Party at My House

I love throwing parties. Sure, they can be a bit of work, but who cares about that once the food is served? Other then under seasoning the potatoes (my fault!) , everything was super delicious. My husband manned the grill with his bro cooking up some delicious Italian sausages. I also got to make beer can chicken -- loved it!


Hot Italian Sausages : We started off with some of these delicious sausages. They were spritzed with lemon and accompanied by grilled panini bread and tzaziki.


Mussels : My mom made these - for the first time ever! They were steamed with wine, garlic, tomatoes and onion. The juice was great for bread dipping too.


Mushrooms: I added onions, bell peppers and red chilies. They were further flavoured with salt, pepper, garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.


Salad : Mixed greens, peppers, onions, tomatoes, etc.


Zucchini Fusilli : A simple pasta with zucchinis, and a homemade sauce made of plum tomatoes and spices.


BBQ Potatoes : These poor guys were under seasoned. Woops.


Meat : T-Bone, Prime Rib and Strip loin steaks, and pork chops. Wicked.




Beer Can Chicken : My proud moment that day! It is best right out of the oven, but it was still delicious when company arrived. I used a Montreal chicken rub for the marinade.

Unfortunately, dessert was forgotten, picture wise. I will make up for that the next time around.

Paella

My brother surprised us to a dinner invitation, which of course, we could not refuse. He said he was going to make paella for the first time. At first I was jealous, because I wanted to make paella but never got around to it. That night jealousy turned into pure joy, as it was one of the best meals I ever tasted. He got the recipe from a food show called The Main, and also referred to the recipe on the paella pan's packaging.


He first seared some chicken thighs, which were seasoned with salt and pepper.


He removed the chicken and sauteed garlic, onions and tomatoes with olive oil.


The chicken was then added back to the pan, along with the rice, some bay leaves and white wine. (My husband splashed some beer in when my bro wasn't looking!) Cumin and safron (American grown) were added for some great taste.


Ok, lost some steps here. I just couldn't take pics of all the steps that night. I was just enjoying the compilation come together. Basically, the pan was placed in the oven for a bit, and then the seafood (lobster, mussels, shrimp and scallops), were added, and then back in the oven for a short period of time. It was then topped off with parsley.

I can't wait to try this myself. believe me : it was AWESOME!

BB to the Q

Our summer so far has been a pretty wet one, so when I heard of a sunny day coming up, I thought of 3 things: B - B - Q ! There was a great deal on strip loin (or was it sirloin?) steak, so off I went! I picked up five thick juicy steaks, and some other barbecue treats. My husband bought a great spicy Italian sausage, but there is no pic here, which is a damn shame. He also picked up some pork chops. For sides, I made a salad and some rosemary potatoes. It was a great and simple impromptu meal , and I definitely want another one just like it soon.

Great Steaks & Chops




We simply add salt, pepper, garlic and oregano to these.





I think the bbq is one of the many reasons I could never be a vegetarian!



I do, however, appreciate my veggies. We cooked these potatoes on the bbq, wrapped in tin foil. They were coated in olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, rosemary and onions. Absolutely delicious!



This is my plate. My husband perfectly cooked my steak - much to the horror of my in laws and best friend! The next day I had a leftover steak, cooked the exact same way, and it was like butter ; not bad for being nuked in the microwave.

Banana Bread

Let's face it: banana bread isn't bread, it's cake. Regardless, it's a great way to use up those poor bananas on your counter. I had five bananas ripening away, so I figured I had to use them. I quickly Googled this recipe and made some pretty tasty loaves. Other than the quantity of bananas, I doubled the recipe. Sorry about the crappy pic!

Recipe found here .

Feta Pie with Homemade Filo Dough

My in laws gave us a tonne of feta cheese - A TONNE! So, I decided to make a feta cheese pie using the filo dough I make for my spanakopita. This is the first time I made it, and it turned out really well. Next time however, I will add more cheese, and will cook the pie longer. Once again, I don't have exact measurements to off .. woops.

Dough
1 soup bowl flour
1/2 cup vegetable oil
some salt
1 table spoon vinegar
warm water

Filling
10 eggs
lotsa feta cheese
pepper
parsley

1. For the dough I use my trusty Kitchen Aid mixer, but I have done it by hand as well. Add the flour, salt, vinegar and oil to the mixer and slowly mix with he dough hook attachment. Slowly add the water until a nice soft dough is formed. Set aside.

2. For the filling, whisk all the eggs and then crumble in your glorious feta, and then add the parsley and pepper. Set aside.

3. Now the fun part - rolling the dough! I was using a smaller baking sheet for my pita, so I divided my dough into 4 balls the size of a tennis ball.You will need 2 sheets of dough for the bottom, and 2 for the top.

4. Until this site has video, the description here may be a bit vague. You will need to roll the dough out as thin as you can, rotating the dough, and flouring it in between turns. Lay the first sheet on the bottom of the baking sheet, and drizzle some olive oil over it, and spread it around.

5. Make your 2nd sheet, and place it over the first one.

6. Pour the egg mixture over top.



7. Roll out your 3rd sheet, and place it over top the entire pan. Let the edges over hang. Drizzle with olive oil.

8. Roll out your final sheet and place over top. You can crimp the edges if you like.




9. Place the pie in a 350 degree oven.



See how it is bubbling up? When the egg mixture becomes more solid, you can pre-slice where your pieces are to let the steam escape.



This is before I cut the pieces...



.. and after. Now back to the oven to finish cutting.



Ideally, it should be a lot more brown, but i was worried the filling may be too dry. The entire pita was very moist, tasty and flaky. Definitely a recipe I will do again.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Royal Icing

At Easter I usually bring a trifle to add to the dessert table. I wasn't in a trifle mood this year, so I decided to make cupcakes. I used a recipe from the Joy of Baking website found here.

I thought these were good, but not super duper. The cake was very delicious, but maybe not as fluffy as I like. I did not have any cupcake liners, so I just buttered the pan, which made them nice and buttery. My younger brother was only so-so on these, saying it reminded him of corn bread. Weird.

I also used Joy of Baking;s royal icing recipe found here. My brother also wasn't into it, as he prefers a whipped frosting. I loved the icing, which had a refreshing lemon flavor.

I'll try a different recipe next time. There's always a good excuse to make cupcakes.

Easter Feast

I'm very big on family dinners. I think its really important to surround yourself with great people and delicious food. This Easter, we went to my parent's place for the annual Easter feast. For some stupid reason I did not take photos of the desserts - woops. From mouth watering prime rib, lamb in red sauce, to the best roasted lemon potatoes, my mom did a great job feeding us all. And to think she kept apologizing for not making enough food!

Mom's Homemade Bread


Cheesy Pastries

Friends of the family always bring these delicious cheesy pastries. I was very surprised to learn that they use the Parmesan cheese in the green can! Seriously--they taste so high class, I was in shock.

Pork Souvlakia


Roasted Lamb

My mother has mastered this. I, on the other hand, have a lot of work to do.

Green Salad


Lamb in Red Sauce

Absolutely delicious! The meat just fell of the bone. I must learn this one. I believe there is some cinnamon and clove here.

Pasta with Red Sauce

Wonderful combo here - it uses the red lamb sauce! My cousin is vegetarian and I thought it was really cute how my mom suggested to his mother he have some, as she made the sauce very light. Ah well!

Shrimp

No skimping on quality here.

Spanokopita


Roasted Veggies

Yummy peppers, mushrooms, eggplants and onions roasted with the perfect amount of spices for a nice kick!