Mahi Mahi with Feta Cream Sauce

Easiest dinner ever.

Feta is one of my favorite cheese, along with goat cheese!   This is a great easy way to fancy up some fish for a quick week night dinner.  We often have frozen fish in the freezer (thanks to Costco), and Mahi Mahi is one of our favorites.  This would also work for halibut, tilapia and even salmon.  It's quite possible that this would be great on chicken breasts too, but I haven't tried that yet.

Ingredients

Makes 2

• 2- 6 oz mahi mahi fillets
• 3 Tbsp mayonnaise (like Best Foods)
• 3 Tbsp of crumbled feta
• 1/4 tsp of dried dill
• 1/4 tsp of garlic powder
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• Fresh black pepper
• 1 tsp minced parsley (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

On a foil lined pan, coat with oil and place fish fillets on top.

Make mixture of the mayo, feta, dill, garlic, lemon juice, pepper and parsley.  Make sure to mix well and get most of the lumps out.

Cover the entire top of the fish with the mixture, put on the top rack of the oven and cook 10-12 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fish. Mine took 14 minutes but they were very thick filets.

Here they are after baking, some of the sauce fell off, but it still plated up nicely.

Here's another recipe that is something a bit similar, Baked Parmesan Salmon. Try that too!

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Greek Green Lentil Salad

I had this salad years ago at a Greek restaurant in Vancouver BC (The Greek by Anatoli) and loved it so much. I am not sure if this is 100% the same, but this is what I dreamed up over the years thinking about it.  It has all my favorite flavors!

I finally made this for a party at my house for my birthday. Lots of friends and family came and brought other Greek goodies to share, so it wasn't too hard to host my own party.

I bought my green French lentils in bulk, they are my favorite! I think other lentils would work too.  I just simmer the lentils in water until they are tender, then drain and add them in.  They do tend to swell quite a bit, so be careful that you don't cook too many.  If you do (like I did), you can freeze them to add to soups, or toss with roasted veggies for a nice side dish.  You could even saute them with some butter and spices and make a nice 'bed' for a piece of grilled fish, chick or pork.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 cup green lentils, cooked and drained (cooled)
• 1 cup of cherry tomatoes
• 1 can of garbanzo beans, drained
• 2 cups of arugula (or spinach)
• 3/4 cup of feta, crumbled
• 2-3 Tbsp parmesan cheese
• Juice of one lemon
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Since I was prepping this ahead of time, I added everything to the bowl except the arugula and put it in the fridge.  When we were ready for dinner, it was easy to add the arugula and give everything a toss. I tasted to make sure the seasoning was right, and served it right away.

Here is it is all tossed and ready to serve. It lasted well on the buffet and there weren't any leftovers.

Since this was a Greek party for my birthday, I wanted to share our outfits and back drop.  In case  you're wondering why I am wearing pink star glasses... well, I have to admit it was actually a Mamma Mia Greek party.  We had a blast and it was a fun way to usher in my 60th year.  Singing and dancing until 3am almost killed me, hahaha, but a great time was had by all.

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Shakshuka- Baked Middle Eastern Spicy Eggs

Recently we flew an early flight on first class with Alaska Air, and one of my breakfast choices was Eggs Shakshuka. I'd had them and made them before, so I was eager to have them. I mean, I am not usually eager for airplane food, but these were terrific!  I had to laugh because my hubby immediately wanted to know what I was having. He chose something else- hahaha!  I did give him a bit of a taste (maybe a wee bit begrudgingly) as they were so good.  A couple weeks later, I had more tomatoes than I knew I could use before they went bad so I made this for brunch one morning!  As we served this for just the two of us, I did freeze the leftover sauce and used it for a fantastic topping for baked white fish.  Hubby keeps asking where did I get this recipe, I just laugh and say its an old basic.  He's hooked.

I used half fresh diced tomatoes and one can of diced tomatoes for my recipe, but super easy to use two cans of diced tomatoes instead. If using fresh tomatoes then it "might" be best to peel them....as the skin can be a bit annoying. I didn't peel mine... too lazy.  HINT: a quick dunk in a boiling pot of water for 1 minutes will make the skin easily peel off if you feel so inclined.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2-3 teaspoon paprika

1-2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 tsp cayenne (optional, and will make it spicy)

2 15oz cans of diced tomatoes w/juice

6-8 large eggs (either 1 or 2 each

salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 cup fresh cilantro (or parsley), chopped

1/2 cup crumbled feta (optional)

Pita bread or toast, for serving

 Heat olive oil in a large oven safe sauté pan on medium heat. Add the chopped bell pepper and onion and cook for 5 minutes or until the onion becomes translucent. 

Add garlic and spices and cook an additional minute.

Pour the can of tomatoes and juice into the pan and bring sauce to a simmer for 10-15 minutes on a medium heat. Season with salt and pepper.

Use your large spoon to make small wells in the sauce and crack the eggs into each well. Cover the pan and cook for 5-8 minutes, or until the eggs are done to your liking.

 

The trick serving this dish with runny yolks but cooked whites is to take it out of the oven BEFORE the egg whites look cooked. I know, crazy, but it works great! Let them sit for a couple minutes and the egg whites will cook all the way through.

Garnish with chopped cilantro and feta.

Any extra sauce makes a great topping for any white fish, like cod or tilapia. 

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Greek Coleslaw with Feta and Pepperoncini

I like just about everything Greek! I know that using Greek "tag" on this coleslaw is a bit of a stretch, but as it involves feta and pepperoncini, so I'm using it.

This salad is simple to pull together and only needs a short time to marinate. I would recommend that you toss it about 10-15 minutes before your serve it, or it could get to be a bit limp and not so yummy and crunchy. I have enjoyed leftovers the next day, but the texture does change. I made it two ways, once without tomatoes and cucumbers, and once without. Use what you have...

It's great side dish for grilled chicken or pork. Maybe serve with some pita bread and some tzatziki.

Serves 4

Ingredients

4-5 cups of Cabbage, chopped (green, purple or combo)

2-3 Green onions, minced

1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved (optional)

1 persian cucumber, diced small (optional)

1/2 cup crumbled Feta

1/2 cup sliced Pepperoncini, drained

2-3 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Tbsp Lemon Juice (or use pepperoncini brine from jar)

Mix everything into a big bowl and stir to combine. If making ahead, then don't add the oil, lemon juice or pepperoncini brine (if using) until ready to serve.

Easy Eggplant Parmigiana

I always think I hate eggplant.
I usually say it tastes like a sponge.
Now, there's a good reason for that, and it's because a lot of people prepare eggplant wrong and frankly, it can have a spongy texture.
Every time I'm hating on eggplant, my Mom points out that I DO like eggplant, because eggplant parmigiana used to be one of my favorite dishes as a kid.

So, what's a girl to do? Make Eggplant Parmigana!  This also endeared me to my husband, as he loves it. I'm glad to say, I was totally wrong, and this is a wonderful dish to make.  I've made it twice in the last couple weeks, it was quite popular and it tasted great reheated for lunches too.

The first time we made it (I had help in the kitchen) we used leftover spaghetti sauce, but canned marinara sauce, or even tomato sauce would work too.  My hubby helper always does the slicing on my mandolin, as it always scares me to death to use. I'm attached to my finger tips, you know?  He tried it 1/4 inch slices the first time, and 3/8 inch thick slices the second time.  I'm leaning towards 3/8 inch for future preparations.

I need to tell you I swapped out the shredded mozzarella for regiano parmesan instead! Also not pictured is Cavenders Greek Seasoning, but any seasoning salt would work.

Makes 4 servings
Ingredients

1 eggplant, sliced cross ways in 3/8 inch slices
1 cup marina sauce
2-3 oz of fresh mozzarella
1/2 cup of shredded Parmigiano reggiano
Olive oil
Salt/Pepper or seasoning salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare a baking sheets with sides, as there is some moisture in the baking process!

Slice the eggplant, and season with salt and pepper, or a seasoning salt. Using a bit of olive oil, fry each side until a bit of color appears.  The eggplant does seem to soak up quite a bit of the oil, so be ready to add more as needed. Add the fried slices to the baking sheet.  Fry more slices until your sheet is full, or you have enough portions for your meal.

Top each fried round of eggplant with a couple tablespoons of sauce, adding mozzarella and parmigiano cheeses.  Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes. If the cheese isn't bubbly and brown yet, cook for another 5-8 minutes.  

*Don't be too worried if there is a lot of moisture on the pan in the beginning.  That will evaporate and dry off.

It makes a bit of a mess on your pan, but it comes clean easily!

Dinner is served... not the prettiest dish, but absolutely delicious.

Baccalà Mantecato- Venetian Appetizer Spread

I'm still dreaming of a trip we took a couple of years ago to Venice.  I was prepared for a stinky, crowded tourist trap city, but was wonderfully surprised and delight with what we saw and experienced there.  I wrote about our food walking tour of Venice here, and this was one of the surprises that we tried at one stop. 

This is a Venetian specialty of whipped salted cod served on slices of bread or polenta.
I'm embarassed to say that I've had this recipe in "draft" mode for over a year, but decided to finally finish it up and post it.  I know that most people won't go to the trouble to find the dried cod (you can order it on Amazon though!) and make this, but it was so delicious and not fishy!

We had a couple's party after the trip and we all brought small plates of tapas to share.  This is what I made. We had a great time and shared our memories of a great trip.

Serves 6 - 8

Prep Time: 3 days

Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

1/2 Pound of Dried Cod
2 Cloves Garlic

1 Bay Leaf

Salt & Pepper

Good Olive Oil

To Serve:

Cracked Black Pepper

Cut the cod into pieces and place them into a pan full of water.

Leave it in water for 2 to 3 days, changing the water twice daily.

After soaking, change the water again and place the cod and water, along with a bay leaf and cook for 30 minutes on low heat, removing any foam that comes to the surface.

After 30 minutes, remove the cod from the pan and place in a container with high sides.

Remove the skin and the bones from the cod and add 2 gloves of garlic.

I used my food processor to mix this, slowly adding the olive oil to get the desired consistency.  It should be soft and fluffy when it's ready. The quantity of the oil will depend on the cod itself.Continue mixing until the cod turns light and has a whipped, mousse-like texture. Taste and add salt if required.

Serve on fresh cut bread slices or grilled slices of polenta.

Sprinkle top with some cracked black pepper.

Below is a picture of a plaque in the fish market, that shows the standard sizes that the fish must be.  I believe our guide told us that the sign was hundreds of years old. 

Just outside the fish market, you can catch a gondola ride across the grand canal. Sigh, what a great trip.

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Greek Lentil Salad

Crunchy, sweet, savory and so healthy! Make up a bunch of this and enjoy it throughout the week.  

We had this salad recently at a great Greek restaurant in Vancouver BC (The Greek by Anatoli) and immediately loved it.  Such a different assortment of flavors and textures, and very satisfying too. I just knew I needed to make it when I got home.

I buy the Trader Joe's French Lentils regularly and love them.  I used one full package in this recipe, which is about 2 cups. I used the last of the fresh corn, but I think frozen corn, or even canned (and drained) corn would work in a pinch.  

In full disclosure, the photo above is from our meal at the restaurant because I forgot to take a picture of mine!  I made this for a family party of about 20 people and it was a big hit, and my sister asked me to blog it. My photo (if I had one...) would look a bit different....I forgot to buy kale.. so used fresh spinach instead (more people like spinach in my opinion).  I also added the feta at the last minute, and I really think most dishes are improved by feta.

Makes enough for 8-10 (keeps well for lunches)
Ingredients

16 oz French green lentils, dried (about 2 cups)
4 cups water or broth
1 tsp salt
1 red bell pepper, diced small
2 ears of fresh corn, parboiled and cut off the cob (or 1 1/2 cups frozen, thawed)
9 oz bag of baby spinach, chopped- About 2 cups chopped (kale is also a good substitute
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup olive oil
Juice of one lemon
1/2 tsp garlic powder, or a couple cloves fresh garlic, minced
Salt and Pepper to taste

Greek Yogurt for topping, sprinkle with a bit of cumin, if desired

In a saucepan over medium high heat, add all the lentils, salt and 4 cups of water.  Bring to a gentle boil and then reduce heat to low simmer until they are cooked, about 30 minutes.  They should be firm, but not hard.  Drain and let cool.

In a large bowl, add the diced bell pepper, the corn and the shredded spinach (or kale).  Add the lentils, the olive oil, lemon and spices.  Stir to combine.  Adjust seasoning with more salt and pepper.  Add feta and combine, sprinkle top with a bit more feta and a dollop of yogurt.
Serve either chilled, or at room temperature.

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Chicken Piccata Soup

Yum!
This soup has some of my favorite flavor combinations- chicken, capers, lemon!
I also have to add this is a very simple and fast soup to make. 
I may have pulled some very lazy manuevers when making this....
But, you know, you need a soup like that, right?

I didn't have already cooked chicken so I threw a raw chicken breast in the chicken broth, cooked it gently for about 20 minutes, let it cool and then shredded it.  You could also used already cooked chicken, like from a rotisserie chicken too.

Ingredients
Serves 4

4 cups of chicken broth
2-3 Tbsp celery, minced
2-3 Tbsp carrots, minced
1/4 cup onions, minced
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2-3 Tbsp capers with brine
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1/2 cup dried spaghetti, broken into 1" pieces
2-3 Tbsp Italian parsley, chopped
Salt & pepper, to taste

Bring the broth to a boil, add the celery, carrots and onions. Cook for about 5-6 minutes on a low boil.  Add the lemon juice, the capers and the broken spaghetti noodles, and continue to boil until the noodles are done.  Add the chicken and parsley, bring back to temperature and serve! Taste for salt and pepper.

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White Bean & Roasted Pepper Dip

I read a darling blog post on Smitten Kitchen on how she and her "hubby to be" met, and it was over a dip!  Call me a hopeless romantic, but I LOVE a story like that. Plus, I will admit, I love roasted peppers, beans and lemons, so hence, that recipe kept running across my mind.  Since I am a somewhat lazy cook, I decided to "wing it" on the recipe for a recent last minute party I had at my house. Below is what I did, but if you want to compare, or read the darling post she wrote, here's the original posting that inspired me.

Great with pita chips, fresh pitas or even tortilla chips.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups
Ingredients

1 can of white beans (like white northern beans), drained
1/2 cup of roasted red peppers, drained
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 lemon juiced, about 2 Tbsp
4 oz cream cheese
Salt & Pepper

Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.  Chill until ready to serve.

Make it as smooth as you can...Chill until ready to use.  It keeps for about a week, but it shouldn't last that long.

Moroccan Salad- Tomato & Cucumber

We have this crazy tradition in our family, grab yourself an unique party theme and slap it onto your relatives.
You?  You are bringing a Moroccan salad!
Okay,
So yeah, sure. I got one.
Not...
So, you Google it.  Hmmmm, this seems like every other Mediterranean salad I ever made. What exactly makes this different?
Frankly, I am not sure, but it IS different.
It may be the size that you cut them into, it may be the combination, the olive oil, the parsley, or the seasoning.
It is incredibly delicious and easy to make.
Don't believe me, just try it. I think you will like it.

Waiting for the next theme, or dreaming up some challenge for my sisters soon.  
What do YOU think?  Czech Republic?  Poland?  Ghana? Uruguay?  

Serves about 4-6
Ingredients

1 lb cherry tomatoes (or grape), cut into small pieces (I did eighths)
1 1/2 English cucumbers, diced small
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
1/4 cup green onions, chives, or onion, minced
1 Lemon, juiced
1 tsp Lemon zest
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Chop everything, add the olive oil and lemon zest and juice. Season well with salt and pepper.  Chill until ready to serve.  Best made 1-2 hours before serving.

Tapas Walking Tour- Barcelona

So many little dishes around the world, yummy small plates to share over drinks with friends. What a terrific way to sample a country's cuisine!

We'd just left Venice and enjoyed cicchetti at a bunch of great places (you can read about that here).  So, as we continued our trip disembarking our cruise ship in Barcelona, we were excited to eat a bunch of tapas too.

We spent the morning strolling the city, the "hangries" started to hit about 11:30am.  It's important to ensure that group stays amiable when traveling with friends.
Lunch was in order, stat!
We had walked the Gothic Quarter for hours, it seemed. Looking at all the shops and restaurants.  We kept talking about one place that seemed to be some sort of chain restaurant tapas place.  It was bright, and open, and just opening for the day when we walked by. It seemed like a cop-out to go to a chain, but as we wandered the area looking for places to eat, this one really seemed like the best selection, the best price and the easiest for our crowd.  We needed to sit and decompress, we'd had a very busy morning walking miles in the city before Noon.  

Here's the place. Why yes, we were the first ones through the door.

Meatballs in a spicy red sauce.  These inspired my recipe here.

I cannot remember this one... some sort of meat croquette with a slice of cheese and a pine nut!

Fresh and beautiful seafood paella

Spanish tortilla (Eggs and potatoes) stacked on bread and speared with a hot pepper.

Just barely showing in the far upper right of the photo below is a wonderful tuna and garbanzo bean salad.  It was divine, and I intend to recreate it at home.  That recipe is here.

Fun shops of Spanish candies and cookies are everywhere.  Here's a selection of Catalonian nougats in some many varieties.

Cookie Store- These were very expensive and beautiful cookies.

The next night, we'd planned ahead and booked an evening tapas walking tour.  It was the six of us, and our guide.  We had a blast, nibbling, sipping and learning about the city and great food and wine.

This stuff was amazing... dry cured tuna! Delicious and different, with a drizzle of olive oil and some marcona almonds. It tasted like fresh and light ham, in a way.

Local cheeses, fig jam and crostini bread slices

Potatoes Brava-  Spicy sauce, creamy aioli on fried potatoes?  
Why, YES, what a delightful idea! 
Every place we went had them, and I think we tried them everywhere we went.
My new favorite thing.

This is a peasant communal wine drinking vessel, it is not any kind of smoking device.  

There are photos of each of us drinking from this high above our head.  Not the prettiest photos, but a lot of fun.
















 This place was our favorite! Interestingly enough, this one is also part of a small chain in Barcelona.  This one is in the Gothic district.

The place was massively busy and the bar was packed with diners, and platters of serve yourself tapas.  You show your skewers to get charged correctly when you are finished dining, kind of like the stack of plates when dining at a conveyor belt sushi place...  It seemed like a nice way to do it.

Look for a place to perch, we'd suggest getting one of the stand up bars near the kitchen door. 

Hahaha, it was a primo spot to get the best selection as the servers came out of the kitchen.  
The service here was really nice too.

People totally didn't mind when you reached between them to grab a tasty morsel from the platter.  A laugh and a smile are always a great way to connect.

 

I think the bartenders have their eyes on the hungry tourists in the corner... I promise we are not misbehaving! Hahaha.

Onto our last stop for some Cava (Spanish sparkling wine) and some of the prettiest and tastiest cakes I have seen in a long time. The shop is renowned for traditional cookies and ultra fancy cakes.  We visited on Halloween, where they were handing one of these to each of the kids.  We had to buy ours...

While it looks like they are charging 49 euros for a kilo of cookies, I am pretty darn sure that it does say 4.9 euros in stead!
 

This was the most beautiful dessert.  
I chose it because two others of my nearest and dearest buddies chose the lemon dessert before I could speak up!
Hahaha, really, I didn't answer as my eyes were stunned by the beauty of this orange and red of this one.

It was....

Here's the six of our dessert choices, lucky they were small, we were so full!

Jorge, our tour guide was so nice and charming.  We had a needed stroll back to our hotel to help all this food and drink hit bottom.  It was a terrific last day to our European adventure, early the next morning we were off to the airport.

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