Tzatziki

Instructions

1. 1

   salt and fresh ground pepper to taste Combine all ingredients in a non–metallic bowl. Mix well and chill. If you like Tzatziki thick, drain the yogurt overnight through a cheesecloth. Serve with chunky bread or rolls. Saganaki This is a very rich cheese appetizer. Small quantities go a long way. Cut chunks of goat cheese or any solid white cheese. There are several excellent Greek cheese that are best for this dish. Try Kasseri which is a mild Cheddar-like cheese, or Kefalograviera, which is like Gruyere, or Manouri, an unsalted table cheese. Dust cheese lightly with flour. Heat a cast iron skillet or griddle to medium heat. Add butter and fry the cheese until golden brown. Remove pan from heat. Warm ½ oz. Brandy, pour it over the cheese and light it carefully. Serve with a flourish! Yell “Opa!”, “To your health!” You can also add slices of black Amphissa olives or sausage just before you flambe the Saganaki. Keftedakia (Our loose translation: meatballs for the gods!) 1/2 lb. ground beef 1/2 lb. ground lamb 1/2 lb. ground pork 1 onion, chopped fine

2. 2

   4 cloves garlic, crushed 1/2 cup fine bread crumbs 1 egg, lightly beaten 4 tbsp. fresh mint, chopped fine 1/2 tsp. oregano salt and fresh ground pepper to taste flour 3 tbsp. olive oil Combine meat, onion, garlic, bread crumbs, egg, mint, oregano, salt and pepper in bowl. Mix well. Shape into 1 inch balls. Dust lightly with flour. Fry in olive oil until evenly brown. Serve with toothpicks for party finger food, or with Tzatziki and bread as an appetizer. To serve as a main course, form meatballs into large oval sausage-shapes on skewers. Grill on medium heat until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Serve on a bed of shredded lettuce, with tomato salsa and thinly sliced onion. George tells me that the white chef’s hat that is customarily worn in most kitchens of many fine restaurants (including ours), had its origins in Greece. It seems that the shape is based on Greek monk’s hats. Chefs used to seek refuge in the monasteries to avoid persecution (when one of their recipes really went bad!) In any event, the different colors made it easy to tell who was a monk and who was a chef, so that there was no monk-eying around.