Labor Day is a bittersweet moment – it’s a sign that summer is winding down and instead of summer firsts (“the first swim of the summer! The first BBQ!”) everything becomes the last. The weather is still warm and the summer produce is still abundant, but the days are decidedly shorter, and there’s a chill in the air in the evenings. It’s actually a beautiful time of year, but the prospect of having to wait 8 long months until the season returns is saddening. So we soak up the last warm days, storing memories of sunshine, salty water, and grill smoke to get us through the cold dark ones we know are ahead.

Grilling is one of summer’s great pleasures, and it’s how people all over the country will be closing out the season. Together with La Crema, I’ve put together an indulgent, Greek-American inspired cookout for you this Labor Day. We’ve got lamb burgers, we’ve got Greek-style sweet potato fries, we’ve got gooey roasted tomato and feta dip, and we’ve got baklava ice cream sandwiches. You’re going to be full and happy after this one.

The appetizers set the tone for any party, and this is a casual, friendly feast, so our first course is a Roasted Tomato and Feta Dip, the kind of thing that’s a little messy and requires you to reach over your friends to dip into one big bowl. I didn’t want this roasted tomato feta dip to be fresh – I wanted it to be indulgent, spreadable, and addictive. So I whipped some cream cheese and high quality feta together, and spread it on top of the cherry tomatoes before popping the whole thing in the oven. The end result was hot gooey cheese hiding sweet and garlicky roasted tomatoes underneath. This dip would pair equally well with La Crema’s Monterey Pinot Gris or Monterey Chardonnay, although I have a slight preference for the chardonnay – buttery chardonnay and creamy cheese is one of those combos I just can’t resist. (Find the dip recipe on the La Crema blog , here!)

For the main event, burgers and fries, because there’s no greater crowd-pleaser on a languid summer night. A solid burger with crispy, steak-cut fries is one of my all-time favorite meals – it’s tied with spaghetti bolognese as my answer to the “last meal” question – but it’s a combo that is strangely underrepresented on this blog. So here’s one small step towards remedying that. The burger is simple – just ground lamb, salt, pepper, and a pinch of cumin, so that all the wonderful, gamey lamb flavor comes through. It’s topped with a creamy lemon-garlic aioli and a few delicate slices of red onion, sliced as thinly as you possibly can. The fries are thick-cut wedges of sweet potato, tossed with oregano and olive oil before getting roasted to crispy perfection, then finished with the “Greek-style” treatment – a shower of grated cheese, lemon juice, and fresh parsley. Both the burgers and the fries pair beautifully with a bottle of La Crema Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, which has just enough earthiness to complement the grilled lamb. It’s a lovely wine, pleasantly tart and light-bodied enough to feel right at home at an end of summer, outdoor gathering. (Find the lamb burger recipe here and the sweet potato fries recipe here.)

And for the grand finale, Baklava Ice Cream Sandwiches. Admittedly, us Bostonians will eat ice cream even on the coldest day of the year, so ice cream isn’t exactly seasonal. But I would argue that ice cream sandwiches and popsicles and other frozen treats that you eat on the porch so that all the sticky drips running down your arms can be rinsed down with a hose, are very seasonal. So for a last summer hurrah, fancy ice cream sandwiches, with smooth pistachio gelato sandwiched between two skinny layers of homemade baklava. The flaky crunch of the baklava, sticky with rosewater-perfumed syrup, makes a delicious wrapper for the sweet and mildy nutty gelato.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by La Crema. All opinions are honest and my own.

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Baklava Ice Cream Sandwiches

Baklava recipe adapted from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food and Serious Eats. Makes 8-10 ice cream sandwiches.

• 2 c. sugar
• 1 c. water
• 2 cardamom pods
• 1 1/2 tsp rosewater, divided
• 1 1/2 c. shelled pistachios
• 1/2 c. blanched sliced almonds
• 2 TBS powdered sugar
• 1 stick + 2 TBS butter
• 3/4 lb. phyllo dough, defrosted for 8 hours in the fridge
• 1 pint pistachio ice cream

1. To make the syrup: combine sugar, water and cardamom pods in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and simmer until sugar is dissolved and syrup is thick, about 3-4 minutes. Remove cardamom pods from syrup and discard. Stir 1 teaspoon of the rosewater into the hot syrup. Let syrup cool to room temperature, then chill in the fridge until cold.
2. To make the pastry: preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the shelled pistachios, sliced almonds, powdered sugar, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of rosewater in a food processor. Pulse until the nuts are very finely chopped. Set nuts aside. Melt the butter in the microwave and keep warm. Remove the phyllo from it’s packaging and cover with a sheet of plastic wrap followed by a damp paper towel, to keep it from drying out. Brush a cookie sheet with melted butter than place one sheet of the phyllo dough on top, letting any extra dough push up over the sides. Brush generously with butter, then top with another sheet of phyllo. Repeat until you have used 6 sheets of phyllo. Spread the ground nuts evenly on top of the phyllo, then continue the phyllo-butter layers to use 4 more sheets of phyllo. Brush the top sheet generously with butter. Place any extra phyllo dough in a sealable plastic bag and place in the freezer. Use a sharp knife to cut the baklava into rectangles, being sure to press through all the layers of the phyllo to make a clean cut.
3. Bake the baklava for 30 minutes, until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and pour the cold syrup over the hot baklava, particularly along the cut edges. You can use anywhere from half to all the syrup, depending on how sweet you want your baklava to be. Let baklava cool completely.
4. Remove ice cream from freezer and let soften just enough so that it is spreadable. Spread a thick layer of ice cream on top of one of the baklava squares, then quickly top with another baklava square, pressing down gently to adhere. Immediately place in a plastic tupperware or wrap with plastic wrap and place in the freezer. Repeat until you have used all the ice cream. Let ice cream sandwiches freeze for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight. Just before serving, you can use a paring knife to trim the edges of the ice cream into a neater square. Serve immediately.

The post Greek-Style Cookout: Baklava Ice Cream Sandwiches appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I struggled a bunch to come up with the right goal for July. I knew the problem I wanted the goal to address: backsliding. I’ve made so much progress this year – I hit the ten pounds lighter mark at the end of June, something that has felt vaguely impossible for the past few years – and I’m worried about losing that progress. I feel really good about how I look, and I’ve been feeling energized and even excited about working out. But last year, July was the month I pretty much stopped working out, partly because of the heat, partly because it was the month we moved, and partly because my work travel schedule became really busy. Although we’re not moving this year and my work schedule is lighter, the memory of last year is looming large over me. Coming up with a concrete goal to address this, that would also continue forcing forward progress, was challenging.

Eventually, I settled on this: do 8 different types of workouts during the month of July. My regular workout routine has 3 components – running, Nike Training Club weight training, and ballet. Those are the easy ones. Hopefully, adding 5 other things will keep me engaged, excited, and active – and maybe I’ll even find something new to add to my regular routine. I have lots of ideas for the types of activities I can try: hip hop, biking, roller blading, swimming, rock climbing, yoga, boot camp, hiking, tennis, jump rope… anything else you guys would suggest? I plan to continue running and lifting on a regular basis, as well, so of course I’ll work out more than 8 times in total.

Now, let’s talk about food. I think a big part of the reason I’m feeling so healthy and strong coming into July is because of how well my goal for June went. Forcing myself to include fruit or vegetables in every single meal was weirdly eye-opening for me. After only about a week or two, my afternoon cookie cravings had significantly diminished, I was eating light meals and feeling satisfied, and when I did feel like indulging, it was easy to stop after a bite or two of whatever overly decadent thing I was eating. The most successful days were the ones when I was able to bring a healthy breakfast, lunch, and snack to work – instead of running to the cafe downstairs for an afternoon treat, I’d reach right next to me and munch on raw peas or blueberries.

Now, there are plenty of days when I do not have my act together enough to even get one of these meals in my bag, let alone all three, so this month’s recipe is a portable, make-ahead, healthy lunch that I can throw in my bag on those super-harried mornings with very little forethought. Wraps aren’t on my normal grocery list, but my mom always has some in the fridge, along with some easy salad-based fillings for them, and it’s a great way to have a quick and healthy lunch. Since the ingredients in store bought wraps and tortillas can be a little suspect, I decided to make my own spinach wraps for easy grab-and-go sandwich lunches this month. They’re surprisingly easy to make – the dough is extremely elastic and fun to work with – and I like knowing exactly what’s in them, including lots and lots of spinach. I filled my first batch with chopped Greek salad, tzatziki, and roasted chickpeas – they were so tasty and zingy and crunchy, a very satisfying vegetable-focused lunch. Because the chopped salad has a lot of liquid, it’s best to serve these immediately after assembling, so if you’re bringing them to go, throw the salad in a tupperware, bring a wrap, and assemble when you’re ready to eat.

Past Fitness Challenges

January: 10 Visits to the YMCA; Recipe: Gluten-Free Olive-and-Feta Corn Muffins
February: One vegan meal every day; Recipe: Pakistani Chickpea Pulao with Sweet-Hot Date-Onion Chutney
March: Run 40  miles in 20 days; Recipe: Chocolate-Dipped Almond Butter Cookie Bites
April: Walk 8,000 steps a day; Recipe: Herb-Flecked Spring Couscous
May: 180 minutes of Nike Training Club; Recipe: Warm Arugula Salad with Maple Mustard Dressing
June: Fresh fruit/veggies at every meal; Recipe: Chickpea Crepes with Grilled Curried Chicken and Mango Salsa

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Homemade Spinach Wraps

Makes 10-12 wraps.

• 3 c. flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 TBS vegetable oil
• 4 oz. spinach
• 3/4 c. milk, warmed in the microwave or on the stovetop

1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt until evenly mixed. Add the vegetable oil and stir until crumbly dough is formed. Set aside.
2. Place the spinach and warm milk in a blender, and blend on high until the mixture is smooth. Pour the spinach into the flour and stir to combine. If mixture is too wet, add a little bit more flour. Knead the dough with your hands for about 5 minutes, until smooth. Form the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Lightly flour a work surface and a rolling pin. Break the chilled dough into 10-12 golf-ball sized balls. Roll each ball out into a very thin circle about 8 inches in diameter. The thinner the dough is, the more pliable the wrap will be. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. One at a time, cook the wraps in the dry frying pan, for about 30 seconds on each side or until wrap has stiffened slightly and is golden brown in spots. Let cool, then wrap in plastic wrap and store in the fridge until ready to use.

Chopped Greek Salad

Serves 3-4 as a wrap filling.

• 1 1/2 c. cooked chickpeas
• 2 TBS + 1 TBS olive oil
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 medium tomato, cored and roughly chopped
• 1 small red pepper, stemmed and seeded and roughly chopped
• 1 small cucumber, peeled and seeded and roughly chopped
• 1/3 c. feta cheese
• 12-15 kalamata olives, pitted and halved
• 1 TBS red wine vinegar
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• tzatziki, for serving (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Toss the chickpeas with 2 TBS of the olive oil and the smoked paprika, and spread out on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper. Roast until crispy, about 30 minutes in total, stirring once about halfway through. Remove from the oven and set aside.
2. Combine the tomato, red pepper, cucumber, feta, and olives in a large bowl. Add the red wine vinegar and the remaining 1 TBS of olive oil. Stir to coat vegetables with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Just before serving, mix in the roasted chickpeas.
3. To serve as a wrap, spread a layer of tzatziki on the inside of the wrap, then place several spoonfuls of the chopped salad on top. Roll up and enjoy immediately.

The post Monthly Fitness Goals: July // Homemade Spinach Wraps with Chopped Greek Salad appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I started an “Ingredient of the Week” feature earlier this year, challenging myself to make the most of a particular in-season ingredient by posting a creative recipe starring that ingredient for 5 days in a row. I managed to feature rhubarb and green peas, and had grand plans for doing blackberries and peaches and zucchini and tomatoes by the end of the summer, but the summer sort of got away from me. Still, just because home grown produce isn’t as bountiful now as it was in August doesn’t mean that there aren’t seasonal ingredients worth celebrating. This week, I’m celebrating one of the last vegetables we were able to harvest from our garden – the carrot.

While not as popular as another sweet, orange fall vegetable (although I do feel like the pumpkin mayhem is a little more under control this year), the carrot is a humble, under-utilized little root. Usually, when I think of carrots I think of them as part and parcel with onions and celery for starting out a soup, or as stubby little dippers for hummus. But they’re so much more versatile than that! Cakes, sauces, juices, roasts – if you take a minute to think about it, you’ll realize that carrots add sweetness and depth to many different meals.

Whenever I kick off an ingredient of the week feature, I first spend an evening sitting on the floor, surrounded by piles of cookbooks, searching for the most interesting recipes I can find. Once I have a big list compiled, I choose the four or five recipes that I think are the most unique and delicious-sounding. The most interesting recipe from this weekend’s cookbook research comes from a new member of my collection, Maria Elia’s Full of Flavor. In her “roots” chapter, amidst more typical presentations like carrot and herb salad and spiced carrot puree, I found this recipe for a savory carrot, feta, and almond baklava. I’d never had a savory baklava before, and loved the idea. The carrots are thinly sliced and stewed with cinnamon, lemon, caramelized onions, and dill, before a portion of them are pureed. Layered with feta and crushed almonds between butter-soaked sheets of filo dough, they are then baked to crusty perfection and drizzled with honey. I loved the sweet and salty play of the honey and feta cheese, and think these would be a great (if a little messy) vegetarian party appetizer at any time of the year. A good start to carrot week, if you ask me.

Carrot, Almond, and Feta Baklava

Recipe adapted slightly from Full of Flavor. Serves 8-10.

• 3 TBS olive oil
• 1 large onion, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
• 2 lb carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 small bunch fresh dill, including roots, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 c. chopped dill)
• 1 TBS ground cinnamon
• finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• sea salt
• 9 sheets filo pastry (about 3/4 of a package)
• 6 TBS butter, melted
• 2/3 c. whole almonds
• 1 2/3 c. crumbled feta cheese
• 4 TBS honey

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, then add the sliced onions. Caramelize the onions over medium heat until dark and sticky, stirring frequently to prevent burning. This should take 15-20 minutes.
2. Stir in the garlic, carrots, dill, cinnamon, lemon zest, and lemon juice, and season with sea salt. Cook for another 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add 3 cups of water, and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook over medium heat until most of the liquid has been absorbed and the carrots are tender, about 30 minutes.
3. Process the almonds in a food processor until they are the consistency of a coarse breadcrumb, then set aside in a bowl. Mix the feta cheese with the ground almonds. Add 1/3 of the carrot mixture to the food processor and process until smooth, then stir back into the whole carrots.
4. Unfold the filo dough, and cut to the size of the baking sheet you will be using (ideally around 9×13. Save the extra dough. Cover the sheets you will be using with a damp paper towel to keep them from drying out as you work.
5. Brush the baking sheet lightly with melted butter, then lay one sheet of filo dough on it. Brush the filo with melted butter, and top with another sheet of filo. Repeat to have three sheets of filo in the first layer. Spread half the carrot mixture gently on top of the filo, pushing it out to the corners. Sprinkle half the feta-almond mixture on top of this, pressing down lightly to smooth. Repeat the filo-butter process with three sheets of filo, then spread the remaining carrot and feta mixture on top. Finish the baklava with another three sheets of butter-brushed filo. Before brushing the top sheet, score gently with a sharp knife to cut the pastry into diamonds. Then brush with the remaining butter and sprinkle with cold water. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature before drizzling with the honey.

The post Ingredient of the Week: Carrots // Savory Carrot, Feta, and Almond Baklava appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I had every intention of writing a few blog posts while I was on vacation. Really, I did. Since I know the next two months are going to be crazy, I’m highly aware of the risk of unintentionally abandoning this space. But I got too wrapped up in relaxing, swimming in the lake, spending time with my family, and exploring Maine, and blogging fell by the wayside. I don’t regret it one bit, but I am finding it a little bit hard to get back into the swing of things in my non-vacation life, including blogging.

Tonight, though, I managed to make myself an actual meal for the first time since getting back. This particular recipe turned out to be just the thing to ease me back into cooking, for a number of reasons. One, the weather has been oscillating between hot and rainy and really hot and sunny, so the minimal amount of stove-time and large amount of fresh, cooling veggies in this dish was quite appealing. Two, on vacation I ate a lot more spaghetti, ice cream, and cheese than I normally do, and I replaced my daily green smoothie with a daily half bottle of wine. I needed something fresh and healthy to help reverse the damage, and this  completely fit the bill. Three, I’m generally feeling a little stressed out and short on time, so the fact that I could make this from start to finish in under 30 minutes, including photographing it, was a major bonus. Four, it was delicious. And it had watermelon.

I’ve been thinking about watermelon an abnormal amount over the past week. While we were in Maine, we got a big one that I blended up into watermelon margaritas. Then BuzzFeed featured one of my watermelon recipes from last year in their “How To Eat Nothing But Watermelon All Summer” article last week. And I really can’t get these gorgeous Chili Lime Cucumber Noodles with Salted Watermelon that Laura made out of my head. There’s just something about watermelon in July – it’s so emblematic of a wholesome American summer, grabbing ice-cold slices stacked high from a plate and eating them barefoot in the grass, juice dripping from your elbows, before running off to play some more. So I grabbed a just-enough-for-one-person-sized chunk of melon at the grocery store on the way home yesterday, in part to continue the feel of vacation. After thinking about what to make with it all day at work, my mind finally settled on a Greek-inspired couscous salad. The combination of watermelon and feta is all the rage, so I took it one step further and added a few more Greek elements – kalamata olives, cucumber, and a tangy vinaigrette. It was just right.

Greek Couscous Salad with Watermelon and Feta

A summery couscous salad with fresh watermelon, feta cheese, and olives. Great on hot days!

• Author: Katie at the Kitchen Door
• Yield: 4

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. dry couscous
• 2 c. water
• 1 medium cucumber, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 1/2 c. cubed watermelon
• 25 pitted kalamata olives, sliced in half
• 3/4 c. feta cheese
• 1 medium shallot, peeled and finely diced
• 1 1/2 TBS red wine vinegar
• 4 TBS olive oil
• salt
• 6–8 sprigs of mint, finely chopped

Instructions

1. Combine the couscous and the water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then immediately remove from heat and cover with a lid. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, until couscous has absorbed all of the water.
2. Toss the cucumber and watermelon cubes with the feta and olives in a large bowl. Fluff up the couscous with a fork, then mix that into the cucumber-watermelon mixture.
3. Whisk together the shallot, red wine vinegar and olive oil to make a vinaigrette. Season to taste with salt, then add to the couscous and stir to coat evenly. Sprinkle the top with chopped mint. Serve cold or at room temperature.

The post Back to Real Life // Greek Couscous Salad with Watermelon and Feta appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

It seems as though we’ve entered flu season. I actually haven’t been sick yet, but I’ve seen several co-workers, a few family members, and lots of blog-friends succumb in the past week or two. I just want to send everyone a big bowl of chicken soup, but that seems unfeasible, given, you know, the logistics of shipping chicken soup around the country, so I made this lovely, thick, Greek-inspired bowl of avgolemono with chicken to inspire health in all of you (and I’m also hoping that eating it myself will help stave off illness a while longer). In particular, Grandma Joyce – I hope you’re feeling much much better!

This is another recipe that’s inspired by Maria‘s Ancient Grains for Modern Meals. I really love this cookbook, but I’m always tinkering with the recipes, which sometimes gives me cooking guilt, as I know it’s not a fair test of the recipe (and that a lot of work goes into recipe-testing for cookbooks to get them just right)! I set out to make this one exactly as written, but realized as I started cooking that I didn’t have any scallions, and that I didn’t have any par-boiled rice on hand, and that I really needed to use up the chickpeas that have been sitting in my fridge. So I sighed, and adjusted here and tweaked there, and made it my own. I promise, I’ll make the next recipe from Maria’s book the way it says to!

As you might have guessed, this is another one for my winter cleanse. It’s great cleanse food – the avgolemono, a Greek technique that involves adding an egg and lemon mixture to thicken hot broth, makes it thicker and more substantial than your average soup, without adding a lot of extra calories. With chicken, chickpeas, and brown rice, it’s filling and warming and lovely. Give it a try… and feel better to all of you who are under the weather!

Greek Egg and Lemon Soup with Chicken, Brown Rice, and Chickpeas

Inspired by Ancient Grains for Modern Meals. Serves 2.

• 4 c. chicken broth
• 1 boneless skinless chicken breast, fat trimmed (about 8 oz.)
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed or finely minced
• 1/4 c. brown rice
• 1/2 c. cooked chickpeas
• 1 egg, separated, at room temperature
• 2 TBS fresh lemon juice (from about 1/2 lemon)
• 1/4 c. chopped dill
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Add the chicken broth, chicken, minced/crushed garlic, and brown rice to a large pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a simmer, cover, and simmer for 35-45 minutes, or until both the rice and the chicken are fully cooked – the rice should be tender and the chicken should be cooked through, with no pink in the middle when you cut into it.
2. Remove the chicken from the pot and place on a cutting board. When cool enough to handle, tear into bite-sized pieces, and set aside.
3. Beat the egg white with a whisk in a medium bowl until it is white and thick. Lightly beat the egg yolk, then add the egg yolk to the beaten egg white and whisk together. Slowly pour the lemon juice into the egg mixture as you whisk. The mixture should be pale yellow and fairly thick. Slowly add a thin stream of the hot broth-rice mixture to the egg-lemon mixture, whisking the eggs vigorously as you do so, to temper the eggs. Use about half of the broth mixture in doing this. Pour the tempered egg-lemon mixture back into the pan, whisking the soup as you do so. Continue to stir, and add the chicken pieces, chickpeas, and dill to the pot. Cook over low heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring, to heat all ingredients through and slightly thicken the soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve hot.

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I have a good friend at work who is Bulgarian, and who argues staunchly that every food attributed to Greece is actually Bulgarian in origin. This moussaka I brought in last week? Bulgarian. Those yummy little Greek cookies? Bulgarian.  Greek yogurt is her biggest pet peeve, and my coworkers and I kinda enjoy getting her riled up about it (although I will say, her argument that the back of Greek yogurt lists “Bulgarsko culture” as an ingredient is pretty convincing). I had a lot of fun running some of the potential recipes for this post by her and listening to her stories of how her mother makes the best version of each of the dishes I mentioned.

Whatever the true origin, Greek food is delicious, so I was excited to snag a review copy of The Country Cooking of Greece. If you’re an avid cookbook collector/nerd, you may remember that The Country Cooking of Ireland won the James Beard cookbook of the year award in 2010. I didn’t know it until recently, but there are two other books in this “series” – The Country Cooking of Italy and The Country Cooking of France. Such a fun collection! Here’s hoping they do somewhere dear to my heart, like the Czech Republic (or Russia!) next. But back to Greece.

This book is a beautiful compendium of traditional Greek recipes.  Although a Greek grandmother will probably always be your best bet for learning the secrets of Greek cuisine, this book – with 200 recipes, full-page photographs for the majority of the recipes, and dozens of sidebars on Greek ingredients, traditions, and cooking techniques – makes a suitable substitute.  I actually learned quite a bit from the sidebars, like that ouzo may be distilled from grain, grapes, potatoes, or a combination, or that there are 3 techniques for making avgolemono but the ratio is always the same – 2 eggs, 1 lemon, 1 quart of hot liquid.

The recipes in this book are a cut above the dishes you’ll find at your favorite Greek diner.  Classic pastitsio gets updated to include a citrus and fennel scented shrimp sauce, moussaka goes vegetarian and is made with artichokes and caramelized onions, and saganaki gets rolled in pistachios before being fried.  However, while I’m excited to have added a whole slew of totally new recipes to my to-try list, I’m a little disappointed that this book doesn’t have definitive recipes for some of my favorite Greek-American staples, like souvlaki, falafel, and baklava – I’ll have to keep looking for those.

Like other rustic agricultural cuisines, vegetables get plenty of attention from traditional Greek recipes. In fact, I was just reading an article about the incredible longevity of Greeks on the island of Ikaria, due in part to their vegetable and olive-oil heavy diets.  Intrigued?  There are recipes for Ikarian Zucchini, Chard, and Herb Pie, Ikarian Zucchini Fritters with Fresh Oregano and Mint, and Smothered Summer Vegetables from Ikaria included in this book – you, too, can live forever.  Much like Japanese Farm Food, gardeners and CSA-members will find plenty of new ways to use up their eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, and greens.

So far, I’ve tried two recipes from this book – the Pupmkin and Sweet Potato Moussaka I made last weekend (which I admit to adapting significantly) and these Smyrna-Style Baked Sausages.  (I seem to be choosing recipes without the signature Greek food health benefits, huh?)  Both recipes were scrumptious – flavorful, interesting, and comforting.  These sausages reminded me of the gently-spiced sausages my mom makes on Christmas morning.  Together with the tangy tomato sauce, I tried them both on plain rice and whole wheat pasta with parmesan cheese – the pasta won hands down and was the most satisfying thing I’ve eaten all week.  I will say that both the recipes I tried took a bit of time – they weren’t complex, but both required making and then combining multiple components, which resulted in great flavor… but lots of dishes.  Other recipes on my shortlist that you may see around here in the future include Braised Lamb with Chickpeas and Tomato Sauce, Santorini Tomato Fritters, and Pan-Fried Semolina Cake.

The bottom line: The Country Cooking of Greece is a well-researched and beautiful book that will take you beyond the popular Greek-American classics to the food that’s been cooked in home kitchens for centuries.  Although recipes for some well-known classics are missing, the range and variety of recipes that are included more than makes up for it.  You’re sure to find at least one or two completely new ideas, and if you’re looking to recreate the meal you had in that tiny village restaurant in Greece… this might just be the place to start looking.

Disclaimer: Chronicle Books provided me with a review copy of this book free of charge, but as usual, all opinions are my own!

Smyrna-Style Baked Sausages

Recipe from The Country Cooking of Greece by Diane Kochilas. Makes 10 small sausages.

Note: Diane suggests serving this over rice or bulghur, but I liked it best over whole wheat spaghetti with a little bit of parmesan. If you plan to use it as a pasta sauce rather than a side dish, you should double the sauce quantities that are written below.

For the sausages:

• 1 1/2 lb ground beef
• 1/3 c. coarsely chopped white onion
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 tsp paprkia
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 1/2 tsp cumin
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 egg
• 2 TBS dry white wine
• 1/4 to 1/2 c. dry bread crumbs (making your own is best!)
• 2 TBS olive oil + some for frying
• flour for dredging

For the sauce:

• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 c. dry red wine
• 1 28 oz. can whole plum tomatoes, roughly chopped and their juice
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp butter
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Make the sausages: In a large mixing bowl, stir together the onions, garlic, and spices. Add the ground beef and use your hands to mix together. Add the egg and wine and knead well to combine. Add just enough of the bread crumbs so that if you form a ball with your hands it stays together. Mix in the olive oil, then cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. While the sausages are chilling, make the sauce. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer. Add the wine, chopped tomatoes, sugar, and red pepper flakes, and stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until slightly thickened, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Heat a thin layer of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Form the chilled sausage mixture into small sausages about 3 inches long and 1 inch thick. Place some flour on a plate and roll the sausages in the flour, then fry the sausages in batches, turning over gently part way through cooking to brown on all sides. Once cooked, place the sausages in a single layer in a baking pan, then cover with the tomato sauce. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Serve hot, with starch of your choice.

The post The Country Cooking of Greece: Greek-Style Baked Sausages appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Does it feel like pumpkin has been all the rage a little bit more than usual this fall?  It does to me – I’ve even seen complaints about the internet overdose of pumpkin: “Find a new darling ingredient!” and “What about cranberries, guys??”  So, yes, I know some of you are over pumpkin.  And frankly, it’s not my favorite ingredient of all time (although who doesn’t love the occasional pumpkin muffin?).  But when I saw this recipe for Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Moussaka, I knew I had to try it out anyway.  It’s so… different.  In the best sort of way.

The first time I had moussaka I was in Budapest.  While I was studying abroad in Prague, we had a 10 day fall break during which we could travel independently.  Most people in the program took off on a city-hopping tour of Europe, trying to hit as many major cities as possible in the short time.  My roommates and I took the opposite approach, visiting only two cities, both accessible by train – Vienna, and Budapest.

I have never felt more out of place than I did in Budapest.  Don’t get me wrong – I loved the city.  Beautiful, old-world, twisty-turny, and a little bit hipster.  But I could not say a single word in the language – not even “thank you.”  I’ve never had that experience before, and I felt completely helpless.  We managed to get by for the most part, but it was embarrassing!  The next time I’m there I’ll be prepared.

Anyway, one night we decided to go out to a Greek restaurant near our apartment (we’d already had plenty of chicken paprikash).  It was like being transported – whitewashed walls with bright blue murals, two brightly lit lofts with stone arches, waiters with Greek accents, etc.  It was one of the stranger dining experiences I’ve ever had – they actually used a dust-buster to vacuum off the table between courses!  But the food was delicious, and moussaka will always remind me of that little place in Budapest, and of the whole lovey trip, for that matter.

Originally, this post was meant to double as a review of The Country Cooking of Greece.  But as I began writing my grocery list and assembling ingredients, I made too many changes to the original recipe to really make it a fair “review” recipe.  You can’t judge a cookbook on a recipe you’ve changed!  The original recipe was vegetarian, but I couldn’t imagine having moussaka without ground beef – the salty, meatiness of it is the perfect counterpoint to the creamy bechamel and the sweetness of the roasted veggies.  Then, the grocery store didn’t have any eating pumpkins, so I used sweet potatoes and butternut squash instead of all three orange veggies.  I also had to play with the ratios a bit – I had way too much squash/sweet potato for the amount of bechamel I had made.  By the end, it wasn’t really a fair representation of the original recipe – but it was super delicious.  So you’ll have to hold out for the cookbook review, but you should try this adapted recipe in the meantime.

Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Moussaka

Adapted from The Country Cooking of Greece.  Serves 6-8.

For the bechamel:

• 4 TBS salted butter
• 1/4 c. flour
• 4 c. milk, slightly warmed (on the stove or in the microwave)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 c. crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
• pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

For the filling:

• olive oil
• 3 large red onions, peeled and diced
• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 2 large sweet potatoes (about 2 lbs), peeled and sliced lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices
• 1 medium winter squash or pumpkin (about 2 lbs), peeled and sliced lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices
• flour, for dusting
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh mint
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley
• salt and pepper, to taste

1. Make the bechamel: Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the flour and whisk to combine so there are no lumps.  Cook for 1 minute, until lightly browned.  Slowly pour in warm milk, whisking continuously.  Whisk the mixture non-stop until it thickens, about 10-12 minutes.  (Note, to save a bechamel that’s not thickening, melt a little extra butter (2 TBS) in the microwave and mix with an equal amount of flour – add to the bechamel to restart the thickening process).  Once thickened, pour a ladleful of the hot mixture over the beaten eggs, whisking the eggs vigorously, to temper the eggs.  Pour the egg mixture back into the bechamel, whisking the whole time, and remove from the heat.  Stir in the cheeses, and season with pepper and the nutmeg.  Set aside.
2. Prepare the filling: heat 2 TBS of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and cook diced onions in it for 10 minutes, until soft.  Add ground beef and brown thoroughly.  Remove from heat, and use a slotted spoon to scoop beef and onion mixture into a bowl.  Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
3. Heat enough olive oil to rise a 1/4 inch up the side of the pan in a large frying pan.  Use medium heat, and let oil heat fully before beginning frying.  Test the temperature by dipping a piece of squash in the oil – if it sizzles immediately, the oil is ready.  Dredge the squash slices lightly in flour, then fry in the oil until lightly browned on both sides.  Remove to a paper-towel lined sheet pan to drain.  You will need to do this in batches.  Once the squash is done, lightly fry the sweet potato slices (you do not need to flour these) until golden brown.
4. Preheat the oven to 350°F and assemble the moussaka: In a 9×13 roasting pan, place a single layer of sweet potatoes along the bottom such that they overlap slightly.  Sprinkle with half the mint and half the parsley, then top with half of the beef and onion mixture and half of the bechamel.  Cover these layers with a layer of the squash, then sprinkle remaining mint and parsley on top, as well as remaining beef and onion mixture.  Spread the rest of the bechamel on top, spreading out to the edges of the pan if possible.
5. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until bechamel is puffed and golden.  If the top is not browning, broil it on low for 2-3 minutes and then remove.  Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.  Serve warm.

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