Sauce

Pasta Shells Stuffed With Roasted Red Peppers and Feta

Mar 16th, 2010 | By Peter Minakis
Pasta Shells Stuffed With Roasted Red Peppers and Feta

Packages, surprises, bundles are all still welcome in this fickle world. Take the time to stop and enjoy the simpler things in life, including food. Serving little surprises are most welcome and they are usually met with a positive reaction from your dinner guests.Today we’re stuffing pasta shells. You know, the jumbo shells…the bigger the [...]



Pomegranate Glazed Chicken With Mastiha-scented Couscous

Mar 6th, 2010 | By Peter Minakis
Pomegranate Glazed Chicken With Mastiha-scented Couscous

This recipe comes courtesy of the very popular cooking show, “Everyday Food” which is produced by Martha Stewart and company. I’m going to pull a Martha by improving their “perfect recipe”. I’ve provided the link so that you can compare the differences in the approach to cooking the dish.
First off, I’m using pure pomegranate juice. [...]



Eggplant Parmesan

Mar 2nd, 2010 | By Peter Minakis
Eggplant Parmesan

What if I told you that there’s a dish that you can make at home (affordably), be transported into an Italian home and taste authentically Italian? You with me? What if that dish was also vegetarian but was as filling as a meat dish? Look no further than Eggplant Parmesan. This recipe comes to you [...]



Grilled Lobster (Αστακός στη Σχάρα)

Feb 20th, 2010 | By Peter Minakis
Grilled Lobster (Αστακός στη Σχάρα)

So the first week of Greek Lent is behind us and it really wasn’t that hard adjusting from my regular diet to one without meat or any meat by-products in it. Each year I’ve been steering my diet towards one with more fish and seafood, beans and legumes and less meat. I don’t think I [...]



Penne All’Arrabiata

Feb 8th, 2010 | By Peter Minakis
Penne All’Arrabiata

There’s one week left until the Greek-Orthodox Lent commences. This is the third and final week of Carnival, the final farewell before a fast up until Greek Easter (April 4th). This week is called Tyrini, where meat is dropped from the diet but cheeses, dairy products and eggs are allowed. Shellfish is still allowed.
In Greece, [...]



Cross-Rib Pot Roast

Jan 23rd, 2010 | By Peter Minakis
Cross-Rib Pot Roast

One of my family’s favourite Sunday meals centers around a Prime Rib Dinner. It’s not a cheap cut of meat (Prime Rib) but it’s fitting for a Sunday meal.
From Medieval times, the wealthy used to get to eat the tender, more expensive cuts and the rest of us were left with scraps, offal and tough [...]



Pork With Leeks & Celery

Jan 11th, 2010 | By Peter Minakis
Pork With Leeks & Celery

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.
Up until [...]



Chicken Breast Stuffed With Roasted Red Peppers, Feta and Pistachios

Dec 14th, 2009 | By Peter Minakis
Chicken Breast Stuffed With Roasted Red Peppers, Feta and Pistachios

This dish can be as quick or as difficult as you want it to be. For me, the toughest part about this dish was tying up the chicken breasts. I’ve always been a visual learner and this YouTube video clip shows one how to properly tie up a roast or in this case, a stuffed [...]



Semolina Crusted Pandora With Capers and Kalamata Olives

Dec 2nd, 2009 | By Peter Minakis
Semolina Crusted Pandora With Capers and Kalamata Olives

Living here in Canada and trying to cook Greek food can sometimes be a challenge. Although  I can boast about living in a wonderful and diverse food city like Toronto, not all ingredients are available here for Greek cuisine.
The most glaring void would have to be fresh fish from the Mediterranean. Often, I must settle [...]



Eating Under the Eucalyptus Tree

Nov 23rd, 2009 | By Peter Minakis
Eating Under the Eucalyptus Tree

Today I would like to continue sharing with you my visit to the area in Greece known as Leonidio (Arcadia). I stayed for three days in this area that awes you with both mountain and sea. I was a guest of Elena and her family and the memories are still very fresh.
Each day, we would [...]