Creamy Garlic Prawns

Ingredients

750 gms prawn raw

1 garlic clove large

1 cup chicken stock (liquid)

2 tbs white wine

115 gms butter

1 tbs plain flour

1/2 cups cream

1/2 tsp mustard powder

1 tbs parsley fresh chopped

Method

 1 Heat butter and crushed garlic in a saucepan.

2 Add the flour and stir until combined. Remove from heat.

3 Gradually add chicken stock, cream and wine and stir until combined.

4 Return pan to the heat and stir until the sauce thickens and boils.

5 Add mustard and season with salt and pepper.

6 Bring the sauce to the boil and add the prawns.

7 Cook for 5 minutes or until the prawns are cooked.

8 Add the parsley and stir until combined.Serve on a bed of jasmine Rice

Cheese and pepperoni Bernini

1 Classic Pizza Crust 

2 eggs

1 tablespoon parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon parsley

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 pound pepperoni

1/2 pound (2 cups) mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Open up your crust and roll out flat. It will be a rectangle shape. Separate your egg yolks from the egg whites. Place the egg yolks in a bowl and mix your parmesan cheese, oregano, parsley, garlic powder, pepper and vegetable oil. Spread your mixture evenly onto your crust. (I used a spatula to spread) Layer on all of your pepperoni. Top with all of the cheese. Starting on one end, roll up like a jelly roll. Pinch the ends of your dough together to seal it all together. Brush the outside of the dough with your egg whites (I used a pastry brush to do this) Spray some non-stick cooking spray onto a baking sheet and place your stromboli on top. Bake in 350° oven for about 20-25 minutes. Remove and enjoy!.

Fay's Soutzoukakia in tomato sauce

I

Soutzoukakia is a special Greek dish with minced meat and red sauce accompanied with French fries or rice.

INGREDIENTS:

Half a kilo of minced lamb meat

4 slices of bread

1 cup of olive oil

5 squashed tomatoes or a spoonful of tomato paste and a box of tomato juice

1 spoonful of cumin

4-5 smashed garlic cloves

Salt

Pepper

A cup of water

Preparation:

We put the bread in a bowl of water and when it's all wet we remove the water and the bread's crust and we add the minced meat, the cumin, the garlic, the salt and pepper and we mix well with our hands until we have a unified mixture. We take small quantities of the mixture and create long, narrow pieces that look like small sausages.

There are two ways of pre-baking soutzoukakia. The traditional way is to fry them in a pan of hot olive oil. The second way is to grill them lightly in the oven.

 In a large saucepan add the oil on med heat soften onion and garlic add the tomatoes and a glass of water, salt, pepper and some cumin seed and a pinch of sugar.

After the sauce is boiled and has thickened add the soutzoukakia in the mixture and after 15 minutes (in medium temperature) the food is ready to be enjoyed. You can add green olives inside the sauce to add a special flavour.

You can either serve with rice or mashed potatoes or your favourite pasta. Enjoy!

Fay's Quince jam

500 grams. Peeled and sliced Quince

1 cup water

500g Sugar

1 cup. Marzipan

1 sprig of ginger

juice of 1/2 lemon

Execution

Peel the quinces. Remove the heart and the seeds and cut into sticks.

 Put the sliced quinces in a saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes.

Added and sugar and simmer until it thickens sweet.

4. Then add to pot lemon juice, Marzipan and ginger. Leave them all together to a boil until sirup becomes thicker then remove from heat let it cool and put in sterile jars! Keep in fridge!  Enjoy!

Fay's Green beans in tomato sauce with potatoes

Ingredients 

1 pound fresh green beans or frozen 

1 cup of oil 

2 chopped onions 

4 cloves of chopped garlic 

3-4 potatoes

1 tin  tomatoes or 500 g ready tomato juice 

salt and pepper 

1/2 tsp. Fresh cinnamon 

1 bunch parsley, finely chopped 

2tbls powdered vegetable  stock

Method

Clean the beans from their nerves and rinse. Boil for 10-15 minutes (pour in boiling water), pour the water and drain. 

Heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté the chopped onion and garlic green beans, potatoes,tomatoes, cinnamon and a little water and stick (about a cup). Season to taste and stir. Allow the sauce to cook over low heat until sauce thickens for 20 minutes. 

At the end of cooking, stir in the parsley. Serve with a piece  of Feta cheese! Enjoy!

Fay's Biftekia gemista me tiri (Burgers stuffed with Cheese)

200g. kefalograviera Greek cheese cut into sticks 

1 pound ground beef and pork mixed 

2 onions, chopped 

2Tbls of Mustard

2tbls apple cider vinegar 

Dried Oregano

1 grated fresh large tomato 

2 eggs 

4 slices stale bread, soaked in water and wrung well 

chopped parsley 

1/2 cup of olive oil 

salt and pepper 

5 large potatoes cut in 1/4

Olive oil

 Juice of 1Lemon

Method

In a bowl Mix the minced meat with bread, two thirds of the oil and onions until combine. Add the eggs, parsley, salt and pepper oregano Leave the mixture in the refrigerator 1-2 hours. Shape into patties and fill them with sticks of kefalograviera or reggato. 

In a baking tray put potatoes salt pepper oregano oil and lemon juice mix all Ingredients are combined! Bake in oven at least 45min until potatoes are nearly done. 

Brush with the remaining oil a grilling tray and place over dish with partly cooked potatoes place the burgers on top and bake at 200 ° C for 35 ' or  Place the burgers on the potato slices and cheese, butter, salt and pepper and bake at 200 ° C for about 5 minutes, until the cheese melts. Serve immediately.

Fay's home made easy Trifle

Ingredients 

You can adjust quantity to you requirements

Half of Fresh pineapple or tin will do cut in cubes 

1/2 cup of Strawberries and assorted berries

2 Bananas sliced 

1 cubed Mango

2 pkts of quick setting orange jelly 

1 pkt ladies fingers biscuits or sponge cake

1/2 cup of liqueur of your choice

2 375ml fresh cream

350g carton of custard  

2 tbls of sugar

Vanilla sugar

Method 

Note:Trifle needs to be prepared a day before and finished the next day and kept in fridge until ready to serve!

Day before.  Clean cut and slice all fruit except banana sprinkle with the vanilla sugar and put in a sift with a dip plate in the fridge to make sure all fruit juice is drained. 

Day before: Make the two packets of  jellies per instruction and pore in 

In a dip nice looking tray let it cool and then put in the fridge over night! 

Next day when jelly has set put the ladies finger biscuits over the jelly until all covered then add all fruit and the Banana's on top of the Biscuits then springless some of the liqueur of your choice on top of fruit an biscuits

Make sure that when you beat the container should be cold this helps cream to set quicker to do this place the bowl  in the freezer foe 15min before you are ready to beat cream

In an electric mixer place the 2 bottles of fresh cream with a sprinkle of the vanilla sugar to give Cream a nice flavour. Just before cream has started to thicken start poring  slowly the custard while at the same time you are beating the cream

You may not need to add all of the custard keep an eye out as it may become very runny! We need the cream and custard to be airy and fluffy but thick! 

Pore beaded cream and custard over fruit to cover trifle then decorate with some of the fruit

Place trifle in the coldest part of the fridge  until ready to eat! Enjoy!

Fay's easy meat loaf in puff pastry

Ingredients:

1 sheet of puff pastry 

1egg

2 boiled eggs

 1 leek

1/2 bunch of parsley

2 tbls of garlic salt  

1/4 cup olive oil

ground beef meat

I onions

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup of catch up

Cup of Bread Crumbs

Black corse pepper, salt 

sweet paprika

6 slices of bacon 

100g of mushrooms 

3 spring onions

Method 

 Defrost the puff pastry. Carefully unfold the puff pastry sheet. Roll out the qpastry sheet on a floured working space to desired size. It must be large enough to wrap up the meat loaf. Hard boil the two eggs and let them cool off. Cut the leeks  and spring onions  in rings and slice the mushrooms and Heat the oil in a skillet and steam fry until transparent  for approx. 5 minutes until tender. Then add 1/4 cup if fresh cream and the garlic salt. Cook until cream has set let it cool. 

 In a bowl combine the ground meat, finely diced onion, 1 egg, plain breadcrumbs, pepper, salt and ground paprika and parsley. With hands flatten the mince mixture in a rectangle shape  and put the boiled eggs in the middle and close to Form a loaf.   Wrap the meat loaf with the bacon strips and Place  it in a tray lined with baking paper and Bake for 20 min take out  and let it cool completely then put in the fridge to get cold. 

Place  the puff pastry in a shallow tray lined with baking paper place cold meat loaf on top of pastry and Place the cold leek spring onions and mushroom sauce on the top of the meat loaf make sure that the sauce covers all of the meat loaf. Brush the edge with egg and wrap up the loaf. Carefully press the edges together. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Put the meat loaf on the tray with the seam side down. Brush the puff pastry with egg yolk. Pre heat the oven to 360 F. Bake the meat loaf for 45 minutes on the middle rung. Cook until golden and crispy! Enjoy!

Greek Coffee (Ellinikos Kafes)

Special equipment: 

You’ll need a briki, a small copper or brass (or sometimes stainless steel) pot that’s narrow at the top and wider toward the bottom so that the grounds fall to the bottom.

Serve the coffee in small coffee cups that are about 2 ounces each.

What to buy: Be sure to use Greek coffee, which is a light-roast coffee and is very finely ground. It can be found at most Greek grocers.

INGREDIENTS

Water

Greek coffee

Granulated sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

Using one of your small coffee cups as a 2-ounce measure, fill the briki with as many cups of cold water as cups of coffee you want to make. Add 1 heaping teaspoon of coffee grounds for each 2-ounce cup of coffee. Add granulated sugar, if desired: 1 teaspoon per demitasse cup for medium-sweet (metrios_) or 2 teaspoons per demitasse cup for sweet (glykys_). For an extra-strong-sweet cup (vari glykos or glykys vrastos), add 3 teaspoons sugar and 2 teaspoons coffee grounds per 2 ounces of water.

Heat over medium heat and stir just to incorporate the grounds and sugar. As the coffee heats, foam will rise. Be sure to hold onto the handle of the briki to keep it from falling over. When the foam nearly reaches the top, remove the briki from the heat and let it stand until the grounds have settled a bit, about 1 minute. Pour a little foam into each cup, then fill each cup, moving the briki up and down to help settle the grounds. Serve with a cold glass of water and some koulourakia Greek  Biscuits

Fay's Frape

Shaker or jar with a tight-fitting lid or drink mixer

1 cup cold water

Instant coffee

Sugar (optional)

Milk (optional)

Whipped cream (optional)

Ice cubes

Straw

In a shaker or jar (with a tight-fitting lid), add 2-3 tablespoons of cold water, 1 teaspoon of instant coffee, and sugar to taste (1 teaspoon of sugar for medium-sweet). 2teaspoons of coffee 1 sugar for strong coffee ( 1 teaspoon of coffee 2 sugar for sweet)

Close tightly and shake for 10 seconds, until the mixture appears to be all foam.

Pour the foam into a water glass, add 7-8 ounces of water, 3-4 ice cubes, milk to taste, and stir.

Some like it black 

Serve with a straw.

Tips:

The purpose of shaking or mixing is to create a large amount of thick foam.. the more the better.

If you have a soda fountain-type drink mixer or a small electric drink mixer, put the ingredients in step 1 into a glass to start, create the foamy base, and then add the water, ice cubes, milk, and straw to serve.

Alternatively, this can be made without adding the ice cubes if the water is cold and the weather is, too cold

Tomato and Feta Bruschetta

1. 1 loaf Italian bread (sliced into 1/3-inch thick slices) 
2. 6  plum tomatoes (ripe) 
3. 200gr of crumbled Feta Cheese
4. 1/2 cup finely chopped red onions
5. 2 cloves garlic (fresh, finely minced) 
6. 1 Tbsp. chopped black olives
7. 1/2 bunch fresh basil 
8. 11/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil 
9. 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
10. Preheat oven to 450F with rack in top slot.
11. While oven is preheating, parboil the tomatoes whole for one minute in water that is still boiling, but removed from the burner. 
12. After removing the tomatoes from the water, peel them using a small knife (this is optional but recommended), then core them and remove the seeds; roughly chop the tomatoes, while reserving a bit of the juice. 
13. Add 1 tablespoon of the extra virgin olive oil, the balsamic vinegar and a few drops of reserved tomato juice into a bowl and mix. Add the basil and garlic and Feta cheese and chopped onion and olives then salt and pepper to taste.
14. Cut the Italian bread (or a baguette) on the diagonal, about 1/3- or 1/4-inch slices*
15. Brush the remaining olive oil on one side of the bread slices, then place them oil-side down on a cooking sheet in the 450F oven. (Some people skip this and toast the bread, then rub whole garlic slices over it. Not me.) Remove from oven after the rims of each slice have begun to brown.
16. Turn the slices over and spoon the tomato mix onto each slice on the olive-oil side (either right before serving or if you like the soggy-middle effect like I do, 15-30 minutes before serving), then place on a serving tray.

Fay's Twice Baked Potatoes:

You will need 4 medium russet potatoes, 

1 teaspoon vegetable oil, 

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, 

2 thinly sliced leeks, 

2 minced garlic cloves,

 2 teaspoons freshly chopped thyme,

 4 ounces of low-fat chive-and-onion cream cheese

1/2 cup skim milk

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley. 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Rub the potatoes with the oil and season generously with salt. Place on baking sheet and bake until potatoes are very tender on the inside and crisp on the outside (about 1 hour and 15 minutes). Let cool for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, hear the butter in a large nonstick skillet set over medium heat. Add the leeks and season with salt and pepper, cook until soft. Add the garlic and thyme and cook about a minute. Cut lengthwise, opening down the center of each potato. Scoop out the insides into a large bowl, keeping about 1/4 inch shell of potato next to the skin. Add the leek mixture, cream cheese and milk to the potato and mash well with a fork until combined but slightly chunky. Stir in parsley. Spoon the filling back into each potato. Bake until heated through and slightly browned, about 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Fay's spanakorizo (Rice with Spinach)

 Ingredients

1 kg spinach (cleaned, washed and coarsely chopped)

4 leeks (white part cut into washers)

6 green onions (chopped)

1 large onion (chopped)

1/2 bunch dill (chopped)

2 handfuls of long grain rice 

olive oil

salt - black pepper

Fresh juice of 1 lemon

 

Method

Cover the bottom of a casserole with olive oil and saute onions, fresh and dried with leeks.

Sauté until transparent  add the spinach, stir and cover to wilt. The spinach will pull fluids so do not add water immediately. 

After the wilted spinach, add the dill, rice, 2 cups water, salt and pepper.

Boil for 10 minutes more, stirring frequently to avoid sticking the rice. Then withdraw the food from the heat, sprinkle with the lemon juice and leave it covered until all fluids have been absorbed 

Serve with fresh crusty bread and feta cheese!

Fay's home made Chicken Curry and steamed jasmine rice

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

750g chicken thigh fillets, trimmed, cut into thirds

1 brown onion, cut into thin wedges

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

2 tablespoons red curry paste

1 lemongrass stem, trimmed, bruised, thinly sliced

1 small red chilli, deseeded, thinly sliced

400ml can coconut milk

15 fresh curry leaves

1 cup coriander leaves

1/2 lime, juiced

steamed Jasmine Fragrant Rice, coriander sprigs and lime wedges, to serve

Method

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wok or large frying pan over high heat. Add half the chicken. Cook, turning occasionally, for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining chicken.

Reduce heat to medium-high. Add remaining oil to wok. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes. Add turmeric, curry paste, lemongrass and chilli. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until aromatic.

Stir in coconut milk and curry leaves. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Return chicken to wok. Cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until chicken is tender. Stir in coriander and 1 tablespoon lime juice. Spoon over rice and top with coriander sprigs. Serve with lime wedges.

Watermelon with Feta cheese

Cut the watermelon in half and a tablespoon remove the pith. With a knife squaring little pieces. Cut the feta cheese into squares  slice into squares garnish with fresh mint or basil leaves

Fay's Spaghetti Meat Sauce ( Makaronia me Kima)

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

1 medium onion, diced

2 tbsp. olive oil (optional)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup red wine

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. dried oregano

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 15 oz. can tin tomato 

1/4 cup water

2 tbsp. tomato paste 

1/2 tbsp. butter

1kg  pasta

2tbs powder chicken stock

Grated Mizithra or Kefalotyri cheese

Method 

In a 4-quart saucepan, brown the ground beef over medium-high heat until all pink color disappears. If the ground beef is very lean, add two tbsp. olive oil before adding onion and garlic.

Add the onions and saute until translucent. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about a minute. Add the wine and allow it to simmer a minute or two before adding the next ingredients.

Add parsley, cinnamon, oregano, chicken stock salt, pepper, tin tomato and paste and water. Bring the heat down to low and simmer uncovered for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. This is also a good time to boil the water for your pasta.

Prepare the pasta according to package directions. Serve pasta with meat sauce topping and generous grated cheese.Enjoy!

Fay's home made Sausage ( Loukaniko)

Ingredients 

 20 pounds ground pork

 1 pkt Real Pork sausage casings from butchers 

 1/8 cup salt

 1/4 cup garlic salt

 1 tablespoon ground black pepper

 1/2 cup ground paprika

 1 cup vegetable oil

  1 cup of red wine

  4 - 5 tablespoon oregano

 2 oranges juice 

 greated orange peel 

 1/8 cup red pepper flakes

Directions

Place the ground (I like to mince my own by hand as I like it chunky ) fat included pork into a large bowl. Season with salt, garlic salt, black pepper and paprika. In a blender or food processor, blend together the oil, oregano and red pepper flakes. Mix everything into the ground pork until well blended. Let it stand over night in the refrigerator and the next day using a sasauge machine and the sausage casing. If you do not have a sausage machine or mincer you can use  a plastic bag fill with the meat and pipe in to sausage casing-tie ends and let them dry for a few hours then refrigerate for 24 hours to let flavors blend. Bag and freeze in portions that suit your needs. Enjoy!