A couple of weekends ago I had the pleasure of visiting the Cypriot Community of Toronto’s Cultural Centre, where they held their annual Summer Festival on their grounds. After straightening out a mix-up (someone thought I was a politico and asked me to sit at a head table), I located some friends, had a seat [...]

Last week I caught my food muse, Chef Dina Nikolaou serve up a baked pork chop stuffed with peppers and Graviera cheese and I knew I just had to try this dish…with my own personal touches. I knew that I had to translate this into a grilled dish – it’s BBQ season. Roasted red peppers [...]

This is a recipe update from July 2008. Souvlaki is probably the best known as most popular Greek offering. It is made and enjiyed by Greeks in their home and it appears on practically every Greek restaurant and taverna’s menu. Here, I present to you the pork souvlaki. For best results, marinade the pork the [...]

I’m taking a bit of a break from lamb (but not for too long). One cannot neglect the the pig for too long and this dish. Here’s another taverna classic that falls in the realm of “tiganias” or sauted skillet dishes. Large fry pans or platters arrive at the table, much to the delight of [...]

The traditional Greek diet wasn’t so meat-centered as it is today but meat always was part of the diet. My parents (both from the the northern Prefecture of Florina) recall when the family pig was slaughtered. Nothing went to waste. The whole pig was used from snout to tail to hoof…everything but the pig’s squeal. [...]

How was your Christmas? Are you enjoying yourselves? Spending time with family and friends? Having some richer, more indulgent foods? An extra drink? Good, ’cause I am! The family’s Christmas dinner went splendidly. All the dishes turned out very well, we had some good chuckles and reminisced of Christmases past.  The centerpiece of our Christmas [...]

Last week I was given an advance copy of New York Chef Michael Psilakis’ first cookbook, “How to Roast a Lamb”. It turns out my copy wasn’t so advanced. Yesterday, I popped into Toronto’s “World’s Largest Book Store” and there it was! For those not familiar with Michael Psilakis, here’s a recap: Michael is a [...]

I gave you a tour of the Kapani Market of Thessaloniki (a few days ago) and I mentioned that the Modiano Agora (market) was also nearby. The two markets really operate in tandem, separated merely by concrete,  Ermou Street. The Modiano Market got it’s name from Ely Modiano, the architect who designed this arcade that [...]

One thing I was determined to do during this past vacation in Greece was to bring my camera everywhere (almost everywhere) I go. There were many times when I regretted not bringing my camera. That perfect photo, the surprise moment that needed to be captured or, just for the sake of taking photos. Mission accomplished…I [...]

One of the first blog posts I wrote was on the subject of ribs. Us Canadians love ribs, we love to grill and in fact you’ll find some of my posts where I grill in the middle of winter! I recently had friends over for a BBQ and although it was mostly a Greek feast, [...]