Dairy

Cold foam milk

This past summer Starbucks rolled out a new drink, cold foam cold brew coffee. And although cold brew is not new, the cold foam is. Cold foam milk is a great addition to the cold brew, not only due to the contrasting flavors (sweet and buttery milk with bitter-ish coffee) and textures (velvet smooth foam and the contrasting fluidity of the coffee) but also due to the great visual contrast: black and white. Also being greek I loved cold foam as it is an integral part of the greek coffee culture as part of the iced cappuccino called Fréddo cappuccino. I always wanted to make some at home, alas my efforts were futile. The foam no matter how good it was falling apart leaving me with a soapy looking foam in a milky coffee in matters of minutes... but I finally cracked the secret. Venture with me in the science of making a great cold foam while understanding the basic science.

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Cold Brewed Coffee

The summer is around the corner, or maybe where you live it is already there... or it has always been there. The botom line is that the hot, steaming cup of coffee is not appetizing during this time of the year. You need something to wake you up and refresh you. The last 2-3 years a new caffeinated beverage joined the market. It is the "Cold Brew". It is a welcome alternative to the hot coffee and it is not iced coffee, hot brewed coffee that was chilled and served over ice.

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Lavender Rosemary Lemon cookies

In this blog I don't usually make deserts. But when we do, they are amazing. Today I chose to make a simple cookie with big character. Cookies are not just a baked good that we eat. Making cookies is just a part of the process that makes a house a home. The moment the air is filled with the amazing aroma of the baked goods that is based on butter herbs and spices it becomes so much more homey, familiar and inviting. In this attempt I am making a somewhat odd, but familiar combination. I am inspired from the spring that finally decided to dawn up on us after a long and cold winter. I blend the aroma of spring herbs like rosemary, lavender and lemon to a cookie that has a mould texture and crumbly appearance.

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One pot Wonders – Part II: Peanut Butter & Chocolate Sandwich

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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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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My mom’s Pizza

Today the 13th day of October it is my mom’s name day. It is a typical Greek traditional celebration to celebrate the day of the saint or martyr that you are named after. So today it is my mom’s day and we are celebrating by making the best pizza ever. It is all that my mom’s cooking is all about simple ingredients, simple flavors that they highlight and accentuates the taste of simple ingredients, like feta and tomato. And this is the bottom line of the greek cuisine: simple ingredients brought together in a simple manner. So this sort of pizza is just that. And I call it sort of pizza, because it does not share anything of the typical pizza characteristics, sauce, melted cheese, thin crust. It is on the contrary puffy, with just tomato and feta a non melting cheese. I am making two version the original and still king, my mom’s and mine a more gourmet take on it. So let’s get started.

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A Greek Coffee Named Frappe

If you are greek, probably you should not read this post. This is about the most common way of Greeks to enjoy the neurotoxin also called caffeine. And as all simple things each one has a way of enjoying it, and even worse a way of making it. Being an unconventional coffee this one imposes a whole new set of layers to personalize it. So again, if you are greek, skip this, you will probably disagree with what I say and How I make it. If you insist in reading please go ahead on your own risk. This is different from all other coffee, because it is made with instant coffee.

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Bruschetta (?) My Way

Since it is summer, I am more keen in making and creating dishes, that are summery and fresh that combine a large number of various elements: texture, flavors and engage all the senses. This is what I making today. A take on a bruschetta, the italian delicacy that is been around since the 15th century. It was a fun recipe since it is largely similar to the the previous post in regards to the ingredients. It showcases that sam ingredients put together in a different way results in such a different result.As you probably noticed on the title next to the bruschetta is a question mark. Why? Because I think that in the melting culinary pot in america many cuisines were merged, fused, combined and unavoidably either lost their origin meaning or got a load of new ingredients, that changed drastically their appearance and flavor profile.

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My Take on a Classic: Greek Salad

Greek salad is one the poster foods of greek cuisine. And for a good reason. It combines in a plate all the vegetables that mean summer in Greece; sweet juicy tomatoes, succulent snappy cucumbers, peppery sweet onions, crisp peppers and of course who can leave out the greek briny cheese, also known as feta. All of them held together with the power of olive oil, topped with oregano. A herb that is 100% greek. You find it in abundance in the hills and mountains of the greek country side. The greek salad is not only a delicious combination, but it is also visually appealing. As they say: you eat with your eyes first. And the crispness of the vegetables also engage your ears in the experience. It is therefore a full sense experience. The quintessential greek summer (and not only) dish.

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My Moms Cheese Pie (tyropita)

This is the final recipe that concludes the countdown to the 100th recipe! It is my mom’s recipe that is her most famous dish. She made it thousands of times, for thousands of occasions, and thousands of people. It is based on a traditional greek pie made with various cheeses most notably feta cheese. This is a much better version, not only because it is made from the best cook I ever met (my mom) bt also because it is a much lighter in taste not very overwhelming with cheese. Additionally this is a recipe that can be made pretty much with every type of cheese you have around. Here, however, we stay with traditions the one and only feta cheese.

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