A night and a day late

Ok, I know I promised that I would have written about the aioli and tapenade on Sunday night, but with all that was going on and the holiday yesterday, I got a bit tied up..... Sorry guys!!!

So I made the ailoi and tapenade and what can I say? They were absolutely amazing!!! The tapenade called for black olives, capers, anchovies, lemon zest and olive oil. Let me start off by saying that when it comes to anchovies, I stay far away as possible from them. I don't know why, but I guess the saltiness of them and their smell kind of irks me. This coming from a guy who loves to eat fish.... the combination of all 4 igredients complimented each other very well. No one ingredient over powered the other; ok, maybe the lemon zest a bit (note to self, use a smaller lemon) but over all it was very good. I should have thought ahead and thrown some bread under the broiler for a bit but with all that was going on around me, who had time?

I think, if anything, my only mistake was that after I chopped everything up, I put it all in the food processor, which made it all a bit more of a thick pureed dip. Next time, I'll forgo the processor and just mix them up by hand. You learn from your mistakes!

As for the aioli????? I think I found something new to love!!!!! I'm a garlic lover to begin with.... shit, we have 2 garlic type dips in Greek cusine (tzatziki and skordalia). Both of which can be used as either a dip or as a side. Especially skordalia, when you have it with fried cod fish or with beets... but the aioli was just something different. Aioli, which is in the mayonaise family but I must stress, IS NOT MAYO, had a very vevelty smooth consistency. Simple ingredient like 2 egg yolks, dijon mustard, white wine vinegar and garlic formed it's base. Those 4 ingredients in themselves were great, but when I added watercress and 3 different herbs, something happened..... for lack of a better description, it was an explosion in my mouth. You could definitely pick out the ingredients, maybe even some of the herbs but what was even better about the aioli, was having served chilled. Traditional aioli is served at room temperature, but we're not in Provence.

Here's a little bit of advice..... when making burgers, and I mean FRESH, HANDMADE burgers, out of YOUR kitchen, avoid using the traditional condiments. Instead, use the aioli and see what happens. After I made the aioli, I made burgers.... not just any burgers but blue cheese and cajun spice burgers and cooked them up on the charcoal grill (I really hate gas grills... charcoal gives your food a better taste IMHO). Instead of using the regular stuff (ketchup, mustard, mayo) I used the aioli, and added instead of lettuce, watercress and tomato and an onion. (I guess I could thank Emeril for that one.)

I could go on and on and try to use words to describe the texture and flavors, but the bottom line is that words would not do any justice. I've always had a problem when people would try to explain what something tastes like... yeah ok, that's your opinion. If you really want to know what and how something tastes, you need to taste it for yourself. If anyone is interested in the recipes I have for both the aioli and the tapenade, let me know. I would more than happy to share them with you.

I guess that's all for now..... I have too much on my mind today so no cooking from me tonight, even if it is just appetizers. Tomorrow is a different story.... the menu for tomorrow is eggplant dip (no, not baba ganoush or melitzanosalata for those of you who know what I'm talking about).

Have a good night guys..... whoever and wherever you may be.......

Who has time to be bored?

After posting my first entry yesterday, I got to thinking. "What are people who read this going to say? Will anyone even read it?  I just made reference to Julie and Julia.. I'm going to get remarks the likes of 'idiot, you're copying a movie in real life'. " Well, yes and no..... I am doing the same exact thing as Julie Powell did, but for different reasons.

You see, growing up in my small town, people would always ask me, "Dino, what do you want to be when you grow up?" and I would proudly answer "a cook, like my dad!" Well yeah, there was a point in time where I wanted to be a priest, pilot, lawyer, politician but working in the kitchen was were I felt I did my best work. I felt as if I was creating something. OK, serving up eggs and home fries, burgers and fries, meat loaf, open faced hot sandwiches isn't exactly like painting the Mona Lisa, but it can be. Why shouldn't it be? Anything that comes out of a kitchen can be a work of art, no matter what that item is!!!

So why am I doing this? It's not like I have nothing better to do or because I'm bored. TRUST ME, there's never a dull moment in my life. I work in the social services field, so I'm either putting out fires between us and guardians or I'm constantly answering the countless phone calls I recieve from my staff and/or doctor's offices during and AFTER work. At home you ask? Well then it's spent chasing after my 2 1/2 year old son, a very curious little boy who insists on getting into everything and I mean EVERYTHING!!!!!! In fact, as I was just writing this entry, he decided he was going to climb the bookcase in my office. God I love that little boy, but he is DEFINITELY going to cause me to go either grey or bald before my time.... OK, back on topic.... I guess I'm doing this to fullfill a childhood dream of mine, or maybe I'm doing this because deep down, I still harbor a desire to work in a kitchen and create new things. I may not be a classically trained chef, with a diploma from LCB or CIA or any other culinary institution. In no way am I a Robuchon, one would only pray to attain his level of genius, but the bottom line here is that I love to cook. I love to cook and I want to share those experiences and my passion for cooking. But not just that, I want to hear from you, the reader and share your suggestions, remarks, advice and criticism.

So, I was looking through the cookbook and figured I would start, well, at the beginning. So I'll be starting off with the appetizers and work all the way up to the desserts. First up on the menu is a recipe from Provence; tapenade with an herb aioli and summer vegetables. Part of the recipe calls for 12 quail eggs... where the hell am I going to find quail eggs????? Anyhow, I'll let you all know how it turns out later tonight.

In the beginning......

So before I begin, I'd like to set the record straight, this is not some steamy, romantic, erotic adventure through the Mediterranean I may or may not have had; but then again, maybe it could be.. just not the type you may be thinking of.  No my friends, my Mediterranean love affair began at birth, from the minute I was pulled out of the womb and my mother cradeled in me in her arms.

Growing up in a Greek household, I experienced tastes, smells and sites that my American school friends never heard of, let alone ate. At a young age I remember watching my mother in the kitchen, cooking up traditional Greek meals for the family, simple meals like okra with tomatoes and onions in the oven, or string beans and potatoes on the stove top, or even a traditional pastichio (what I refer to as Greek lasagna). Till this day, as we all probably do, I compare other people's cooking abilities to my mothers... yup, as you imagined... no one can come close to her! OK, maybe the woman who taught her, my grandmother, but no one else. My fondest memory was watching my father take a whiting, wrap it in a newspaper and set it on fire to give the fish a smoked flavor. After which, he pulled the whiting apart, drizzled it with extra virgin olive oil (yes, we were eating EVOO before it became a mainstream item in the supermarkets) and lemon juice. It was amazing! What 6,7,8 year old child can say that they have eaten sweetbreads or other innards of a lamb and loved it?!?

It was my Greek heritage that opened the door for me to where later on in life, I could begin to branch out beyond that of our cusine. Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Lebanese;  you name it, I've tried it, the list goes on and on. And while all cusines are beautiful and tasteful, in their own right, for me, none can hold up to that of the Mediterranean. In an episode of No Reservations, Anthony Bourdain refered to the food he sampled in Crete as being "the story of invasion, occupation and deprivation that resulted in some really good stuff". You hit the nail on the head Mr. Bourdain but let's go beyond that and say it holds true for ALL of the Meditterranean. It is a cusine that ranges in difficulty and complexity yet at times simple, explosive and mouthwatering. This my friends, is My Meditterranean Love Affair!!!!

Now you may be asking yourself, what the hell is this guy rambling on about? What is his point? Well, I'm getting to that as we speak.....

My second love affair is that of cooking. I grew up in the kitchen... both at home and in the family restaurant (yeah I know, Greek/diner jokes about to be hurled my way). In the kitchen is where I feel my best, my safest, my best moments of feeling at peace and one with the universe. "ok, but where are you going with this Dino?", you may be asking yourself.... it get's better guys, be patient..... I also have this extraordinary cookbook in my library with over 300 recipes from the Meditteranean.... (I think I just sensed dozens of eyeballs rolling).... and yes, after seeing "Julie & Julia" over a dozen times..... (you guys still reading or have you moved on to the next blog?) ..... so, as I was saying, after seeing "Julie & Julia" over a dozen times, I decided that I'll follow suit and like Julie Powell, who cooked her way through Julia Child's cookbook, I am going to cook my way through the Mediterranean.

So let the adventure begin.....