Sizzling Skillet Hash

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With leisurely weekend brunches in mind we put together a breakfast hash recipe that features a favorite Greek pork and lamb sausage with a twist of orange and fennel, Loukaniko. We remember our yiayia showcasing this tangy, smokey sausage in many of her luncheon dishes. She would fry it up alongside a platter of feta, Kalamata olives and Greek bread for a mezze platter or add it to a pasta for a one-dish meal. If we were lucky, she often would slip us a piece from the sizzling skillet before the meal, and making sure we didn’t ruin our appetites.

We showcase the Loukaniko in a complex hash for weekend brunch company. For a burst of flavor and sweetness to balance the saltiness of the feta and Loukaniko, we add roasted sweet potatoes and roasted red peppers. We lay a perfectly fried egg on top that seeps into the plated medley.

Greek Hash with Loukaniko, Sweet Potatoes, Roasted Red Peppers and Feta Cheese

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Feta Frenzy

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While most people have put away their painted eggs and finished off their remaining chocolate rabbits and jelly beans, we just celebrated Greek Easter earlier this month. To prepare ourselves for our excessive feta consumption, we whipped up a light feta dip for some friends.

Htipiti is a spread combining the salty cheese with roasted red peppers and spices, kind of like a Greek Romesco Sauce. We love to serve the orangey red blend as a dip with our absolute favorite chips, Food Should Taste Good Multigrain Tortilla Chips or as a spread atop a lamb burger or flatbread. The blend of Mediterranean flavors in every bite triggers our taste buds for the meal ahead.

Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Dip (Htipiti)

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New Year’s Resolution: Eat More Healthy Poboys

Healthy Poboy

You know what time it is.  Time to lighten things up.  Time to acknowledge our jeans are a little tighter after all the holiday treats.

Time for food makeovers.

I just got back from a New Years’ trip to New Orleans and had my first “authentic” shrimp poboy.  After 2 hours of waiting (1 hour in line to order and 1 hour waiting on the food–seriously), I was ready to dig in. Honestly?  I was kind of disappointed.  I’m not going to name the famous establishment in which I ate, but it definitely made me go “hmmm..”

original poboy

Ahhh, the picture is beautiful, no? Unfortunately, the shrimp was bland and overly coated in dry cornmeal batter, there was waaay too much bread, and there was no remolaude sauce.  What?  Isn’t the sauce the whole point??

Sigh.

Well, I’m not eating that sort of thing anymore.  I’m cleaning things up.

The irony is, that this one was so much better.  Trust me guys.  I’m incapable of telling lies.

Healthier Shrimp Poboy

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Spanakopita Spawns a Salad

Spanakopita—spinach and cheese pie encased in phyllo dough—is our absolute favorite Greek dish. So for summer, we decided to create a potato salad inspired by spanakopita. To celebrate our yiayia’s famous pastry, we mixed the savory, cheesy filling with warm, garlicy roasted potatoes.  The addition of kalamata olives, sundried tomatoes and fresh dill adds color while keeping the Greek theme and further amplifying the tasty side.

While spanakopita is notoriously a labor-intensive dish, this potato salad is an easy, foolproof side for any summer BBQ.

Spanakopita Potato Salad

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Towering Food: Greek Eggplant Stacks

The eggplant is a vegetable famous for its glossy, deep purple beauty. With its pleasantly spongy texture and mild flavor, it complements any ingredient. Looking at the tear-dropped gem, we got creative and brainstormed whether to take an Italian route incorporating mozzarella and basil, an Indian route with curry and raisins, or a Thai route with spicy basil and coconut milk. Ultimately, we opted for a Greek-inspired stack. The salty, briny feta paired perfectly with the mellow eggplant. To add some pop in taste and color, we layered sautéed spinach and tomato sauce.s

When we prepare food, we almost always have the same vision. This time around, we had slightly different approaches, so decided to each make our own layered stack. While the eggplant towers both follow the same recipe, they differ slightly in presentation.

Eggplant, Spinach, Tomato and Feta Stack

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Nachos Gone Wild!

With football season kicking into high gear, it’s about time for some serious snack talk. But you know us ES-ers aren’t gonna just crack open some Tostitos spicy cheese dip and call it a day. These 10 recipes are taking nachos to a whole new level.

1. Greek Nachos

Pita chips, ground lamb, and tzatziki stand in for the usual Mexican ingredients in this inventive Mediterranean take on Nachos.

Greek nachos recipe from elly says opa!

2. Chimichurri Nachos

It’s Argentina’s turn to get creative, topping their nachos with grilled steak and the country’s signature cilantro sauce.

Chimichurri nachos recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything.

3. Totchos

Yes, that’s tater tot nachos, and really, can anyone argue nachos wouldn’t be better when you replace the chips with crispy fried potatoes?

Tater tot nacho recipe from Riley J. Briggs.

4. Pasta Nachos

At San Francisco Italian restaurant Puccini and Pinetti, wonton wrappers serve as the base for Italian nachos topped with marinara sauce, fresh mozzarella and basil.

Recipe for pasta nachos.

5. Grilled Nachos

Once again proving that any food that tastes good tastes even better cooked over a grill.

Grilled nachos recipe from Jenn’s Food Journey.

Next: Potato chip nachos, dessert nachos and more

Food Porn Champions: Uncle Jessie, The Greek

Most of the time sizzling bacon and bleeding yolks find their way to the food porn label. This time though, it’s the sly smile and sexy lean in of John Stamos that ignites my hunger, for um, yogurt. Way to bring it, Uncle Jessie.

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