If I don’t say so myself, this was a good use of some chicken, feta, mint and phyllo dough. Now that I am over my apprehension of working with phyllo, it was even relatively easy. My one nitpick though, is that the chicken seemed to get a little dry. The flavor was still excellent, though, so it wasn’t the end of the world by any means. Next time, I believe I will mix a little of the egg/feta mixture into the chicken to keep it a bit more moist.

As the title picture shows, this recipe is from Meze: Small Plates to Savor and Share from the Mediterranean Table by Diane Kochilas. As I am prone to do, I added an extra clove of garlic, some mushrooms and a little fresh oregano. Oh and I also added a little lemon zest.

Chicken Pie with Mint, Feta and Eggs
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 white onions, finely chopped
6-8 button mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups shredded, cooked chicken
1/3 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1 tsp lemon zest (about 1/2 a lemon)
1 tsp chopped fresh oregano leaves
salt & pepper to taste
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 pound phyllo, at room temperature
2 large eggs
3 tbsp milk
1 cup crumbled feta

Heat the butter over medium heat and cook the onions, mushrooms and garlic until lightly golden, about 8 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, onion-garlic mixture, mint, oregano and lemon zest.Season with salt and pepper and add the olive oil.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 10-inch pie pan. I used a plain glass pie pan. Place 1 sheet of the phyllo vertically across the pan. Brush with some olive oil and place another sheet overlapping a bit and brush that sheet with the olive oil too. Keep sheets that you are not using moist, under a damp towel.

Keep going until you go through the sheets, brushing each with a little oil as you work. I used few less than the whole 1/2 a pound — go ahead and use as much as you want but make sure you have the whole pan covered and layered nicely with overhanging phyllo available.

Beat the eggs, milk, salt and pepper until frothy and add the feta. Mix to combine. Add a little of the egg mixture to the chicken — a couple of tablespoons worth. Spread the filling evenly into the phyllo-lined shell. Roll the extra up and around the top of the pie. It won’t cover the whole top, just form a ring around the pie.

Pour the remaining egg mixture over the pie, tilting it so that it evenly covers it all.

Bake for 40-50 minutes until the filling is set and the phyllo is crisp and golden.

Remove from the oven and cool slightly. Cut and serve with a green salad.

Yep, there’s a new blog look today. I wanted a more Summery design and started playing around with new pictures and backgrounds Sunday afternoon. When I did this one, I also created two other themes so there should be another new look fairly soon.

Coming up, food-wise (maybe even all this week): tomato-basil salad, spinach & arugula fritters, green tea salmon and my Weekend Cookbook Challenge #7.

Here is my entry for Sugar High Friday 21: Ice, Ice baby, hosted by The Delicious Life. And if you haven’t seen the original posting you really should. It’s very funny.

My original plan was to make nutella gelatto but I altered that plan when I had some extra blueberries lying about and jwa posed the question, “Do we really need nutella gelatto?” I replied, “Yes, of course we do,” but after a little more thought, decided to go with the healthy option. Although, I think it’s a little suspect when the person who just made a pineapple upside-down cake questions my nutella gelatto plan — but I suppose that’s a moot point now. I just thought I’d point it out.

One thing I do really love about this sorbet, though, is that it is so simple. Fruit + liquid + sugar + a little lime juice. That’s it. And, in using so few ingredients, the blueberries really stand out in this sorbet.

For the liquid, the original recipe called for water. This is where the Je Mange la Ville adage, “Why use water when you can use wine?” kicked in. I was thinking of using a zinfandel but we didn’t have any around. Then I remembered the Bonny Doon Bouteille Call that we had in the house. It was sweet, thick, all raspberry tasting and just waiting to be used for something delicious. I thought it would work great in this and it did. I would also imagine that using raspberries instead of blueberries would work well too with the boo-tay call.

I decreased the sugar in the original recipe from 2/3 cup to 1/3 cup because the wine is on the sweet side. You will need to adjust the sugar based on what liquid you use. Oh and speaking of the original recipe, I found that in The Ultimate Ice Cream Book.

Blueberry Bouteille Call Sorbet
1/3 cup sugar + 2 tbsp
1/3 cup Bouteille Call wine (or a zinfandel — if using a non-dessert wine or water, adjust the sugar accordingly)
1 heaping quart blueberries
juice of 1/2 lime

Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

Place 1/3 of the blueberries in a blender with the wine syrup. Blend, then add the remaining blueberries and blend until smooth. I start with 1/3 of the blueberries just to make it easier to start blending in the beginning.

If desired, strain through a colander to remove some of the skins. Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. It’ll be soft but ready to eat.

Freeze for 2 hours for firmer sorbet.

Thanks again to Sarah at The Delicious Life for hosting this event! Coming up: Monday: Greek Chicken Pie — I promise!

Tagged with: SHF21.

When it’s hot out, a cool dinner is the way to go. I discovered this combination a couple of years ago and it has become a meal we have a few times throughout the summer. Plus, jwa really likes egg salad and it’s occasionally nice to make him happy.

The basil in the egg salad gives it a fresh, interesting taste and works really well with the olives in the bread. This is especially good when tomatoes are in season and plentiful from the garden.

You will need:
4 eggs
a handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/4 - 1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp grated sweet onion
salt & pepper
lettuce of your choice
1 tomato, sliced
a loaf of kalamata olive bread

Hard boiling eggs
I’ve never really had a problem with green yolks or runny egg parts. Generally I bring a lidded pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Then add the eggs. Turn off the heat and put the lid back on. Wait 18 -20 minutes and that’s it. It always works perfect for me.

Run eggs under cold water until they are cool enough to handle. Peel and chop and add to a bowl. Mix in the mayo, onion, basil and mustard. Add salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

Slice four pieces off the bread and start piling it on. I start with the lettuce and then add the tomato, topping that with the egg salad. Since egg salad can be messy, I try not to overload the sandwich with extras. Although, if you like onions a lot, a few rings of red onion can be good here.

Pop the other piece of bread on top and you’re in business. I typically leave egg salad sandwiches whole, instead of slicing into halves, because of the mess that entails. I like to try and keep the egg salad within the confines of the bread for as long as possible. Serve with some potato chips (Kettle Chips Green Onion and Yogurt are awesome) and kick back with your beverage of choice.

Today is a kind of lazy posting day. Today is about the backyard and garden. Last year we got a table and two chairs on clearance at Fred Meyer. We only got two chairs, as that is all they had left. This year we picked up two matching chairs (well, very slightly different but it’s pretty unnoticeable). Thank you, FM and your predictable seasonal stock!

We also got an umbrella which provides shade and nice shots like this.

The sky was so incredibly blue that day. I sat outside and took pictures while jwa did all the yard work. Excellent. But then, he sits on the couch and watches TV with a bag of cheesy poofs while I unpack all the groceries on occasion, so I think it’s fair.

I recently captured a bumble bee in a squash blossom. We call this the mystery squash. It just came up this year ad we have no idea which kind it is. We’re thinking maybe pumpkin but we’ve also grown acorn, spaghetti, butternut and zucchini.

Dahlia in the backyard.

A shot of the garden beds. This year we have tomatoes, a few mystery squash, carrots, radishes and leeks. We also have basil, bay, oregano and thyme growing in the beds.

A couple of months ago we bought a bag of live lady bugs at Fred Meyer and had a Lady Bug Release Party. It was fun — I only got a little freaked out when about 50 of them stormed the bag opening and started crawling up my arm. Then, I handed the bag back to jwa.

We placed them in the front and back yards. I love that I live in a place where I can go to the store and buy eggs, cotton balls, wheat pasta, new jeans and oh, a bag of 1200 live lady bugs!

Here’s a shot of one of the tomato plants. This one’s a Roma. We also have an heirloom variety but I forget which kind and I’m too lazy to run down and check.

Okay, tomorrow is Greek Chicken Pie (finally!) and Friday will be my SHF post.

My love of tacos is fierce. They can be cool (lettuce, tomatoes, cheese) they can be hot (filling of your choice) but they are always perfect. They are also super easy to prepare and really, your filling choices are unlimited. Take these, for example. After rummaging around the freezer I found some frozen, raw shrimp I wanted to use. Excellent — shrimp tacos. I made a quick marinade, heated up some tortillas, shredded some cheese and lettuce and jwa and I had a feast!

Chipotle-Orange Shrimp Tacos
12 (26/30 count) shrimp (fresh is great, frozen will work)
1 tsp chipotle in adobo sauce
juice of 1 orange
1/4 cup cilantro
1 small white onion
1/4 cup canola oil
salt
8 corn tortillas, heated in a dry pan until they begin to blister, then stored in aluminum foil until needed
1 orange or yellow bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
arugula or spinach or some other greens
1/2 - 3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
salsa of your choice
Optional: sour cream or yogurt, 2-3 green onions (diced), extra cilantro, olives — really anything

Defrost the shrimp in cold water if using frozen. devein and clean if needed. Make marinade. To do this, add the chipotle, orange juice, cilantro, 1/2 the onion (diced roughly), a pinch of salt and oil to a food processor or blender. If using a blender, do it in steps. For instance, blend the chipotle and OJ. Then add another item and blend, and so forth.

Pour half the mixture over the shrimp and refrigerate for about 1/2 hour. Meanwhile, start prepping the lettuce, tomatoes and cheese — shredding, dicing and grating, to be specific. Toss the yellow pepper and the other half of the onion (sliced) with the remaining chipolte-orange sauce and add a little salt. Saute over medium heat (a non-stick pan is best — if not, add a little more oil) until soft and a little browned. Set aside.

In the same pan cook the shrimp (salting a little before placing in the pan), a couple of minutes on each side, until they are pink and cooked through. Remove from heat and place in a bowl. Cover with foil until you are ready for them. Go ahead. They’ll wait.

Assembly
Double up two tortillas and add some peppers, then 3 shrimp, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, salsa and whatever other toppings you are using. Mmmm…so, so good. Add some chips and salsa and this is an excellent meal. You should also add a margarita, if desired. We made some mango margaritas and they went very awesomely.

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In other news, is it weird to start planning the Thanksgiving menu now? I think I’ve got everything decided on. I think I am a dork. I’ll try to wait until September to actually post about the menu…