A Trip to Greece!

In my kitchen anyway! Many of you know that I LOVE to cook! Well I am so used to cooking the regular American, Mexican, Chinese and Italian foods but I really wanted to branch out from there and kind of challenge myself to try some other cultures. The other day I took Bailey to lunch at this place called The Pita Jungle. The food was delish and I was inspired to try and make the stuff myself. I later asked Trav if he would be on board for me to start cooking my way around the world..........in my kitchen of course, and he said he was excited to see what I could do. I figured I would share my experiences and recipes here so you all could join me in my adventure if you would like. At the end of our journey I plan to put together a cookbook full of the recipes we try. Yesterday we started in Greece and I made quite the spread, and was SHOCKED at how good the result was. I started out by marinading some chicken in Soy Vay Island Terryaki sauce that I later cut up and skewered. I also made some skewers with mushrooms, pineapple, and bell pepper. I had Trav grill these up while I was making the other dishes. I made a greek potato garlic dipping sauce that was out of this world, and here is the recipe for that:

Skordalia (Greek Potato and Garlic Dip)

Ingredients:
2 russet potatoes (about 1 pound), scrubbed
Kosher salt, as needed, plus 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon
8 medium cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup whole blanched almonds
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup water
5 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water by 2 inches and season generously with salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until very tender, about 30 minutes. Drain the potatoes and let cool slightly.
Rub the skins off the potatoes and discard them. Coarsely chop the potatoes and puree them through a food mill or ricer into a medium bowl.
Meanwhile, on a cutting board, lightly sprinkle the garlic with a generous pinch of the salt and smash it into a fine paste with the side of a cook?s knife.
In a food processor, combine the garlic, almonds, and oil and puree into a paste. Mix the oil mixture into the potatoes until incorporated; then mix in the 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon salt, water, lemon juice, and vinegar and season with pepper, to taste. Serve.

To keep with my Greek theme I made a dish of Giant Beans Baked in the Oven also know as "Fassolia Gigantes Plaki" to bring this meal together. Here is the recipe:

Giant Beans Baked in the Oven

INGREDIENTS
500 gr. Greek fassolia gigantes, or butter beans
1 kg tomatoes
160 ml olive oil280 gr. onions, finely sliced
1 tablespoon tomato puree
3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and black pepper
3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme

METHOD

Pick the beans clean from stones and grit and soak them in cold water overnight. Drain and rinse them in a colander, put into a large saucepan or a pressure cooker, cover with plenty of cold water and boil them until they are cooked but still a little hard. This type of bean cooks quickly, so be aware until you get used to them. They take hardly 2 minutes in a pressure cooker and about 30-40 minutes otherwise. If they get overcooked, they get mushy and soggy and they do not taste at their best. This first step then is also the most important in this recipe.Drain the beans through a colander and keep aside. In the same saucepan, heat the olive oil and fry the onions, the garlic and the dried herbs, until they start turning pale golden. Add the tomatoes with all the juice from the cans or, if fresh tomatoes are used, add 150 ml water. Then add the tomato puree and sugar, break up the mixture with a fork, season with salt and pepper, cover and cook for 30 minutes or until the sauce thickens.Mix the parsley into the tomato sauce, add the beans and mix well. Spread the beans in an oven dish. Sprinkle a little oregano and black pepper on the top and cook in a pre-heated oven at 350 grades F / 80 grades C, for 30 minutes, without stirring, until they look slightly crisp on top and quite dry.Alternatively, add the beans to the tomato sauce, mix well, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

I served with brown rice, and some Tandoori Garlic Naan bread that I picked up at our local fresh and easy store. Here is a pic of the end result of my hard work in the kitchen!
Here is a pic of what the bean dish looks like up close! Trav absolutely LOVED this meal, and said he expected it to come out amazing because it always does! He is quite the charmer! lol I look forward to sharing more on my trip around the world :)