Homemade Gyro with Tzatziki

Gyro Salad

I've lived mostly without gyros for the last 12 years in California.  In Chicago, there's a gyro joint on every corner.  In Humboldt County, there's one place and it's in the next town over.  It's the reason I wanted to figure out how to make falafel, which is one of my most favourite recipes... but these gyros are definitely going to rival the falafel. 

Now gyros are traditionally made with beef and lamb, but we don't eat a ton of beef and I'm not a huge fan of lamb, so my initial gyro recipe I thought I'd try going outside that box and used pork and turkey.  They were freaking amazing!!!  Thinking that beef and lamb must be better, I took my exact recipe and followed it again with the beef and lamb.  It was okay... but I gotta tell ya, I hands-down preferred the pork and turkey mix. 

Don't want the carbs you get with pita bread?  Gyro salads are also soooo delicious!

Listening to some No Motiv - "So What"... song is super catchy and keeps repeating in my head.  -jen

HOMEMADE GYRO WITH TZATZIKI
Time: 10 minutes to prep, 1 hour to rest, 1 hour to bake, couple hours to cool 
Difficulty:  Medium
Makes:  A lot
Equipment:  Food Processor

Gyro Loaf Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
• 1.5 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
• 1 medium onion, chopped large
• 4 medium garlic cloves
• 1 pound ground pork, lean
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 4oz pancetta (cubed if you can find it)*
• olive oil 
• tomatoes, onion, cabbage or lettuce, cucumber, pita bread to make sandwich 

Tzatziki (Cucumber Yogurt Sauce) Ingredients:

• 1/2 a cucumber 
• 1/4 teaspoon + 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• juice of 1/2 lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill (or 1 tsp dried)
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• pinch of cumin (optional)

*I used bacon the second time I tried the recipe, and it made everything taste smoked, not like gyro, so I would not substitute bacon.  You can use sliced pancetta if that's all you can find, it's just going to get ground up anyway.

Slushed garlic and onion

Gyro Loaf:
In a small bowl combine salt, oregano, thyme, rosemary, cumin and black pepper.  Set aside.  In the food processor add the chopped onion and garlic.  Process until slushy.  My food processor wouldn't process the two pounds of meat at once, so I added one of the meats to the onion and garlic, half of the salt and herb mix and processed until a paste.  Remove and set in large mixing bowl.  Then add the second pound of meat, the pancetta and remaining salt and herb mix to the food processor, process until a paste.  Combine both batches in the mixing bowl and with your hands, mix until both meats are thoroughly blended.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.  (Great time to start making the tzatziki and getting your cucumbers draining!)

Preheat oven to 325 Farenheit.  Line a baking sheet with foil and brush with a light coating of olive oil.  Form meat into a loaf shape that's about 2" thick in center of foil - try to keep it uniformly thick so it cooks evenly.  Make sure you've packed it firmly to eliminate holes when slicing.  Bake for about 45-50 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F.  (A meat thermometer is a fantastic cooking tool!)

Remove loaf and let rest at least 20 minutes before slicing.  Cut into thin, almost shaved slices.  (If you can bare the wait, we recommend cooling the loaf completely, then refrigerating for a few hours.  It helps in cutting the slices super thin.)  Brown slices on both sides in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Only takes a minute or two.  Serve on a warmed pita with lettuce or cabbage, cucumber, tomato, onion and tzatziki! 

Tzatziki (Cucumber Yogurt Sauce):
If using an English/seedless cucumber, leave skin on.  If it's a regular, waxed cucumber, peel to remove waxy skin.  Cut in half and reserve one half to slice or dice onto gyro.  Cut the other half lengthwise and using a spoon, scoop out the seeds and discard - you still need to do this if you're using a "seedless" cucumber, that's where a lot of the liquid is.  Grate both deseeded cucumber quarters and set in a strainer over a bowl that will catch the liquid.  Toss grated cucumber with 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to let the liquid drain out.

In a small mixing bowl, combine Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, fresh dill, garlic, olive oil, black pepper, cumin (optional), the drained cucumber (squeeze out remaining juice and discard) and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt.

Not only great on gyros but great in salads or as a dip for fresh or roasted vegetables, great with grilled meats.

Bloody Mary Dill Pickles and Sour Herb Dill Pickles

We've posted a couple of pickle recipes on here already: Refrigerated Dill Pickles and  Refrigerated Rye Pickles.  When we were at the farmer's market, we grabbed a bunch of pickling cucumbers and I decided to take our base recipe and twist it into a Bloody Mary pickle recipe.  Man... these pickles... awesome!  A little spicy, but not super hot.  Lots of flavour.  We had so many cucumbers that Justin decided to do his own twist on our base recipe and his sour pickles came out delicious.  He added nasturtium leaves because he did some research and found that nasturtium leaves can help keep the pickles crispy longer.  We have a big plant right off our front porch. 

So here are two more refrigerated dill pickle recipes that are quick and easy.  I don't know who this band is, but I stumbled on them because I saw their name pop up on some search and I had to check it out.  Like... Tom Waits' rockabilly brother.  The Hillbilly Moon Explosion doing "My Love Forevermore".  -jen

JEN'S BLOODY MARY DILL PICKLES
Time:  less than 10 minutes
Difficulty:  Easy
Makes: 1 quart

• 2 tablespoons minced garlic 
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons dried dill
• 2 teaspoons dried chives
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon pickling spice
• 1/2 teaspoon whole brown mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon whole celery seeds
•  3-6 pickling cucumbers (depending on size) or 1 large English cucumber
• 1/4 teaspoon horseradish
• 3 teaspoons Demitri's Bloody Mary Seasoning (or your favourite)
• 1 shot (3oz) vodka
• 3/4 cup V-8 (or tomato juice)
• 1/2 cup white wine vinegar

In a quart-sized jar,  combine garlic and all of the dry ingredients and shake jar to mix well.  Arrange cucumbers in jar.  (For pickling cucumbers, put in whole, halved or quartered.  For English cucumber, cut into long spears.)  Add horseradish and remaining liquid ingredients.  Fill to the top with water.  Refrigerate for 3-5 days. 

JUSTIN'S SOUR HERB DILL PICKLES
Time:  Less than 10 minutes
Difficulty:  Easy
Makes: 1 quart

Nasturtium

• 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh nasturtium leaves, chopped (optional)
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon dried dill
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• 1/2 teaspoon pickling spice
• 1/2 teaspoon whole yellow mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 bay leaf, whole
• 3-6 pickling cucumbers (depending on size) or 1 large English cucumber 
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup white vinegar

In a quart-sized jar,  combine basil, garlic and all of the dry ingredients and shake jar to mix well.  Arrange cucumbers in jar.  (For pickling cucumbers, put in whole, halved or quartered.  For English cucumber, cut into long spears.)  Add vinegars.  Fill to the top with water.  Refrigerate for 3-5 days.

Gyros with Apple Tzatziki

I had this great plan to make gyros and tzatziki this weekend... and for a minute, it looked like it was a disaster.  But as history has proven, necessity is the mother of invention and what I thought was a problem turned into awesomeness. 

I grew up in the Chicago area where gyro stands are everywhere and I love them.  Where we live now, in Humboldt, there's only one gyro place and it's a 15 minute drive each way.  They don't load them up as much as they do in Chicago and so while they're decent, I always feel a little gypped.  So I decided to make some gyros here at home.  I hastily made the grocery list while I was at work; I couldn't check to see what we had on hand at home.  When I went to make everything today, I realized the cucumbers I'd been counting on to use in the tzatziki had gone bad, so I had no cucs.  We always have at least one onion on hand, but it seems this time was an exception.  And I thought we had some leftover basil, but turns out we didn't.  So a lot of my main ingredients were missing and Justin is gone for the weekend with our only car, so I had no way to get to the store. 

Instead, I decided to try shredded apple in the tzatziki sauce and I was pretty much counting on not liking it as much as the classic cucumber.  I was wrong.  It came out awesome!  Good crunch and just a slight sweetness at the end.  Lacking fresh onion for my gyro loaf, I used some dried shallot, dried chive, and onion powder.  And though I had no basil (fresh or dried), I did have fresh mint and decided to load the loaf up with a ton of herbs and spices!  Sooooo good! I know there's like 25 ingredients in the gyros; we use what we have on hand.  But I recognize most people don't have the spice and herb collection we do, so I made sure to add an alternative.  Don't let it intimidate you!

While I typed this whole post out, I listened to the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" a few times on repeat.  I love this song so much.  So rad.  And the retro 70s detective theme isn't so bad either.  -jen

GYRO LOAF
Prep Time:  1.5 hours
Cook Time:  about 1.5 hours
Difficulty:  Easy
Serves:  4-6

• 3/4 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 pound ground lamb
• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon anchovy paste (optional)
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons fresh chopped mint
• 3 tablespoons dried shallots
• 2 teaspoons dried chives (or half an onion chopped fine in food processor in place of shallots and chives)
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• *1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• *1 teaspoon ground dried lemon grass
• *1 teaspoon dried marjoram
• *1 teaspoon dried oregano
• *1 teaspoon ground dried rosemary
• *1 teaspoon tarragon
• *1 teaspoon ground dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

*If you don't have all of these herbs, you could replace the 7 teaspoons of herbs with 3 tablespoons of Italian seasoning.  Or 7 teaspoons of whatever combination you may have on hand.

In a large food processor, pulse old fashioned oats until they're about half their size.  Add the remaining ingredients into the food processor and process about one minute until meat mixture feels tacky. 

Place meat into a large bowl and cover meat with plastic wrap (not top of bowl, but place the plastic
wrap on the meat itself) and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Pack meat mixture into a  7"x4" loaf pan, pressing it down well to eliminate any air bubbles.  Place a damp kitchen towel in the bottom of a large roasting pan.  Place the loaf pan on top of the damp towel and carefully pour boiling water into the roasting pan until it comes 1/2 way up the sides of the loaf pan. 

Bake until inner temperature reaches 160 degrees F, about an hour and fifteen minutes.  Remove loaf pan from roasting pan and carefully pour off accumulated fat.  Cool slightly before slicing thinly.  Brown slices either in a non-stick skillet on medium-high or place in oven or toaster oven broiler until browned.  Serve on a pita with lettuce or cabbage, onion, tomato and Apple Tzatziki sauce.

APPLE TZATZIKI
Prep Time:  40 minutes minutes
Difficulty:  Easy
Makes:  almost 3 cups

• 1 small red apple, peeled
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice, divided
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• 2 and 3/4 cups plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise 
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped mint
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• 1 teaspoon dried chives
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Shred apple.  Place shredded apple in a fine colander over an empty bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice.  Once coated with lemon juice, toss again with teaspoon of the salt.  Allow to drain for 30-60 minutes.

Place shredded apple in  some cheese cloth or a clean tea towel and squeeze out remaining juice.  In a medium sized mixing bowl combine the shredded apple with the remaining 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and all the remaining ingredients.  Mix well.  Can be served immediately but the flavours merry better if you refrigerate for an hour or more.

Refrigerated Rye Pickles

A while ago, we posted a recipe for Refrigerated Dill Pickles, which came out great.  But a few weeks ago, we saw something on TV where a deli made it's own rye pickles.  They sounded awesome, so I set out to make some and decided to go with caraway seeds (which are often used in rye bread).

I'm a dill pickle junkie and tonight makes 48 hours of pickling for my rye pickles.  I took a bite to give 'em a try and clapped a few times like a dork in my kitchen.  These might be the best pickles I've ever had.  These suckers are potent with just a little spicy kick to 'em.  It took me about 10 minutes to prepare the pickle juice and cut up the cucumber.  Might cost you a little to get the initial ingredients unless you have a massive horde like us.  But once you've got 'em, you can make a lot of jars of pickles for not much money at all.  Beats paying $4 for a jar of Claussen!

This recipe was serious and heavy.  And I truly felt, in my heart of hearts, it needed some serious and heavy music.  So... you know... Me First And The Gimme Gimmes doing the best Ghost Rider In The Sky since John Belushi.  Actually... this is a really great live video.  So check it out.  -jen

REFRIGERATED RYE PICKLES
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Refrigerate Time:  2 days
Makes:  1 quart

• 1 tablespoon kosher salt

  

  Caraway seeds

• 1/2 teaspoon Accent (optional)
• 2 teaspoons whole caraway seeds
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorn
• 1 teaspoon pickling spice 
• 1/2 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon dried shallots
• 4 teaspoons minced garlic
• 3 fresh sprigs of dill
• 1/4 cup malt vinegar
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 cucumber, sliced into spears (seedless is better, but regular works too)

In a 1-quart jar, add salt, Accent, caraway seeds, peppercorn, pickling spice, mustard seed, pepper flakes, dried shallots and garlic.  Twist the dill sprigs into a wreath shape and lay atop the spices.  Add both vinegars.  Pack the jar with the cucumber spears and add water until cucumber is covered.  Place the lid on and shake it all up.  Refrigerate for at least 2 days.  (I like to rotate the jar a few times, flipping it onto it's top for a while.)

Cheddar Dill Scones

So this is an old recipe from several years back that I make every so often and realized that we hadn't yet shared.  I know scones aren't on everybody's list of "Stuff To Eat Whenever Possible" but these scones will be!  I have had some scones in my day that were awfully bland and much more akin to the offspring that would be produced by a hockey puck mating with a biscuit.  This is not okay.  Scones should be light, flaky, buttery, and generally awesome.  So I set out to make a good one and after tweaking a couple recipes to get the desired result, I have come up with this.

I like dill and cheddar but you could substitute any cheese and herb combo that you may desire.  Fennel and Havarti or Gruyere and basil or whatever you like.  Or leave out the cheese and herbs and toss in some fruit like blueberries or raspberries.

Since scones make me think of stuffy old British folk taking tea and how awfully boring that must be, I decided to rock out with someone Brits who may take their scones with some whiskey and a side of mayhem and blasted some Siouxsie & The Banshees.  I definitely like their earlier stuff so I went with a classic of theirs from 1977 "Bad Shape".  - justin

CHEDDAR DILL SCONES
Time: 35 min
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: As large or small as you want to make them but about 15

• 4 cups + 1/4 cup (to flour a rolling surface) of flour
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• 2 tsp salt
• 3/4 lb cold, unsalted butter, diced into cubes (the butter must be refrigerated until final mixing or the scones will be small and dense)
• 4 extra large eggs, beaten lightly
• 1 cup cold heavy cream or half-and-half
• 1/2 lb extra sharp yellow cheddar, grated
• 1 cup fresh dill, minced fine
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water or milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Dice butter into cubes and put back in fridge for later use.  Add the 4 cups flour, the baking powder, and the salt to a large bowl and mix.  Take the butter cubes out of the fridge and add them to the flour mixture all at once and incorporate them with either a stand mixer or hand mixer/egg beaters until the butter is in pea-sized pieces.  Add the grated cheese and chopped dill and incorporate quickly.  Combine the eggs and heavy cream in a small bowl and mix them into the butter and flour mixture until it just holds together.  Do not over mix!  The scones will turn out like a hockey puck mated with a biscuit!  Again: Do not over mix!  Less is better!  If you aren't sure if you are over mixing, you are probably over mixing! 

Pour the dough out onto a surface dusted with the remaining 1/4 cup of flour and roll out into a rectangle 1 inch thick.  Cut into 4 inch squares and then in half diagonally to form triangles.  Mix the 1 egg and water/milk to make an egg wash and brush it on top of the scones.  Bake on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or sprayed with non-stick spray for 20 to 25 minutes or until the outside is a nice crusty brown and the inside is fully cooked.  Guess you'll just have to try one to see if they are!

Refrigerated Dill Pickles

Jen and I love pickles.  Jen a little more than me, I think, but we both like the Claussen brand refrigerated dills.

We set about trying to find a good homemade substitute and came up with one that's pretty close to the same taste and equally as good.  It's simple to make, costs less than store bought and requires no cooking or canning at all.  All the ingredients are cheap and if you don't have them you can find them all at your grocery store for cheap and have enough left over to make tons of pickles.

We've tried this pickling liquid with carrots, onions, English (or hothouse) cucumbers, pickling cucumbers, garlic cloves and a variety of other stuff.  Get crazy and add fresh herbs or different spices or add some sweetener if you prefer sweet pickles (we do not happen to prefer sweet pickles).  You can also use this for any style of cut cucumber you like; spears, chips, whole, sandwich slices, etc.

The brine tends to last for 3-4 weeks in the fridge and can be reused several times if you happen to go through your pickles quickly, like we do.

I was in a rockin' mood when I made these and thought it was a little odd, and a tad remiss, that we hadn't had a Bad Brains song on here yet in the past 2 years so for your listening pleasure, Bad Brains and Hank Rollins covering "Kick Out the Jams", which happens to be on the Pump Up the Volume soundtrack.  An awesome 80's movie, incidentally.  Anyway, here's Bad Brains:

PICKLING LIQUID
Time: 5 minutes
Difficulty: Simple
Serves: 6-8

• 1 tbsp salt
• 1/2 tsp brown mustard seed
• 1 tsp whole black peppercorn
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 tsp dried dill
• 1 tsp pickling spice
• 1/2 cup white wine vinegar.

Add all ingredients to a 1qt mason jar.  Stuff full of cucumbers, or whatever you like, and fill the remaining space with water.  Seal tightly with a lid and shake to dissolve and infusilate all the spices and seasonings.  Place in fridge and let it pickle.  For cut veggies, it only takes a day or two to pickle.  For whole cucumbers and such, 3-4 days are required and the bigger the veggie, the longer the time.

I like to slice some ribbons of onion, some carrot sticks, and toss some whole garlic in with the cucumbers and then you've got all the fixins for a good salad or a relish.

Garlic-Yogurt Chicken Pitas; Tzatziki; & Green Hummus with Pita Chips

We had our good friend Lua over for dinner tonight and wanted to do something that would be simple and fast, but still have a bit of a "wow factor".  Justin and I had been talking about a yogurt marinade recently and having company seemed like a good reason to do it (not that we really needed a reason).  So we went with a Mediterranean themed dinner.  

What I really like about these three dishes is that I used lots of the same ingredients in everything, so everything just stayed on the counter and got used again and again.  That's actually how I came up with the green hummus!  I had the intention of just making my regular recipe... but then I had the 3 green onions leftover, the mint, and some parsley from when we did our Italian Chopped Salad.  I was super stoked about how it came out all herby and delicious.  J and I both decided that every recipe listed below was perfect... lots of times we make a recipe, like it, make it the next time, change it a little, make it again, change it a little.  With these, we decided there wasn't room for improvement.  We liked them all just as they are.  (It was a pretty awesome compliment from Justin.)

The song playing right now in our kitchen, as I was typing this up and deciding what kind of music to post, is Bouncing Souls' "Letters From Iraq".  I think it's technically "Fourth of July Weekend", since the 4th is this Wednesday.  -jen

GARLIC-YOGURT CHICKEN PITAS
Prep time: 10 minutes, Cook time: 15-20 minutes
Difficulty: Way Easy
Serves:  6-8

• 1.5 cups plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 green onion, chopped
• zest of 3/4 large lemon (use remaining zest for tzatziki)
• juice of 1/2 large lemon (use remaining juice for tzatziki)
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon dill
• 2 teaspoons fresh mint, chopped 
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon Accent (optional)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 pounds chicken breast, sliced into strips about the width of 2 fingers
• pitas, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, hummus, tzatziki, feta cheese

In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients (except the chicken - that's hard to whisk).  Combine chicken strips and yogurt marinade in a gallon Ziploc and marinate for at least an hour (longer is optimal!)

The chicken would probably be better grilled, but it's a lousy day so we're baking it.  Preheat oven to 350 F.  Lightly oil a baking sheet, then line up chicken strips on pan and pour remaining marinade over them.  Bake at 350 F for 15-20 minutes (depending on the size of the strips, check with meat thermometer or cook until juices run clear).


Serve on a toasted pita with lettuce, tomato, onion, and cucumber.  We like to spread some hummus on the pita and top the pita with tzatziki.  Sprinkle with some crumbled feta cheese.

QUICK TZATZIKI (CUCUMBER YOGURT SAUCE)
Time:  35 minutes
Difficulty:  Easy
Makes:  2 cups

• 1 cucumber, de-seeded and diced fine
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups plain Greek yogurt
• juice of 1/2 large lemon (use other half in chicken marinade)
• zest of 1/4 large lemon (use remaining 3/4 in chicken marinade)
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 green onion, diced fine
• 1/2 teaspoon dill
• 2 teaspoons fresh mint, chopped fine
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon Accent (optional)
• ground black pepper to taste

Place diced cucumber in a strainer over a bowl.  Toss evenly with 1 teaspoon salt and let drain for 1/2 hour to 1 hour.  Squeeze out excess juice.  Discard juice and combine the cucumber with Greek yogurt.  Add all remaining ingredients and mix.  Serve on pita sandwiches, as a dip with toasted pita, or as a fresh vegetable dip.

GREEN HUMMUS
Time:  5-10 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Makes: 1 cup (maybe 1.5 cups)
Need:  Food processor or blender

• 1 can (14.5oz) garbanzo beans, drained
• 2 heaping tablespoons tahini 
• 3 green onions, rough chopped
• 2 tablespoons parsley, rough chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh mint, rough chopped
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1/8-1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (depending on taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• few grinds of fresh black pepper
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar (or lemon juice)
• 3-4 tablespoons olive oil

Combine all ingredients except the olive oil in the food processor.  While blending, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until desired consistency.  Blend for 2 minutes on high until completely smooth.  Same application as tzatziki - use in pita sandwiches, to dip toasted pita or tortilla chips in, or as a fresh veggie dip.


 PITA CHIPS
Time:  15 minutes

• pitas
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• Zatar seasoning (optional, but awesome)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cut pita into 1/8 sections.  Place in a single layer on baking sheet.  Brush tops with olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper and Zatar.  Bake for 5 minutes.  Turn pieces over and bake another 5 minutes, or until crisp.   Can be eaten with both hummus and tzatziki.

Some Summer Sauciness

Jen and I love to try our own BBQ sauces and whatnot as it gives us a chance to learn how to make something we love and it let's us tailor them to our specific likes.  I've played around with a few different "styles" of BBQ and have always had a fondness for fruit sauces that have heat!  I've done some lime chipotle, a few blackberry ones, a blueberry, as well as various vinegar bases and tomato bases, different types of booze to flavor them, and fresh vs dried/powdered ingredients.  This time, I felt like trying to recreate a Raspberry Chipotle that I had years ago.  It came out sweet and smokey with a long slow burn that isn't too strong at all.  Exactly what I was going for!

In addition to BBQ sauce, I recently tried my hand at a mustard dill sauce.  There's a local company here that sells one that residents rave about and it seemed simple enough to mimic the flavors.  It's sweet, sour, and has a strong herbiness to it that regular mustard doesn't have.  Some folks don't dig curry (and I respect that) so just leave the seasonings out if you prefer something like a dill/honey/mustard sauce.  This would go well on a sandwich, or on a bagel with cream cheese, in a wrap, in potato/egg/pasta salad, or whisk with a little olive oil for a quick salad dressing.

Lately, I've been listening to some hardcore punk, some gutter stuff, and some real garage sounding stuff.  During this cooking session, I happened to be blasting some early AFI (whom I've always had a soft spot for because of my high school days and having grown up around various band members) back before they had developed their popular sound and style and thinking that they were absolutely the first punk performance I'd ever seen.  I remember watching them in '93 at the small amphitheater in Low Gap Park and wondering if they'd ever make it big.  Makes me feel glad to have heard them practicing in garages and playing high school parties and stuff back in my youth before they got so big.  Anyway, so here's one of their songs off their first full album Answer That And Stay Fashionable called "Rizzo In The Box". - justin

Mustard Dill Sauce
Time: 10 minutes
Difficulty: A five year old could do it
Makes: 1 3/4 cups sauce

• 1 cup yellow mustard (I used French's but feel free to use stoneground, dijon or whatever you desire)
• 3/4 cup honey or dark agave necter
• 1/2 tsp dried dill
• 1/4 tsp curry powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/8 tsp lemongrass powder or ground coriander

Here's the tricky part.  Just mix it all together.   Store in the fridge or use right away.

Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Sauce
Time: 45min
Difficulty: Medium
Makes: Roughly a quart

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium shallot (1/2 cup)
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• 6 oz fresh raspberries
• 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp molasses
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp amaretto (or other booze if you like)
• 2 tbsp yellow mustard
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 3 tbsp Chipotles in Adobo, pureed 
• 10 oz Raspberry preserves
• salt and pepper to taste

In a large sauce pan heat oil over medium heat and add shallot, garlic and raspberry when hot.  Sweat until shallot is translucent and raspberries break down, about 5 to 7 minutes.  Add sugar, vinegar, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, amaretto, mustard, chili powder, black pepper, allspice, tomato paste, and chipotles.  Simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally.  Add the raspberry preserves and simmer an additional 10-15 minutes, or until desired thickness is reached.  Puree for a smooth consistency.  Strain through a colander with small mesh if you don't like the seeds.  Refrigerate.

 

Accordion Potatoes

We started out the new year with a great brunch with new friends (new for me, anyway).  I'd been wanting to try my hand at some sliced baked potatoes because I had a ton of different ideas for them.  Our friend Mike had made some a while back, showing us pictures - they looked great!  Then we saw some made on television and decided we had to make them.  Today presented a perfect opportunity, as we were hosting brunch and needed something to go with the Greek frittata that Justin was making. 

I'm not a huge fan of potatoes - baked, mashed, scalloped.  It's not that I dislike them, they just don't do a whole lot for me.  Until... today.  These potatoes were so freaking bomb ass, I ate two servings at brunch, and went back for a half of a potato for a snack.  I want to make more right now... we just don't have any potatoes left.

C'mon.  Irish.  Accordion.  Potatoes.  This was a total no brainer for music.  Flogging Molly's "Drunken Lullabies".  I love these guys.  -jen

ACCORDION POTATOES

• 3 large baking potatoes
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons seasoning salt
• 2 teaspoons dried dill
• 1-2 lemons, sliced super thin
• 1-2 shallots, sliced super thin

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Scrub outside of potatoes clean.  Lay potato on cutting board and slice into 1/8-1/4" slices, not slicing through the bottom of the potato.  You can use two wooden spoons on either side of the potato as a bumper to stop you from cutting through it like in this photo.

Drizzle all but a teaspoon or two of the melted butter over entire top of potato, using your fingers to separate the pieces and get butter down into the crevices.  Sprinkle seasoning salt and dill over potatoes, separating pieces again to make sure seasoning gets into all the slots.

Squeeze sliced lemon and shallots, alternating, in between the potato slices.  Brush the tops of the potatoes with the remaining butter.  Place on a baking sheet and bake for 60-80 minutes, until potato is tender.  (Timing depends on how large your potatoes are.  Test a middle piece with a fork - if it slides in easily, it's done.)


Remove and serve.  Don't forget to pull out the lemon wedges if you're not into eating lemon rind.

You could really season the potatoes with anything you wanted.  I actually used Penzey's Forward spice mix, some salt, and the dill.  Next time I'd like to use one of our chile-based spice rubs we make, and sprinkle some shredded cheese on during the last 10-15 minutes.

Crab Stuffed Fillet of Sole in Lemon Dill Sauce

So, growing up here in California in general, and more specifically the North Coast, I've always been exposed to awesome seafood.  From fresh snapper, to abalone, to salmon, my family and I have always enjoyed the fruits of the Pacific.  I caught my first catfish at 8 and my middle brother caught his first mackerel in the open Pacific at 9.  I've fished bluegill, rainbow and brown trout, steelhead, small mouth bass, lingcod, and a myriad of other fish since my childhood.  While I rarely fish anymore, I love to cook seafood here at home for Jen and myself.  Living in Eureka, one of the old fishing capitols of California, affords us the opportunity to get fresh seafood at an affordable price almost anytime of year, from a variety of outlets and vendors.

When Jen moved out to Cali, she'd only been exposed to seafood in the Midwest and was not much of a fan at all.  I don't blame her.  After living here a couple of years, she started falling in love with sushi, fresh pan-fried catfish, all kinds of shellfish, and basically any kind of crustacean (i.e. crabs, lobster, shrimp, etc.), many of which she had liked before but rarely had fresh.  Since then we've made it a regular part of our menu.  Recently, we'd wanted to do some seafood and she suggested stuffing some whitefish with some crab.  Since I'm no moron, I said, "Of course!"  I decided to do something simple and easy, some canned crab, as opposed to fresh, as it involves much less prep and it tastes awesome regardless.

As I made the dish, I was listening to an all time classic of one of my favorite bands, Primus, "Fish On".  Though this song is not punk rock, per say, it is none the less a part of my musical repertoire from earlier days and I happen to love Les Claypool's bass action, especially in their earlier years.  Since he happens to reference San Pablo Bay, which is located in the north eastern part of the Greater San Francisco Bay, it seemed perfectly appropriate for me to use as I grew up in what San Franciscan's refer to as the North Bay, but the rest of us call Ukiah.

This is a simple dish that can be a perfect meal to serve to company as it seems far more complicated than it is.  We served it up with some steamed broccoli and used wild Dover sole for the whitefish, but you could substitute your your favorite mild, whitefish or garden veggies very easily.  The sauce is simple to put together and takes no time at all so it really is a snap to prepare as long as you have the ingredients all chopped and measured out ahead of time. -justin

WILD DOVER SOLE STUFFED WITH CRAB

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons minced yellow onion
• 2 tablespoons minced mushroom
• 2 tablespoons minced green onion 
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 cup crab meat (I used canned, lump crab but you could use whatever you prefer)
• 2 tablespoons grated Gruyere cheese
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper
• 6 fillets of wild Dover sole (or whatever whitefish you prefer)

Preheat oven to 400F degrees.  Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a 3-quart sauce pan and heat to medium-high.  Add the yellow onion and cook until golden brown.  Add mushrooms, green onion and garlic and cook for 2 minutes.  Pull vegetables from heat and transfer to a large mixing bowl.  Add the crab, Gruyere, lemon juice, white pepper, and Mexican oregano and mix thoroughly.  Add salt to taste.  Lay out fillets and salt and pepper both sides.  Divide filling evenly among the fillets and roll them closed over the filling, using toothpicks to secure the ends of the fish fillets.  Place evenly spaced on a lightly oiled sheet pan, brush tops lightly with 1 tablespoon olive oil, and place in the oven.  Cook for 25-30 minutes or until tops are starting to brown.  Serve with the following sauce which can easily be prepared while the fish is baking:

LEMON DILL SAUCE

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup diced shallots (or onions)
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 cup white wine
• juice of one lemon
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped dill
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• salt to taste
• 5 tablespoons sweet cream butter

Add the olive oil to a small sauce pan heated over medium-high heat.  Add shallots and cook until golden brown.  Add garlic and cook 2 minutes.  Add wine and cook 5 minutes.  Add lemon juice and zest, dill and Dijon and stir until combined.  Add heavy cream and black pepper, taste and add salt ass needed.  When properly seasoned, add butter 1 tablespoon at a time, making sure each is melted and incorporated before adding the next.

We served this with steamed broccoli, as I mentioned before, as the sauce goes with it beautifully.  One could also use cauliflower, asparagus, or artichokes, etc.