Let's start with class this week.... After a couple of weeks of uninspired meals that were just sort of "eh," our group made up for it by making a delicious Greek meal! Instead of each team making one dish to share with the whole class, each team made only enough food for themselves. This meant serious teamwork and organization. I think we did really well!
Our menu included tzatziki (which I have made before), Greek Salad, Spanikopitas and the grand finale, Moussaka. Everything came out really delicious! Greek cuisine is known for it's use of fresh vegetables, olive oil, olives, lamb/poultry, nuts, honey and filo (phyllo) dough. We incorporated many of these ingredients into our meal this week.
The Moussaka recipe was really quite delicious. A total comfort food which has a similarity to the Irish Shepherd's Pie. It's basically a layered dish of (from top to bottom) Bechamel Sauce, Meat sauce and eggplant. Something you'd want to eat on a cold night with a fire going and a nice glass of red wine.
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Speaking of comfort food, last night I had a wonderful dinner with my some (old and new) friends who are working on their culinary careers. It was a potluck/networking/gossip session that was a total blast. We will certainly have more of these dinners in the future!
We were asked by my friend and occasional cooking partner, Mandy to bring over something with an autumn theme so I decided a few days ago to make Chicken Pot Pie with autumn vegetables (from Anne Burrell of the Food Network). Little did I know that it would be 95 degrees outside when I was cooking it. Nevertheless, we all made some form of comfort food and were able to eat most of it despite the heat. LA may not feel like it, but it is fall in our hearts. Mandy has some great pics on her blog of everything we made. It was a feast.
It was my first time making a pie crust from scratch and was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was. I think the most important suggestion I can make is not to handle the dough too much. Only pulse it until it just comes together in the food processor. Only knead it until it just looks like it's smooth. Less handling = tender, flaky crust. I used some bits of the leftover dough to cut out leaves and make the top look pretty. :) This recipe is a little time consuming but don't be afraid... it is worth the effort!
What are some of your favorite fall comfort foods? Feel free to share with me here!
Chow for Now! :)
you read my mind. i've been making big batches of food to freeze and reheat for dinner over this long winter and pot pies are on my list, i did mac'n'cheese and stuffed shells first. i'll have to check out the recipe you used. looks great!
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