Chicken Fried Bacon

I am so jealous that I didn't think of this first, and I got to get to Snook, Texas...fast.

Sezzie's Lemonade

We started Sarah's birthday celebrations with these yummy summer drinks. I call it Sezzie's Lemonade in honour of her special day.

Sezzie's Lemonade
1 shot tequila
1 squeeze of fresh lemon
high quality natural lemonade (like Santa Cruz Organic) or sparkling lemon soda like San Pelligrino Limonata
fresh mint for garnish
lemon slice for garnish
sugar
ice
Sugar the rim of a 12oz glass. Over ice combine tequila, squeeze of lemon, and lemonade to fill. Garnish with fresh mint and lemon slice.

It's Your Bithday! Bring on the Kotopita!

Yesterday was Sarah's birthday so we had her and Ang and Leigh over for a big yummy birthday bash. We started with big glasses of Sezzie's Lemonade, (see next post for recipe) and then moved directly to the main course of Kotopita (Greek Chicken Pie) served with Lemon Garlic Potatoes and Greek Salad. I found the Kotopita recipe online at this great site, but I tweaked it a bit to make it more interesting.

Kotopita (Greek Filo Chicken Pie)

INGREDIENTS	PREP	AMOUNT
Water		3 cups
Chicken thighs	boneless,	2 lbs
Butter		1/3 cup
Flour		1/3 cup
Onions	sliced	3
Garlic cloves	chopped	5
Spinach	chopped	1 bunch
Feta cheese	crumbled	1 1/2 cups
Dill, fresh	chopped	1 cup
Parsley	chopped	1 cup
Mint	chopped	2 Tbsp
Nutmeg		1 tsp
Salt & pepper		to taste
Oregano		2 tablespoons
Lemon juice and zest		1
Filo dough		12-14 sheets
Butter or olive oil		1/2 cup

METHOD

Basic Steps: Poach → Sauté → Thicken → Mix → Form bottom → Fill → Form top → Bake

1. Put the water and the chicken in a large saucepan. Add a little salt and pepper and simmer on med heat for about 30 minutes. Remove chicken to a plate and set the chicken and the broth aside to cool. Remove the chicken from the broth and shred.
2. In a large skillet or sauté pan, heat the butter over medium-high heat. Add the flour and stir in well. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook and stir another 5 minutes until the mixture is golden brown.
   
3. Pour the poaching broth all at once into the skillet and whisk together well to avoid lumps. Bring the liquid to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes. It will thicken during this time.
   
4. In another pan add some oil and the onions and garlic and sauté quickly, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Add spinach and saute until wilted.
   
5. Remove from heat and cool.
6. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the feta, dill, mint, parsley, nutmeg, oregano, salt and pepper. Add the chicken and the thickened broth and the onion spinach mixture. Stir together well. Taste and adjust seasonings. Stir in the eggs.
7. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9"x9" baking dish or a deep-dish pie tin. Lay a layer of filo over the dish and brush with oil or butter. Add 5 or six more sheets of filo, each at a different angle to cover the dish well. Brush each with oil before adding the next. Press the filo well into all corners of the dish.
8. Add the chicken-cheese filling to the dish and spread out evenly.
9. Repeat process with the remaining filo to form a top to the dish. Trim the edges of filo that are hanging over the edge to about 1 1/2". Roll them together toward the center to form an edge.
10. Place the dish in the preheated oven and bake anywhere from 45-60 minutes, or until center is bubbly and crust is nicely browned.
11. Remove from the oven, let cool about 15 minutes and serve with a salad.

BBQ Mustard Dill Salmon

This evening our friend Laura came over and wanted to learn how to BBQ salmon. She was excited about a mustard / dill groove so we invented this fabulous wet rub...

Laura rocks the mortar and pestle

BBQ Salmon Dill Mustard Wet Rub
1 teaspoon ground mustard powder or yellow mustard seeds
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon peppercorns
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 handfuls fresh dill
zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 cloves fresh garlic
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 small thumb fresh ginger
1 big tasty salmon fillet, skin on one side

Throw all ingredients into mortar and bash to oblivion with your pestle while singing the Ramone's - Beat On the Brat. Or if you haven't just returned from Cambodia with a huge stone mortar and pestle that cost you $2.75 you could use a blender; although it is not nearly as satisfying in that culinary violence sort of way. Make thin slices into the flesh of the salmon and massage your dill mustard goo all over the flesh side deep into the cuts. Stroke it, love it, caress it!

Oil the grill and preheat your BBQ on high for 5 min and then turn it down to low. Rip a piece of tinfoil twice as big as your fish and fold it over so that you have a 2-ply fish-sized piece of foil. Put your salmon directly on one half of the grill, skin side down. Close lid for 3 minutes. Wait patiently. Then place tinfoil on other side of grill and with 2 flippers carefully transfer fish directly onto the foil. Close lid again and let fish sizzle on the foil for 3-5 minutes until flaky but not dry. Bon Appetit!