February 2010 - Greek Food at Anni's

I think I was full for days after this meal!

Mollye's Feta and Roasted Red Pepper & Feta Dip

4 red bell peppers (I used a medium jar instead of fresh peppers)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups crumbled feta cheese

Puree all ingredients in processor or blender. Season with pepper. Chill at least 3 hours or overnight. Serve with pita chips or crackers

Annie's Baked Feta

2 blocks of feta (I used LF)
1 bunch (10-15 sprigs) of fresh thyme
1/4 cup or so of olive oil
Fresh ground pepper to taste


Break off feta into chunks in an oven-proof baking dish
Sprinkle tyme on top and save a few whole sprigs for garnish
Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with fresh ground pepper
Bake for about 25 minutes at 350 (not an hour at 400)

Serve with sliced baguette, pita chips or crackers.

Spanakopita

1 package phyllo (in freezer section)
2 pkgs chopped, frozen spinach ( 8 oz each), thawed/drained in a colander - press down to squeeze out excess water
8 oz. feta (can sub half 4oz. LF Cottage Cheese)
1 onion, diced
1 egg
Dill to taste (maybe a tsp?)
Salt/Pepper
Oregano to taste (tsp?)Olive oil

About ½ stick of butter, melted

Sauté onion in olive oil for a few min. on medium high until just starting to brown. Add spices and then add spinach.  Sauté for about 5 min.  turn off heat, add egg and cheese, mix together. Let mixture cool a little.

Melt butter on stovetop.  With pastry brush, butter the sheets, cut in 3 strips and fold up the mixture into triangles. Brush the tops of the triangles with more melted butter. 

Cook on 350 for 15-20 min, until brown on top.

Keftedes (Greek Meatballs)

1 slice of bread
milk
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 an onion, finely diced or grated
2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
1 heaping tsp. dried oregano
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp. salt
freshly ground pepper
flour, for dredging
                                                                        olive oil, for pan frying

Put your slice of bread into a bowl and then pour milk into the bowl. Allow the bread to soak up the milk. Squeeze the bread to get rid of some of the milk, and then discard the remaining milk, keeping just the soggy bread.

Add the beef, egg, onion, garlic, oregano, parsley, salt & pepper to the bread. Mix everything together. Form into small-ish meatballs.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add some olive oil. Dredge the meatballs in flour, shaking off the excess. Fry until cooked through.

Greek Potatoes

4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 6 or 8 wedges each
2 tsp. dried oregano
sea salt and fresh ground pepper
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 – 1/3 cup lemon juice (about 1 large, juicy lemon)
~ 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth

Preheat the oven to 400.

Toss the potatoes, coating well with the oregano, salt and pepper, olive oil and lemon juice. Pour about 1/4 cup chicken broth around the potatoes - so that there is about a 1/4" in the pan.  Bake for about 45-50 minutes or until fork tender and crispy around the edges, stirring once midway through baking. (If potatoes are done but you want them slightly more crispy/brown, put them under the broiler for a few minutes). 

Vasilopita

4 eggs, separated
1 stick butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (2 large naval oranges)
1 tsp. orange zest
1 tsp. vanilla powder or extract
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a cake pan.

Beat the egg whites to medium peaks and set aside. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and set aside.

Beat butter for a couple of minutes then add sugar and cream. Add egg yolks one at a time beating until just incorporated. Add the orange juice, zest and vanilla.

Fold in about 1/3 of the egg whites, followed by 1/3 of the flour mixture. Repeat twice until the batter is just combined. Stir a  coin into the batter and pour everything into the pan.

Bake for ~40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Kate's Baklava

(adapted from allrecipes.com)

Serving Size: 18

Ingredients:

1 package phyllo dough (precut 9x13)

1 lb. chopped walnuts

1/2 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon sugar (white or brown)

(For sauce)

1 cup water

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup honey

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.

2. Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon and tsp of sugar. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough.  Cut whole stack in half to fit pan.  Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly.  Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.

3. Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.

4. Make sauce while baklava is baking.  Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted.  Add vanilla and honey.  Simmer for about 25 minutes.

5.  Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it.  Let cool.  Serve in cupcake papers.  This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it  gets soggy if it is wrapped up.

Koularakia (anise flavored cookies)

1 Egg

1 C Sugar

1 C Butter

1 t Vanilla extract

1 t anise extract (substitute almond extract if you want to try something different)

3 t Baking Powder

2 C Flour

Cream together egg, sugar and butter. Add extracts and backing powder.  Gradually add flour, you may need more than 2 cups to get the right consistency.  Roll dough in your hands into 3-4 inch strips. Fold the strip at the halfway point, then twist twice and lay on baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

January 2010 - Thai Food at Kari's

There is no better way to make it through a rough winter than having a monthly dinner with good food and even better friends every month. The kick-off of our cooking club probably mixed that up – the food may have topped the friends (I kid!). But seriously, it was delicious.

Kate brought Thai Curry Noodle Soup.

Source: Frugal Foodie (Serves 6)

-3 T. vegetable oil
-3 chicken breast, thin sliced
-3 T. Curry Paste
-1 inch ginger, grated
-2 carrots, thin sliced
-1 C. shitake mushrooms, sliced
-4 C. chicken broth
-4 C. coconut milk
-1 Lime
-1 t. fish sauce
-1 t. soy sauce
-1 T. sugar
- 4 oz. rice noodles
-1 head broccoli florets
-bean sprouts

Heat oil in large pot on med-high heat. Add chicken and saute until just browned, about 4 min. Stir in curry paste and ginger. Add carrots and mushrooms, continue to cook another 2 min. Stir in coconut milk, stock, lime juice, fish sauce, soy sauce and sugar; bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cook 15 minutes. Add noodles and broccoli. Cook 5 more minutes, until noodles have softened. Ladle into bowls and top with bean sprouts. Serve hot.

Annie brought pineapple sticky rice . Off the charts…

Here's the recipe. She omitted the mushrooms and spinach and hoisin and oyster sauce.

Kari went to town with summer rolls (TWO dipping sauces) and Thai shrimp in red curry sauce. The summer rolls were so filling, light and tasty. The shrimp was good enough for me to risk anaphylactic shock with a second helping.

I was lazy and brought wine and sake. I’ll make up for it next time!