Greek dinner
So if you can't travel to Greece right now, Greece will just have to come to us. And what better way to make that happened than to cook yourself a greek dinner. Travel inspired dinners coming up, and we are even thinking of making this a series of blog posts, so please let us know if this kind of post would interest you!
Just go all-in with music, foods, and beer. And take your time to set the table, make it into a party! But if you are at home, don't go throwing those plates around - that makes quite a mess. Did I tell you that we did that throwing plates thing when we visited Athens for new years?
So we made tzatziki with extra garlic, greek salad with feta cheese and red onions, garlic bread, olives filled with garlic, grilled goat cheese with roasted garlic. Yes, a lot of garlic. Meat souvlaki and some french fries. The entire kitchen smelled of garlic for a few days...
And just to add some flavor we topped the dinner off with a greek beer called Mythos and of course some Ouzo on the side. And greek music to set the mood.
Heres how you do it... add about eight skewers in water for ten minutes before its time to use them. Polish the meat and cut them into smaller pieces.
Divide the meat onto the skewers. Mix olive oil, lemon juice, pressed garlic, rosemary, and black pepper into a marinade. Add the marinade on the skewers and leave in the fridge for a few hours. Of course, we used the outdoor grill to cook the meat, nothing but a barbeque will due when you're cooking greek foods right?
And to be completely honest, the husband would not have had it any other way, there's just something about men and the outdoor grill... don't get me wrong, I am not complaining or anything, I love grilled foods just like the next one, but am I right or what?
Out of all the times that I have been to Greece I have never found myself disliking the food. On the contrary, whether I have found myself on the mainland in Athens or on a small island like Samos, Rhodes, or Crete, I have always enjoyed the food. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I am guessing it all has to do with the environment as well, I mean, the food always tastes better when its served in that special place right?
So okay, it may have something to do with the seasoning as well... oregano, garlic, onion, dill, parsley, marjoram and thyme, the dried herbs and spices that they use around the Mediterranean is just something different. It's not we don't have that kind of spices at home, and we use it for sure, but it never quite tastes the same as it does in Greece. It does not matter if you use basil, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper at home to make that perfect cuisine if you cant add that special flavor of sunshine, love, and greek vibes at the end. I don't know if its the salt from the sea that does that little extra, but whatever it is, I have not found that big secret ingredients that they use to make their fantastic.
I am not saying that the food we made wasn't amazing, because it sure was. All I am saying that I would rather have tasted it in Greece, or better yet, been able to cook it in Greece.
I know that most people like Greek food, but what's your favorite?
//Ann
