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Fakes (Greek Lentils)
Sometimes a girl just wants some beans and rice. Or beans and pasta, as the case may be. Pronounced fa-KEE and sometimes called fakorizo, THIS is my comfort food. I absolutely begged for it as a child. It’s a security blanket in a bowl, like chicken noodle soup. Eating comfort food is my class of self-medicating. It soothes me physiologically. So when I am feeling blue, I reach for my drug of choice: comfort food. Hello, I’m Naked Epicurean, and I am a comfort food addict. My drug must meet requisite standards. For example: Is it easy to make? Check. Does it evoke nostalgia? Check. Is it loaded with calories?…
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Panang Curry Noodle Bowl
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Three-Cheese + Bruschetta Baked Chicken
Just let me start by saying, THIS IS NOT JUST ANY OL’ CHICKEN RECIPE. This is some really good stuff right here! Imagine deliciously ripe tomatoes wading in an unctuous balsamic glaze, adorned with a garland of garden fresh basil ribbons. The perfect topping for bruschetta, right? Now imagine this embellishment atop a medley of three savory cheeses, atop a tender baked chicken breast. Okay, maybe four cheeses. I use grated Parm in the cheese mixture with which I coat the breast; then I sometimes add a layer of shaved Parm as an additional topping once the chicken comes out of the oven. Yum. If you aren’t about to eat…
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Ooey Gooey Vidalia Onion Dip
Aaahhh, Vidalia onions. Those sweet colossal bulbs cultivated by Southern soil. Hailed as the paragon of all onions, they are so sweet you could bite into them like you would apples (or so I hear). Typically these horticultural gems are available Spring through Summer. I, however, pulled the onion for this recipe out of my freezer because around here we buy them 25 pounds at a time from the Boy Scouts. These onions are Georgia’s state vegetable, so famous that they even have festivals to celebrate their greatness. (FYI…the 2019 festival is April 25-29, if you’re interested in attending.) While these onions assume the lead role in this dip, the…
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Guinness Braised Short Ribs
Just in time for St. Paddy’s Day, a recipe using dark roasted Guinness to braise meat. While some of us will be swilling pints of Guinness, some of us will be cooking with it. It’s a win-win for everyone. I love bold flavors, so it’s a no-brainer that I would choose rich + earthy Guinness for this recipe. BEFORE YOU DECIDE to make this recipe, however, let me just say: these ribs like it long and slow. You cannot be in a rush else you will not meet peak satisfaction. A little TLC goes a loooong way with this meat. The secret is braising. Braising is all about the low…
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Chipotle + Lime Flank Steak Sheet Pan Dinner
- appetizers & hors d'oeuvres, dips, Greek / Mediterranean, party food & snacks, sauce, Uncategorized, vegetarian
Tzatziki Sauce + Dip
Should you or shouldn’t you on the first date? The answer depends on how confident you are with yourself and how comfortable you are with your partner. It really has to be a commitment from both parties. After all, if you both eat garlic, you should be fine because your garlickyness will cancel out his garlickyness. Right? We were face to face with this dilemma on our first date. The culprit was tzatziki, loaded with garlic and garnished with scrapes. Garlic galore! The Man and I looked each other square in the eye. I think he could tell I do not easily part from my food. I was elbows…
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D@mn Delicious Chicken Souvlaki
Do you remember the first time you ate souvlaki? I mean authentic souvlaki? You strolled down the narrow cobbled street under a canopy of bougainvillea, winding your way between colorful buildings. Architectural footprints left by previous civilizations cast shadows all around. The scent of gardenias wafted through the air as you took a seat at an outdoor taverna, the background buzzing with a quiet hum of chatting diners. You were at the Plaka, nestled at the foot of the slope upon which the proud and glorious Acropolis stood. You thought you were in heaven. So many years ago, yet you remember it as if it were yesterday. As luck would…
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Chopped* Greek Salad
You may have heard me pontificate about what makes a real Greek salad–the Horiatiki salad, like my mom used to make, straight from the bounty of our garden. Ripe tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, and pungent onions topped with a swirl of olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Pure and utter goodness. So when I refer to a real Greek salad, that is my point of reference. I am not saying other ingredient combinations are wrong, I am just saying they are not right. (I can be a real know-it-all pain-in-the-fanny kinda gal sometimes.) But enough quibble. Don’t mind me. Just roll your eyes and read on. This Chopped…
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Buffalo Chickpea Pockets with Bleu Cheese Drizzle
We are counting down to the Sweet Sixteen. As the bracket narrows, The Man is brainstorming game day menus. One request is Buffalo Chicken Wraps. I agreed, but with the caveat that I make plant-based modifications, just for funsies. I gave these a practice run and WOW, let me tell you—these babies are a slam dunk! Blue cheese + buffalo sauce is one of my love languages (um, I seem to have so many). Today we are subbing chickpeas for chicken. Chickpeas are little pearls of protein with less cholesterol than the alternative. You’ll drench them with a spicy piquant sauce and then cool them down with a buttermilk bleu…
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Buttermilk Bleu Cheese Dressing
I CANNOT have enough bleu cheese in my life. I am a member of “The Bluer, the Better” society. My mom would make my dad’s favorite dressing for his birthday every year. It was a creamy, reddish Roquefort, and I remember stealing little nibs of cheese when she wasn’t looking. I absolutely loved it. Even her telling me the “blue” was actually mold did not temper my passion. To this day I remain an ardent devotee. * I mean, who doesn’t need a little Penicillium in their life? I like this recipe because it is less oily than so many other creamy bleu cheese dressings. Substituting sour cream and buttermilk…
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Lager + Gruyère Cheese Dip
Who is ready to get their cheese on? This girl, for sure. At any given moment, we have a metric ton of cheese in the fridge. Not to brag, but we do have a covetable stash at our fingertips. Suffice it to say, WE.LOVE.CHEESE. When I open the refrigerator door, this is what I see (in no particular order): a chub of goat cheese; two blocks of feta; 3 bags of various shredded cheeses (for emergency use); a sizable hunk of Gruyere; an aged Parm with the most beautiful crystals in it; Cotswold; Brie; fresh mozzarella; smoky gouda; and a half-eaten block of creamy Cambozola (someone has been nibbling).…
