Chicken kapama, a greek village tradition

The last weekend in September my Dad brought three of my Aunts, visiting the States from Greece, down to visit B and I in Virginia.  Since they were arriving in time for a late dinner, I decided to take a shot at making Chicken Kapama, a traditional village dish that I thought they would all like.  In the end it was very well received and, considering the ingredients, its a great, good-for-you fall comfort food.

Ingredients
8 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs
1 heaping teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 large yellow onions, chopped
5 peeled garlic cloves
1/2 cup dry white wine (for this dish I prefer Pinot Grigio, but any dry white will do)
1 cup water
1 cup chicken stock
6 oz (1 can) of tomato paste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
Finely grated mizithra cheese
1 1lb box of orzo

Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. A wet chicken will cause the oil to spatter while browning.  Mix the cinnamon, salt and pepper in a small bowl.  Rub the chicken pieces on all sides with the seasoning mix.

Heat the olive oil in a large, deep, non-reactive skillet or dutch oven over high heat.  Place the chicken in the pan with enough space between the pieces to allow it to brown without steaming (overcrowding the chicken will cause it to steam, not brown).  Brown the chicken for about four minutes on each side or until it is a rich, golden color.  If all the chicken does not fit at once, brown in batches. Remove the browned chicken to a plate layered with paper towel (to absorb excess oil).

The first batch of chicken browning in the dutch oven

Browned chicken, resting on a bed of paper towel

While the chicken is browning, chop both onions and all the garlic.  Reduce the heat in the pan (after the chicken has been removed) to medium.  Add both onions.

Onions on their way to caramelized

Allow the onions to caramelize in the pan.  Add garlic and allow the mixture to continue cooking for another two minutes.

Caramelized onions with garlic added

Turn up the heat to medium-high.  Deglaze the pan by adding 1/2 cup of dry white wine and scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen the browned bits of flavor stuck to the bottom.

Once the wine has evaporated, add the water, chicken stock and tomato paste. Stir until the tomato paste has dissolved into the broth.  Add the fresh oregano.  Nestle the browned chicken into the pan.  The liquid should cover about 3/4 of the chicken (if not a bit more).  Bring the liquid to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and allow to cook, low and slow, for at least one hour.

 The whole dish ready to simmer slowly

In the last twenty minutes of the chicken's cooking time, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add half the contents of the one pound box of orzo.  Cook until al dente.  Drain and portion out immediately. Top the orzo with two chicken thighs and a heaping ladelful of the sauce. Top with finely grated mizithra* cheese and serve.

*If you do not have mizithra, serve the dish without cheese, as there is no good substitute.

Tin Fish in San Diego, California

Before leaving San Diego, I had to make one last stop for a fish taco at the king of fish taco stands - Tin Fish. While this local taco shop has a couple of locations, the most convenient is located right in the Gaslamp Quarter in striking distance of the harbor and Convention Center.  I have never made a trip to San Diego without making a stop here.  This Sunday, since I was getting ready to pack out for Tucson and had a few hours to kill before my flight, it seemed like a perfect time to hit up this spot and enjoy some good, cheap eats and a couple hours of reading in the sun.

While there are lots of "fish taco" options including salmon, mahi mahi, and more, my two favorites are always halibut and shrimp.  Both are "meaty" choices with a lot of substance and hold up well with all the other flavors in the taco.  This time around I opted for shrimp tacos.

 

  

When they arrived they were laden with thinly sliced, crispy cabbage, in addition to cheese, sour cream and homemade pico de gallo.  It took me all of ten minutes to belt back both tacos after which I spent the next two hours basking in the sun, digesting and reading a good book.  Great way to end my San Diego visit.

Cafe 21 in San Diego, California

While on my whirlwind adventure across the Southwestern United States, I got to spend my weekend in San Diego, in between meetings in Orange County and Tucson.  Having been to San Diego several times, I had a good feel for the local cuisine, with the exception of breakfast. I've always been there during the week, making breakfast whatever could be easily acquired at the hotel or en route to my work destination. I wasted no time letting my fingers do the walking to Yelp and in minutes I was strolling down Fifth Street from my hotel to Cafe 21, a boutique restaurant with rave breakfast reviews. 

As the marquis gives away, this place had a large and varied menu that included any breakfast item you might want and then some.  However, one of their specialties and a dish for which they had earned much praise from Yelpers, was the Azeri Style French toast.  Unsurprisingly, it took me no time once I took my seat at the bar to decide on the Strawberry version of this French toast variant.

 My strawberry Azeri toast

From the minute my breakfast hit the table, I was in heaven. Made with sweet mascarpone and two chunky slices of homemade bread, this french toast sandwich of sorts, had yummy written all over it. And it was! Crunchy bread, creamy cheese, punctuated with strawberry bursts.  Breakfast does not come better. Or so I thought.

After my unbelievable breakfast at Cafe 21 on Saturday, I looked around Yelp for other places to try on Sunday.  But I just couldn't find anything that had comparable reviews and there were so many other delicious menu items calling to me, that I ended up back at Cafe 21 for breakfast on Sunday.  This repeat performance forced me to break on of my cardinal travel rules - use every opportunity to try new restaurants - but it was well worth it.

This time, I spent more time scanning the menu, deciding which of a dozen or so tasty looking items I would take a shot with.  In the end, I settled on the shrimp and corn cakes served with poached eggs and a cilantro cream.  Call this a west coast nod to eggs benedict.  

It arrived, two round shrimp and corn cakes, on a gleaming green bed of cilantro cream.  Perched perfectly on top of each cake was a poached egg, prepared soft. 

Shrimp and corn cake with poached egg, cilantro cream

If I had been happy the day before with my Azeri toast (oh and I was! I was!), it was nothing to my new breakfast companion.  The cake was pan-friend just enough to warm everything through, but not so much as to overcook the shrimp. Loading a fork full of gooey egg and soft shrimp cake rolled in cilantro cream was the perfect way to start the day.  The only downside was my disappointment at cleaning my plate. I could have gone on a long time with that meal.

The Winery in Tustin, California

Another week spent in Orange County for work meant more opportunities to try some of the restaurant offerings in the area.  For a large group meal, two of my coworkers chose The Winery, a large fine dining restaurant located, in of all places, a huge strip mall.  But if you can put aside the fact that you're view from the lovely porch is of Best Buy, you're in for a treat.

The evening we were there, The Winery was offering both its regular menu and a three course prix-fixe menu.  With many choices, it took everyone a long time to decide.  While people were digging into the menu, I got to dig into the wine list.  Since the restaurant is called, The Winery, I'm sure you won't be surprised to learn that they have an amazing selection of vintages, old and new. Since it was a "school night" and not everyone at the table drank wine, we settled on two bottles to share among 7.  A syrah and a pinot noir.  And because I am a terrible food blogger, although I had the sommelier write down the name of both bottle, I have misplaced the listing.  Unfortunate all the way around, especially considering the syrah was one of the best reds I've ever had.  I'll just have to go back to figure it out.

Quickly, the waiter was back to walk us through the list of specials which included an excellent sounding buffalo steak.  Orders were placed all around to include starters of wild mushroom bisque, heirloom tomato and burrata salad (caprese style) and mains of buffalo steak, racks of lamb, short ribs and pasta.

When the first course arrived, we were treated to a variery of sea salts, all fashioned differently including traditional, smoked, and several others.  While they were brought to pair with the heirloom tomato and burrata salads, everyone at the table got to have a taste.  Each flavor was interesting, and strong, thanks to its salty backing. 

 

Our various sea salts

The first course was delicious. The salads were served with multi-colored Santa Barbara heirloom tomatoes, fresh, creamy burrata cheese, micro arugula for some delicious spice and topped with an aged balsamic, sweet and syrupy.  Add to this a little traditional sea salt (as was my preference) and you have a superbly balanced and refreshing first course.  Frankly, I probably could have eaten a couple more as a main it was so good!

One of the three starter heirloom and burrata salads, sorry about the photo quality, 

tough to shoot with an iPhone outside after dark

In addition to this great salad, another coworker ordered the wild mushroom bisque.  This heavier starter also received rave reviews for its velvety consistency and warm, earthy flavor.

Wild mushroom bisque with a splash of cream for richness

After ample sharing and testing of the first course selections, our mains arrived. Sadly, this is where the pictures peter out.  We had some lovely presentations on the table but the increasing darkness coupled with the less than professional quality of my iPhone camera meant everything is either too dark to be distinguishable or so washed out it looks like ghost food.  I'll have to rely on the pictures my words paint.

For her main, D had chosen a garlic and herb marinated buffalo steak served over a wild mushroom risotto with a shallot reduction.  In addition to not skimping on flavor, the portion was hefty.  D spent several minutes after its arrival contemplating the best way to attack it.  In the end, there was more than one bite left on the plate, even with lots of sharing.  This is shocking since the buffalo, while very lean, was packed with flavor, in large part due to the well-prepared sides that accompanied it.

Two of us chose the rack of lamb which looked almost evergreen when it arrived.  Rubbed so thoroughly with Herbs de Provence, the lamb took on a green tinge even in the gathering darkness.  Served over sweet basil gnocchi (although not enough of them in this carb-loving lady's opinion), the lamb was exquisitely prepared to a perfect medium rare.  The fat content in the lamb was a little unfortunate as I found myself attempting to cut around the sinewy pockets to get to the tender meat.  But this is a risk you take with lamb and is hardly the chef's fault.  All in all, it was a delicious dish.

Two more opted for "The Winery Corkscrew Pasta", a tasty looking combination of pesto, sun dried tomatoes, grilled chicken and baby artichokes.  Since my allergies precluded me from trying this one as it circled the table, I had to take my coworkers word for it that it was good.  And miraculously, I have a picture of it!

Fancy pasta

And last, but certainly not least, were the short ribs. Also served in an enormous portion, this heaping plate came accompanied with pearl couscous, red zinfandel reduction and prosciutto-wrapped asparagus. I knew by the silence that followed its arrival that it would be good.  And even though I was nearly too full to lift the fork, my stolen bite proved worth the effort.  Fall off the bone tender and so well seasoned. Should we ever go back that way, I will be ordering short ribs.

When the waiter reappeared offering dessert, he was met with groans and looks of disbelief.  Unlike many fine dining establishments, The Winery served significant portions.  There was absolutely no room in anyone for dessert.  We only mingled around the table long enough to make sure every drop of wine was consumed, because after all, we couldn't let it go to waste.

Sausage, chard and lentil stoup

I need a hobby. Or rather, I need several more hobbies.  Since B and I work and travel a lot, I’ve noticed that the house is the first thing to suffer.  Not the day to day picking up or laundry, but the deep cleaning.  To keep it from looking like a post-apocalyptic wasteland, I spent most of my little weekend free time cleaning and I just didn’t want to do it anymore. I wanted my free time to be exactly that, free. Since I cannot and will not suffer dirt, we decided our best choice was to hire a cleaning service to come every three weeks to do the big stuff, to allow us to focus on more important things.  Only one problem – now I don’t know what to do with myself.  The first weekend I didn’t spend scrubbing toilets was bliss.  Pure, unadulterated contentment.  And then I was bored.  I blogged. I exercised. I Facebook surfed. I reorganized the pantry. I read. I read some more. I watched TV.  And then finally it hit me as I watched Rachael Ray make this recipe.  So obvious I could hardly believe it took me so long to discover the solution to my boredom – the kitchen!!

One quick trip to the grocery store for a few ingredients and my day was made. I spent hours in front of the stove making homemade bolognese to freeze for later meals, cocoa brownies to use up the three containers of dutch processed cocoa I’d discovered lurking in our pantry the week before, and finally, this sausage, kale and lentil stoup.  To thick to be a soup, but too runny to be a stew, stoup covers it.  It is hearty and filling while still good for you.  Here is the link to the original recipe.  The recipe below is modified according to my preferences and to make for a leaner, healthier dish.

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 

1 pound hot chicken or turkey sausage, bulk or casing removed

1 onion, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped, leafy tops reserved

4 large carrots, peeled and chopped

1 large Idaho (russet) potato, peeled and chopped into small dice

1 Fresno or Holland chile pepper, thinly sliced or finely chopped

2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped

2 large cloves garlic, chopped or sliced

1/2 tablespoon ground cumin

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 bundle red chard, stemmed and very thinly sliced

Freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 cup white wine

1 3/4 cups lentils

4 cups chicken stock 

2 cups water

Directions

In a soup pot or large Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil. Add the sausage, breaking it into pieces, and cook until lightly brown. Add the onions, celery, carrots, potato, chile pepper*, rosemary, garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper, and cook to soften, 8 to10 minutes. 

Wilt in the chard, and season the  leaves with a little freshly grated nutmeg. Stir in the tomato paste for 30 seconds, then add white wine. Cook to reduce by 1/2 and stir in the lentils, stock, and water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer the soup until the lentils are tender, about 45 minutes. Serve immediately or cool, store, and reheat. 

*The chili pepper can be easily left out for those who don’t like the heat.  While it adds a nice depth, there are plenty of other flavors in this dish to go around.  It’s not necessary.