A Trip to Greece, again

Can't afford airfare to Athens, plus the recent unrest making you question a visit at all? Try these flavors for an instant trip to the land where logic was invented.

Greek Chicken, Rice Salad and Tzatsiki

2 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts cut in half
1 lemon zested
2 tbsp fresh oregano chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice

Place trimmed chicken in a large ziplock bag, add seasonings and marinate at least 30 minutes.

Grill over medium high heat until cooked through.

Rice Salad

1 1/2 cups jasmine rice
2 cups water
1 tsp salt

1/2 cup each: chopped celery, chopped cucumber, diced tomato, kalamata olive
1 cup feta cheese
2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
zest of one lemon
2 cups prepared feta salad dressing

Rinse rice until water runs clear. Bring water, rice and salt to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer for 18-20 minutes. Fluff and immediately place in fridge for 20 minutes

Place all remaining ingredients in a large bowl, except for rice and dressing. When rice has cooled, mix all together. Finish with salt (not much!!! You have feta and olives in this) and pepper


Tzatsiki
I like my tzatsiki to be pretty chunky, if you like a fier texture, blend in food processor.

2 english (or hothouse) cucumbers, peeled and diced
small cup non fat Greek yougurt
1 cup full fat Greek yougurt
zest of one lemon and juice
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients and chill until serving. Serve with warm pita.

New twist on a classic

Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese. Sounds as plain and simple as possible right? Try a few twists on these standards to elevate them from plain old boring to fun and new.

Soup
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
28 oz can diced tomatoes
24 oz box strained tomatoes
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp dried Italian herbs
1 cup vegi broth (or chicken if that's what you have on hand)
3 tbsp half and half
salt and pepper to taste

In a large soup pot, combine tomatoes, garlic, herbs, broth and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. reduce and let simmer for 5 minutes. Add half and half, stir well. Serve hot.

Grilled Cheese sandwiches

per sandwich
2 slices of bread (white or wheat)
2 slices American cheese
1 thin slice procuitto (broiled)
mayo
Softened butter

Heat cast iron pan over medium heat

Spread bread with mayo, layer cheese slices with procuitto. Spread the outside of bread with butter, grill until cheese melts.

Taste of India

Roasted Chicken Breasts with Orange, Cardamom and Turmeric along with Aloo Gobi

Vegetable Oil
Salt and freshly gound pepper
1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 shallot, minced finely
2 cloves garlic, minced finely
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 orange, zested and juiced
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp garam masala
2 bone in chicken breasts with skin

Preheat oven to 500 degrees
In a small bowl, combine butter and seasonings. Make a pocket under the skin, place half the butter mixture under the skin. Repeat with the other chicken breast.

Place on broiler pan. Roast until chicken is 160 degrees, approximately 25 minutes. Allow to rest 5 minutes before serving.

Aloo Gobi

2 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
1 tbsp ground corriander
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 cup chicken broth or vegi broth
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1tsp cumin seeds or ground cumin
1 head cauliflower, cut into small florets
2 yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
sea salt
2 tbsp freshly minced cilantro
1 tbsp butter


Ginger Garlic Paste
1/2 cup peeled garlic cloves
1/2 cup peeled sliced ginger
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Place in a food processor, blend into a paste.

In a large pot, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the cumin and cook for 30 seconds.
Add the wet masala (paste), cook until paste thickens, about 2 minutes.

Add cauliflower and potatoes, stirring to coat. Add salt and broth. Cover and cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove lid, still and cook until vegis are cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir in butter and cilantro.

Grilled Chicken Salad with Raspberry Tarragon Dressing

This is what the French call a "Salad Compose" or an arranged salad. To me, this has all the taste groups, sweet, savory, salty and yummy! Serves 4.

1 12 oz bottle raspberry vinaigrette
1/4 cup chopped green onion
2 tsp fresh chopped tarragon

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 fennel bulb, cut in half
2 heads Bibb lettuce, torn
1/2 english cucumber, sliced
1/2 cantaloupe, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1 cup blackberries
4 oz crumbled Gorgonzola
1/2 honey roasted sliced almonds

Mix first 3 ingredients together. Set aside 1/2 cup and refrigerate. Place remainder in a large plastic bag with chicken and fennel, seal and chill up to 2 hours. Grill on an outside grill on medium high or grill pan indoors.

Meanwhile, divde lettuce and next 3 ingredients onto 4 plates. Thinly slice chicken and fennel, place on salads. Drizzle with remaining dressing. Top with berries, cheese and almonds. Serve immediately.

All over the world, on a plate

Last night was kind of a crazy mixture of cuisines: South American Chicken and Avacado Salad served on Arepas if you have the time, or english muffins, German Hot Slaw and Curried Rice Salad. Somehow it worked.

Arepas with Chicken and Avacado

3/4 cup shredded cooked chicken

1 ripe avocado

1/2 cup minced onion sauteed

2 tsp minced garlic sauteed

3-4 tablespoons mayonnaise

Splash of lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Peel and mash avacado with lemon and mayo, until smooth. Add chicken, garlic and onion mix well. Add s&p to taste. Serve with Arepas or English Muffins.

If you so desire, here is a link to making Arepas

http://southamericanfood.about.com/od/breads/r/arepasbasic.htm

Hot Slaw

1/2 head each green and purple cabbage, shredded

4 thick bacon slices

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp celery seeds

1/8 tsp cayenne

2 tsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

Hot pepper vinegar on the side (if you want)

In a deep pot, boil 3 1/2 quarts water. Add cabage and cook for 4-5 minutes. Drain well.

In a large deep skillet cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon draining on paper towels, reserving fat in the pan.

Deglaze pan with vinegar (stand back while stirring) Add celery seed and cayenne. Add cabagge to the pan and stir very well, coating all the cabbage with dressing. Heat until cooked through. Serve with chopped bacon on top.

Curried Rice Salad

1 cup Jasmine rice (or basmatti) cooled al dente

3/4 cups mayonnaise

1 tbsn curry powder, more or less to taste

1 cup sliced almonds, toasted

1 cup raisins

1/2 cup red onion, diced fine

salt and pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients, chill until ready to serve. The longer is sits, the deeper the color will be.

A yummy creamy Italian kiss, Risotto Primavera

One of my all time favorite foods is risotto, usually just with garlic, onions and Parmesan, but I am always happy to try new versions. Risotto can be intimidating, but it is actually easy. My two biggest tips? You dont HAVE to heat your liquid, and you dont have to stir non stop. Just give it a good stir every 4-5 minutes.

Olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 48 oz box chicken broth (low sodium please!)
1/2 large onion, chopped fine
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 bunch asparagus, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 cup Romano cheese
1/2 cup fresh mozzarela cubed small
1 tbsp lemon juice
black pepper to taste

Heat oven to 400. Toss tomatoes and salt in olive oil to coat. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until tomatoes burst, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.

In a dutch oven or large sauce pan, heat olive oil (to coat the bottom) over medium high. cook onion and garlic until fragrent and onions are translucent. Add rice and stir to coat rice in oil. Add vinegar and cook for 1 minute. Add 1 cup liquid (I usually pour until rice is covered) stir. Stir once or twice until all liquid is absorbed. Add more liquid to cover and repeat. Add chicken, When adding liquid for the third time, add vegi and mozzarela. Stir more frequently to keep cheese from burning. When liquid is absorbed, check rice, it should be al dente. Add Romano cheese and pepper, stir one final time. Serve topped with tomatoes and more Romano.

Happy Birthday!

This post is purely me being silly. I want to wish a huge happy birthday to one of my most favorite authors and friends James DMac McCallister. If you don't know DMac, get ye to Loose Lucy's in Five Points! I love you brother, here is a sweet treat!

Guess now I should start baking!

2 1/2 cups AP flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa (plus 1 tsp)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 1/3 cup vegi oil
3/4 cup buttermilk (room temp)
2 tbsp red food coloring
1 tbsp white vinegar
1/2 tbsp vanilla

Cream cheese frosting
4 cups powdered sugar
8 oz cream cheese
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 305, line cupcake tis with paper liners

In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa and salt. In a seperate bowl, mix eggs ad oil. In a large measuring cup mix buttermilk, food coloroing, vinegar and vanilla. Alternating the two wet, add to the dry mix. Mix until battter is smooth. Fill cupcake papers 3/4 full.  Bake 22 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. (13-14 if using mini cupcake pans)/ Let cool completely before frosting!

Combine all frosting ingreds in a mixing bowl and blend until smooth. Place in piping bag, aka a large ziplock bag. Clip a small corner off and pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes. Garnish with colored sugar and mint leaves if desired.

Enjoy! And not only on your birthday!