May - Greek Goddesses

May's theme : Greek Goddesses

You don’t have to make all the recipes I’ve submitted for this theme. The dips and pita chips work well as appetizers to take to a party, and the chicken could go with just about anything. Still, if you make the dips and chips ahead of time, they can be stored for a few days until you’re ready to make the entire big fat Greek feast. Serve chicken and oven fries with a Greek salad or with grilled vegetables.

*= Cait’s notes

Pita Chips – From ‘The Girl Can’t Cook’

- ½ cup virgin olive oil

- 3 cloves crushed garlic

- 2 packages pita breads (a white and a whole wheat make a nice contrast)

variety of dried herbs and spices

1)Combine the olive oil and garlic in a bowl and heat in microwave (about 10 -15 seconds is all it takes) to infuse the flavour of the oil. Using kitchen scissors, cut each pita into 2 rounds (cut around the edge and separate). Then cut the rounds into wedges.

2)Preheat the oven to 400F (200C). Using a pastry brush, brush the rough side of the pita lightly with olive oil and lay them rough side up on a cookie sheet.

3)Sprinkle with your choice of herbs and spices.

* Because we’re going with a Greek theme, I’d stick to some salt and oregano and leave the Cajun or paprika for another time.

4) when the sheet is full, pop it in the oven for 3-4 minutes.

* I found that generally one side of the pita was thicker than the other. It would probably help to put all the thin chips on one sheet and the thick chips on another, because the thick ones took at least 5 mins to bake until crispy.

Spicy Whipped Feta Dip – From ‘The Girl Can’t Cook’

- ½ lb (250g) feta cheese

- 2-3 long green chilli peppers (Anaheim or Hungarian), seeded and chopped

- 1/3 cup (75ml) extra virgin olive oil

- 3-4 Tablespoons (45-50ml) fresh lemon juice

Crumble the feta and combine with the remaining ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until blended. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving with pita chips.

* If you don’t have a food processor, you can also make it using a blender or an electric hand mixer. I don’t like to chop chillis, so I got lazy and added a can of diced green chillis instead. It wasn’t spicy enough so I had to add some cayenne pepper.

- Pita chips and feta dip

Tasty Tzatziki – From my many attempts to make the perfect Tzatziki

- 1 large cucumber, peeled and seeded, then minced and drained (place cucumber in sieve, salt to draw out excess liquid, then rinse and pat dry)

- 2 cups Greek yogurt. The key to this sauce is to find the richest, creamiest yogurt you can. If you can’t find Greek yogurt, buy the full fat kind and place in a cheesecloth-lined sieve over a bowl and allow to drain for a few hours.

- 3 or 4 garlic cloves, pressed

- 1 teaspoon lemon juice or malt vinegar (add more to taste if desired)

- 1 teaspoon dried dill

- salt and pepper to taste

Greek Chicken Brochettes (or breasts)

This recipe is courtesy of my very non-Greek mother, who says the secrete is to use LOTS of garlic.

Marinade (for 1.5kg or 3.5lb)

- zest of 1 lemon

- juice of 1 lemon

- olive oil (2 or 3 to 1 oil/lemon ratio)

- 5-6 garlic cloves minced or pressed

- 2 teaspoons dried oregano (or more to taste)

- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary (or more to taste)

- salt and pepper to taste

If you have a barbecue, and some skewers, cut the chicken breasts into medium sized chunks. If you make this in the oven, keep the breasts intact. Remember, if you’re using wooden skewers, don’t forget to soak them in water first.

Marinate the chicken for at least 4 hours. Grill on medium heat or broil carefully in oven until chicken is cooked through but still tender.

Oven Fries – from ‘Greek with Gusto’

- 6 medium-size new white potatoes

- ¼ cup olive oil

- crushed dry oregano

- salt

- garlic powder

Preheat oven to 375F (190C). After washing potatoes (not necessary to peel them), cut into finger shapes. Toss with oil in large bowl. Arrange potatoes on a baking sheet in single layer. Bake for 15 mins. Turn and bake for an additional 10 minutes (or until tender). Remove from oven and place in paper bag. Sprinkle oregano, salt, pepper and garlic powder into the bag, shake gently, and serve.

-Cait

Lucy especially liked the crunchy pita chips-

Guidelines

Hello all,

Before we begin I just wanted to set up some guidelines (or tips rather) for this club. Basically, we are all spread out over the northern hemisphere, in Canada and the UK, so I just thought I'd let everyone know to keep this in mind. I think we all live in cities that are large enough to offer us lots of choice of ingredients, so I doubt that will be a problem, however there will probably be differences.
- Keep in mind that any recipe that involves the barbecue may need to be adapted for the oven. Some of us don't have one.
- Ditto with food processors or any very specific kitchen tool. Just keep in mind that some people might not have it, and see if your recipe will work using another tool (e.g. processor --> blender or electric mixer).
- We are all working girls, so let's not get carried away with super expensive ingredients (e.g foie gras, lobster etc.). If there is anything really expensive on the menu of the month, feel free to leave it out. Nobody's going to think less of you for saving money.
- Ovens --> we all have different ones, in different countries, with different markings. I've provided a conversion chart below, but you can also print one off the internet if you need to.

Anyway, I think that's it for now. Feel free to comment on anything about the recipes (from likes/dislikes to ways you might adapt it to be low-fat/tastier/spicier etc.). Photos are great too!
- Cait

Gas Mark	Fahrenheit	Celsius	Description
1/4	225	110	Very cool/very slow
1/2	250	130	---
1	275	140	cool
2	300	150	---
3	325	170	very moderate
4	350	180	moderate
5	375	190	---
6	400	200	moderately hot
7	425	220	hot
8	450	230	---
9	475	240	very hot