Seared Calf Liver with Caramelized Onions
Up until about a few years ago, I hated liver – couldn’t stomach it. It smelled nice whenever my parents would fry it up with onions. I would try it on occasion – one bite and with half a chew, I would place a napkin toward my mouth and expel it. Won’t go down. Fast-forward […]
Chestnut Stifado
If you’re familiar with Greek cuisine, then you’ve heard of Stifado. It’s a slow cooked dish usually containing lots of onions, spices and either rabbit or hare. In modern Greek cooking, beef or veal have also become a favourites. Like many cuisines, there are regional differences and such is the case with this Cretan inspired […]
Feta Brined Turkey Breast, Chestnut Stuffing and Make Ahead Gravy
American Thanksgiving is coming up this Thursday and Christmas is just over a month away. Both dinners center around a roast turkey plus whatever fixins’ and sides you may prepare plus some ethnic dishes that your family likes to serve on special occasions. Our holidays will be different this year – smaller gathering and that […]
Jerk Pork
About 10 years ago, here in Scarborough (east Toronto), there was a Jamaican take- place that served Jerk chicken and many of the other usual offerings. What set this eatery apart from the others was that the guy served Jerk Pork….not all Jamaican eateries offer this. This joint was owned/operated by a Chinese-Jamaican gent and […]
Sea Urchin Pasta
This first time I saw sea urchins was in Halkidiki (where our family’s summer home is), clinging to rocks under the sea. Another sea urchin memory was eating them on the half-shell with a squeeze of lemon juice in Mykonos (summer ’92). Fast forward to 2009, first visit to Crete and I have a big […]
Creamy Scalloped Potatoes
You know a side dish is a winner when you can eat it like a main courser. Such is the case with Scalloped Potatoes – I love them! My earliest memory of scalloped potatoes was when my relatives in Hamilton, Ontario purchased a Banquet Hall/restaurant complex. There was a restaurant, many banquet halls and even […]
Poor Man’s Truffle Pasta
One of the “in fashion” ingredients (the past few years) are truffles. There are white and black truffles, foraged by truffle hunters who take along their trained dogs to sniffed out these culinary treasures, buried in the ground. In cooking, truffles are shaved on dishes and if you go to a fancy restaurant, it is […]
Butternut Squash Bouyiourdi
One of my favourite Greek appetizers is a dish called Bouyiourdi. It’s a baked mish-mash of tomatoes, peppers, Feta, Kasseri cheeses, oregano, some chilli flakes and baked in the oven until hot and gooey. It screams for bread to scoop out this molten goodness. I call it a Greek fondue! Last year I served this […]
Creamy Potato Salad with Salmon and Shrimp
I have a TV package that allows me to watch programming from all over the world. I sometimes go to British TV and I’ve been enjoying some cooking shows from Merry Berry. North Americans may know her from the Great British Baking Show, She recently shared this Potato Salad dish with Salmon and Shrimp and […]
Pasta With Italian Sausage and Broccolini
It’s often said the best pasta dishes are the quickest ones and today’s offering underlines this truism. One pot and one skillet on the stovetop, the pot of water blanches broccolini then does double-duty with cooking the pasta in the same water. The skillet is where the sausage meat is browned, onions and garlic cooked […]
