Christmas Cookies! The traditional Greek Melomakarona

Merry Christmas!καλά Χριστούγεννα! Hyvaa joulua! Sarbatori Fericite! God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt Εr! Chuc Mung Giang Sinh! Sawadee Pee Mai! Feliz Navidad! Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva s Novim Godom! Froehliche Weihnachten! Joyeux Noλl ! Maligayang Pasko!Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand! Selamat Hari Natal! Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia!


Yesterday, was the day to make some cookies. I am not a big cookies eater but I do like to keep some traditions. The "melomakarona", the Greek traditional Christmas cookies is one custom I follow every year. When I was a child. me and my lovely Grandmother we were making melomakarona on the 20th of December. Yesterday was 23rd but she won't mind I guess.

Here is what we need for the dough:

1/ 1/2 cup of fine semolina

all purpose flour ( as needed, it might be up to 4 cups)

2 oranges and 1 lemon ( the juice and the peel crumbs)

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon powder
  
1/2 teaspoon of cloves ( powder)         

1/2 spoon baking soda

1/2 cup of warm water

2 cups of olive oil

2 tablespoons of brandy

1/2 cup of sugar

For the syrup we need:

4 cups of water

1/2 cup of honey

2-3 cloves, 2 sticks of cinnamon( or powder)

1/4 of lemon,     2 1/2 cups of sugar

In a mixing bowl combine the olive oil and the sugar. mix well and add the soda and the juice( lemon + orange). The juice with the soda will create bubbles, that's good! Then, add the semolina, the orange and lemon peel crumbs,the water, the brandy. Mix well. Now, add the flour. Cup by Cup.
Mix with your well-washed hands! Add the flour as needed until the dough is not sticky on your fingers.  The dough is kind of oily but doesn't matter. Now shape the dough into long fat fingers and place them on parchment paper in a pan. (I use a fork to "mark" them .Do it, it's fan!). Bake them in a hot oven around 350 F (170 C) for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile the melomakarona are in the oven prepare the syrup. Combine all the ingredients in a large pot and bring to boil. (If you use the honey will be some foam, remove the foam). Let it boil in low fire until our cookies are baked and remove from the fire.. Now remove the cookies from the oven, give them a bath in the hot syrup, deep them in for a minute, not longer. Put the cookies in a serving platter, season with some honey and crushed walnuts! READY!!!

Enjoy, this is my favorite season dessert, I hope you will like! The texture is crispy and has the syrup in the middle! Marvelous!


Emmanuel~

Banana+ nutella= BANANATELLA

Hello!

Let's talk about Bananas. Bananas are yellow, long, tropical and have a long term relationship with nutella. Together they created a miracle in my kitchen. I called it bananatella..
To make the bananatella you will need:

Greek phyllo dough ( You can find that almost everywhere)

2-3 bananas

1 cup of sweetened condensed milk

2 egg yolks

1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon of sea salt

4 table spoons of nutella, (or 5)

4 tablespoons of clarified butter( pure butter)

1 working oven

Some vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and choco sauce for serving

In a large pot put the sweetened condensed milk, the vanilla, the salt,the egg yolk and mix well. Let the pot with this mixture on low fire to thicken up, it takes up to 10 minutes. Always remember when you make custard to stir with a wooden spatula every now and then ( often, dont forget it!). We don't want to burn the cream.. !
10 minutes later combine the cream with the nutella and the bananas in small pieces and mix them all together. Let the mixture cool.You can add even nuts if you like..
Now use 10-12 sheets of the phyllo dough . With a brush, grease each phyllo sheet with the warm melted butter. Its easy, each phyllo you grease put another above it grease again,  repeat until all the 10 sheets are done. Now put the bananatella mixture on the phyllo and spread it around with the spatula. Be careful if its hot still. Roll the phyllo. Place the rolled bananatella on a parchment, grease it with the rest of the butter and season with some sugar. Bake it in the hot oven on 350 degrees until its golden ..

Serve it with ice cream and whipped cream.. Bananatella it is, and am all about it!!! mmmmmm..

 Hahn, you will love it!

Enjoy

 Emmanuel ~

"Greek Burgers", a different but delicious recipe

Hello!

  Finally we are off work! It is time to enjoy and rest. Thank God! Yesterday evening my first thought was Not to cook.. Maybe some fast food could be better, I was thinking. And then I checked the calories online for the "junk in boxes" fast-eating-fast-building-extra-pounds..Was not good.
    And so I got into the kitchen to make some fast food my self!Only wasn't that fast, but was way much better, different, and unique! I made beef patties with coconut milk. sounds weird hah?
 Try it! It is Divine!!!

Here's what you need:

2 pounds of beef ( the best ground beef is not the lean, trust me!)

4 medium onions

2 eggs

2 cloves of fresh garlic

salt and pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda), wet and strain bread crumbs ( 1/2 cup)

1 beef bouillon cube (Maggi)

3-4 tablespoons fire roasted tomatoes ( the spice)

1 can of coconut milk

3 spoons of olive oil

3 spoons of pure butter ( clarified butter for cooking)

a kind of past you like

Cheese ( 1 cup)


In a pot combine 3 of the onions -well chopped - the 2 spoons of olive oil, 2 1/2 spoons of clarified butter, the bouillon cube mix and let it cook in low fire for 30 minutes , stir occasionally.Mix the beef mince with 1 well chopped onion, the garlic ( chopped), 1 1/2 spoon of the fire roasted tomatoes,  the rest of the olive oil ,eggs, salt and pepper, baking soda, the bread crumbs. Mix well with your hands and shape the patties into small long meatballs! Grease a grill pan with the rest of the butter and grill your patties up to 5 minutes each side in a high -medium fire. Pour into the pan with the patties the coconut milk, a cup of cheese, the rest of the fire roasted tomatoes. Let the burgers cook into the coco milk, turn them occasionally, and remove from fire when the sauce is thicker( is not getting too thick, don't worry).
 Meanwhile your onions are done, are sweet and are  ready to mix with your pasta (which I suppose you have prepare all ready), add some cheese, I used a strong smoked cheese on the pasta and couple of spoons of fresh spinach..

Serve the pasta with the patties on the side. You are not going to eat only once.. At least, I didn't..

Enjoy

Emmanuel~

Homemade bread with raisins

Hello!

As a child, the raisins bread was a treat for me. Every time I was going with my grandmother to the bakery for the daily bread, I wish they had this amazing bread. Eventually we started making it home. Wasn't that difficult! I know that raisins bread exist everywhere, but this one is not with eggs, butter, etc. It is a plain bread sweetened naturally from the raisins. Check it out!

yeast mixture

Here is what you need!

2-cups of flour ( preferable unbleached)

3 spoons of olive oil

1 cup of raisins ( I use a mixture of white and black raisins)

7 g -(1/4 oz) Dry yeast ( or fresh if you are lucky to find)

salt

2 table spoons of sugar.

warm water (not hot lets say 1/2 cold , 1/2 hot)

Mix in a lurge Coffee mug the yeast with a spoon of sugar and fill up to half with the warm water. Mix well with a spoon and cover with a small plate. After 20 minutes the mixture with the yeast is doubled sized and has bubbles. Very good!

before

after

Meanwhile, In a mixing bowl combine the flour , a pinch of salt( 1/3 of the teaspoon) , olive oil, 1 spoon of sugar (optional) and the raisins. Add in the mixture  the yeast . Add more water if it is necessary ( or flour). Mix well. When your dough is not sticky on your fingers its ready. Now, in a metal or plastic bowl let the dough to rise for 30 minutes. Cover the bowl with something warm ( a blanket?) and let it be.


When its double sized shape it gently, cover it again for 15 minutes and then bake it on parchement papered pan to 300-350 until the bread it gets a nice roasted color ( it might be 20-30 minutes)

Remove from the oven and let it cool. Serve! I use it for dinner rolls, or sandwiches. I love it!

Secret- Put the bowl with your bread dough in a large bowl with warm water (not hot!). This is going to make it easier and faster ( bouble sized)..

Enjoy

 Emmanuel~

Pork roast with potatoes.

Hello out there! Its been a long time...

   Early at the morning I decided to make a pork roast with potatoes and fresh lemon juice. This is a dish we make in Greece on Sundays, on Celebrations, on family dinners. It is a beautiful, full of flavor pork roast you gonna love.

 Likely in the neighborhood is a good place that i can find the best meat in town! so, here we go! To make the pork roast you will need:

Pork shoulder--- preferable with a middle bone and some fat around.

Potatoes (5-6 big potatoes)

2-3 lemons

garlic ( 2-3 cloves)

oregano,

orange-green-red sweet bell peppers ( one each)* optional

salt and pepper

olive oil

foil

Parchment paper ( important!)

I use a round baking pan ( metal) I bought from an Arabic groceries market which I cover with parchment paper ( two big big pieces cross shaped)

Usually I bake two big pieces of pork shoulder about 4-6 pounds ( depends on how many are for dinner).After I wash the meat  I poke it  with a sharp small knife and I fill up the holes with some garlic and bell pepper stripes.Make sure you have make holes all around, both of the sides. After you fill up the holes with the garlic and the peppers. Give a nice "massage" to the meat with 1/2 cup of olive oil, season with salt-pepper-oregano and place the meat in the baking dish, on the middle of the crossed paper. 

 Then, peel off the potatoes and cut them in 4 pieces( have to be big pieces). in a mixing bowl put the  potatoes, season with some garlic, salt, pepper oregano, the fresh fresh squeezed lemon juice and 1/2 cup of olive oil. Put the potatoes and all the juice from the mixing bowl into the baking dish . I fill up the baking dish with the potatoes all around the meat. Add a cup of hot water and if you like a pinch of sugar ON the meat. Wrap the food in the parchment paper and cover the dish with foil paper.

 That's it! Ready for the Oven .!

I bake it for several hours., Sometimes I have it in the oven throughout the night ( 12-7 o'clock in the morning) at 200 degrees.  You can bake it for 3-4 hours at 250 degrees. Remove the foil after that time , open the paper and turn your oven up to 350-400 for 20 minutes . These 20 minutes will give a beautiful color to your pork roast!

I can guarrantee you , this will be melting in your mouth .It is a favorite dish for my work collegues, and family .

Enjoy!

Emmanuel~

Fish for tonight!

                                                                                 
                                                                        

Hello!

  With my friend Maria when  I lived in Crete , Greece, we used to go to the farmers market every week to shop fresh vegetables and some fresh, VERY fresh fish, which they were cleaning for us. I am talking about  a whole fish and not fillet. The whole fish on the BBQ - which Maria bought- was a bliss! Tonight I recall those nights. Was fun time, excellent food and plenty of finish chocolate for dessert!

 My grandmother was baking the fish wrapped in paper in the home oven and this is what i am going to do:

1-2 large Tilapia ( cleaned one, it is pain in the butt to clean it)
parchment paper

1 oven (ha!)

1/2 cup  of olive oil                                                   

garlic salt

pepper

2 lemons (the juice)

fresh oregano, rosemary, 2 cloves of garlic ( or dry)
 dill                                                                               

Wash well the fish, put in  its stomach ( a clean stomach!) the garlic, salt and some oregano, put some olive oil all over the fish and season with a teaspoon of garlic salt, and the rest of the herbs.
Wrap the fish in the parchment paper and bake in a hot oven around 350 ( F and not C) for at least 40 minutes( depends on how big our fish is). The fish when is cooked it smells very nice, you will notice that. Now, remove the fish from the oven, and prepare  the sauce which is the juice of the lemons, with equal amount of olive oil and the dill, pepper. When you blend together equal amounts of olive oil and lemon juice it creates a beautiful fresh sauce which goes very well on the fish.
Pour the oil-lemon mixture all over the fish and you are done! I served it with steam veggies and fresh cucumbers.

Kali orexi ( bon appetite)                                      

Emmanuel~

Creamy-dreamy fillet with mushrooms

Hello!

Today I was off work. I woke up late, I walked to the cafe next door, prepared a Latin lesson and a Greek lesson for my students, I've been lazy... that's so nice...I've been lazy..
   Before couple of hours I made dinner. Quite late, but who cares!
I made chicken breast fillet with a bacon-mushroom-Parmesan-creamy-very-creamy-sauce..I served it with jasmine rice.

What we need:

2 chicken breast fillet ( or beef or pork)
10 sliced mushrooms ( portobello I used  baby Bella (crimini)

4 slices of bacon

3 table spoons of olive oil

salt - pepper- cayenne pepper( the red hot pepper),   

1 clove of garlic

1/2 cup of fresh or frozen peas

1 tea spoon chopped dill

1 cup of jasmine rice

1 1/2 cup of fresh cream                      
Parmesan or other sharp cheese
Wash well the chicken or your fillet and season with salt and cayenne pepper both sides. With 1 table soon of olive oil use a grill pan, in medium fire and grill your fillet. Usually the chicken after 15 minutes it is cooked throughout ( I don't like salmonella, and salmonella doesn't like me).

Meanwhile in a rice cooker I prepare the rice ,1 cup of jasmine rice with 2 cups of water, the peas, dill, 1 spoon of olive oil, salt and pepper. Let it cook ( the rice cooker have a automate switch. If you use a pot, cook up to 10 minutes and drain the extra water.)

Now the sauce:  In a hot pot add the rest of the olive oil, the bacon in small pieces, the mushrooms. Your fire better be medium to high.Stir occasionally, when the bacon is done add a shot of white wine and 2 minutes later your cream and low your fire. Bring it to boil and add the cheese, season with salt and pepper. If your cream is not thick enough you can add either use a teaspoon of corn starch (dissolved in some COLD water), or 2 egg yolks (dissolved as well in cold water before you add them into the hot sauce.) I use the yolks.

You are Ready.. The chicken now is grilled, the rice is done, and the sauce is nice and thick . The time you have to spend is less than an hour, sometimes less than the time you need to go to a drive- Thru junk-in-the-box restaurant...

I serve it with some spinach-rucolla-tomato-pineapple salad. I Love this combination of the flavors.

Enjoy

Emmanuel~

Soup, a winner .

Hello from the cold San Diego....

    OK, Before I moved in California I heard the story- and I believed it- in California never rains... Really... California is rainy , is windy, its on this planet so don't believe what you hear around.. And today it was cold. It is cold lately but today WAS cold.. At the office I am working they are secretly testing the human beings  limits for the next ice age. Our limits. Its that cold in there.. Anyway..
    After this exhausting day and because of that cold, I feel like a soup is the best way to warm up again. A soup with interesting flavors. The result? Fresh Amazing Flavor!
And here I am in my kitchen 9.30 in the evening boiling some beef( short ribs) to get a nice fresh broth.( you can use some ready broth, it's your choice)
          But there I see a Pumpkin.. a pumpkin? hm mm

isn't it a beauty?

here is how the pumkin could stay still ..

                                                                     


Lets see what I did!:

3-4 beef short ribs ( with the bone)

5 table spoons olive oil
2 potatoes

2 small Pumpkins ( see pic)
salt & pepper
1 table spoon of butter
2 table spoons of Bulgar or rice
1 onion ( caramelized onions out of it)
1/2 teaspoon of honey

2 eggs* optional
                                                                                                          
2 lemons * optional

Bring the meat to boil in a pot 6-8 cups of water and the olive oil)  for at least 30 minutes, meanwhile cut the pumpkins in have and empty them. Remove the ribs and in the broth add the potatoes ( in small pieces), and the meat from the pumpkin ( usually orange color Ha!)Let it boil for 20 minutes and use a stick blender to to "smooth" your soup and add the Bulgar, 2 minutes later remove from the fire..
 Now, I added the eggs and lemon juice because I am Greek and I Love the taste of Lemon in soups, but you can skip it if you don't like the lemon taste. Otherwise, beat the lemon in a large glass bowl such as a Pyrex, add the lemon juice and cup by cup the hot( hot-hot) soup. Stir with a whisk every time you add a cup of soup. 5-6 cups later  add the mixture in the pot and move gently to mix well . cover with the lid and boil for 1( only 1) minute. The soup is ready..and has a lovely orange color.

As you see in pictures I caramelized the onions. I used the butter, low fire, the honeyand 10-15 minutes (very Tasty  organic honey from Cathy and Aaron which they produce along with their bees(!), thank you so much.)
 And now the pumpkin... Again This is a pumpkin which Cathy and Aaron gave me. I don't remember the variety.At all. I can ask her next week.. Anyway, I used the pumpkin shell as a serving bowl for the soup. And was a good idea!( I steamed the shell for 5 minutes)
When you have a round pumpkin which you want to use it as I did, cut a thin slice on the other side and the shell will stand beautifully in your plate.
I serve the soup with fresh onions, sharp cheese, caramelized onions..Oh and some crispy pitta bread.. Was worth the time I spend...

Cathy's and Aaron's honey...

(the variety of the pumpkin -squash is japanese kuri)
Enjoy, its a winner soup!


Emmanuel~

spaghetti with "spetzofai"

Hello!!

 My Friend Dimitris mention that he made spetzofai last week and I founded it a great idea for dinner tonight.
            By "Spetza" in the province of Volos area in Greece they refer to the peppers. The long green peppers which are sweet or hot! In Greece those peppers are mostly sweet. The "spetzofai" is sausage in tomato sauce with those peppers. Some the put also eggplant, but not me. A friend of mine from Volos Area she taught me to make spetzofai in the oven with homemade sausage, but that takes longer and I am hungry now!
Because i can't find those peppers I used a mix of mini long peppers in different colors, and some smoked sausage. I prefer the fresh sausage ( not beef), they do taste better anyway.

Here is what we need:

1 packet of past ( your choice)
around 10-12 peppers cutted in half.                          
3-4 sausages ( 1 Lbs)
3 cups of well chopped tomato ( or a can)
canola oil for frying
1/2 cup of olive oil
1 clove of garlic

3 table spoons chopped parsley ( not cilantro)

1/2 cup of red wine
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Parmesan or Asiago cheese
salt and pepper & 1 pinch of mint
          
In a hot pan with canola oil fry the peppers around 10 minutes and remove. In the same oil we fry the sausage (chopped, see pic ) and remove.
 In a wide pot put the tomato paste the wine the olive oil, salt and pepper, sugar and bring to boil. Stir in medium fire for 10 minutes ( the sauce have to be thick). Add the peppers, mint, garlic and sausage. Stir for 10 more minutes and remove from the fire and add the parsley. The spetzofai is ready!That Easy!
 Meanwhile I guess you  have prepare the pasta you want.. I use whole grain and i never add butter but olive oil.
Serve the spetzofai on top of pasta-spaghetti-rice-or-even-mushed potatoes.. Goes with everything..Its very good with french Fries too..Mmmmm
Don't forget to "season" your plate with sharp cheese flakes like Parmesan or Asiago


Serve and Enjoy!

                           

Emmanuel~