if you try your best that you can come out a winner. Life can be boring and unpleasant at times, and I felt like I had an opportunity that was extraordinary. I got a yes from Joe,Graham said the dish was good, but my plating wasn’t great (did you see some of the dishes they put through? seriously?) And Gordon said my salad was “nice” but my chicken was dry (air cooled, organic and $10 lbs ), too bad since he “loved my personality”. So in hindsight….as for all hopes and dreams I had for myself, I failed. Wow, that’s a sucky feeling….I wanted to throw up a little when my roommate from the show found an article that the Salt Lake Tribune had about me “being a hopeful” I felt like I was living a lie as all my friends were congratulating me with kind words….I already knew the outcome. Coming so close and then getting dumped on your ass is quite character building and was really the catalyst to start my food blog so I could show people what I do in my style. Well here is the dish that got me on and sent packing on Masterchef Season 4:

Serves 4

8 sheets defrosted phyllo

4 chicken breast, marinated in 2 tbsp each, olive oil, soy, and fresh lemon juice, 1 tsp dried herb de Provence, 2 cloves garlic smashed, salt and pepper to taste. Marinate at least 30 minutes or overnight. Sear on both sides.

2 cups baby spinach wilted

4 oz Greek Feta

4 oz whole milk ricotta

1 egg

Butter

Preheat 375 degree oven, mix your egg and cheeses with spinach. Butter a sheet of phyllo, top with another sheet, butter, place chicken in the middle, top with spinach mixture, fold sides in first then roll from the bottom up. Butter top, bake for 30 minutes or so till golden and crisp.

For the open call, I made it with Greek potato salad using blue and Yukon potatoes, and topped with a Greek Horitaki “salsa” of sort and micro greens. Due to the time limits for the on camera, I did a roasted eggplant puree and an arugula salad. I posted pics of both variations, they are both good…..and you could also do rice or mashed potatoes.

Gotta live life without regrets regardless! I totally was worried I would look super terrible, I didn’t. As with most things in life….aside from getting eaten by a lion or being buried alive, it coulda been worse and in like a decade it might actually be funny…what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, but it can drag ya down for a bit. What does the future hold for me? I’m keeping things in perspective and as they say, hopefully time will heal all wounds.

April 22, 2013June 14, 2015

Greek Potato Salad

Let me begin today with why I like Costco, as far as corporations go, they ain’t bad. Costco pays a living wage to employees, provide health insurance, they work with local distributors, you can get certain products for quarters on the dollar, carries loads of organic products, Wal-mart could learn a thing or two from them, that is for sure. So about once a month or so I make the trek to Costco, it’s a total hassle…but occasionally I drink a few espressos and get ready to fight the crowds to hunt bargains. Well I got this 20lbs bag of Washington #1 Russets for $6, which is a heck of deal! Problem is, I’ve been trying to use them all up before they go to tater heaven (aka: become rotten and smell of decomp). So with that intro…let me introduce today’s recipe…..drum roll please TATER SALAD! Not that mayo extravaganza that you can play “guess that mess” with….meaning you never know what is in that stuff. I’ve mentioned in other post my dislike of mayo in general….spoilage…etc. This recipe I am sharing today is one of all time fav’s , as a kid I loved it! My Dad even made like 35lbs of it for my wedding reception! This is my version, I demo’d it on a televised fundraiser for public T.V. back in Utah, I was after Tony Caputo, he made gnocchi…tough act to follow but I think I held my own, even got an article in the paper! Sad part was the recipe was wrong…..instead of two teaspoons of garlic salt….it said two tablespoons, so really whoever made it from that recipe, probably didn’t enjoy it. HAHA! There are limitless variations of potato salad and this is mine…depending on what is available, you can use different potatoes, onions, fresh garlic or garlic salt, and use fresh herbs or dried, depending on the season. This is the salad in it most accessible and easiest version. Vegan and gluten free before it was trending, this salad should be one every home -cook has in their arsenal.
• 5lbs of potatoes of choice (I’m using russets, but I’ve also use a mix of Yukons, reds, and even blue potatoes when I can find them.)
• ½ red onion, small dice
• 1 cup celery, small dice
• 3 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh dill or 1 teas dried dill
• 2 cloves fresh garlic pulverized or you can use garlic salt 1 to 2 teas depending on how much salt your potatoes suck up, if you using garlic salt don’t add extra salt
• Juice of 1 lemon if it’s a juicy bugger….more if he ain’t got the flow
• ½ cup Olive oil (preferably Greek, but any extra virgin will work)
• Salt and pepper to taste (note no extra salt if using garlic salt)
Boil your potatoes with skin on till they can be easily pierced by a fork. Cool. Once cooled, peel, medium dice potatoes and place in a large bowl. Add the rest of ingredients and stir. Garnish with some lemon zest. Make it the day before and its extra tasty! Can be served at room temp and won’t spoil at your summer BBQ. Try this variation, I think you will like the bright, fresh, flavors!

Doing a demo for "P is for Potato" cooking show for PBS. At Orson Gygi in SLC. — Doing a demo for “P is for Potato” cooking show for PBS. At Orson Gygi in SLC.

April 19, 2013

Mediterranean meatballs and Greek lemon pilaf

My folks had a restaurant growing up and a large part of my youth was spent prepping food with my family and our employees (friends). I could make Greek lemon rice before I was able to write in cursive. So “pilafi” is something I can make blind folded with one hand tied behind my back, it also just happens to be fast and delicious, definitely my go to side dish. Pilafi is fast, affordable, and a total crowd pleaser. The “meatballs” I made are a new recipe I decided to try because I had a few things I needed to use up and they are about 50/50 meat and veg. This is what I had to work with: pita chips (crushed to replace bread crumbs), feta, 1lb Italian chicken sausage, sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives, 1 can cannellini beans, frozen chopped broccoli rabe. I’m gonna be honest with you….the mix looked not so sexy….and honestly they aren’t beautiful…although I’ve never met a gorgeous meatball…I am a bit of presentation perfectionist, I was honestly not sure I even wanted to post the recipe because frankly they are homely….but sometimes it what’s inside that counts and these were filling and delicious.
• Preheated 375 degree oven, baking sheet
• 1lb ground meat (I used hot Italian chicken sausage)
• 2 eggs
• ¾ cup crushed pita chips
• 1 can cannellini beans, drained
• 2 tbsp tomato sauce
• ¼ cup chopped Kalamata olives
• ¼ cup crumbled feta
• 1 cup frozen chopped broccoli rabe (you can sub spinach)
• ¼ cup diced red onion
• ¼ chopped sundried tomato (not in oil)
• Chopped flat leaf parsley for garnish
• I used sausage which is pre-seasoned and the olive and cheese added plenty of salt so I wouldn’t recommend adding any additional seasoning…seriously.
Mix up all the ingredients till it look basically like carnage…haha….and form in golf ball sized meatballs. Put in oven cook 30 minutes or until brown.
While they bake make your rice:
• 1 cup long grain rice, rinsed
• 1 ¾ cup chicken broth, I used salted, if you use unsalted you will need to add salt.
• Juice of one lemon
• ¼ cup chopped onion
• 1 tsp butter
• 1 T olive oil
In a medium sauce pan over medium high heat, sauté onions in oil and butter till translucent. Turn heat to high, add chicken broth, when it’s at a boil, add rice and reduce heat to medium low, simmer 15 minutes, add lemon juice and turn off heat. Fluff with a fork before serving.
Enjoy!

The sign at night at our restaurant on 33rd and Washington in Ogden, UT it is now a Mexican restaurant.

April 8, 2013

My Award winning Beef souvlaki recipe, 2008 Utah State fair blue ribbon winner!

My family history includes a lot of souvlaki, one of my first memories is sitting on the prep table at my parents restaurant/lounge in Ogden, UT watching my Mom season huge tubs of cubed pork or turkey. My mom isn’t actually Greek, she married one, so her recipe was perhaps a bit unorthodox for most traditional recipes. My Mom never made souvlaki with beef, she made it with elk, deer, what have you for all our Utah hunter bar patrons who would bring in their recent kill and have my Mom fix it in her special way. When I told my Mom that I was going to enter the 2008 beef cook off with a souvlaki recipe, she thought I was nuts…but in true competitive spirit I did anyway…and you know what? I won…a $300 prize, my largest prize to date.

This recipe is really easy and I noticed today at Costco I found prime yes “PRIME” grade cap sirloin, which whenever they have it is my favorite thing! $7.99 a pound this sirloin is a bargain, keep in mind it usually requires a bit of trimming and they are usually not a consistent size…which is perfect cuz I will be cubing it! So let’s get this party starrted shall we?

2 lbs cubed sirloin
1/4 cup good quality soy sauce
juice of one lemon or lime…I had a lime
a few drizzles olive oil
2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon each sea salt, black pepper, granulated garlic (use two fresh cloves if you prefer)
2 Tablespoons flat leaf parsley
Mix in with the meat and marinate overnight or at least 30 minutes and skewer on bamboo skewers. I broiled mine in the oven for about five minutes, it was perfectly mid rare….you should never eat a prime cut more cooked then that…or don’t bother have a hamburger. HAHA! But seriously this is a very easy and delicious recipe, you can use this marinade on other meat as well, and I served my souvlaki with cous cous (seriously the easiest and tastiest starch out there) and some roasted asparagus since it is peak of asparagus season. If you use good ingredients you don’t need to be too fussy, just be straight forward and use good technique. Yassou!

March 14, 2013August 23, 2016

Dolmathes

Dolmathes, or stuffed grape leaves are one of my favorite things to make, maybe its because my mom used me as child labor starting from age 8 or so to help with labor at our restaurant. During my formative years, about age 3 to age 14 my parents ran a restaurant/bar, perhaps this explains much of my oddness in general. If you’ve worked in the “industry” it attracts a special group of folks, an awesomely bi-polar group of misfits, especially in Utah in the 80’s and 90’s, the food biz didn’t make you a rock star like “chefs” are in the now times. Cooking was a job for the troubled soul, the criminal, the outcast, and this is perhaps why I am so fond of those types in general. Myself and my sisters would sit at the bar or later in the back by the walk in at our place on 33rd and Washington, and roll dolmathes or stab souvlaki for hours, honestly I hated it at the time…now I would go back in a heart beat just to sit and listen to “Rollin’s Band”, talk with our staff, and argue with my sisters while I flipped marinade at them. Good ole’ days. Anyhoo, I am sharing this recipe…its honestly a little hard for me to do, as I am attached to it and never given it out. Shall we begin the potion of amore? Yes I think so:

Ground meat of choice: about two pounds or so, I used Ground beef 85/15

1 cup long grain rice, you can use quinoa or another fast cooking grain if you wish….make it yours.

1 jar grape leaves in brine, if you live on a wine vineyard in Napa or something feel free to use fresh leaves, just salt and blanch beforehand.

a tsp each: Salt, pepper, granulated garlic, dried oregano (I used dried herbs d’ provence), dried mint.

2T fresh parsley

1 tomato

1 large shallot diced

Grab a bowl and combine above ingredients, get in there and show that meat who’s the boss, kinda like Tony Danza…..once mixed it’s time to let the good times roll. One does this by taking a grape leaf and putting a “fat fingers” worth of filling in and rolling it “burrito style”.

Once your lil’ buddies are all rolled put them in a heavy bottomed pan, use a plate placed over them to weigh them down, then add 3 cups beef stock, cover, bring to a boil then turn down to medium low for about 30 minutes. When finished cooking, squeeze juice from one lemon over dolmathes, whip 3 eggs till light, temper in 1 cup of the cooking liquid and heat on low till lightly thickened……pour over dolmathes and serve! They are dangerously addictive and can make a hermit become a people person. Use wisely and well.

March 7, 2013

World’s Best Baklava

My Dad is Greek, so ever since I can remember we have had Baklava for Christmas. This is my version i’ve created through years of eating my mom’s and other ladies varieties. This recipe can be made ahead, and freezes well! A delicious and impressive gift idea, utilizing simple and accessible ingredients!

Baklava:
20 Sheets pre-made frozen Phyllo, Thawed
2 stick unsalted butter
1 lb walnuts, pulsed in food processor
½ lb pistachios, roughly chopped
1 ½ Cup Brown sugar
zest of 1 lemon
zest of 1 orange
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cloves
1 Cup melted unsalted butter
Syrup:
1 Cup granulated sugar
½ Cup water
1 Cup Honey
juice of lemon (use the one you zested)
juice of orange (use the one you zested)
2 cinnamon sticks

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
In a bowl combine brown sugar, walnuts, pistachios, zests, and spices.
Using melted butter, butter the bottom and sides of a 13×9 inch pan. Layer one sheet of phyllo, brush with melted butter. Repeat till you have seven layers. Top with one cup of nut mixture. Layer, butter three more layers of phyllo. Place 1 Cup of nut mixture aside. Use the rest of nut mixture to cover the layers of buttered phyllo. Top with three more butter phyllo layers. Use the remaining 1 cup of nut mixture. Top with remaining phyllo layers, and throughly butter the top.
Cut top layer of phyllo into desired pattern, cut verically into four rows, then horizontally into five rows, then cut each square on the bias.I like to put whole cloves in the middle of each piece. Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown.
While baklava bakes make syrup by combining sugar and water in a small sauce pan till bubbling and all sugar is dissolved, add honey and cinnamon. Remove from heat add citrus juices. Cool.
Top cooled baklava with syrup and cut. Should make about 40 pieces