ONION DIP with GREEK YOGURT and caramelised onions served with plenty of vegetables

Happy Memorial Day!

Pierre-Auguste Renoir: Onions, 1881

My recipe for caramelized onion dip is quite apropos for a Memorial Day get together, and the ingredients, such as Greek yoghurt and fresh vegetables, are undeniably on the healthier side of living.

To caramelise onions, one has to cook them slowly and for a long time. As they caramelise, their natural sugars break up and mix with the onions, giving them a lovely brown colour. The onions turn sweet and flavourful. 

This dip is not hard to make at all, and it's hands-down better than the ready-made storebought variety. As a plus, the onions can be caramelised ahead of time (like a day before). You'll be dipping your crunchy vegetables and loving the taste! 

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons olive oil
3 large onions, sliced

3 shallots, sliced

1 tablespoon of chopped sage leaves, plus a small quantity of chopped sage reserved for decoration

2 cloves garlic finely chopped

2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup cream cheese at room temperature so that it's soft
1 and 1/2 cup Greek yoghurt 

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

salt, if needed

1scallion, thinly sliced, use green and white parts 

Serve with raw vegetables such as: 
carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet peppers, radishes, cucumbers, etc (can also use chips made from sweet potatoes)

Directions:

• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, shallots and sage. Cook, stirring often. 
• Make sure to keep stirring so that the onions don't burn. When caramelising onions, it's a good idea to always keep a little bit of water nearby to add to the onions if they become too dry. A couple of tablespoons of water at a time will do. 
• Cook, stirring, for twenty minutes. 
• Lower the heat and cook for an additional 20 minutes, stirring often, until the onions are caramelised. 
• Add the minced garlic and stir for another two or three minutes.
• Place the onions in a bowl and allow them to cool. If they are too chunky for your liking, once they have cooled, you can chop them further.  
• To deglaze the pan where the onions cooked, add the balsamic vinegar and scrape up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the skillet. Add the deglazed product to the onions.
• Place the cream cheese and yoghurt into a bowl and mix until well combined and smooth.  
• Add the onions and mix well. 
• Mix in the lemon juice and the cayenne pepper. 
• Taste to determine if salt needs to be added.  
• Refrigerate the dip for about 2 hours.  
• To decorate, arrange the chopped scallions and reserved chopped sage leaves on top. For more decoration, how about sprinkling the dip with a little cayenne pepper and a drizzle of olive oil?  
• Serve the dip surrounded by vegetables. Allow your inner Renoir to arrange them on the platter. 

Some ideas on how to serve:

HOAGIE SALAD

Make a hoagie without the bread, and you'll have this delicious hoagie salad. I made it for the Memorial Day get-together, and it was a hit with everyone! I actually made two versions: The regular one, and another without the onions or mustard, because some of our guests do not care for one or the other. I also left out the Genoa salami. My stomach just considers it to be too fatty, but go ahead and add some sliced Genoa if you so wish. Also, play around with the varieties of ham that you use.  

Ingredients:

    For the salad

2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped 
1/4 cup basil leaves, cut into strips (chiffonade)
3 scallions, sliced thinly, use the white and pale green parts only
2 cups rotisserie chicken breast, cut into small pieces
1/2 pound deli ham, rolled and sliced into strips
1/2 cup provolone cheese, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup fresh mozzarella cheese cut into small cubes
1 cup garbanzo beans
2 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced in half 
1 yellow pepper, seeds removed, sliced into strips
pickled pepperoncini for garnish

Ingredients: 

    For the Vinaigrette

1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 
1 teaspoon oregano
2 tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup vinegar 
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions for assembling the salad:

• Combine the lettuce, scallions and basil leaves.
• Layer them onto a serving platter.
• In a large bowl toss the rest of the ingredients together (except the garnishes).
• Place the mixture on top of the lettuce.
• Toss the vinaigrette on top and layer the pickles and pepperoncini over and around the salad. 
• The salad can be made ahead of time but left unassembled. The lettuce mixture should be kept separate, as should the vinaigrette. Combine all the ingredients just prior to serving. 

Directions for the vinaigrette: 

• In a medium bowl, mix all the ingredients except the oil and Pecorino Romano. 
• Whisk in the olive oil, pouring it in a slow and steady stream until incorporated. 
• Stir in the Pecorino Romano. 
• Refrigerate until ready to serve. 

LEMON - POPPY SEED COOKIES

Lemon-poppy seed cookies!!!

I love these cookies! Why? Because I have a hard time resisting the taste of lemons. I love lemon everything. I add lemon juice to soup, to salad, to water, to desserts ...  

Dear Lemon, You Have A   Heavenly Flavour! 

Case in point: here's a wonderful, luscious lemon-poppy seed cookie recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart. 

These cookies are LEMONY!!! 
And they're also crunchy and delicate, with just the right amount of sweetness. 

They're some of the best cookies I've tasted. And the lemon butter gives these guys an extra special taste.

Lyndsey's version of lemon poppy seed cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 3 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest (2 to 3 lemons)
• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds, plus more for sprinkling

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375° F/190°C.
• Make lemon butter: bring the lemon juice to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook until reduced by half. Add 1 stick butter and stir until melted.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Cream the remaining stick of butter with 1 cup of sugar on medium speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
• Add the egg and the lemon butter. Mix until pale, about 3 minutes.
• Add the vanilla and 2 teaspoons of the lemon zest, and mix.
• Add the flour mixture and the poppy seeds and mix, to finish making the cookie dough.
• Make a sugar mixture by stirring together the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the rest of the lemon zest.
• Roll spoonfuls of cookie dough into 1 1/2-inch balls; roll them in the sugar mixture.  (This step will add a lot of sweetness to the cookies so you might want to give them just a light coating of sugar mixture. You should have some sugar mixture left when you are finished).
• Place the dough 2 inches apart on baking sheets sprayed with cooking spray. Press each piece of dough with the flat end of a glass dipped in the sugar mixture until they are all 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle the cookies with poppy seeds.
• Bake until just browned around the edges, 10 to 11 minutes. 
• Transfer to wire racks; let cool completely. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.
• Makes about 30 cookies. (Mine came out to 37, could have easily made 40).

Loved them, loved them, loved them!!!

 Irresistible!

TZATZIKI or YOGURT AND CUCUMBER APPETIZER

This is a popular Greek appetizer, or mezé, or dip... There are many ways in which to serve it. It certainly makes an interesting dip served with some pita chips. It can accompany souvlaki or other grilled meats, and it can go on the meze table as an appetizer with drinks before dinner. It's a ubiquitous dish in Greek homes, especially when the weather is warm. The yoghurt, dill and cucumber make a refreshing combination, something very welcome on a summer day. The word tzatziki is of Middle-Eastern origin and has been incorporated into the Greek vocabulary. 

This has nothing to do with the recipe, but if I say the word tzatziki over and over, I am reminded of the chirping that cicadas make in the summer, and cicada singing is a lovely sound to listen to on a hot summer day ... Exceptionally calming!

Here's my tzatziki recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Greek yoghurt
• 1 English cucumber
• 1 small clove of garlic 
• salt and pepper to taste
• juice of half a lemon
• 2 or 3 mint leaves, chopped (don't use too much mint)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, and a bit more to drizzle on top for garnish

Directions:

1. Place the yoghurt in a medium-sized bowl.
2. Peel the cucumber and cut it into quarters lengthwise. Remove any large seeds and discard them. Chop the cucumber into small dice. Let rest for a few minutes in a colander so that any excess liquid drains. You can help this process along by using a paper towel to press down on the cucumber: dry it in paper towels and then incorporate it into the yoghurt.
3. Peel the garlic and chop it very extra finely. Add it to the yoghurt.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. You have now created tzatziki!
5. Pour the tzatziki into a nice serving bowl and drizzle some olive oil on top for garnish.
6. You can also garnish with some dill or mint or little pieces of cucumber... whatever tickles your fancy. A radish garnish is nice. Olives tend to discolour the yoghurt, therefore refrain from using them. 
7. Here are some tips for making tzatziki: 

As you may have noticed, this recipe calls for just one clove of garlic and a small one at that. This is because the longer tzatziki hangs around, the more intense its garlic flavour tends to become. It's best not to use a large amount of garlic in this recipe because raw garlic does have a loud voice. And if you're not a fan of garlic, just forgo using it.

Tzatziki can be made the day before it's needed and kept in the refrigerator, inside the container that the yoghurt came in. Transfer it to a nice serving bowl when ready to use it. Any leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for an additional day.

Always use Greek yoghurt, which is essentially strained yoghurt. Straining removes some of the whey and water content, giving the yoghurt a thick consistency. If you want to have the full, rich taste of tzatziki, don't use low-fat yoghurt. 

(Traditionally, yoghurt was hung for a few hours or overnight inside a cloth bag made of muslin. A bowl to catch draining liquid was placed underneath the bag. That got rid of the extra water. But why is there excess water in the first place? Yoghurt is made by fermenting milk. This process takes about a day. The finished product is somewhat thick, however, it still holds on to lots of the water contained within the milk. Straining produces what we call Greek yoghurt. Greeks eat strained yoghurt as a special treat and also use it in recipes. Try it with fruit. It's the healthiest ice cream in the world!) 

ZUCCHINI HASH with POTATOES AND SUNNY SIDE UP EGGS

The combination of zucchini and potatoes tastes like summer plus comfort. 

The trick to this recipe is to have the potatoes and zucchini finish cooking at the same time so as to prevent the zucchini from overcooking. I solve this little problem by precooking the potatoes and combining them with the zucchini at the last minute. 

This recipe will be an excellent addition to a leisurely summer weekend breakfast. It serves four but the ingredients can be adjusted to serve any number of people coming to the table. 

And ... I love the way the egg looks as I cut into it and its yolk runs over the potatoes and zucchini. It tastes darn good too! 

Ingredients:


2 medium Yukon gold potatoes

2 small or one medium zucchini

4 eggs
extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons butter
one small onion, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

1 or 2 scallions, sliced thinly, use only the white and light green parts  

a sprinkling of grated Pecorino Romano cheese (for garnish).

salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions:

1. Peel the potatoes and chop them into half-inch dice. Cook them in salted hot water until they get soft, then drain well and set aside to dry.
2. Chop the zucchini into half-inch dice. 
3. Heat some oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini and onion. Saute for a minute or two, then add the parsley and dill. Cook, stirring frequently until the zucchini is tender. Remove from the skillet and reserve. 
4. Over medium heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter to the skillet. Wait until the butter has melted and then add the potatoes and garlic. Cook, stirring, until the potatoes begin to turn a golden colour. 
5. Add the scallions and return the zucchini to the skillet. Combine well and cook no more than a minute just until the ingredients are incorporated. 
6. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat. At this point, you may want to transfer the ingredients to a platter if you'll serve them that way. Keep warm.    
7. Melt the rest of the butter in a non-stick skillet and cook the four eggs sunny side up. Season them with salt and pepper. Top the zucchini and potatoes with the eggs. 
8. At the table, divide the potatoes and zucchini among four plates. Each serving should be topped with an egg.
9. Garnish with the grated Pecorino Romano cheese right before passing the plates around. 

   

ROASTED PEPPERS MEZE

I made this mezé for my brother, who loves peppers. It was a small gift I took to his house, where he and my sister-in-law hosted this year's mothers day dinner. All the ladies got gifts and flowers, so I figured he should get a small something since he did a lot of the cooking. This is a popular mezé, or appetizer, in Greek cuisine, usually enjoyed with a slowly sipped aperitif such as ouzo. 

Ingredients:

10 peppers, cut in half, stem and seeds removed (have a combination of colours, such as red, green, and yellow)
1 head garlic, split in half horizontally, no need to peel it, but remove the excess skin
1/3 cup olive oil, divided in half
Salt and pepper to taste
4 tablespoon red wine vinegar
juice of a lemon
4 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon mint, chopped
2 teaspoons dried Greek oregano

Directions:
In a bowl toss the peppers and the garlic with half of the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Bake on a tray at 450° F / 200 C for about 30 minutes, or until the skin of the peppers is blistered and charred.


Remove from the oven and place the peppers in a plastic container whose lid you're pretty sure you can find. Cover with said lid. Let the peppers steam in the container until they have cooled. The trapped steam will help to separate the skin from the flesh of the peppers making the eventual peeling easier.

Peel the peppers and remove the roasted garlic from its skin. The garlic will be served with the peppers. Keep as much of it as you are comfortable using, and if necessary, discard the rest. 

Marinate the peppers and garlic with the remaining olive oil, the red wine vinegar, lemon juice, and herbs. The recipe can be made about two days ahead of time. Store in the refrigerator but bring to room temperature before serving. 

BANANA BLUEBERRY BREAD WITH DATES TASTES GREAT WITH A NICE CUP OF TEA

"Banana Bread," is one of the more searched for recipes on the Internet. Why? What's so sexy about banana bread? Is it an aphrodisiac? To answer my own question, no, it's not. It's just that people tend to be "banana affluent." They buy more bananas than they can possibly consume. What to do with the ones leftover? Use them to make banana bread perhaps? It's an option, and here in this post of posts, I share a recipe with you for banana bread.  

This banana bread recipe is one have been making for years and years and years. It's slightly adapted (I include blueberries in mine) from the original "Banana Tea Bread" in Craig Claiborne's "New York Times Cook Book." I bought the cookbook right when I was beginning to learn how to boil water and I learned an enormous amount by studying its pages.

I ask you: do you have displayed on your countertop some bananas that have ripened way too much? You know you really aren't going to eat those darlings ... Instead of throwing them out, why not make banana bread with them? Overripened bananas?  Not very appetizing on their own, but excellent when used to make banana bread! This recipe will make one loaf.

However, before we go on to the recipe, let's talk politics: bananas are grown thousands of miles away from the US shores, and yet they are plentiful and much cheaper to buy than the apples, or oranges, or peaches that are grown locally. How come? Doesn't that sound odd? At the end of this blog post, I include an excerpt from a New York Times op-ed which discusses why the enigma. Definitely worth a read. And now, on to the recipe: 

Ingredients:

1 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Sift the above ingredients together and set aside.

1 cup softened butter

2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 very ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted

3/4 cup finely chopped dates
3/4 cup fresh blueberries

Directions:

• This recipe will make one loaf. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Prepare a bread pan by greasing it well. 
• With an electric mixer beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. 
• Add the eggs and vanilla extract; beat well.
• Add the flour mixture alternating it with the bananas. Beat only until smooth - do not overwork the mixture.
• Fold in the dates, blueberries, and nuts.
• Turn into the pan and bake for about one hour.

• For easy slicing, the banana bread must be cold. Let it cool well before removing from the pan. Banana bread slices can be frozen for up to a month. Take a slice out of the freezer when you want one, bring it to room temperature, and enjoy it with a nice cup of tea!

Banana Politics 

Here's a little something about the United Fruit Company and the economics of bananas:

Dan Koppel, author of Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World, wrote an Op-Ed in The Times that is packed with interesting stuff about the Freudian fruit. The economics are particularly interesting:

That bananas have long been the cheapest fruit at the grocery store is astonishing. They’re grown thousands of miles away, they must be transported in cooled containers, and even then they survive no more than two weeks after they’re cut off the tree. Apples, in contrast, are typically grown within a few hundred miles of the store and keep for months in a basket out in the garage. Yet apples traditionally have cost at least twice as much per pound as bananas.

Americans eat as many bananas as apples and oranges combined, which is especially amazing when you consider that not so long ago, bananas were virtually unknown here. They became a staple only after the men who in the late 19th century founded the United Fruit Company (today’s Chiquita) figured out how to get bananas to American tables quickly — by clearing rainforest in Latin America, building railroads and communication networks, and inventing refrigeration techniques to control ripening. …

Once bananas had become widely popular, the companies kept costs low by exercising iron-fisted control over the Latin American countries where the fruit was grown. Workers could not be allowed such basic rights as health care, decent wages, or the right to congregate. … Over and over, banana companies, aided by the American military, intervened whenever there was a chance that any “banana republic” might end its cooperation. … Labor is still cheap in these countries, and growers still resort to heavy-handed tactics.

The final piece of the banana pricing equation is genetics. Unlike apple and orange growers, banana importers sell only a single variety of their fruit, the Cavendish. There are more than 1,000 varieties of bananas — most of them in Africa and Asia — but except for an occasional exotic, the Cavendish is the only banana we see in our markets. … By sticking to this single variety, the banana industry ensures that all the bananas in a shipment ripen at the same rate, creating huge economies of scale. The Cavendish is the fruit equivalent of a fast-food hamburger: efficient to produce, uniform in quality, and universally affordable.

Some readers may recoil at this description and vow to never eat another banana. Others may thank their lucky stars that free markets are able to deliver a tasty, healthy, peel-intact fruit to their corner stores at very affordable prices.

Koppel’s larger message is that the Cavendish banana is under fungal threat and may disappear. And, because Koppel seems to endorse the locavore movement (unlike some of us), he doesn’t sound all that sad:

In recent years, American consumers have begun seeing the benefits — to health, to the economy, and to the environment — of buying foods that are grown close to our homes. … [B]ananas have always been an emblem of a long-distance food chain. Perhaps it’s time we recognize bananas for what they are: an exotic fruit that, some day soon, may slip beyond our reach.

from:

http://freakonomics.com/2008/06/19/the-economics-of-bananas/

MUSHROOM RISOTTO with PEAS

I guess you can tell from looking around this blog that I love rice. I truly do! (The funny thing is that rice was one of my most hated foods when I was growing up). Here is a wonderfully tasty risotto recipe I adapted from the "Food Network" web site. It is creamy and comforting, and oh, so good. Just what you need after a hard day at work!

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons olive oil 
1 large onion, minced
4 large garlic cloves, minced

1 medium tomato, peeled, seeded and very, very finely chopped

2 cups Arborio rice
1 cup white wine
7 cups vegetable stock (or chicken stock), heated, divided

3 tablespoons olive oil

about one pound of mushrooms, a combination of varieties

1 cup frozen sweet baby peas
4 tablespoons butter, chilled, and cut into small pieces

1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons Italian parsley, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Remove the mushroom stems from the mushrooms and reserve. 

Slice the mushrooms and reserve. 

Place two cups of the stock in a saucepan. Add the stems from the mushrooms and cook over medium heat until the mushroom stems have given off their liquid and the stock is filled with mushroom aroma. Reserve the stock but discard the mushroom stems. Add the thyme to the mushroom stock, and combine the mushroom stock along with the rest of the stock.

In a saucepan heat the four tablespoons of olive oil. Over medium-high heat, sauté the onion just to soften, stirring all the while, about four minutes. Add the garlic and rice and continue to stir with a wooden spoon, coating the rice with the oil, garlic and onion.


Deglaze with the cup of white wine and cook until the liquid is absorbed, stirring often. Pour in enough stock to cover, about 3 cups. Cook over medium heat, stirring often until the liquid is absorbed.

Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, heat the three tablespoons of olive oil. olive oil. Sauté the mushrooms over medium heat, just to soften, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from the heat, mix in the peas and the parsley, and reserve.

Pour another 3 cups of stock into the rice, turn the flame to medium-high, and stir in a pinch of salt and the tomatoes. Keep stirring until the rice is tender.

Add the mushrooms and peas, stir, then slowly add the rest of the stock as needed. It may not be necessary to add this last cup of stock, or you may need to add just a bit or all of it. The best way to tell is to taste and judge for yourself. The risotto should be creamy, not runny.

Remove from the flame, vigorously beat in the chilled butter and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan until completely dissolved.

Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve immediately.