One of my all time favourite foods. I remember the road side vendors in Athens, and all of the country side towns, selling grilled meat, usually lamb, slapping it in a piece of pita and spreading tzatziki on it. Maybe the greatest food I had eaten at the time, and still is at the top of the list.
Lamb Souvlaki
1 1/2 lb Lamb Shoulder cut into cubes. Could use pork, chicken or beef also. 1/4C Olive Oil 1/3C Red Wine Vinegar 2 Cloves of Garlic, minced 1 Onion, chopped 1 Tbls Oregano (fresh if possible) 2 Tbls Parsley, chopped (fresh) 1 1/2 Tbls Mint, chopped (fresh) 1 Tbls Thyme, chopped (fresh) Salt and Pepper to taste
Combine all of the above and mix well. Refridge overnight, if possible, but at least four to eight hours. Thread the meat onto skewers. Grill until done. I used a BBQ, so it was about 3-4 minutes per side.
Serve with pita, tzatziki, and whatever else you want to make a gyro like sandwich.
These are a “easy mans” version of Baklava, the famous Greek dessert made with phyllo, walnuts and honey. I however hate walnuts (and pecans while we are talking about nuts I hate). I used almonds. These simple rollups take almost no skill (as is evident by the look of them), so they are a perfect dessert for me make – low skill, but tasty.
You will need the following: 12ish sheets of Phyllo 2 C of your favourite nut(s) chopped 1/4C Sugar 2-3 tsp Cinnamon 1/4 tsp Nutmeg 1 Cube of Butter, melted
For the syrup: Equal parts Honey, Water, Sugar, about 1/2 C each 1 tbs Lemon juice Pinch of Lemon Zest
Preheat the oven to 350 Mix your nuts, sugar, cinnamon and nut meg together in a bowl. Lightly grease a 13×9 baking dish. Layer three (3) phyllo sheets, painting them each with butter. Spread about a 1/4 C of the nuts/sugar/cinnamon mix on to the dough. Roll the phyllo up, tightly if possible, then cut into four pieces, and lay them into the baking dish. Repeat until baking dish is full. Bake until light/golden brown, about 15 minutes.
While baking, prep the syrup. Combine the syrup ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about five minutes. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
Once the rolls are done baking, ladle the syrup onto the bakes rolls. Add any remaining nut mix to them as well. Allow to fully cool and then serve.
This is a great, easy, but can be fancy looking dessert. Rolling the phyllo definitely takes some practice, so not rip it, or make them flat (like mine turned out).
Give it a try! What is your favourite phyllo recipe?
Too bad I had only a crooked picture 🙂 So both of these (and the Chestnuts) are some of my favourite things to make. Lets hit the chestnuts first..
If you have not made roasted Chestnuts, this is a MUST DO and it is SO EASY! Get the Chestnuts, they are pretty expensive, but so good. Score the Chestnuts on the rounded part of the shell, you want to just get through the shell with the pairing knife. Lay them out on a cookie sheet, score side up. Into the oven 350 degrees and roast until you see the scored part of the shell start to pull back and discolour, usually about 30 minutes. Let them cool slightly, then serve.
Artichoke’s… I feel a lot of people are afraid to make these. There are three main methods in my book. Boil it, cut it and foil wrap it, and grill it. Grilling them is usually done after boiling or foil wrapping them, but can be done just strait on the grill, but you chance drying it out that way. I foil wrap them 90% of the time, either in the oven or on the grill. You need: Artichoke, olive oil, garlic, seasoning (I use garlic salt and pepper usually), and some fresh herbs like basil. Cut the Arti in half, and remove the fluffy inside and the first couple layers of inner leaves. Rub it with olive oil quickly (you can also rub with lemon to stop the browning then add the oil). I try and separate the leaves a little and shake the garlic salt/pepper mix between the leaves, and then tuck parts of basil leaves between some of them also. Remove the casing from some garlic (four to six cloves) and put them into the middle of the artichokes with a little additional oil. Wrap it all in foil and into the oven (350) or onto the grill for about one hour.
Baked Brie
Baked Brie is fun, but labor intensive in a way. Phyllo dough is used, with a lot of butter. I coat the brie with fig jam. Then wrap it. Lay the Phyllo out one sheet at a time on a cookie sheet, brushing it with melted butter. Four or five sheets for the base. You then cross sheets there after, brushing with butter, until you are about 10 sheets of dough. Place the brie in the middle, coat with fig jam (some people add walnuts also, I hate walnuts so I do not do that), then take two sides and wrap, then the other two sides and pull up also, and pinch the top into a nice bundle (mine is not a nice bundle, needs more practice for sure). Into the oven at 400 for about 25-30 mins. Watch the dough closely at the 20 min mark so you do not burn it.
This was such a fun dish to make. I saw a chicken and orzo rec online a few weeks ago, it used a whole chicken for it, which in general I am not a fan of “whole chicken” recipes. I quickly read it, filed in my memory banks, then a day or two before New Years, thought of it and decided I needed to make it. I chose to use bone in thighs for it. We were going to a friends house for NYE, so I decided to cook this up.
Chicken and Orzo Steps
I browned the thighs with a garlic salt and pepper mixture. I think quickly sauteed the leeks, anise, garlic and carrots (added some fresh thyme, salt and pepper to it as well) in the fat left over from browning the chicken. I then deglazed the pan with about two cups of dry white wine and threeish cups of chicken stock, and added the juice of one lemon and some zest.
I arranged the chicken in a large baking pan. Put the saute around the pieces of chicken, then bakes it for about 30 minutes at 350.
I added the wine and stock mixture, baked for another 10 or so minutes, then added the orzo, and allowed to cook for another 15 minutes (or until liquid is gone and orzo is finished).
Italian Parsley to garnish and serve.
Couple things I would do different next time: More lemon for sure. Likely a second one. Maybe even a third. This was 10 thighs, so maybe a lemon per every 4ish? Finish with Parmesan Cheese maybe? More garlic. 1 clove per piece of chicken I think.
Recipe: 8-10 Bone in Chicken Thighs (could use breasts, or boneless thighs also) Garlic Salt, Pepper to taste to Season Chicken with 2 carrots cut into small circles 1 Leek, white part only. Sliced thin 1 Anise Bulb. Sliced thin 1 Lemon. Juiced and Zest from it (In Future: 1 lemon per 4 pieces of chicken) 5 Cloves of Garlic. Crushed (In Future: 1 clove per piece of chicken) 1 1/2 to 2 cups Orzo 2tsp Thyme 2tsp Salt 2tsp Pepper 2 cups Dry White Wine 3-4 cups Chicken Stock Italian Parsley and Parmesan Cheese to serve
2021 provided me with a lot of options and some issues. I am not one to dwell on “issues” or problems, so I really want to focus on the options and positives. Obviously Covid was a negative for all of us… that was really the big issue, things closed, or half open, access restricted in a lot of ways.
On the positive, I left my job to make a full time go at Day Trading, went from single to not single (after a couple tries at dating different people) and got my yard at the house finished, really started to get my cooking pictures on a different level (still needs work) and just took a lot of time off to get some things straight for myself.
In 2022 I need to continue to get focused and really dial myself in. My Goals for 2022: Peloton three or four times a week, and days I do not use the Peloton, do some strength/conditioning work. Core52 focus, study and get back to Church on a more regular basis. IG story things better and more often. Spread my content around into more regular posts. Post on this site at least weekly, but two or three times a week really. Use IG for quick posts, and promote this site through my IG posts. Get my Garage cleaned up. Its a legit mess. I need to throw a ton of stuff away. Day Trading focus on $2000 a week income and build my Trading Account to double its current size, and then focus on $3000 a week income.
Then I have a couple personal things that I do not need to air out and posts, relationship things.
That is my 2022 Plan. I look forward to working on it and making it happen and having an extremely successful 2022.
I have always been and continue to be inspired by Italy and Italian cooking, and their wine. I had also just watched all four ep of Bobby and Giada in Italy, so that helped me some with this dinner.
I tried to keep this simple, pure ingredients as much as possible. I heavily salt and peppered the steak, then into a bag with the lemon juice and zest, tarragon, fennel seed, oregano, garlic and olive oil. Marinated it for about five hours. The chimichurri was italian parsley, lemon juice and zest, a shallot, tarragon, olive oil and some salt and pepper. Butter, pepper, parmesan cheese and the pasta for the Cacio e Pepe.
I started with the artichokes and melon and prosciutto. Cutting the artichoke in half, I seasoned with olive oil, salt/pepper/garlic powder mix, and dropped a couple cloves of fresh garlic in the middle, wrapped in foil and onto the grill for about 45 minutes. I cut up a Lemon Drop Melon, sort of a mix of a honeydew melon with a touch of lemon, Prosciutto wrapped the pieces and put on a bed of arugula.
While the steak was resting after the grill, the pasta was cooked until just tender. Melting the butter, adding a lot of pepper (and I mean a lot), I allowed those to combine, then added about a 1/2C of pasta water and the cheese, blended them and added the pasta, and simmered for about five minutes, stirring constantly. Taking the pasta I nested them, and garnished with some italian parsley.
Cut and topped the steak with the italian parsley chimichurri.
Coming home from Ellensburg on Sunday, my parents gave me a couple of pieces of Halibut to bring home. As RS and I drove home, I was thinking “what can I do with these ASAP?” Risotto came to mind and when I needed a veg to go with it all. So once home it was time to hit Haggen’s and see what looked good there and to come up with a flavour profile.
Halibut pieces this good deserve some fresh fresh fresh ingredients to go with it.
Tarragon, Italian Parsley, Garlic, Lemon Zest and Arugula.
I used the Boeckel Grand Cru Wiebelsberg Riesling as the white wine in the Risotto. The dryness and fruit forward flavour in this wine went fantastic with the fresh chopped herbs. Onion, garlic, rice, wine, chicken broth all cooked together slowly. Just before the Risotto was d0on, added the herbs and parm cheese. Then right as served folded in the arugula.
The Halibut was seasoned with salt and pepper, then put into a hot cast iron pan. About 1 minute, then flipped, the herbs mixed with butter brushed on the top, then into the oven with a few minutes to finish.
I had blanched the beans earlier to save some time. Back in the pan with the same herb mix and some olive oil, and sauteed for a few minutes.
The Efeste Grenache with its earthy, herb and light strawberry notes paired amazingly with this dish, in my opinion anyway.
The Riesling also was great with this.
Great way to end the weekend and lead into Labor Day.
Took a bit of a break from the site, but have still hitting the wineries in the area. Hope to get back to regular posting this week or next! My IG is still flowing with what I have been up too, so please check it out (right side of the page)
On May 1st 2021 I started a new journey, Jesus Calling, a book that has daily scripture as well as the authors notes from their similar journey. So you read the passage from the author, a couple of scripture references and then it has space for you to journal you own thoughts.
I found the book at Target. It is 365 entries, so something to do everyday. Its a great way to prep for your daily prayer, or at least I think so.
Started with fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic and basil. Browned the meatballs in a cast iron pan, then transferred them to a baking dish and into the oven at 350. Rough cut the tomatoes, onion, crushed the garlic. Garlic and onion in the pan using the meatballs grease for oil. Added tomatoes and cooked for a few minutes. Asparagus seasoned with salt and pepper and into the oven. Allowed the sauce to cook down a little and blend together. Cooked the linguini. Added torn basil to the sauce. Pulled the pasta from the pot and added to the sauce to finish cooking.
Plated the pasta, meatballs and asparagus, added parm cheese and served. Added some pickled cauliflower on the side.
Paid this with a Cascade Cliffs 2019 Nebbiolo – AMAZING WINE.
