Greek Potatoes

               

         
     Greek Potatoes (Oven-Roasted                 and Delicious!)

These potatoes are a staple in our home. Whether accompanying roast lamb or chicken, or just on their own, we have them a couple of times a week. They are delicious and the ones that get overly-brown in the pan and stick a bit are MINE! Clean up is a little tricky with this recipe, unless you line your pans with foil, but I find that just filling the pan up with hot, sudsy water and forgetting for an hour (something I apparently have no problem doing ;-)) helps a lot.


Ingredients:



8 large  potatoes, peeled, cut into large wedges (about 6-7 wedges per potato)

 4 garlic cloves, minced (more garlic is a good thing, less garlic is a no-no for this recipe)

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup water

 1 tablespoon dried oregano (get the Mediterranean, it's the best!)

 1 lemon, juiced sea salt fresh coarse ground black pepper 

Directions:



1 Preheat oven to 420°F A reviewer has suggested spraying the baking pan with Pam - that sounds like a great idea!

2 Put all the ingredients into a baking pan large enough to hold them.

3 Season generously with sea salt and black pepper.

4 Make sure your hands are very clean and put them in the pan and give everything a toss to distribute.

5 The garlic will drop into the water/oil solution but its flavour will permeate the potatoes, and this way, it won't burn.

6 Bake for 40 minutes.

7 When a nice golden-brown crust has formed on the potatoes, give them a stir to bring the white underside up, season lightly with a bit more sea salt and pepper and just a light sprinkling of oregano.

8 Add 1/2 cup more water if pan appears to be getting dry, and pop back into oven to brown other side of potatoes.

9 This will take about another 40 minutes.

10 Do not be afraid of overcooking the potatoes- they will be delicious.

11 Note: I often melt a bouillon cube in the water; if you do, make sure to cut back some on the salt.

World Famous Spaghetti

My kids will give up a steak dinner for this spaghetti. It is a recipe I have been perfecting for years and it is so good (if I may humbly say) that my kids are disappointed when they eat spaghetti anywhere else but home! In fact they tell me I should open a restaurant and serve only this spaghetti and garlic bread. In response to requests, I have posted the recipe for Jo Mama's World Famous Lasagna that uses approximately 1/2 of the sauce from this
recipe. Have spaghetti one night and lasagna later! Thanks to all of you who have tried my recipe and have written a review. I read and appreciate every one of them! Chef Note: After I posted this recipe I remembered a funny incident--my dear husband usually has a nice bottle of wine handy so when I make a batch of spaghetti I just help myself to a splash of it. On one occasion, there wasn't a bottle opened, but there was a bottle sitting on the counter so I got out the corkscrew and helped myself. For some reason, the spaghetti that night was the best ever. My husband asked what wine I put in it and I showed him the bottle. He nearly fell off the chair. I had opened a rather expensive bottle he had bought to give his boss. Goes to show you--don't use a wine for cooking you wouldn't drink. You get the best results from a good wine!

Ingredients:



2 lbs Italian sausage, casings removed(mild or hot)

 1 small onion, chopped (optional)

3 -4 garlic cloves, minced

1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes

2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste

2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce

2 cups water (for a long period of simmering for flavors to meld. If you don't want to simmer it as long, add less)

3 teaspoons basil

2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes

1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

 1/4-1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

 1/4 teaspoon fresh coarse ground black pepper

1/4 cup red wine (a good Cabernet!)

 1 lb thin spaghetti parmesan cheese 

Directions:

1 In large, heavy stockpot, brown Italian sausage, breaking up as you stir.

2 Add onions and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until onions are softened.

3 Add garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce and water.

4 Add basil, parsley, brown sugar, salt, crushed red pepper, and black pepper.

5 Stir well and barely bring to a boil.

6 Stir in red wine.

7 Simmer on low, stirring frequently for at least an hour. A longer simmer makes for a better sauce, just be careful not to let it burn!

8 Cook spaghetti according to package directions.

9 Spoon sauce over drained spaghetti noodles and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Almond Chicken Italienne

Ingredients                                       Serves: 2

2 chicken breast fillets, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 sticks of celery, finely sliced
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
Good sprinkle of dried or fresh Italian herbs
4 roma tomatoes, quartered
4 large sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, sliced
6 black olives, halved
2 tablespoons slivered almonds
salt and pepper
200 ml water
200g pasta
2 dessert spoons of green pesto
two handfuls wild rocket
shavings of fresh Parmesan

Preparation 

Prep: 15 minutes | Cook: 15 minutes

1. In a large fry pan or wok, brown the chicken in 2 tbsp olive oil. Add the celery, onion and garlic and cook for 5 to 10 minutes until softened, and the chicken is moist but not overcooked.

2. Add herbs, tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, olives, almonds and salt and pepper to the chicken mix, and stir fry for another 3 minutes. Pour in the water and continue to stir till most of the water is absorbed.

3. Meanwhile, bring to the boil a large pan of water with a drop of olive oil, and cook the pasta according to packet directions till al dente. Drain the pasta and immediately stir in the pesto and the wild rocket.

4. Serve the pasta in 2 large bowls, add the chicken mixture on top and garnish with shavings of Parmesan.