Recipes / Food - Drink

[nohmi2]

I have to stop reading this thread.

My hubby is already three kilos overweight.

Cheers

[Stitchawl]

I need a dose of good Greek foods so tonight will be;
Kreatopita Argostoli, - a delicious lamb and feta cheese dish that, although looking complicated, is really easy to make, and even better to eat! I fell in love with this back in the early 90's in Greece, and try to make it at least once a year! It's one of the few lamb dishes my wife actually likes!

Ingredients

* 24 sheets phyllo dough
* 4 cups cooked white rice
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 3 cups cubed cooked lamb
* 1 lemon, juiced
* 2 potatoes, peeled and quartered
* 4 hard-cooked eggs, quartered
* 2 tablespoons lemon zest
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
* 1 1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese
* 1/2 cup olive oil
* 1 cup beef broth
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 egg, beaten
* 1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool and chop.
2. Lightly brush a 9x13 inch pan with melted butter. Place 1 phyllo sheet in pan and lightly brush with butter. Continue adding phyllo sheets for a total of 12, brushing each one lightly with butter (you don't need to completely cover each phyllo sheet with butter).
3. Spread cooked rice over phyllo, then sprinkle with minced garlic. Add lamb in an even layer, and sprinkle with lemon juice. Place 1 cup diced potatoes over lamb.
4. Arrange quarters of eggs, then sprinkle with parsley, mint and lemon zest. Add crumbled feta cheese.
5. Pour on olive oil and beef broth. Sprinkle with oregano and pepper. Finally, add beaten egg.
6. Top with remaining 12 phyllo sheets brushed lightly with melted butter.
7. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). during the last 10 minutes, raise the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Cut into diamonds or squares and serve warm.


Stitchawl

[lilac_jive]

I'm partial to gyros myself Or maybe some moussaka....mmmmm....

[phenomshel]

I just made a stripped down version of chicken scalloppini... I think. LOL I was hungry, and had limited ingredients.

1 chicken breast, boneless and skinless, pounded to about 1/2 inch thick
flour
lemon pepper
angel hair pasta
2 Tbs. lemon juice
heavy cream
butter/margarine/olive oil

Pound your boneless chicken piece to about 1/2 inch thick...try to get it fairly uniform. Heat your butter/margarine/olive oil (whichever, not all three) in skillet. Dredge chicken breast in flour and lemon pepper seasoning, and fry it in the butter until golden on both sides. (Since it's pounded thin, this doesn't take long).
In the meantime, make your pasta (I'm not giving detailed instructions on how to cook angelhair pasta....dump it in boiling salted water til it's al dente, and then drain it).

When you take the chicken out of the skillet, add juice of two lemons or 2 Tbs. lemon juice to the hot pan...swirl it around to combine with the butter, then add your cream. I didn't give a measurement on the cream because I didn't use one and have no idea how much I used, but probably about a cup is my guess. Stir til slightly thickened and bubbly, dump over chicken and pasta on plate.

Fast and easy and YUM!

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by phenomshel

Heat your butter/margarine/olive oil (whichever, not all three) in skillet.

Shel, I almost always mix butter and olive oil when I'm cooking (if I want those flavors.) Used alone, the butter would burn. But I love the taste of butter in dishes. Mixed with olive oil I can use a higher heat to cook and still not worry about burning the butter.

I never use margarine.


Stitchawl

[phenomshel]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

Shel, I almost always mix butter and olive oil when I'm cooking (if I want those flavors.) Used alone, the butter would burn. But I love the taste of butter in dishes. Mixed with olive oil I can use a higher heat to cook and still not worry about burning the butter.

I never use margarine.


Stitchawl

I did tonight, because it's what I had. But a combination of butter and olive oil would be better, you're right.

[kindlekitten]

just an fyi, margarine is really really REALLY bad for you. look at the hydrogenated oils and such. HUGELY bad!

[phenomshel]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

just an fyi, margarine is really really REALLY bad for you. look at the hydrogenated oils and such. HUGELY bad!

Yes dear, I am aware.

[kindlekitten]

ok ;o) its amazing some folks who just missed that boat!

[Stitchawl]

There are a remarkable number of folks who are still using margarine because they believe that it's healthier for them than butter. This is due to the massive advertising campaign that the industry had in the 50's and 60's to promote what was essentially a 'war time replacement' for butter.

Probably most here are too young to remember when margarine was sold as a white brick with a packet of yellow dye attached. I just barely remember my mother mixing the two together to make it look more like butter.

Even my parent's, who were both medically trained, believed that margarine was better for you as late as the 80's when they actually read the scientific reports on the stuff instead of the advertisements in the magazines. They dropped margarine like a hot potato and never had it in the house again. The stuff is baaaad.

Butter goes a long way in my house these days. I use just enough for flavor, and use extra virgin olive oil to make up the rest. Even Scampi gets the olive oil/butter treatment. Hey, butter is healthier than margarine, but olive oil is healthier than butter, and I plan to live forever! So far, so good!

Stitchawl

Stitchawl

[kindlekitten]

I do pretty much the same thing when I am cooking. it does work really well. I'll never forget talking to a woman who couldn't understand what was wrong with frying a steak in margarine

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

I do pretty much the same thing when I am cooking. it does work really well. I'll never forget talking to a woman who couldn't understand what was wrong with frying a steak in margarine

Actually, there is an entire school of thought that 'frying' a steak is a felony, period, and that the only way to cook on is to grill or broil. I don't happen to adhere to that myself, and will happily cook one any way I can!

Because of its incredibly high fat content, Kobe beef is really best cooked by frying on a Korean domed grill after slicing it into thin strips.



Stitchawl

[kindlekitten]

there are indeed steaks that beg to be fried. but NOT in margarine!

[phenomshel]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

there are indeed steaks that beg to be fried. but NOT in margarine!

That's a crime against steak! The margarine part, not the frying. (Says the Texan).

[kindlekitten]

Originally Posted by phenomshel

That's a crime against steak! The margarine part, not the frying. (Says the Texan).

absolutely! (says the farm girl!)