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.

Bruschetta

I had a craving for bruschetta, so we grabbed the ingredients to make it today.  Really... basil, garlic and tomatoes are one of my most favourite flavour combos!  They're so perfect together.  I didn't realize we didn't have a recipe for bruschetta posted!  You don't really need a recipe for bruschetta, you can make it any way you please.  But if you need a base recipe, this is a great one.  It's how I make it!

Fast and easy and a great way to use up tomatoes if you're one of those lucky people with a garden!  Or if you've been gifted with a bagful from a friend that's lucky enough to have a garden.

I don't think we've had any Ten Foot Pole with our recipes.  You might have known them in their previous incarnation of Scared Straight.  We're getting our rock on with their "Final Hours".  -jen

BRUSCHETTA
Time:  15 minutes
Difficulty:  Easy
Makes:  about 12

• 1.5 pounds of tomatoes (about 4)
• 1/2 cup finely diced red onion (about 1/4 onion)
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (2 large cloves)
• 1/4 cup julienned basil
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil plus extra
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 10 cranks of fresh ground blacked pepper
• dash of balsamic vinegar
• fresh mozzarella sliced thinly
• 1 baguette loaf

Julienned basil

Cut tomatoes into quarters and using your thumb, scoop out the seeds and juice.  (You can save this for a different recipe later or discard.)  Small dice remaining tomato meat.  In a mixing bowl, combine tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar.  Toss and set aside.

Turn your oven onto broil.  Slice baguette on the bias to make large ovals.  Brush both sides with olive oil and place on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Toast one side under the broiler until golden brown, watching closely (it only takes 1-2 minutes to brown).  Flip and toast the second side until browned and remove.  Top toast with a slice of mozzarella and the tomato salad and serve.

Italian Orzo Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette

We do a lot of salads similar to this, but Justin was specifically craving an orzo salad.  We thought we'd use the cherry and yellow tomatoes out of our garden, as well as the poblanos Justin grew.  (Poblano taste real similar to green bell peppers, and I figured most people are more familiar with bell pepper, so I put that in the recipe.)  What I really love about this salad, though, is the Lemon Basil Vinaigrette!  I so love making my own salad dressings.

I know I just used Op Ivy a few recipes ago, but we were listening to them in the car whilst running errands this morning, and so all day I've been singing "Bombshell".  Actually, I've just been singing the "Oh yeah!" backup vocals part.  I'm really good at that part.  -jen

ITALIAN ORZO SALAD
Time: 40 minutes (mostly just chopping veggies)
Difficulty:  Easy
Makes:  6-7 cups

• 1.5 cups dry orzo pasta
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 cups broccoli florets
• 1 cup cucumber, seeded and diced (about 1 medium)* 
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup bell pepper, diced (about 1 small pepper)
• 1/2 cup green onion, diced (2-3 medium onions)
• 1/2 cup carrot, shredded (about 1 medium carrot)
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, diced
• 1/4 cup green olives, rough chopped
• 6 oz mozzarella cheese, small cubed
• 1/2 cup Lemon Basil Vinaigrette (see recipe below)

*  To seed a cucumber:  Cut off both ends.  Cut cucumber lengthwise.  Run a small spoon down the length of the seeds, scooping them out. 

Bring chicken broth to a boil in a large pot.  Stir in orzo and cook 10 minutes, pasta should be al dente.  Drain in a strainer and transfer to a large bowl.  Set aside to cool slightly.  (Good time to cut veggies and make the Lemon Basil Vinaigrette!)

Add all remaining ingredients to cooled orzo and toss.

LEMON BASIL VINAIGRETTE
Time: less than 5 minutes
Difficulty:  Easy
Makes:  about 1/2 cup

• zest of 1 lemon (about 1/2 tbsp)
• juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/2 cup basil leaves, packed
• 1 small green onion
• 1 large garlic clove (about 1/2 teaspoon)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon anchovy paste (optional)
• 1/8 teaspoon sugar
• 1.5 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• pinch of red pepper flake

Add all ingredients into a blender and blend until combined.

Tomato Gratin

I'd like to take credit for this awesome dish, but I really feel like I need to give credit where it's due - Ina Garten's Scalloped Tomatoes.  I went through and added what I wanted, subtracted what I didn't want and my methods were a little different.  But I still wouldn't feel right if I didn't give Ina credit, as her recipe is great.  Ours is just better.  (Sorry, Ina!  We love you!) Justin was baking us a loaf of boule the other day, but whether it was due to temperatures or humidity, it just didn't rise as much as he'd hoped, so it came out a little dense.  I'd remembered seeing Ina make her Scalloped Tomatoes recipe and thought our dense bread would be perfect for this... and it was! 

I wondered why this dish was called "scalloped"; it was my understanding that meant a dish was made with a cream sauce.  So I did a little researching on the magic interweb and it seems there are a few different definitions of what "scalloped" means in the culinary world.  While I didn't find a solid answer, I did find this article that summed up the variances nicely.  Still, I didn't know if I really wanted to call this recipe Scalloped Tomatoes - I didn't know if it would really explain what the dish was to someone browsing recipe names.  Now, the same website that broke down "scalloped" has this to say about "au gratin":  "Au Gratin means garnished with crumbs (usually bread) and grated cheese, then baked or grilled (aka broiled.)"  I think this definition fits the bill for my recipe more.  Now, because I don't speak french, I don't know if it's grammatically correct to call the dish a "tomato gratin" or "tomatoes au gratin" and I couldn't find an answer on that.

I'm not sure how we've done all these recipes and not used a Black Flag song yet.  What the hell is going on?!  Rectified now... Black Flag (with a long-haired Rollins) doing "Nervous Breakdown".  -jen

TOMATO GRATIN
Prep/Cook Time:  25 minutes
Bake Time:  35 minutes
Difficulty:  Medium
Serves:  6-8

• 2.5 pounds (10-12) fresh Roma tomatoes, diced (1/2") 
• 2 teaspoons salt
• olive oil
• 2.5 cups cubed artisan bread (1/2")
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup rough-chopped green or kalamata olives
• 1/2 cup finely diced onion
• 1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic (5-6 cloves)
• 1/2 cup basil, roughly chopped or julienned, packed
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare a shallow 2-quart baking dish (8"x8") with non-stick cooking spray.

Place diced tomatoes in a strainer over a bowl.  Toss with salt and set aside.

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over a medium heat.  Add the bread cubes and toss in the olive oil to coat.  Let cubes toast into croutons, stirring often, until dark golden-brown and crispy, 5-8 minutes.  Add drained tomatoes, sugar, black pepper, olives, onion and garlic.  Cook an additional 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat and stir in basil.

Transfer mixture into prepared baking dish.  Sprinkle Parmesan over the top, and drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the Parmesan.  Bake, uncovered, for 35 minutes.  Serve hot.

Asian Cabbage Rolls & Cucumber-Tomato Salad

Justin's made an Eastern-European style cabbage rolls a few times and we have a recipe for them here.  But ever since he did, I was thinking of other things we could stuff cabbage rolls with... and I instantly craved an egg roll-type pork filling.  Today I finally remembered to make it, along with a chopped vegetable Asian style salad.

Wow.  I first posted this using a song we already used.  That was smooth.  Let's go with something different.... and angry.  Paint It Black doing "Labor Day".  Because sometimes... it feels like a nine to five death march.  -jen

ASIAN CABBAGE ROLLS
Prep Time:  15-20 minutes
Rest Time:  30 minutes
Cook Time:  35 minutes
Difficulty:  Medium
Makes:  About 12 rolls

• 1 pound ground pork
•  whole Napa cabbage leaves
• 1.5 cup Napa cabbage, chopped fine
• 1 cup mushrooms, chopped fine
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup bean sprouts, chopped
• 1/3 cup green onions, chopped fine (2-3 medium onions)
• 1/3 cup red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1 small jalapeño, finely diced
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 4 teaspoons garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
• 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
• 4 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon Sambal (Asian chili paste)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

On a large cutting board or your counter, use a rolling pin to flatten the whole cabbage leaves, one
leaf at a time.  This will help with the rolling process.  Make sure to break down the ribs.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine all remaining ingredients.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or as long as overnight.  Drain off any excess juice.  Lay two cabbage leaves out, slightly overlapping with the stems nearest you.  Measure 1/4-1/3 cup of the meat mixture and place in the center of the leaves.  Starting with the stems, carefully roll-up over meat, tucking sides in as you go.

Place rolls seam-side down in a 9x13 baking dish.  (Line with foil for easier clean up!)  Cover tightly with foil and bake at 400 degrees F for 30-35 minutes, until pork is cooked thoroughly (160 degrees).

Serve with Asian Dipping Sauce (recipe below).






ASIAN DIPPING SAUCE
(It's like pot sticker sauce!)

• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
• 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons green onion (1 medium onion)
• 1/4-1/2 cup dark soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seed oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Sambal (Asian chili paste)

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.

CUCUMBER-TOMATO SALAD
Time:   15 minutes
Difficulty:  Easty
Makes:  about 4 cups

• 1 to 1.5 cups cherry tomatoes, halved (about 16)
• 1/4 cup green onions, chopped (3 medium onions)
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• juice of 1 lemon (about 2 teaspoons)
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seed oil
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Split cumbers in half length-wise.  Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds and discard.  Dice cucumbers.  Add remaining ingredients and toss.  If you can make this ahead of time, the taste improves after it rests a while. 

Bacon Taco BLT with Herb Aioli & Bloody Marys

So, I was inspired to try this dish after seeing some pictures of people forming bacon into crazy shapes after it had been cooked but before it had crisped up.  I though it would be cool to make them into taco shells and stuff them full of lettuce and tomato to counter all the salty, greasy, bacon goodness, like a BLT minus the bread.  Then Jen decided to mix up and awesome green aioli to put on top and all that was left was something to wash it all down.  The obvious answer, of course, was a bloody mary.  A super baconny BLT should have a super tomatoey drink as a companion.

Note: My first attempt at this bacon taco shell was successful but very time consuming and so I would not repeat it again, ever.  It took almost 40 minutes for the bacon to crisp when I had woven it into a lattice and tried to bake it in a taco shell shape (pictured at right).  Instead I will present a far simpler and less time consuming process (pictured below) that I saw here.


To accompany the dish, there was no group, or song, better than the Supersuckers covering Willie Nelson's "Bloody Mary Morning".  Can't get much better than that! - justin

BACON TACO BLTs w/ HERB AIOLI
Time: 10 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Serves: 2

• 1 lb bacon 
• 6 large lettuce leaves
• 1 medium vine ripened tomato
• 3/4 cup mayo
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp chopped parsley
• 3 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 3 tbsp chopped green onion
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic

Place 4-5 strips of bacon on a paper towel on a microwave safe plate.  Make sure the edges all overlap so that the bacon "fuses" when it's cooking.  Microwave on high for 3-4 minutes, checking on it every minute or so to make sure it isn't burning.  When it's done, pull it out and fold the bacon pancake in half with something inside to make it form into a shell.  Some tinfoil should work.  After a minute or two it should have set up and become crispy.  Slice your tomato and lay some in your shell.  Stuff the rest of the space with 3 of the large leaves of lettuce.  Top with the aioli (recipe below) and you're good to go!  Make as many more as you have guests or as you think yourself capable of consuming.

The aioli can actually be made ahead of time.  It lasts for a long time in the fridge and goes well on everything; sandwiches, salad, wraps, slaw, etc.

Combine the mayo, sour cream , lemon juice, parsley, cilantro, green onions, and garlic and mix thoroughly.  Voilà!

BLOODY MARYS
Time: 5 minutes
Difficulty: easy
Serves: 3-4

• 2 oz Demitri's Bloody Mary seasoning (this stuff is awesome but use what you like or can find)
  
• 1 qt V8 or tomato juice, whichever you prefer
• 4 shots vodka
• 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
• 2 dashes Tabasco or hot sauce
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• olives or celery or some other garnish 

Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a large pitcher and place in the fridge for an hour.  Serve in a large glass over ice.  Garnish with olives, celery or whatever you stick in your Bloody Mary.  I prefer whole green olives!