Pork Souvlaki

One of my most favorite things to order at our local Mediterranean restaurant, souvlaki.  Chicken or pork, doesn't matter, so delicious.  I really never thought I could replicate it at home.  Thanks to Peter of Kalofogas, I was able to replicate it.  AMAZING taste! I am so making this in the near future.  Great grill food!

I am so flippin' mad at Blogger right now.  In the past few days I have been working on getting all of recipes catalogued.  I went through nearly all of a year.  I have been so bad about doing it.  I worked very hard.  Went to save it and POOF, it was gone.  Gloom, despair and agony on me, deep dark depression excessive misery... oops sorry, I always end up singing that song at times likes these.  For those of you that do not get my reference... Hee Haw was the show and this was the skit.  Crack me up. I love You Tube so I can reminisce. 

Anyway, here is what I did.  Check out Kalofogas if you have not.  He is amazing.  Lots of good food and the man has a good sense of style.

Pork Souvlaki
Largely adapted from Peter's recipe at Kalofogas

2 1/2 pounds pork butt, trimmed and cubed into uniform pieces.
1 onion roughly chopped
1 tablespoon oregano
6 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 generous teaspoon salt
1 generous teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup canola oil

Combine all into a stainless steel or glass bowl and mix well.  Let sit overnight in the refrigerator.
Next day skewer the meat.  I used metal skewers but if you are using wood, make sure you adequately soak the wood before applying the meat to prevent major burning.

Trust me, I will know when you try this recipe because I will hear you saying, "hmmmm, oooh, ahhhh" and whatever other expletives you may care to say.

Fat Tush

Just had to say it. Well, this fat tush loves fattoush. It's one of those must haves when tomatoes are in season. I am sure you all have such a list, no? Mine includes fattoush, avocado/tomato/hearts of palm salad, veggie sandwich and gazpacho.
Still have to do the gazpacho...


Fattoush
adapted from Panera Bread Company Cookbook

3 tablespoons chopped preserved lemon
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 of a loaf of bread, cubed and toasted
6 roma tomatoes
2 regular tomatoes, beef steak, early girl...
1/4 cup fresh mint, chiffonade
1/4 cup parsley, minced
1/4 cup fresh basil, chiffonade
1/2 cup kalamatas, pitted and sliced
1 English cucumber, diced
1 tablespoon za'tar

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients except for the lemon juice, honey and olive oil. Whisk the lemon juice, honey and olive oil together and pour over the salad.
Preserved Lemons
I learned to do these in small quantities as I am the only one that eats them.

Cut a few lemons into quarters, stopping short of the end of the lemon. So its quartered but all stuck together at the bottom. Take a few lemons and juice them, set aside.

In a sterilized pint jar or whatever size you intend to use, pack some kosher salt at the bottom. The reson why it needs to be kosher is that you do not want the iodine is regular salt- it is not good for preserving/canning. Place a lemon down, add more salt. Keep going untilthe jar is filled. Pour the lemon juice of the mixture. Cover and store in a dark, cool place for three weeks.

At this point I refrigerate them and use as needed.

CHICKEN SOUVLAKI and TABOULLEH

I love Middle Eastern food, Greek food and the like. I made some taboulleh this past weekend and some chicken souvlaki. The pitas that I made are from Farmgirl Fare.

It's a quick post today because I am trying to get last minute stuff done. Run, run, run.

Taboulleh
Lori's Lipsmacking Goodness

3/4 cup fine bulgur wheat
2 tomatoes, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
2 cups flat leaf parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
juice of one lemon

Place bulgur in a bowl. Pour boiling water over it, about a cup, cover and let sit. Meanwhile combine remainder of ingredients. Combine bulgur with the rest of the salad.


Chicken Souvlaki
Lori's Lipsmacking Goodness

6 chicken thighs
olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of oregano
2 teaspoons dill
juice of one lemon
s and p

Lay the chicken out on a cookie sheet that is covered with aluminum foil. Squeeze lemon over chicken aiming to cover all of them. Spray the thighs with olive oil. Sprinkle with s and p, oregano, and dill. Let stand at room temp for 30 minutes. (If you are afraid of salmonella stick in the fridge). Roast in the oven at 375 until juic runs clear, about 45 minutes or so. Turn chicken midway.

Kale Stuffed Phyllo Triangles and Baklava

I don't know if you ever worked with Phyllo. It is a delicate creature. Dries quickly and falls apart. If you keep a damp towel over it, it gets too moist. At least for me anyhow. I use my classic cereal bags to keep the dough covered while I work. Seems to work better for me. I don't buy phyllo ahead of time anymore because it seems to dry out too much in the freezer. I only buy it when I am ready to use it.

I decided to use kale as I had it on hand, instead of the traditional spinach. Most of the other traditional ingredients I did put in. Having the ingredients prepared ahead of time makes this super easy.

These were very good. My family loved them and preferred them over the spinach ones, stating they had more flavor this way.

KALE PHYLLO TRIANGLES
Lori's Lipsmacking Goodness Original

4 cups kale, boiled, squeezed and chopped
8 oz feta
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon dried dill
4 onions, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted (you will not use it all, unless of course you want to)

Saute onions until golden. Add minced garlic, cook one minute more. Combine feta and kale, oregano, dill, and egg. Add ojions and garlic once they are cool. Mix together. Place one phyllo sheet on the work table. Brush with butter and lightly sprinkle with bread crumbs. Fold sheet in half length wise. Brush with butter again. Place about a 1/2 of a cup of filling on phyllo corner. Fold over into a triangles and continue to fold up to the end.

Place folded trinagle and sprayed cookie sheet. Cover with a damp cloth. Bake triangles in a 375 F oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, until golden.

And, of course, with the leftover phyllo I made... baklava. It was a last minute idea. I didn't really use a recipe per se, just the idea of what it would be.

I put a layer of phyllo, brushed with butter.
Sprinkle crushed (toasted) walnuts over the phyllo.
Sprinkled cinnamon over that.
Drizzled honey over that (about a 1/4 cup)

Repeated this process until the phyllo was gone.

I baked it at 350 F until golden. I wished I had cut it then when it came out. I poured vanilla infused simple syrup over the top while it was hot. I got this idea from a recipe I pulled up while the baklava was in the oven. It would have been better looking if I had followed the recipe. But you know what? It's good anyhow.

DARING BAKER LAVASH

The Daring Bakers strike again. This time with a savory Vegan dish. Now how cool is that? It was a nice break from buttercream, although I really can't complain about buttercream. And you know something? Lavash has been on my to do list for quite sometime. Why did I wait so long? Put forth a little effort and you are rewarded with some fresh crunchiness! At a low price, I might add. The red in the picture is Mark Bittman's Tomato Jam. Click here for the recipe. It was fabulous. It was a hit at the picnic that I took it to!
The lavash was amazing. It is a versatil creature! So many things you can do to it. Here I sprinkled on za'tar. Za'tar is a spice blend. There are many variations out there but this particular one has Mediterranean thyme, sumac (a lemony taste) and sesame seeds. I have seen ones with hazelnuts in them too. THe recipe for the lavash is below.

And finally the skordalia. Skordalia is a Greek dip. It is very tastey. I made a few changes to the recipe and would make a few more the next time.

Thank you to Shelly from Musings from the Fishbowl. This was a fabulous pick! Many of the DB's also did a gluten free variety of these crackers. So go and check them out.

Skordalia
Lipsmacking Goodness's Interpretation
The Orginal recipe

24 ounces potatoes
1/3 cup walnuts, toasted and peeled
5 garlic cloves
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice
s and p to taste

Peel and cut potatoes. Place in sauce pan with about a teaspoon salt and boil until tender.

In a processor, blend garlic until minced, add walnuts and blend until fine. Add potatoes and pulse. You will notice that the potatoes become very glutious as you process them, thats how you want it. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper. While processor runs add olive oil in a stream.


LAVASH
Recipe Reference: The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering The Art of Extraordinary Bread, by Peter Reinhart

The key to a crisp lavash,...is to roll out the dough paper-thin. The sheet can be cut into crackers in advance or snapped into shards after baking. The shards make a nice presentation when arranged in baskets.

Makes 1 sheet pan of crackers

* 1 1/2 cups (6.75 oz) unbleached bread flour
* 1/2 tsp (.13 oz) salt
* 1/2 tsp (.055 oz) instant yeast
* 1 Tb (.75 oz) sugar
* 1 Tb (.5 oz) vegetable oil
* 1/3 to 1/2 cup + 2 Tb (3 to 4 oz) water, at room temperature


1. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt yeast, sugar, oil, and just enough water to bring everything together into a ball. You may not need the full 1/2 cup + 2 Tb of water, but be prepared to use it all if needed.

2. Sprinkle some flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Knead for about 10 minutes, or until the ingredients are evenly distributed. The dough should pass the windowpane test and register 77 degrees to 81 degrees Fahrenheit. The dough should be firm, satiny to the touch, not tacky, and supple enough to stretch when pulled. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

3. Ferment at room temperature for 90 minutes, or until the dough doubles in size. (You can also retard the dough overnight in the refrigerator immediately after kneading or mixing).

4. Mist the counter lightly with spray oil and transfer the dough to the counter. Press the dough into a square with your hand and dust the top of the dough lightly with flour. Roll it out with a rolling pin into a paper thin sheet about 15 inches by 12 inches. You may have to stop from time to time so that the gluten can relax. At these times, lift the dough from the counter and wave it a little, and then lay it back down. Cover it with a towel or plastic wrap while it relaxes. When it is the desired thinness, let the dough relax for 5 minutes. Line a sheet pan with baking parchment. Carefully lift the sheet of dough and lay it on the parchment. If it overlaps the edge of the pan, snip off the excess with scissors.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with the oven rack on the middle shelf. Mist the top of the dough with water and sprinkle a covering of za'tar. Be careful with spices and salt - a little goes a long way. If you want to precut the cracker, use a pizza cutter (rolling blade) and cut diamonds or rectangles in the dough. You do not need to separate the pieces, as they will snap apart after baking. If you want to make shards, bake the sheet of dough without cutting it first.

5. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crackers begin to brown evenly across the top (the time will depend on how thinly and evenly you rolled the dough).

6. When the crackers are baked, remove the pan from the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. You can then snap them apart or snap off shards and serve.

SPICY ORANGE HUMMUS

That Ivonne over at Cream Puffs in Venice is quite the idea Queen. Of course she is the founder of Daring Bakers but she also has been doing these Magazine Mondays for quite some time. She has had a lot of interesting and yummy dishes as a result. I have been wanting to join her for quite some time. So this Monday, I finally did. You may see the date on this one and think wow, she has a lot of old magazines laying around. Actually I clip the ones that sound interesting and recycle the rest of the magazine. These clippings make their way, eventually, to binders. I enjoy cutting and pasting into pages. Kind of a recipe scrap book of sorts. It's relaxing. You know your world really changes when you have children. Things like this become fun for you. (Or maybe it is just me).

This wonderful Spicy Orange Hummus (click on spicy orange hummus for the recipe) is from Cooking Light, Jan/Feb 1996. It is a change from the normal hummus and uses a little less fat then the original. So make some pita and enjoy this lovely recipe.

CHICKEN IS AN EMPTY CANVAS

I get so excited when I pull out chicken from my freezer. I think there are so many possibilities, what will I choose. I tell my friends who definitely are not foodies this and they think I am crazy. They are thinking oh what will I make today with a decidedly different tone.




I decided to use some mint that I just bought from the Asian store we have here locally. I have gone in this store a million times and have just found the fresh herb section. Its a big warehouse of a store so it isnt exactly laid out for marketing. I decided to go Greek.




I was inspired by familystylefood's website Meditteranean Barley. Wow, what an outstanding recipe. I did not have eggplants or cherry tomatoes available. I substituted sun dried tomatoes and roasted acorn squash. I also found that I needed to add a lot more liquid to my barley. As a finishing touch I sprinkled some pine nuts on top.

Greek Style Chicken Marinade

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup chopped mint, aka chiffonade
4 cloves garlic. minced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon oregano

Make little slices in the chicken to allow marinade to penetrate. Marinate from 1 hour to 24 hours in advance.

Mediterranean Barley Salad (see original post on Epicurious or familystylefood)

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 c red onion, soaked in cold water for ten minutes
1/2 cup fresh mint, chiffonade
2 oz feta cheese
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1 acorn squash, diced and roasted
3/4 cup sun dried tomatoes
1 1/4 cup pearl barley
4 cups plus broth and or water
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon coriander

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in heavy bottom pot. Toast barley until fragrant three to five minutes. Add spices and heat until fragrant, about one more minute. Add 4 cups broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Check periodically to see if it needs more water.

While barley is cooking roast vegetables and chop remaining ingredients. Combine reserved olive oil, lemon juice, chopped mint, pepper, sugar, garlic and red onion.

Finally, add four cups of the cooked barley to the mixture. Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts.

The amazingly great thing about this recipe is that you can add so many things.

Thank you to familystylefood for getting me into pearl barley. I had mainly used it for soup but now I have a new venue.