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.

Basil Hollandaise Sauce

Justin and I aren't really breakfast eaters, but sometimes one of us will crave it, and then we'll go out somewhere and over pay for eggs and toast and poor service.  This morning, I really wanted breakfast, and we almost went out for it, but in the end, I was like, "Screw that!  I'll make us some eggs Benedict!"  Topped 'em with Asiago cheese.

I've heard trained chefs scoff at hollandaise made in the blender... but we've done it the traditional way plenty of times, and we both agree that in the blender is just as tasty and super easy.  My Benedicts were definitely not traditional.  I used some pastrami that we had and decided that I wanted to use up the egg whites, so I scrambled them with a few whole eggs and basil (instead of the traditional poached eggs).  So I decided to go with some basil hollandaise too, and it was great!

No idea why I was singing this in the kitchen this morning while making these, but I had a broken record in my head with this lyric, "...it's already better than last time I ruined another girl's life..."  Lagwagon's "Dinner And A Movie".  -jen

BLENDER BASIL HOLLANDAISE SAUCE
Time: 3 minutes
Difficulty:  Easy
Makes: about 3/4 cup

• 1 stick butter (8 tablespoons)
• 4 large egg yolks
• zest of 1 lemon
• juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons
• 1 small garlic clove (about 1/8 teaspoon)
• dash of Sriracha 
• 3-4 large basil leaves 
• salt and pepper to taste

In a microwave safe container that you can pour easily out of (I use my glass measuring cup because it has a pour spout), melt butter for 30 seconds, then 15 additional seconds at a time as needed, until entirely melted.

In a blender combine egg yolks, lemon zest and juice, garlic and Sriracha.  Roughly tear up basil leaves and add them.  Begin blending on lowest speed.  While blending, slowly drizzle in melted butter then blend for 5 seconds more.  Taste and add salt and pepper to taste.  (If you use salted butter, you may not need to add additional salt.)

Tip:  Wondering what to do with those egg whites?  I add 2 whole eggs to them and scramble it up with some more torn up basil, which makes enough for 2-4 folks (depending on how much you can eat at breakfast, I guess!  It makes enough to top 4 English muffin halves.)

Pastrami and basil scrambled eggs with basil hollandaise sauce on English muffins topped with Asiago cheese.

Pork Pot Stickers (Chinese Dumplings) & Dipping Sauce

I've been having a serious craving for good Chinese food and unfortunately, there's no Chinese food
restaurants in our little town that we like.  We had our wedding catered in '08 by a friend who owned the best Chinese restaurant in town, but the building burned down a few years later and she never reopened it.  We've been without good Chinese food in town and the solution to that - make it ourselves.

While these are mildly time consuming, they're actually fairly easy to make.  If two people can get together and make them, it makes it much faster.  One person can be chopping vegetables while the other is adding them to the pork with the wet ingredients.  Then during assembly time, one person can be scooping the mix onto the wraps while the other pinches and seals the dumplings.  Team work!

We always have a ton of vegetables in our house, so we actually had a lot of the ingredients already and it didn't cost us much at all.  If you have to buy all the vegetables and end up with leftovers, just chop it all up for a salad - we eat cabbage and vegetable salads all the time.  Or soup would be another good option for the leftover cabbage, pepper, onion, carrot... man, you could make a killer soup!  

I went old school for tunes with this recipe and pulled out X's "Nausea".  I got to see them a few times in Chicago.  I always think of John Doe (bass player) in the movie "Great Balls of Fire" as Winona Ryder's dad.  I love that movie.  It's so terrible and cheesy and awesome. -jen

PORK POT STICKERS (CHINESE DUMPLINGS)
Prep Time:  about 45 minutes
Rest Time:  30 minutes
Cook Time:  6 minutes
Difficulty:  Medium
Makes:  about 80

• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 cup cabbage (Napa or green), finely chopped
• 1/2 cup carrots, shredded

  

  We've been buying poblano peppers instead of bell peppers because
  they're significantly cheaper and similar in flavour!

  
  

• 1/2 cup green onions, finely diced
• 1/3 cup bell pepper, finely diced
• 1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
• 4 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Sambal (Asian chili paste)
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce 
• 1 teaspoon Chinese mustard (or Dijon mustard)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon corn starch (plus extra for dusting)
• about 80 round pot sticker/wonton wrappers
• oil for frying (vegetable, canola, peanut, etc)
• water for sealing and steaming

Pork and vegetable mix

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients (except the wonton wrappers, oil and water) until well mixed.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (but you can refrigerate longer).

Sprinkle a baking sheet lightly with corn starch and set aside.  Have a small bowl of water for your assembly.  I worked with 9 at a time on a cutting board, keeping the unused ones covered with plastic wrap so they don't dry out.  Place 1 teaspoon of filling into center of wrapper.  Wet edge of wrapper and fold over, crimping/pinching edges together to seal.  Place pot sticker on the corn starched baking sheet.

 (If you don't want to cook all 80 pot stickers, you can freeze them uncooked on the baking sheet for about an hour, then put in a freezer bag and freeze for later.)

In a large skillet (that has a fitted lid), heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil over a medium high heat.  Add pot stickers to pan, one at a time, in a single layer. (In our 11" skillet, we could fit 18-20 at once.) Do not over-crowd.  Fry for 2 minutes until light golden-brown.  Add 1/3 cup of water, cover and steam for 2 minutes.  Remove lid and continue to fry for another 2 minutes.  If you do a second batch, just add more oil to the pan and let it get hot before adding your second batch and repeat.

Serve hot with dipping sauce (see recipe below).

I like to put the veggies in,
then pour the wet ingredients over them

POT STICKER DIPPING SAUCE

• 1 tablespoon green onion, finely diced
• 1 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
• 1 teaspoon Sambal
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce 
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce

In a small bowl, add all ingredients.  You can use immediately, but if you make it before you start assembling your pot stickers and stick it in the fridge to let the flavours marry, it tastes way better!

Spiced Cranberry Sauce

(Not my pic.)

We both grew up with cranberry sauce out of a can... and when we discovered how easy it is to make your own and customize it,  I don't think we could ever go back to the canned version.  Earlier in the year I discovered Pomanders, which are oranges studded with whole cloves and used as a room freshener.  We hung several of them up in our house, in closets, in the hallway, and they really made our house smell amazing... we both fell in love with the smell of oranges and cloves combined. So when I decided to make a cranberry sauce today, I decided to go heavy on the orange and also use cloves.  Sweet, tart, slightly spicy... it pretty much smells like the holidays.

Fresh rinsed ranberries

(Here's a how-to for making your own pomander.)

I've really been trying to cut back the sugar in recipes and I did so in this one as well.  Most cranberry sauce recipes you find will use up to a cup of sugar or honey.  With this one, I figured I've got the orange juice, the cranberry juice, the apple, the Triple Sec... plenty of sweet but a lot of tart.  If you're not big into tart, you might want to use 1 cup of sugar in the recipe.

And in the holiday spirit, I chose Jim Carroll singing "People Who Died".  (I apologize for the video showing Leo and Marky Mark.)  -jen

SPICED CRANBERRY SAUCE 
Difficulty:  Easy
Time:  20 minutes
Makes: 2 and 1/4 cups

Orange & Lemon Zest

• juice and zest of one orange (about 1/3 cup juice)
• juice and zest of one lemon (about 3 tablespoons juice)
• 1/2 cup cranberry juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 12 oz bag of fresh cranberries, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup Triple Sec liqueur 
• 1 apple (your choice), diced
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

In a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat, bring orange juice, lemon juice, cranberry juice and sugar to a boil.  Add rinsed cranberries and bring back to a boil (about 5 minutes).  Lower heat to a simmer and add citrus zests, Triple Sec, diced apple, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.  Simmer for 10-15 minutes (but not more than 15 minutes or it won't set).  Remove from heat and let set.  Serve at room temp or chilled - it's up to you. 

Mushroom & Onion Smothered Chicken

This was the dish we made to go along with our Parmesan & Basil Zucchini.  Normally we just throw the seasoned chicken in the oven, but I felt like something extra to go with it the night I made this.  I was originally just going to saute the mushrooms and onion, but then decided to make 'em saucy.  Pretty quick and easy!  We don't do carbs a whole lot with our dinner, but with this sauce, I wished I'd made some rice or barley or even mashed potatoes to go along with it.

I'm gonna whip out a little old school punk here - Justin will be pleasantly surprised, as this is more to his liking.  I can't even tell you why this song just popped into my head as I was wondering what to post.  All I know is... whenever I think of FEAR, I think of Lee Ving (lead singer) in the movie Clue, as Mr. Boddy.  I love that movie.  Sad side note, Eileen Brennan, who played Mrs. Peacock, just died a few days ago.  So maybe this song is apropos after all.  Here's FEAR, "Living in the City".  -jen

MUSHROOM AND ONION SMOTHERED CHICKEN
Time:  40 minutes
Difficulty:  Easy
Serves:  4-6

• 6 chicken thighs, skin on/bone in
  
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 8oz whole mushrooms, chopped
• 1/2 a medium onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup heavy cream (optional)
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with foil (for easy clean up) and drizzle a little olive oil over the foil or use some non-stick cooking spray on it.

Pat chicken thighs dry with a paper towel.  Pull the skin back and with your choice of seasoning (seasoning salt, Mrs. Dash type seasonings, or just make your own "house" seasoning with salt, pepper and garlic powder), season the meat under the skin.  Lay the skin back over the thigh evenly and season the top of the skin, as well as the bottom of the thigh.  Place on prepared baking sheet and bake at 450 degrees F for 30 minutes, or until juices run clear.  (Adjust time for smaller or larger thighs.)  Let rest 5 minutes before serving.  Note:  Baking at this high of a heat crisps up the chicken skin nicely!

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, combine butter and olive oil over a medium-high heat until hot.  Add chopped mushrooms and onions.  Saute 5-7 minutes or until onions are just turning translucent.  Add garlic, sage and tarragon, cooking an additional 1-2 minutes.  Sprinkle flour over vegetables, stirring to coat, and cook 3 more minutes.  Whisk in chicken broth, Worcestershire and heavy cream (which is optional, it just lends a little more creaminess to it).  Continue whisking over medium-high heat until sauce thickens.  Turn to a low heat and whisk in sherry.  Taste and add salt and pepper to taste.  (If you use a cooking sherry, it's salted and you may not require much more salt in the sauce.)  Remove from heat and serve over baked chicken.

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.