Tag: feta cheese
Greek Style Potatoes and Zucchini with Feta
A friend was talking about an amazing dinner she had in the city at a Greek restaurant. She described the freshly grilled fish served with roast vegetables topped with feta.
The vegetable dish included potatoes, zucchini and tomatoes- roasted perfectly and topped with feta. As I heard the description, I was already envisioning it in my mind. I wanted to make the dish soon- the combination sounded amazing.
As I was cooking the shrimp bisque, I was wondering what to serve with the soup to balance it off. I thought of roasted vegetables my friend had described and decided on serving it with the soup.
I went to the farmers market and purchased fresh zucchini, fingerling potatoes and some delicious tomatoes. I cut them up and added garlic, oregano and olive oil. Once the vegetables are roasted to perfection, I added the feta. The vegetables were delicious with the oregano and feta. They were a perfect complement to the shrimp bisque. The crusty bread finished the dish off beautifully…
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Greek Style Spaghetti and Meatballs
My daughter claimed these were the best meatballs I have ever made. After a compliment like that- I had to share the recipe.
I started the meatballs with my usual ground turkey meat. Any meat can be used buy I prefer turkey as it is healthier with less calories.
I wanted to make Greek style meatballs so I thought of fresh oregano and feta cheese. Garlic, shallots and parsley made them even better.
I soaked some panko crumbs in milk and added the mixture to the meat. It makes the meatballs very soft and delicious. The last thing was crumbled feta- it has great a great salty flavor.
I think the key is the homemade tomato sauce. I cooked the meatballs in the delicious sauce and served them with some yummy flavored spaghetti.
All in all it was a great meal- with a green salad and red wine on the side. Try these Greek style meatballs soon….
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Rib Eye Steak with Feta Sauce Served with Roasted Asparagus and Potatoes
This is a delicious steak dinner. We don’t eat out as much as we used to. Partly because of the economy and mostly because of this blog and all the cooking I end up doing at home.
Also after watching movies like ‘Food Inc‘, I am very leery about eating out. I can’t get the chickens and the cows out of my head. I am now very careful about where I buy and eat beef.
Anyway, I found some really nice looking grass fed rib eye steaks. I love eating a good steak but rarely order it at a restaurant- I don’t want to spend a fortune outside when I can make them at home- and they are fabulous.
I usually make oven fries with the steak- I love potatoes and this is my favorite way of making them. I had very nice looking asparagus- I served them simply sauteed with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Now, for the steaks- again, very simple- olive oil, salt and pepper but I wanted to serve them with a sauce. I love the usual gorgonzola sauce which is made with lots of yummy gorgonzola and cream. It is very delicious but loaded with calories. I had feta in my fridge and decided to use that and make a sauce. It is naturally low in fat so I paired it with some roasted garlic and low fat sour cream. The sauce was delicious! We did not miss the gorgonzola sauce at all!
My daughter loved the meal as well minus the potatoes and the sauce. She loves asparagus and steak. We were all happy and it was a great Sunday meal.
Next time you want to impress someone- make the rib eye steaks with the feta sauce.
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Chicken Hash- A Pantry Meal
What do you do with leftover chicken? Well, I usually make chicken salad, stuff quesadillas, make soup or fried rice.
This time I wanted to make something different. I kept looking at the leftover chicken breast I had from the day before- and couldn’t come up with anything.
Somehow, after a few minutes, chicken hash came to mind. I envisioned chopped chicken paired with things that were sitting in my vegetable crisper in the fridge. I had green onions, chilies and a red pepper. I also had potatoes and tomatoes in my pantry. I chopped everything up and started cooking. As the base flavor, I used my favorite condiment- Trader Joe’s tomato chutney. I love using it for everything including sandwiches and as a topping for eggs and meats. In this case I added a few tablespoons and it gave the dish a tangy, salty and sweet flavor. I finished it with a dusting of feta cheese and chopped cilantro.
It was such a beautiful dish- multi colored and delicious. I had some ‘bake at home’ baguettes. I baked one and served a green salad with the chicken hash. It was a big success. This meal would be a perfect for a brunch party!
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Blood Orange and Feta Salad
Blood oranges are in season- and they are delicious!
A friend noticed a citrus salad recipe in the New York Times food section. This particular salad was made with a grape fruit and a navel orange. She had bought some blood oranges and we paired them with a grape fruit. She had some olives in the house decided to top the salad with them. I am always happy with a pop of salty goodness. We made a simple dressing and enjoyed the salad.
I decided to replicate the salad for a dinner party. Trader Joes has an abundance of blood oranges. I love buying them- it reminds me of being in Italy. This past summer, while we were staying in Spello- we would do some basic grocery for breakfast. Usually we are a juice free house- but there I bought a carton of orange juice. My daughter was fascinated to see the dark red color of the juice- I explained to her the orange juice is made out of blood oranges- hence the color. The juice was delicious!
I cut the oranges into disks and topped them with the olives and feta. For some reason feta comes to mind when I think of citrus. I also remembered I had a orange muscat champagne vinegar from Trader Joes. I used that to make a delicious, clean dressing with a hint of honey.
The salad was delicious! Everyone loved it. I have a big bunch of blood oranges which I am planning to use them again. Definitely make the blood orange salad- you can even substitute regular oranges- any citrus will be delicious!
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Watermelon and Tomato Salad
I made this salad last year- and really enjoyed it. When I first heard of it, I thought, “what a strange combination”- but when I tasted it, I thought it was fabulous.
Last month, a friend was hosting a good bye party for a mutual friend and she had the meal catered from a local place in Maplewood. The meal consisted of a variety of tapas style dishes including a watermelon salad. It was good but I thought the one I had made last year was better- yes I am very modest… A friend who was there as well commented on the watermelon salad and wanted to make it and asked me to post a recipe- well, here it is Nancy!
I have seen plenty of recipes for this kind of salad. They all start with the watermelon and tomatoes, there is some kind of a vinaigrette, fresh herbs and some cheese. I went with the vinegar and cheese of my choice. I made an easy and delicious vinaigrette with balsamic vinegar- I think the rest of the vinegars in my pantry feel quite ignored- I end up using balsamic for mostly everything. I had feta cheese in the fridge- it is one of my favorites. I thought the saltiness would go really well with the sweet and cold watermelon. My favorite kind of tomatoes are grape- I use them for everything including pasta sauces- so that is what went in this salad. In terms of the fresh herbs, somehow oregano kept coming to mind.. I love feta and oregano together but it can be a very strong combination (both the ingredients are quite loud)- so I decide to tone everything down with mint. Mint brought a great freshness and balance to the salad.
Overall- a big success. I grilled chicken sausages as the main course and cooked up peppers and onions to go along. Will post the recipe on Monday. We ate the soft yummy peppers and onions with the delicious sausages. It was an easy and fast meal to make – best of all, it was delicious…
Arugula Prosciutto and Nectarine Salad with a Yogurt Dressing
I wait for this time all year long. The summer produce is coming out and there is lot to cook with. About a week or two ago I started buying nectarines and apricots- my favorite. I love the firm texture of the nectarines and of course their delicious flavor. In the past I devour them just as they are but now since I write this blog, I decided to use them in different dishes. I recently made a beef stir fry where I used some nectarines and cooked everything in an apricot sauce- it was delicious! I will post the recipe soon. I also made an apricot kuchen the other day which was so good with coffee. I have also been cooking with dried apricots. They remind me of Moroccan cooking. I used them in a chicken dish and I made some banana apricot scones with white chocolate- don’t worry, all these recipes will be posted soon. My point was that even tough it’s been a very rainy start to the summer season- it still feels like summer to me since the produce is out. Nothing like biting into a delicious juicy nectarine- I especially like the white ones- they are extremely sweet. Somehow peaches don’t do it for me- most people cook with and prefer peaches- I don’t like their fuzzy skin and soft texture- I prefer the smooth exterior and the firm interior of a nectarine.
I was watching Jamie Oliver making a grilled peach salad with a yogurt dressing. That is where this recipe came from- or at least the inspiration did. I used arugula for my greens since I love the bitter bite they have. I thought pairing nectarines would be extra delicious with arugula. Prosciutto and feta add a nice salty and creamy balance to the salad- all the taste buds are awakened in the palette. The yogurt dressing on top is quite interesting as well. I added some honey and lemon for a balance and ancho chili powder for a bit of a kick to the dish. Somehow oregano came to mind so I went outside to my herb garden and picked some fresh oregano and chives. It was a yummy creamy, salty, spicy and sweet sauce to pour over the salad. We ate it with the plain and white pizza– and yes we actually got to sit outside for a change- it was a beautiful day!