Greek Comfort Food

We occasionally go to two restaurants on York Road that make wonderful Greek food. Something that stood out for me was slouvaki, specifically the tzatziki sauce. I love eating it....so I figured, hey why not? So I bought ingredients that I assumed would go in the sauce. Funny thing ....when I was checking out at Wegmans, the guy behind me was also making a tzatziki sauce. I was impressed. 


Either way, this recipe was a hit with the JG. I will be making this again in a few days for Miller & Sarah's wedding extravaganza. (I will also be taking a stab a guacamole for the first time....you'll see a post soon enough about that one. ) This came from AllRecipes.com. 

Tzatziki:

• 2 (8 ounce) containers plain yogurt
• 2 cucumbers - peeled, seeded and diced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled

If I had to do it all over again, I'd put it all together in a food processor. I didn't register for one of those... I would use all of these measurements as guides.... except the plain yogurt.  Everything is to taste. I think I used 4 cloves of garlic and a little bit more dill. It was dried dill. 

Once you put this all together, I would advise you to put it in the fridge to set for a little bit. Justin ate the sauce about 5 days later and thought it was even better. 

I seasoned and grilled chicken to taste. I served the chicken with diced yellow onion and tomato over a whole wheat pita. 

The Perfect Summer Drink, Part 1

Justin played bartender on this one. The excuse for this recipe was to use our brand new drink dispenser from Crate and Barrel. This is a Guy Fieri recipe. We took a few ingredients out and added some in... (didn't think 1/2 c of sugar was necessary!)

Ingredients

• 6 cups ice
• 6 ounces light rum
• 1 (750-ml) bottle Sauvignon Blanc
• 3 ounces peach schnapps
• 6 ounces fresh lime juice
• 4 ounces fresh lemon juice
• 6 ounces sprite
• ~1 lb frozen peaches
• ~1lb frozen strawberries

Directions

In a pitcher add ice and stir together all the ingredients except for the garnishes. Serve drinks over ice garnished with lemon and lime wheels.

Pretty easy. I'm going to continue making a good signature cocktail ala Sandra Lee. 

Cheers!

We shall experiment with a Part 2 soon. 

Small Beautiful Muffins

I made these muffins for a morning with Cirucci, Myers, Big, JD, and the JG. I got up early knowing that I should make something & because sleeping until 7 meant I had slept in 2 hours. I looked at my pantry....hmm only 2 eggs....no milk....no bread....

I found this recipe in America's Test Kitchen cookbook. Instead of Big... I made them mini, using my Pampered Chef mini muffin pan. They came out delicious and they were still warm when I brought them over.

Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1.5 cups Stoneyfield french vanilla non-fat yogurt
2 eggs
1 stick of butter, melted & cooled

This recipe yielded about 2 1/2 dozen mini muffins. I baked each batch at 375 for about 10 minutes or so. (To be honest with you, I can't remember exactly as I am catching up on recipes.)

My biggest hints for baking anything- if it says to bake it for a certain time, (like 30 minutes) set the timer to go off after 2/3rds of the way.... (i.e. 20 minutes) Because ovens heat differently, I don't always trust the instructions. I like to determine how long the "last third" will be.
Also, when you start to really smell the wonderment... it's time to at least check it. Then touch it for firmness. (Obviously this only goes for baked goods.)