Josh and Jody's loft-space is an idyllic place to have parties. One of its party-friendly features is a long patio that runs the entire width of the space. The patio itself is a real rarity in the city in that it is semi-enclosed. It has a timber-loft roof and huge 9-foot arched openings punched out of brick that face a view of city lights and buildings. On one end is a set of table and chairs, over which hangs a luminous white paper lantern. On the other, a propane grill. Set atop ledges, are potted red geraniums. A fairly large patio space, it still manages to feel cozy and sheltered with the additional benefit of being outdoors. This was the location for our Greek supperclub — Jody's first. The night she chose to host, couldn't have been a finer example of what I love most about the city. It was warm but comfortable and one of the first real evenings that allowed us to eat outdoors.
We started out hovering around the kitchen island eating Sapna's smoky dip topped with roasted red peppers, scooping it out with large pieces of pita. Elisa brought out rows of rolled dolmades, adorable in their tinyness. I bit into it and savory, ground lamb with rice and smooth with olive oil tumbled out. Priya revealed spanakopita with a crumbly feta and spinach interior. Apparently, her box of phyllo had come out of the box partially dried out and she had rescued it by draping a damp towel over it. It worked. The spanakopita was both flaky and light. We gradually migrated outdoors to drink wine and chat while Jody took up the tongs and started up the grill.
After a short while, I followed Jody, who was carrying a large platter into the kitchen, to see if she needed help. She had a smile spanning her face from ear-to-ear. As she stripped the meat and vegetables from the skewers, she looked at me, “I've never grilled before...Josh always did the grilling.” But there she was. Before her, the platter was laden with immense, foot-long, metal skewers threaded with chunks of lamb souvlaki, peppers, onions and tomatoes. She beamed again. “I'm so proud of myself!” I knew exactly why she was so excited. I'm grill-shy. After hurting myself once too often, I was intimidated by fire. For years, I had left grilling duties to the guys. I thought it a task best suited to the sex who grew up burning ants and blowing up things with fireworks. I assumed there was some sort of primitive, grunty, pyromaniac gene that all boys had, that we were without. I was glad to be proven wrong. Maybe we were less grunty. But we were certainly capable of cooking over open flame. Jody's souvlaki was perfectly done. It was tender and pink on the inside with a lightly, grill-charred exterior that tasted of oregano. It was delicious. I dragged my souvlaki through the lemony, garlic-yogurt sauce and mopped everything up with more pita.
For Leroy, Josh's bulldog, the smell of the grilling souvlaki was more than he could take. A tall and muscular, 70-pound, lover of a dog, he had taken turns going from girl to girl all evening, placing his large head on our laps. His sad, puppy-dog eyes tried in vain to hypnotize us into dropping some goodies from our plates. As dinner progressed, Leroy gradually edged closer to the platter of lamb that had been set down on the ledge. He pretended to sniff the potted evergreens that were on the ground below the ledge. "Leroy," Jody said warningly. He looked at her, faking innocence. "Come here bossman." she called. He promptly ignored her and trotted over to sit next to Priya. We simultaneously gasped and burst out in laughter at his disobedience, as he ingratiated himself with Priya. She stroked his ears and smiled, "Ooh. You're in big trouble now."
With some more wine and some store-bought, baklava from Greektown's Artopolis, we finished the first warm-weathered Supperclub for 2007 in relaxed fashion. No shots of ouzo for us. But I did come away with a drive-by licking from Leroy and a sense that I needn't be grill-shy any longer.
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Lamb souvlaki with yogurt-garlic sauce
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp chopped fresh garlic
1 1/2 tsp oregano
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3/8 tsp kosher salt
3/4 lb lamb, cut from the leg into 12 equal-sized cubes
2 yellow bell peppers, cored and cut into 1-inch strips
1 red onion, cut into 8 pieces
16 cherry tomatoes
Vegetable-oil cooking spray
4 whole-wheat pitas
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Yogurt-Garlic Sauce
2 cucumbers, peeled and chopped
1 fresh tbsp lemon juice
3/4 cup nonfat Greek-style yogurt (such as Total brand)
1 tsp chopped fresh garlic
For souvlaki, mix first 5 ingredients to make a marinade and set aside. Distribute lamb, bell peppers, onion and tomatoes among 8 skewers. Place in a large shallow pan with marinade. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours, rotating skewers once. Heat a gas grill to medium, or use a charcoal grill and allow the coals to turn a light-ash color. Coat grill with cooking spray. Grill until lamb is medium rare and lightly charred, 5 to 8 minutes. Rotate to cook evenly. To cook in oven, broil on metal skewers 6 minutes, rotating until evenly browned. Grill or toast pitas. For sauce, puree cucumbers and a pinch of salt in a food processor. Place in a fine-screen colander and squeeze out the juice. Reserve juice and discard pulp. Whisk cucumber and lemon juices in a bowl with yogurt. Mix in garlic; season with salt and pepper. Serve with pitas and skewers.
Makes 4 servings.
SELF
August 2004
Epicurious.com
Nutritional analysis per serving: 445 calories, 18.5 g fat (5.5 g saturated fat), 46 g carbohydrates, 30 g protein, 8 g fiber
Jody's comments:
1. I used the cucumber pulp rather than discarding it, to make it a little chunky.
2. I added the cucumber juice gradually and didn't use all of it; otherwise it would get too watery.
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Greek Grape Leaf Dolmades
Lamb stuffed grape leaves in the Greek style.
1 jar preserved grape leaves, drained
1/2 cup longgrain (Basmati) rice
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound lean ground lamb
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled finely or grated
3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped mint
1 teaspoon sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
1 lemon sliced, for garnish
Mint leaves, for garnish
Carefully separate the grape leaves, place in a large bowl and pour boiling water over them to cover. Let the leaves soak for 20 minutes, then drain and rinse to remove excess salt. Drain the leaves, snip off the stems (reserving stems), and lay the leaves on a towel to dry.
In a saucepan, bring 2 cups of salted water to a boil, and stir in the rice. Cover, reduce the heat to low and cook rice until water is absorbed, about 17 to 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet, add the onion and sauté until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté one more minute, until aromas are released. Add the lamb and cook until the meat is well browned, breaking it apart with a fork while cooking, about 15 minutes. Add the oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the feta and remove from the heat. Stir in the rice, parsley and mint.
Place one leaf on a flat surface, vein side up, shiny side down. Place a rounded teaspoon of filling in the center of the leaf, near the stem edge. Fold the stem end over the filling, then fold both sides toward the middle, and form into a roll. Squeeze lightly in the palm of your hand to secure the roll. Repeat process with remaining leaves and filling.
Line the bottom of a 3quart heavy saucepan with reserved stems, trimmings and any leftover or torn grape leaves, and arrange bundles seam sides down, packing them close together in layers.
Combine the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil with 3/4 cup water, the sugar, and lemon juice, and pour over the stuffed grape leaves. Place a small, heatproof plate on top of the stuffed leaves, cover the pan and simmer over low heat for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until leaves are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. Serve warm, garnished with lemon slices and mint leaves. Serve with a dollop of plain yogurt**
Yield: 40 to 50 stuffed grape leaves
http:/www.thegutsygourmet.net
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Spanakopita
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green onions, white and green parts
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 pounds fresh baby spinach, trimmed, washed and roughly chopped
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 eggs, lightly beaten
12 ounces crumbled feta
1 tablespoon coriander seeds, toasted and ground
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 pound unsalted butter, melted
1 pound phyllo pastry sheets
1/4 cup finely chopped oregano
1/4 cup finely chopped chives
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Heat olive oil in a large skillet and place over medium heat. Sauté onions and garlic for 3 minutes until soft. Add the spinach, season with salt and pepper, and continue to sauté until the spinach is limp, about 2 minutes. Add lemon juice, remove from heat and place in a colander, and squeeze out excess liquid. Set aside to cool. The filling needs to be cool and dry to prevent the phyllo from becoming soggy. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with feta, coriander, and nutmeg. Season, then fold in the cooled spinach mixture until well blended.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, brush 2 baking sheets with some melted butter. Unroll the phyllo dough and lay a sheet flat on a work surface. Take care to keep the phyllo covered with a damp, not wet, towel as you work to prevent drying out and becoming brittle. Brush the sheet with melted butter, then sprinkle evenly with some oregano and chives. Repeat with 2 more sheets of phyllo, stacking on top of each other. With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the sheets lengthwise into thirds to form 2 1/2-inch strips. Do this with all the sheets of dough.
Place a heaping teaspoon of filling near 1 corner of the layered phyllo strip. Fold the end at an angle over the filling to form a triangle. Continue to fold the triangle along the strip until you reach the end, like folding up a flag. Brush the top with butter and dust with Parmesan, place on prepared baking sheet, and cover while preparing the remaining pastries. Repeat until all the filling and phyllo strips are used up. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until the triangles are crisp and golden. Serve hot, warm or cold.
Food Network
Priya's Comments:
1. I used 1/2 a yellow onion instead of 1 whole onion, ground coriander (I think maybe a teaspoon). I also added fresh chopped dill to the filling mix because pretty much every other spanakopita recipe included dill. I also don't think the chopped oregano and chives in between phyllo layers added that much to the flavor/taste, it just looked cool and could probably be skipped as far as I'm concerned.
2. Don't get discouraged if you open a fresh package of phyllo and it's already partially dried out - I was pretty annoyed about it, but then I figured out that it softened up pretty nicely after I draped a damp kitchen towel over it. Everyone always warns you about not letting it dry out, but they don't say what to do if it's dried out before you even start! :)
