Feta Pita Pizza

So simple, yet so good. I am almost ashamed to admit there is barely any cooking involved in this recipe. It came together in about 15 minutes. While I opted to make on an indoor grill, this pizza would be perfect for outdoor grilling.

Inspiration for the pita pizza's came from Big City Cooking. The idea of using flat break pita's is fabulous and you could use a variety of toppings. Enjoy!

Feta Pita Pizza

Inspired from Big City Cooking

Serves 2

2 flat bread style pita's

1 large sweet onion, sliced

1/2 cup crumbled feta

2 tablespoons kalamata olives, pitted and chopped

2 roma tomatoes, sliced

1/2 tablespoon Greek oregano

1 tablespoon olive oil

Heat olive oil in a heavy pot pan. When oil is warm add onions. Cook over medium low heat for 15-20 minutes. Place pita's on warmed grill. Top with feta, onions, tomatoes and olives. Top with oregano. Cook for an additional 5 minutes until feta is slightly melted. Serve warm.

Feta Hash with Poached Eggs

Feta and I were on a break. Easter was rough, because we had a lot of lamb and feta leftover from the holiday. We worked our way through the barrel of feta and made a vow to go our separate ways until tomato season. I am convinced God created tomatoes simply to be served with feta and crusty bread. Anyway, I could not wait until tomato season and we reconnected for this simply delicious dish.

Salty feta, crispy potatoes, fresh onion, a runny poached egg and butter- simple, straight forward, and hands down the best dinner I have had in a long time.

Feta Hash with Poached Eggs
Serves 2

3 medium sized white potatoes, peeled and dice into 1/4 inch pieces
1/2 cup feta, crumbled
2 springs green onion, chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon black pepper
touch of cayenne
2 poached eggs
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt.

In a large pot bring a few quarts of water to a boil. Add salt. Carefully pour in potatoes. Cook for 8-10 minutes until tender and cooked through. Drain and pat dry. Allow to cool to room temperate. Gently combine the potatoes, feta and green onion.

In a skillet or flat top electric grill, melt the butter. When surface is very hot, place potato mixture as an even layer on the skillet. Season with pepper. Cook for 15-20 minutes until potatoes are very crisp.

Serve warm and top with a soft poached egg.

Leek Orzo with Feta

Orzo has the texture of pasta in the shape of rice. It is my go to starch when I need something quick and with numerous combination of flavors, orzo can complement the main dish or be the feature attraction.

The combination of leeks, cooked with a splash of white wine, feta and orzo creates a light and tangy dish. Served on a warm day this had a distinct onion flavor and was filling without being heavy.

Leek Orzo with Feta
Serves 4 as a side dish

1 cup uncooked orzo
1 leek, chopped and cleaned
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup feta

Cook orzo according to package directions, place in a large bowl. Heat pan of over medium heat. Add olive oil heat for an additional minute. Add cleaned chopped leeks and saute for about 5-10 minutes until leeks soften and brown. Add white wine and cook for an 3-5 minutes until wine is absorbed. Season with salt and pepper. Combine the orzo and leeks. Top with crumbled feta. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Open-Faced Roasted Lamb Wrap and Potato Feta Gratin

Regardless of what the Barefoot Contessa thinks-- it is not possible to be a guest when hosting a holiday celebration at your home. This weekend I hosted an Easter party at my home. Greek Orthodox Easter is the culimination of a fasting period where the focus is not only the Resurrection of Jesus Christ but on roasting a lamb on a spit. When people have not consumed meat and other animal products for an extended period of time, breaking the fast is a big deal and places even more pressure on the host as no one wants to go down with the epitaph associated with serving bad lamb at Easter. I thoroughly enjoyed having my family and friends join in the celebration of Jesus Christ, and I am so happy that the lamb once again turned out as the star of the show.

While running around making sure that friends and family enjoyed this wonderful meal, I forgot to take a moment and enjoy the food. But I would be damned if I would not get a good meal out of a 38 lb. roasted baby lamb. All day I had lamb on my mind. More specifically, I was thinking about how to use the leftovers and frankly I was not in a state to do any heavy thinking. So this sandwich was simple and so good! On the right is my husband's creation and on the left is mine. It is simply dressed with tomatoes, onions and tzaziki. I cannot wait to see what comes to mind after some much need sleep.

Nothing goes better with roasted lamb than potatoes. There is nothing particularily inventive about pairing potatoes with feta, expect of course the pretentious name "Potato Feta Gratin". By fanning potatoes on a hot pan and placing in the oven to brown the top, you end up with a tasty and presentable incarination of a classic flavor combination.

Opened-Faced Roasted Lamb Sandwich
Heat enough olive oil to coat a pan and place sliced roasted lamb pieces to heat through. Meanwhile, warm pita bread. I had a naan style on hand, slice fresh tomato, onions or other items such as cucumbers or lettuce. Place lamb slices on pita load up on toppings including lots of tzatziki. Serve and enojy.

Potato Feta Gratin
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Thinly slice 2-3 medium sized yukon gold potatoes. Heat 3 tablesoons of olive oil in a large pan, fan potatoes slices and cook for 5-10 minutes. Top with crumbled feta and a bit of black pepper. Place in the oven and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes until cheese is browned.

Spanakotiropitakia

UPDATED- Cooked product from Orthodox Easter.
Most people associate Spanakopita with Greek restaurants and with good reason- everyone and their yiayia (grandma) have their own approach. However, one thing is universal- it is hard to resist crispy phyllo, feta and spinach.

In reality, pies made with phyllo are primarily made in Northern Greece and let me say they do it well. I don't know if this recipe would necessarily fly in my husband’s area of Greece (Epirus). Although this recipe produces pies that may be more heavy on the cheese than most traditional recipes, these are hands down the best spanakotiropitakia I have ever consumed and is my most requested dish.

I am not a fan of spanakopita, (spinach pie) made in the traditional pie approach with layers of ingredients. It seems by the time you reach the middle of your pie the spinach is soggy, and there never seems to be enough phyllo. Spanako-tiro-pit-akia (loosely translated: spinach, cheese, pie that is small) have a special place in my heart because my mom and I have created an approach to this most beloved recipe.

These make elegant appetizers or a perfect complement to most meals. There are three principles to good spanakotiropitakia:

1.) Patience

2.) Fresh spinach
3.) Did I say patience?

What I like most about this approach is that these pies are freezer friendly. I spent nearly 3 hours from start to finish. All that work reaps excellent benefits!

Spanakotirpoitakia

Yields 80 pieces

2 boxes of thin phyllo(not country style)

2 lbs. bagged fresh curly spinach

1 1/2 lb. mild Greek feta

1 lb. fresh ricotta

1 medium onion grated

2 tablespoons chopped dill

1 tablespoon black pepper

1/2 cup of really good extra virgin olive oil

5 extra large eggs

4 sticks of salted butter

Large pastry brush

Freezer bags

Timeline/Directions
2-3 Days Before:
-Purchase all items.
-Clear your schedule for a day of spanakotiropitakia making.

Day Before:
-If using frozen phyllo- remove from the freezer and place in the refrigerator.
-Remove spinach from the package and discard stems. Place spinach in a large bowl fill with cold water and wash thoroughly. Drain and dry. Cover with tea towel and place in a cool dry area.

Morning of:
-Remove phyllo from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature. Make sure phyllo is fully defrosted at room temperature prior to starting.

Directions:
-Melt 2 sticks of butter in a small sauce pan and keep warm.

-Chop spinach into small pieces and place in a large bowl. Add grated onion, dill

and pepper.

-Add ricotta and crumbled feta (about 1/8 inch pieces).

- In a small bowl beat the eggs.
-To the spinach mixture add the olive oil, cheeses and beaten eggs. (photo) Using a large wooden spoon or clean hands, mix well. Spinach volume will reduce. Mixture should be rather thick and not runny. If it is runny add some bread crumbs. If it appears dry, add an additional egg.

- Open phyllo and smooth out top piece and ensure all pieces are even. Using a sharp knife, cut the sheets in half, length wise. NOTE: Cover with moist towel so

phyllo does not dry out.

-Place phyllo piece on clean surface. Lengthwise generously brush with butter.

-Fold the piece in thirds. Brush again with butter.

-At the end closest to you- add a rounded teaspoon of the spinach mixture.-Fold upward then over then upward again to form a triangle.

-REPEAT

-NOTE: Only open the second the second box of phyllo when ready to use. Melt additional butter as needed. -Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
-Storage: using a sharp knife pierce each triangle and place in freezer bags.

Biftekia

Bifteki(a), greek groud meat patties, were a staple growing up, easy and flavorful this simple dish delivers great results.

3/4 lb. ground sirloin
1/4 lb. ground lamb
1 small grated onion
1-2 cloves of minced garlic
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped mint
1 tablespoon chopped dill
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup red wine
1 large egg
1 tablespoon salt and pepper

Combine onion, garlic, parsley, mint, dill, oil and egg. Add sirloin, lamb, wine, salt and pepper. Mix just until combined. If mixture seems too wet add breadcrumbs. Cover and refriderate for at least an hour or overnight. Heat a cast iron grill. Shape beef mixture into 5-6 inch long or short logs. Place on heated grill and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until cooked through and no longer pink. Serve with french fries and of course feta.

The Tale of Two Dips

Olives with anchovies and tart feta cheese dip are hardly a romantic start to St. Valentines Day but I couldn't resist integrating two of our favorite things in to what has become an annual dinner in. Trying to be conscious of extras in the pantry and fridge I figured we could munch on this while the other courses were prepared and I must say this was one of the highlights of the evening. Served with a nice loaf of bread of pita chips, this is a great start to any dinner. I made a more traditional tapenade for New Years Eve a few years ago and most guests seemd to enjoy. The feta portion of this tale, I make quit often. Enoy!

Whipped Feta Dip

2 Servings

1/2 lb. feta cheese roughly cut in to pieces

2 tablespoons good olive oil

1/4 teaspoon of lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon chopped chives

In a small food processor combine, feta, lemon zest and black, pulse until combine. Add olive oil and pulse 2-3 times. Place mixture in small bowl, mix in the chives and chill for about a half hour.

Black Olive Tapenade

2-3 Servings

1 cup pitted, coarsely chopped kalamata black olives

1 anchovy fillet chopped

1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 clove garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil (optional)

This take the classic French tapenade uses just black olives because that's what I had, the traditional approach calls for a mixture of green and black olives and capers. Frankly add what you like.

In small food processor add olives, anchovy, garlic and pepper, process for a minutes, slowly add lemon juice and add olive oil if mixture is too thick. Chill and enjoy

Chicken Feta Pockets

Weeknight meals are tough for me. I along with most of the free world leave the house in the early morning only to return in the late evening. Most of the time I have no energy for a assembling a big meal. Most of our weeknight meals are simple and fresh as I am not a big fan of processed foods, planning ahead helps keep our daily meals simple and fresh. I know many prescribe to the 30Mminute Meal but that's not really my thing. This dish was borne out of necessity to clean out my fridge. I enjoyed all these ingredients on their own well all except the raw chicken so the combination created a great meal that came together pretty quick. Now this could be served with whole chicken breast either in a pocket or served open-faced. Enjoy!

2 Servings

Ingredients

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, rinsed and lightly seasoned with salt and pepper

2 pita bread

1/4 cup pitted, chopped Kalamata olives or any black olive

1/4 cup feta cut in 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes

1 tablespoon olive oil

Pam spray

1 tsp. sugar

Salt and Pepper

Heat grated cast iron grill or large skillet on medium heat until smoking spray a bit of Pam. Add season chicken and grill for about 8 minutes per side or until internal temp. is 180 degrees. While chicken is cooking heat olive oil in small sautee pan and add cherry tomatoes along with a little salt and pepper and sugar. Cook until tomatoes are golden and break down a bit. Combine feta, olives and tomatoes. Slice chicken and stuff in to cut pita break, top or bottom with feta, olive, tomato mixture.

Eggplant & Zucchini Tart - Adapted from Williams Sonoma

Eggplant can be bitter but I found this recipe easy and brought out the flavors of the eggplant and I used up some Zucchini I had. The Williams Sonoma recipe calls for home made dough and goat cheese. I changed it up a bit.

Ingredients:

- 1 refrigerated pie dough

-4 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
-1 large shallot minced
-1 eggplant, about 1 1/4 lb., cut into 1/2-inch cubes

-3-4 zucchini cut into 1/2-inch cubes
-1 cup seeded and diced plum tomatoes (3 or 4 tomatoes)
-6 oz. feta

-Salt and Pepper

Directions:

-Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 400°F.

-Lay dough out on quiche or pie pan and bake blind for 5 minutes.

-Heat olive oil in skillet, add shallot and cook on low until shallot is translucent.

-Add seasoned Eggplant and Zucchini, cook until light brown.

-Place Eggplant Zucchini mixture in cooked dough.

-Add tomatoes and feta and bake at 400 for about a half hour.

-Cool and serve.