Meat

Lentil Soup

I am about to kick of the New Year with the probably most underrated legume of all times. Actually it is one of the most underrated food items of all time (except probably in India). Lentils! It is the one food that I used to hate as a kid and I love as an adult. As a kid all legumes were by far the worst food I could ever have. They were always served as a substitute to meat, especially during lent before Christmas, Easter or Dormition of the Theotokos (Assumption of Mary in the Roman Catholic Religion). They were usually (and by usually I mean 100% of the times) served in a soup form with tomato, garlic and the optional vinegar that very well suits them. I still, however, didn't like them because they were highly associated with the dreadful lent that meant one thing: no meat. And I am a generation Y kid. Born in the era of the fast-food globalization, the abundance of meat and wealth that spread all across Europe including Greece. And it is a shame. A big shame, because lentils are as reach in protein as meat. And of course a lot more healthy than meat.

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Cranberry Pastrami Sandwich

In the previous post we made an awesome, kick-butt cranberry sauce. Although delicious and amazing, chances are you still have some left over sauce. The leftover once we adjust the viscosity a bit with some water are an amazing versatile syrup and condiment. It is sweet and tangy able to mingle with many different flavors. The Sugar can help reduce the spiciness of the various dishes, the acidity can pair well with meats as it changes the pH making our taste buds more sensitive and more receptive to the other elements of the dish... In other words making dish tasting meatier. Although you can always use it in a turkey left over sandwich, I think it is a pity to use this just in a sandwich with the reminiscent of thanksgiving. Here I expand the application to other sandwiches. Cranberries is a gift not only for thanksgiving, but something that we should cherish and use all year around.

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One pot Wonders – Part I: Mexican Chicken Dog

This is a strange post. It is the one and only post that has been created out of pure necessity. It is some of the inspirations of the moment that just make the difference between eating and indulging. And indulging in 5 mins is a lot more than just indulging! Sometimes I work late. I come home and easiest thing to cook is a sandwich, but a sandwich is not really cooking. Is more like putting things together! So one day inspiration came to me. And here they are the peanut butter and chocolate sandwich and the mexican chicken dog! Two recipes 3 or 4 ingredients and 3 minutes. Get your timers ready, time flies… All the ingredients are from Trader Joe’s. You can try whatever you like. I tried many combinations but this is the best I can come up with.

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True Brew: The Stock

This blog had already made the two most famous brews: coffee and tea. The one item that is mostly used in cooking is the stock chicken stock, beef stock, fish stock, vegetable stock…. or is it broth? Stock or broth? Is it different? The terminology stock and broth can be confusing not only to the daily household user, but also chefs all over the world. It is actually said that many languages do not have two different words for those two definitions. Even here in the US, the Department of Agriculture, for its purposes, uses the words interchangeably and does not define them as being different. In a few culinary schools define them different but are they? Well technically there are different at least in my book. According to the webster dictionary:

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Winter Dish: Chicken with Mushrooms and Cream

This is a very simple dish… Well simple in the flavor and tones that it has, but not so much in the process. The star is again the gallus domesticus aka chicken. It is a hear warming dish that combines three basic cooking skills and techniques to make a unique dish. A dish that can be easily moded changed and reinvented. Chicken with mashed potatoes and cream sauce. Three items that are independent from each other and the real trick is how to bond them. You want them from a trio they are, to make them sing like a chorus. So this post is an attempt to show you how three items can be brought together under the same flavor roof.

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With...

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Pork Tenderloin: Spice Galore

This post, long due but finally here never the less, it is not so much about the tenderloin, which is a great piece of meat but mostly for the propper use of spices and marinates/brines. I have spoken about it before but there still some miss conceptions and hazy teritory. And what a better way of talking than a nice juice piece of meat. And soon enough we will see that the selection of the meat was even more suitable.

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Stuffed Acord Squash

Well I would like to call this recipe as summer food, as well, but as you probably know squashes are usually a fall food. Well think again! In Florida due to the bizarre weather the squashes grow faster better and more productively during summer. The production will never reach the amounts of the north states during fall, but makes Florida a more special place. We buy on sales things that other people buy in elevated prices. And as usual on the blog I will brief you on the history of one of the ingredients and in this case, the acorn squash.

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Meeting the Grill

Grilling is one of the most primitive forms of cooking. Well it was not always called grilling, but although we have evolved, and along side our cooking techniques, this particularly has changed very little. It still involves the three key ingredients: Fire, Meat, Time. We changed the raw wood fire to charcoal and gas, but the idea is still the same. We added new meats to the party, but the we still seek the same satisfaction. And we might, have less time to cook, but when the grill fires up, we have the time just stops.

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Pilaf

What do you think when I say rice? I know chinese food. Some more adventurous my think indian food. But in every case it will be thought as the companion to a very hearty, saucy meal. But Rice is way more than that. Rice can be yummy and delicious on its own. All it takes is some simple techniques, some basic know-how, and will to get creative... Yes with rice. But rice is a lot more than Chinese and Indian food. Don ‘t get me wrong, I love both of Chinese (and more generally speaking oriental) and Indian food.

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