Photos (by me!): Arugula, Rhubarb, Rosemary, Spinach, Tulip
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spring has sprung.
(organic) chicken gyros with tzatziki
As I mentioned in my “op ed” piece on the problem of meat, I made (organic) chicken gyros a little while back. Free-range and organic chicken is still relatively inexpensive in comparison to other meats (especially at Trader Joe’s) – and we were having a few friends over – so it seemed to be an appropriate time to splurge and buy meat.
You have to pay attention while shopping in Trader Joe’s, however, because not all of their meat is actually organic. A lot of their products are labeled as “natural”. The term natural can mean a lot of things, and it is not a term that is regulated by the FDA. All of the large and factory farmed meat companies also will make claims about their meat being natural, and so its hard to know who is telling the truth. This is why, unless I know the actual farm the meat is coming from (i.e. a local meat purveyor) – I just stick to buying certified organic. Its safer that way.
You have to pay attention while shopping in Trader Joe’s, however, because not all of their meat is actually organic. A lot of their products are labeled as “natural”. The term natural can mean a lot of things, and it is not a term that is regulated by the FDA. All of the large and factory farmed meat companies also will make claims about their meat being natural, and so its hard to know who is telling the truth. This is why, unless I know the actual farm the meat is coming from (i.e. a local meat purveyor) – I just stick to buying certified organic. Its safer that way.
But, I digress. And, no, I won’t keep up my preaching. Just know that if I’m cooking meat, I’m cooking meat from happy & healthy animals (or at least, I’m trying to).
Back to the subject at hand: Gyros. I have been craving various ethnic foods lately (Mediterreanean, Mexican, Indian, Thai, etc) and I’ve come to realize that as much as I love Portland, they’ve got nothing on Los Angeles when it comes to ethnic food. I’ll admit it, I was spoiled for those 6 years I lived in LA. I can’t find a good burrito here to save my life. When it comes to food – and varieties of food – Los Angeles has the upper hand.
However, I am sure Portland has some great ethnic restaurants. I just haven’t discovered them yet (and, no. Por Que No, Pepinos, and Cha!Cha!Cha! do NOT count as Mexican food). And, sometimes a girl just has a hankering for a certain kind of food. Last week I craved gyros. Specifically, I just wanted to eat something doused in Tzatziki. So I decided to make it for myself. The end result: mouth watering, garlicky, doused in tzatziki, home-made gyros. My craving was satisfied. This recipe is really quite simple, and would be easy to modify. For those of you who enjoy a little spice, I recommend throwing your favorite hot sauce (Tapatio, Chalula, etc) on the gyro. You end up with spicy, heavenly, yogurty, Greek goodness.
Chicken Gyros with (home-made) Tzatziki
Tzatziki
1 cucumber, peeled and seeded
1 16 oz container of plain Greek yogurt
2 – 3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp white wine vinegar
Lemon juice
Salt & pepper to taste
Olive Oil
Shred or chop the cucumber ito a very small dice (I used a food processor). Wrap in a towel and squeeze, to remove any excess water. Mix together the cucumber, yogurt, miced garlic (I also used the food processor to chop the garlic), vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Drizzle olive oil lightly over the top. Chill in the refrigerator for at least a half an hour before serving, to allow the flavors to meld together.
Chicken Gyros
1 – 2 pounds of chicken – mix of white and dark meat (I used breasts and thighs)
2 heaping tablespoons of plain greek yogurt
4 garlic cloves, smashed
The juice of 1 lemon
Salt & Pepper
1.5 tsps of dried Oregano
2 tsps red wine vinegar
Olive Oil
For the gyro assembly:
Flat bread or pita (I use the Mediterreanean Flat Bread from Trader Joes)
1/2 red onion, diced
1 – 2 tomatoes – diced
Tahini Sauce (I bought pre-made tahini from Trader Joes)
To prepare the chicken: Combine yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, salt & pepper, oregano, and red wine vinegar. Pour this mixture over your chicken pieces, cover, and let sit in the fridge for an hour.
When the chicken has marinated, transfer to a baking dish (I drizzled olive oil in the baking dish first) and bake for approx 15 – 20 minutes at 375 degrees. Be careful not to overcook your chicken, and oven times and temps may vary (depending on the amounts and sizes of your chicken pieces).
Let the chicken rest for a few minutes after removing from the oven. Chop into bite sized pieces, and serve immediately in flat bread with tzatziki, tomato, red onion, tahini, and hot sauce (if you so desire).
Chef Novelli’s Grandmother’s Tomato Sauce.
Nich and I are still keeping up with the new Bravo show, ‘Chef Academy’. The show has grown on me a little bit, but it is still no where near as good of a show as Top Chef. The one thing I do appreciate about this show – and Chef Novelli – is that it actually teaches you how to cook. Just watching the show, I have learned a lot.
In one of the first episodes, Chef Novelli teaches the class how to make his Grandmother’s classic tomato sauce. Nich and I watched in awe as he threw whole fresh tomatoes into a pot and let them cook down into a dense and rich tomato sauce. He added strange seasonings – vanilla bean and star anise – and I think this is what really peaked my interest. A vanilla bean in tomato sauce?
Naturally, I had to try it for myself.
So, I googled the recipe and actually found a few video clips of Chef Novelli teaching his class the recipe. If you’d like to watch him explain it – you can do that right HERE. I think the video is rather helpful (and gives you a good idea for the look/feel of the sauce).
Mind you, I think he skips a few steps in his explanation and uses some vague terms like “herbs” (I want to know the exact herbs he’s throwing in there, darn it!!!). And, if you watch the video you can tell that a lot of this was filmed in post-production (the close-ups are in a yellow pot, but he throws the tomatoes into a silver pot) – which bothers me. But, you get the idea. I followed his instructions, and ended up with and extremely fresh and delicious pasta sauce with just the right hints of sweetness. Novelli does say that the sauce only takes 20 minutes to cook down, but I think he’s lying. I cooked mine for 30 minutes and it still wasn’t that sexy dark red color that he shows on TV. But that’s TV for you, right? I pulled my sauce off the heat after 30 minutes because I was starving and I thought it looked like it was ready to eat. And it was great! I assume that if you cook the sauce for longer, you’ll get a darker, thicker, and more reduced tomato sauce. And now for the recipe!
(My interpretation of) Grandma Louise’s Tomato Sauce
6-8 ripe tomatoes
1 vanilla bean
2 stars of anise
1 – 2 bay leaves
“herbs” – could be any mix of thyme, rosemary, and sage. I just used rosemary as it was all that I had on hand.
Sugar, to taste (1 – 2 tsps)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Tbl. Red wine vinegar
2 – 3 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 heaping cup of basil, roughly chopped
Olive Oil
1. Remove tomato stems (and green portion on tomato where stem was attached). Cut tomatoes in half.
2. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a pan (Med-High heat). When the pan is hot, add the tomatoes. Let them simmer for a few minutes, gently stirring or tossing here and there. Add salt, pepper, sugar, star anise and vanilla bean (Note: Chef Novelli splits the bean in half and scrapes the insides and adds them to the pot. It looks like he adds the actual bean to the pot as well. I added the vanilla scrapings and half of the bean, because I didn’t know how vanilla-y I wanted the sauce! This ratio seemed to work well.)
3. Add bay leaves and “herbs”. Continue to simmer, and stir, making sure the tomatoes are breaking down. When they seem really soft, take a spoon (or potato masher) to the tomatoes, to further break them down.
4. Taste after 20 minutes, add seasonings. I find that fresh tomatoes are pretty acidic so I added a good amount of sugar, salt, and pepper. I can’t remember if I added a little bit of Cayenne pepper into the sauce, but I tend to put cayenne pepper in EVERYTHING so I probably did.
5. When the sauce has reduced down to the desired consistency you want, take out the bay leaves, vanilla bean and star anise. Fold in smashed garlic and the basil, and then take off the heat. Drizzle olive oil over the top of the sauce. Serve with pasta, meat, bread, etc! I served mine over fresh spaghetti from Pasta Works (yum!).
christmas!
(Pictured: Nich’s Winter Mandarin Drops)
Merry (belated) Christmas to you all!
I was fortunate enough to receive not one – but TWO – digital cameras for Christmas! One was from Nich, and one was from my parents. Apparently all the loved ones in my life are very supportive of this here little food blog, and they wanted to help make this project a success. I feel so spoiled. Granted, I don’t need two cameras so I will be returning one and using the other. I also received many other things to encourage my love of cooking – spices, a dutch oven, a 30 year old balsamic, truffle oil, etc.
Needless to say, I have taken a lot of pictures this week. And over the course of the next week, I will have some photos and recipes for you all.
As a teaser, I will tell you what our Christmas dinner menu consisted of:
Glazed Ham (glazed with my mom’s mango habanero sauce)
Jean Christophe Novelli’s Scalloped Potatoes
Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Almonds
Maple Cayenne Carrots (My mom’s creation)
And for dessert I made a Lemon Mascarpone Tart with a Gingersnap crust and my mom made Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce.
The dinner was delightful! In fact, the whole Christmas weekend was delightful. We spent quality time with the people that we love, we ate good food, and had a great time. I hope that you all had a great Christmas as well, and I look forward to sharing a few recipes with you.
an introduction.
At last, here we are.
My very own food blog.
I am not starting this blog with any pretenses that anyone will actually read this little blog. To be honest, I am starting this blog for myself (and possibly for my mom, who will be my #1 reader).
I don’t have any delusions of a book deal, a movie (ahem…Julie & Julia), or anything of that nature. I just want a place where I can share about my culinary adventures – the good, the bad, and the ugly.
So, I am writing this because I happen to love cooking. A lot.
I also love my city: Portland, Oregon. And I love all the things it means to be a cook in Portland. The ability to grow food, to support local food (and food-growers), to cook seasonally, and learn what it is to practice slow food. People in Portland are so conscious of how they eat, how they cook, and most importantly – how they live. I am learning to be responsible, to think about the impact my actions have, and how to be a steward of the earth and all the resources God has so graciously given us. I can’t say that I have it figured out yet, but I am committed to trying. And I think that is a good place to start.
And, lastly, my inspiration for writing and cooking (and writing about cooking!) is my amazing husband. He inspires me to create beautiful and delicious things, and at the same time he inspires me to think about the how’s and the why’s of cooking. He challenges me to try new things, to conquer difficult recipes, and to master unfamiliar ingredients. And, he also happens to be a whiz in the kitchen. He is the love of my life, my best friend, my favorite sous chef (or should I say, I am his favorite sous chef?), and he happily devours whatever food put in front of him. What more could I ask for?
It is for these reasons that I am starting this blog: Rosemarried: Seasonal, Local, and In Love.
I do hope that you can learn alongside of me in this culinary journey.
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p.s. In case you are curious about the blog’s name…Rosemary is my absolute favorite herb/seasoning/spice/flavor/scent. I may even have a Rosemary sprig tattooed on my right arm…