Big thank you’s to Despina Kreastoulas and Greg Pappas of the Greek America Foundation, who approached me to organize a dinner to coincide with the 3rd Annual Greek Film & Foto Week. Our guests loved the space, we all proudly wore our “I love GR” pins and some proceeds of the dinner will go to the Project Hope Fund.

The ambiance of the evening was rounded-out with the warm candle supplied by Neo-Image Candlelights. Thank you John! The wine was was furnished by Kolonaki Group and pairings selected by Steve Kriaris. The wines were splendid with the dinner, thank you Steve.

This dinner also had a couple of new collaborators: the first one being Kallikori olive oil from Messinia. Effy and Spyro have been friends for a few years and it was wonderful to finally have their product used in one of my dinners.

Keeping with the Messinia theme, many components of the menu were made with Navarino Icons products from Messinia. This company is world-renowned for its Costa Navarino luxury resort and now they’ve branched out to market and promote the local food items of of Messinia. A warm thank you Peter Poulos for his generous support.

Before you scan through the photos, a friendly reminder that the next dinner is set for Saturday, June 15th at the Cherry Street Restaurant. We’re going to be dining outdoors and feasting on whole lamb on the spit! Half the seats are already gone so gather your friends and book your seats soon.

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© 2013, Peter Minakis. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.

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Spring poppies, Amynteon, Florinis

• I’m cooking a Mastiha/Chios themed dinner in New York City on June 1st, grab your seats now
• Toronto International Film Festival to focus on Athens in 2013 City to City program
• Check out Kipos, a traditional Greek taverna in North Carolina
• Here’s a list of 51 recipes and ways you can use Greek yogurt in your cooking
• Spondi resturant of Athens joins the ranks of world’s top restaurants
• You may now pre-order my cookbook, Everything Mediterranean, in stores this November

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Join me on Saturday, June 1st as I cook up a 5 course dinner inspired by the cuisine of Chios and its unique spice, Mastiha. It’s a resin from trees that only grow on the southern part of Chios and during Ottoman times, the punishment for anyone caught stealing it was death. It was quite literally worth its weight in gold!

Guests will be seated in Amali’s skylight room and the evening will begin with passed appetizers and cocktails made with Ya Mastiha liqueur. The dinner will also include Greek wines paired with each course.

The final ingredient to making this dinner a delicious success will be the the full backing of mastihashopNY, who will provide me with all the ingredients from Chios that can be found at their shop. 

Mastiha/Chios Dinner at Amali, June 1st, 8:30PM

Passed Appetizers:

Kolokithokeftedes with Mastiha-scented Tzatziki

Drunken Keftedakia in Chios Ouzo

Braised Octopus canape on fava with mastiha olive oil, pickled fennel

1st course:

Artichoke salad with mastiha-scented roasted cherry tomatoes, capers, sun-dried olives, kritamo

2nd course: Calamari stuffed with orange blossom & with shrimp, mastiha “butter”, tomato

Main: Braised lamb with honey, Chios sun-dried tomato sauce, mastiha, thyme

Dessert: Ekmek Kataifi – a terrine of kataifi pastry and Chios sour cherry spoon sweet.

Mastiha loukoumia

Dinner plus wine pairings $95 per person. Seats may be purchased by emailing the restaurant at events@amalinyc.com

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© 2013, Peter Minakis. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.

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Let’s kick off the summer season with an dinner set in Toronto’s Port Lands with Toronto’s skyline as the backdrop. This evening will be unforgettable as we watch the sun set over Toronto’s skyline, dining outdoors and enjoying a five-course dinner that will capture the essence of Greek evening.SOUVLA! The centerpiece menu item will be whole lamb on the spit, Greek style over charcoal…a rarity in this city unless you’re invited to a Greek friend’s home!

I am delighted to be cooking at the historic Cherry Street Restaurant located in Toronto’s Port Lands, in what used to be a Toronto Dominion bank. Owner/proprietor Louis Anagnostakos has converted this landmark into a warm, casual restaurants with a great view of Toronto’s skyline.

One of the most enjoyed Greek delicacies is whole rotisserie lamb, slow cooked over glowing embers and here’s your chance to have another taste of Greece. This specialty from Roumeli (central Greece) has been embraced throughout Greece and this evening will be your chance to enjoy one of my favourite dishes!

All courses will be paired with Greek wines from Kolonaki Group.

Entire menu cooked using Acropolis Organics extra-virgin olive oil.

Appetizers:

Psomotyri – Grilled Bread with Warm Cheese & Herbs

Jerked Pork Gyro Sliders & Slaw

Fried Zucchini & Eggplant Chips With Smoked Tyrokafteri

First Course – Greek Gazpacho With Feta & Olive Oil Ice Cube, Homemade Bread

Second Course – Grilled Manouri Salad with Crispy Sweetbreads & Kalamata Olive Dressing

Main: Whole Ontario Lamb on the Spit *(Souvla). Tzatziki, Greek Roast Potatoes & Briami

Dessert: Trigona Panoramatos filled with Creme Patisserie with Toasted Almonds

Tickets for full dinner plus wine-pairings for the entire meal is $75.00 (plus handling fee).

Tickets for full dinner (NO WINE) are $60.00 (plus handling fee).

Prices include HST.

Menu is subject to change.

*No menu substitutions

This is a RAIN OR SHINE EVENT| (Guests will be moved indoor in the event of rain)

Payments will be accepted through PayPal but those wishing to use credit cards may still click onto the PayPal page which allows you a credit card payment option.

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© 2013, Peter Minakis. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.

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The wait will be worth it, you get a fabulous dessert recipe called Giannotiko, a specialty of the region of Giannena, Epirus (northwestern Greece). Essentially it’s a rolled Baklava that is filled with nuts and more distinctly, kataifi pastry. Kataifi pastry looks like shredded wheat and it is found frozen (usually beside phyllo pastry) at your grocery store, Greek, Turkish or Middle Easter deli.

Like any syruped Greek desserts, I recommend making your syrup first so as to allow it cool then assemble your Giannotiko and bake. Your dessert’s success hinges on being organized, working swiftly and pouring cooled syrup onto the just out of oven hot pastry.

Giannotiko Style Baklava

(makes approx. 40)

1lb. (454 gr.) package of frozen phyllo

For the syrup

2 cups of water

2 cups of sugar

1/4 cup of honey

4-5 lemon peels

juice of 1/4 lemon

For the filling

1/2 package (1/2 lb) of kataifi pastry

1 cup of walnuts

1 cup of almonds

1/2 tsp. ground clove

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

3 Tbsp. sugar

zest of 1 lemon

1. The night before, place your phyllo and kataifi pastry in the fridge to thaw overnight (remove half the kataifi from package) and place in another plastic bag to thaw.
2. The next day, make your syrup by combining water, sugar, honey and lemon peels and juice in a medium pot and bringing to a boil. Then reduce to medium and simmer for 10 minutes. Take off the heat and allow to cool.
3. Make your filling by first untangling the strands of kataifi and tearing them into pieces then place in a large bowl. Now add your walnuts and almonds into a food processor and pulse until a crumbly, grainy consistency. Empty into the bowl with kataifi along with the clove, cinnamon, sugar and zest. Toss with a spoon to incorporate and reserve.
4. Take your phyllo pastry out of the fridge and allow 15 minutes for it to come up to room temperature. Remove from the package and place the phyllo on your work surface lengthwise then use a pizza cutter to cut through all the sheets of phyllo, essentially cutting your phyllo in two. Place a slightly damp towel on your phyllo. Brush your baking tray with melted butter.
5. Take  sheet of phyllo and brush the entire surface with butter then place 2 teaspoons of filling near the bottom of the sheet, about an inch from the bottom end. Fold the bottom lip of phyllo over the filling then fold the 2 horizontal sides in. Now roll-up your your phyllo (slightly taute) to form a log.  Place the baklava log seam-side down into your buttered baking vessel (about 2-inches deep). Repeat with remaining phyllo.
6. Brush the tops with melted butter and place in your pre-heated oven for 45-50 minutes or until golden. Pour cooled syrup over your Baklava and allow the syrup to be absorbed and to cool before serving. Store in cool place inside an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

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© 2013, Peter Minakis. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.

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