Leek and Potato Soup
This soup can be a base for many other cold weather or winter soups. I used this base to make a cream of asparagus soup and it can be adapted to many other “creamy” soups. Of note is that I’ve greatly reduced the use of cream to make the soup…well, creamy. I like using grated […]
Wholewheat Artisan Bread
I’ve been raving alot about making homemade bread and it all started when I bought the book Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes. I had an utter fear of making bread but it is fear of the unknown that breeds more fear. Plenty of practice, getting a feel for the dough and one will find their […]
Beer-Can Chicken With Lemon Verbena & Thyme
I’ve been enjoying this method of preparing chicken for years now. I have yet to find anyone not like it…what’s not to like about moist chicken with crispy skin? Beer can chicken works as such: open a can of beer, drink about 1/3 of the beer, you may add add aromatics into the beer like […]
Lobster Macaroni & Cheese
When one works from home (like I do), one can (and will get distracted) by many things: the knock on the door from the courier with another cookbook, responding to emails from readers of my blog, reading and commenting on a delicious, interesting or informative blog post or something (a rare instance) to make me […]
Pizza Dough Recipe
This past summer (both in Canada and Greece), I found myself experimenting with different pizza dough recipes. I was looking for something easy, great tasting, didn’t take too long and with consistent results. The ingredients are basic: active dry yeast, tepid water, olive oil, honey, sea salt and all-purpose flour. I like substituting honey in […]
Kunefe
This past summer while in Greece I also took a side trip to Istanbul (Constantinople). I had previously gone to Istanbul one other time in ’97. The first time I visited this magical city I had spent most of my time seeing the more touristy sites like Dolmabahce, Blue Mosque, Aghia Sophia, the Egyptian Spice […]
Shrimp and Garlic Bread
A brief post that’s a companion to the updated Chickpea Soup from Sifnos. This easy, delicious and chi-chi-frou-frou Shrimp and Garlic Bread. I’ve served this as an h’ors oeuvres and as a garnish with this soup – in both cases it was well received. The recipe is easy: raw shrimp, scallions, garlic, Feta cheese, grated […]
Kypriakes Propetes
Last year I was given a review copy of Vefa Alexiadou’s book, “Vefa’s Kitchen” and the recipes in this heavy tome are endless! I could easily do a recipe a day (a la Julie Powell) and probably still have a few recipes to take me halfway into the next year. The recipe I want to […]
Makaronia me Vlita & Vasiliko
Post Update: One of the many things I did during my vacation in Greece was to also cook and appear with my friend Chef Dina Nikolaou on her daily show, “Nistikoi Praktores”. We taped at a Manaviko (green grocer) in Halandri (north Athens) and in keeping with this season’s theme of frugal dishes, I offered […]
Grilled Flank Steak With a Warm Feta Sauce
I’m not sure if this flank steak tasted so good because it’s been so long since I last had a steak or, it was just plain awesome. I’ll be off to Greece in a few days and I will not be eating steak there. I figured I’d get my steak fix now or wait 42 […]
