Tag Archives: could be gluten-free

A Greek “Affair”

This time of year there are all kinds of “fairs” happening – craft sales, church penny sales, country fairs and my favorite… the Greek fair!

As fate would have it we were just too busy to even squeeze this fair in but I had to satisfy my hankering for some lamb somehow. So I carved out a few minutes to get some lamb on the grill.

I coated the meat in some olive oil, lemon juice and Greek seasoning from Penzeys. The blend is perfect not only on lamb but beef too! (And Penzeys – if your reading this feel free to send me a year’s supply for my free advertising! )

Grill until done to your liking – I like mine medium to medium well and served with a Greek pasta salad with feta cheese. Since the grill was on I tossed on  sliced zucchini and yellow squash too. You can use the spice blend to make up a light salad dressing, use your favorite bottle or simply use an olive oil, red wine vinegar mix with salt, pepper and dried oregano.

Served family style "ompah!"

Served family style “ompah!”

 

Note: use gluten-free pasta if desired!

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Spring: Day 38 (Finally Grilling)

We thought we would never see it again….

snow

No “stunts” used here (other than me leaning out a first floor window to take the picture) – this is 40″ of snow plus even high snow drifts that reached almost to the roof!

 

But eventually it came back to us…. and finally some decent weather to go along with it so I could get out there and grill up some yummy steak, asparagus and sweet red bell pepper!

grilling

It’s nice to drizzle on a little extra virgin olive oil, salt and fresh ground black pepper before presenting the platter of goodies from the grill!

 

When I grill meat – I grill some MEAT!  I just feel like once I decide to grill I like to make it worth it and do a lot. Plus then you can eat the leftovers in all kinds of yummy ways… like on a sandwich.

sandwich

Toasted bread and sliced tomato always makes the difference. A slice of salty Parmesan cheese would be nice here too!

Author’s Notes:

I used a couple of cuts of steak and marinade simply with Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and garlic. Be sure to let you meat warm up to just about room temperature before putting the meat grill so it will cook evenly.

 

 

 

 

Spring: Day 10 (eggs and lamb)

Well really just eggs because although I made lamb I didn’t photograph it.

Today – a week before Easter/Passover, a foot of snow in the backyard, the Bruins struggling to stay afloat towards the playoffs and the Red Sox 15 days away from their season opener, I decided to try vintage recipe.

I decided to try this weird egg dish that I came across in the pages of an old Better Homes and Garden publication. (circa 1970’s) A “Swiss egg bake” that was listed under the “budget-stretching cheese and egg dishes” section.

eggs and recipe 2

Admittedly my husband straight-up told me he wasn’t going to try it if I made it.

I said I wouldn’t force him. 🙂

Sometimes you see something that is so wrong that you think “it must be right.” Prudently I decided right away to cut the recipe in half. That way I wouldn’t feel so bad if “no one” ate it.

Basically you mix and heat onion, canned soup, yellow mustard, Swiss cheese and milk together till hot but not bubbling and pour into a sprayed casserole dish and crack eggs into (onto?) the hot liquid. Line the edges with buttered toast and bake for 30 mins or so at 350 degrees until the eggs are set. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley before serving. ( oh and I would suggest letting this one cool off from the oven for a good 20 mins or so before sticking in your mouth – cause its HOT!)

So I pretty much followed directions – although I decided to saute fresh minced onion in a little butter first instead of using the dried instant minced onion called for. I think it was good but it did make it a tiny bit greasy perhaps. I also used an organic, gluten-free cream of mushroom soup instead of regular canned cream of chicken. And maybe my ratio of dairy ( I used full fat half and half instead of milk) was off because I didn’t feel this wasn’t as thick as it could have been coming out of the saucepan and into the baking dish.

Did I succeed? you be the judge…

Just imagine "hot" deviled egg dip!

Just imagine “hot” deviled egg dip! or perhaps a “de-constructed” eggs-in-a-hole with sauce!

Looking back I think perhaps if my sauce was much thicker to begin with the eggs might have been cuddled in better and maintained their shape. But coming upon the hard egg yolk swimming a sea of sauce was kinda fun. But really I just think they photoshop’d the crap out of the picture.

 

Production notes: if you like this dish and you could get it to be all pretty and such with the eggs and their yolks in all that glory – you could easily make this gluten-free and serve with veggies dippers instead – think artichoke spears and roasted slabs of carrot!

Some Like It Tangy

I am more of a “vinegar girl” then a “sweet girl” so I like things a little on the “tangy” side whenever possible. I think even traditional dishes like beef stew can use a little “tangy” to them. And of course tomatoes…because I can not resist the combination of beef and tomatoes!

On a rare day of cooking together, my husband expressed his doubts when I pulled out a half-full bottle of Pepperoncini’s from the fridge. But I assured him that the beef stew I had in mind, while not traditional, would be delicious and remind him of a yummy roast beef sandwich with sliced tomatoes and mild “hots.”  (Oops, that is how I like my roast beef sandwiches, not him, but no matter I was sure I would convert him!)

We kept it simple by browning about 2lbs of stew meat in hot fat first with a dusting of flour*, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Then after carefully removing the meat – added in a large sliced onion for its turn to get browned a bit. Next in was the cherry tomatoes – whole. When they just burst a bit, everything was added back to the pot. We added only enough low-sodium beef stock to get the liquid level up the “shoulders” of the meat. A healthy couple of dashes of my secret ingredient (A1 Sauce!! ) to step up that beefy flavor.  And then the scary part…. about 8 ounces of sliced Golden Greek Pepperoncini’s. WITH some of the juice too. Let the beef cook till the meat is tender, season liberally to taste, and serve it up – all tangy, beefy and delicious! We just ate it in bowls but it would be delicious on big crusty rolls or over some rice! Guess what? He liked it!

spicy beef stew

tangy beef stew with burst cherry tomatoes!

*leave off the flour coating for Gluten-free!

 

Demand & Supply

One thing about my local grocery store is that they rarely stock ground lamb. Sometimes around Easter I can get it but most of the year – very tough to find. Since I live in the metroboston area my “local” grocery store that is only 2 blocks from me is not my only option. I can get in the car and actually drive about 2 miles to another grocery store that is much more diverse in their meat selection and they reliably supply ground lamb any time of the year due to the demand created by the crowd that shops there.

However for the last 6 weeks or so that hasn’t been possible because the store has all but shut down.

Call it a Greek tragedy or maybe just a family feud, but obviously I must be talking about Market Basket!

While they were closed/striking the other, closer grocery store decided to step up its service and selection – a fact that I appreciated since they are only 2 blocks away. That is how I happened upon the ground lamb one day. And well-priced to boot! That immediately became the catalyst for lamb burgers on the grill.

closeup burger

Seeing that it was lamb, it definitely needed a homemade Tzatziki sauce (made of yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, lemon etc) to bring it to perfection. Served along with a side salad made simply of tricolor garden cherry tomatoes and crumbled feta with a drizzle of good olive oil, salt and fresh cracked pepper.

While I am excited that the folks at Market Basket won their battle, and soon I will be shopping there again, I am interested to see if my closer, local market continues to supply the demand, even if the demand dwindles – probably not. But it was yummy and close by while it lasted!

lamb burger dish Production Notes

I simply mixed in a heaping teaspoon of Penzeys Lamb Seasoning per pound of meat along with a teaspoon of salt at the same ratio and formed patties perfectly sized for grilled English muffins.  Use more seasoning if you want things a little zestier but I wanted the flavor and richness of the meat to shine through.

(and no I didn’t receive any compensation from Penzeys for mentioning their product but if they are reading they can feel free to send me some product!)

Farmstand Nachos

Who doesn’t love nachos? To me nachos mean anything on a tortilla chip! So why not put one of my favorite combinations – corn and tomatoes – on some chips.

nacho 3

I lightly sautéed some finely diced onion and some fresh corn off a random couple of leftover cobs.

I added some leftover white garlic sauce to the pan to heat through. And a little extra shake of grated Parmesan cheese.

I simply poured this on top of my chips with some freshly halved cherry tomatoes and torn basil leaves. Fresh cracked pepper completed the dish.

Fresh ingredients from the farm stand (or your backyard) make these a great snack or party appetizer for a late summer evening!

Heirloom Pie

the stars

I recently acquired a small batch of heirloom tomatoes from the local farm stand and after thinking about BLTs and Panzanellas, I settled on pie. “Pizza Pie” that is! Basically a cross between a white pizza and a Margherita pizza, I piled on slices of the fresh tomato on top of a crisp thin crust, that had been spread liberally with a garlic- cheese white sauce.

Fresh basil snipped from my back yard pot, gave the pizza that undeniable flavor and freshness. A touch of sea salt and cracked black pepper were the only finishing touches. A drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil would also be a nice addition.

The White Sauce

I simply sautéed some finely minced garlic in butter until soft and very fragrant. At this point I decided to make a classic roux by adding some flour and browning it for a minute. But if you wanted to make this gluten-free (and use a gluten-free crust) you could skip ahead to adding some “half and half” then stirring in a slurry of arrowroot to thicken it. Add in some finely grated Parmesan cheese. Whisk and cook until desired thickness – you can add more milk/cream to thin or more cheese to thicken.

Salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate any extra for up to 5 days.

(oh and yes it is yet another post about tomatoes!)