Panegyri Greek Festival

I forgot how much I missed church festivals in Cincinnati. The Greek Festival, at one of the local Greek Orthodox churches, is particularly special, because we have such a large Greek community here, and so much of the culture is reminiscent of Lebanese food, dancing, and dress.

It was a festival, so I wasn't expecting gourmet or anything, but this mezethes plate was very...canned. The fact that it was served on a styrofoam platter by the employees of a local Greek real estate company made it tolerable, maybe even adorable.

The dolls: Russian

The beer: German

The chili: Authentically Greek-lish

Because Ann asked for it, and it fits in with the Greek Festival theme [greek immigrants introduced it here in the 20's] , here is the uncontested, most official, up to date and accurate recipe for Cincinnati chili. Black Beans or TVP can be substituted for the beef with no problem.

This recipe is courtesey of WhatsCookingAmerica.net. I have never made the stuff from scratch, I prefer to hit up a Skyline at least once when I am in town.

Cincinnati Chili Recipe

1 large onion chopped

1 pound extra-lean ground beef

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon red (cayenne) pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa or 1/2 ounce grated unsweetened chocolate

1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1/2 cup water

1 (16-ounce) package uncooked dried spaghetti pasta

Toppings (see below)

In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, saute onion, ground beef, garlic, and chili powder until ground beef is slightly cooked. Add allspice, cinnamon, cumin, cayene pepper, salt, unsweetened cocoa or chocolate, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, cider vinegar, and water. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, 1 1/2 hours. Remove from heat.

Cook spaghetti according to package directions and transfer onto individual serving plates (small oval plates are traditional).

Ladle chili over spaghetti and serve with toppings of your choice. Oyster crackers are served in a separate container on the side.

Cincinnati chili lovers order their chili by number. Two, Three, Four, or Five Way. Let your guest create their own final product.

Two-Way Chili: Chili served on spaghetti

Three-Way Chili: Additionally topped with shredded Cheddar cheese

Four-Way Chili: Additionally topped with chopped onions

Five-Way Chili: Additionally topped with kidney beans

Home

spanish pine nuts
olive oil
walnuts
almonds
pistachios, turkish ground
red lentils
madagascar vanilla
hungarian paprika
tomato paste in a tube
local honey

quinoa

wild rice
black rice
za'atar
dill
dried chives
dried parsley
ak-mak crackers
dried shitakes
bulgur
semolina
dried cranberry beans
almond butter
ahweh
bay leaves
good mustard
mortar [to match my pestle]
capers
aleppo pepper
truffle oil

This grocery list has been the substance of my daydreams for the last 3 days.

This constitutes the list of goodies I hope to acquire my dads store on my trip home [my bus leaves in exactly 24 hours and I should be packing instead of blogging]. Anyway, I'm not trying to break his bank or anything, and a lot of this is insanely expensive, so if I end up with half of it, I'll be happy. I learned my lesson, and plan to pack nothing heavy or breakable [except the olive oil, which I may have to forgo]. No jars of tapenade exploding in the bottom of my suitcase in the middle of the Pittsburgh Greyhound station this time.

Next week I'll be blogging from my hometown of Cincinnati. If its a good trip, I'll have a lot to say. Findlay market, cooking with Rissa, Udipi, Graeters, and Aunt Cindy's grilled cheese and many more posts and possibility from porkopolis, coming soon.

roasted brussels sprouts with egg and brown butter

First of all, can I just say "go, me" for taking this picture? I know it might not stand out against the works of art that some of my favorite food bloggers compose daily, but for being taken with my Odd Lots point and shoot, I don't think its half bad!

I admit it. I have a little bit of food blog insecurity. The fact that there are so many hundreds people in the world who excel at cooking, writing and photography makes me a little ill. While I don't think I excel at any of the aforementioned, I do try really really hard! So the fact that I took a half-decent photo makes me pretty proud, especially considering I had exactly 45 minutes between work and my meeting to make this meal, which left little time for futzing with light and angles, ect.

Last week, my lunchtime jaunt to Iovines landed me with dollar bags of both persimmons and brussels sprouts. For a moment, everything was right with the world. The produce selection at my local grocery ain't all that, and there are some vegetables that I just forget about because they are rarely stocked. Brussels sprouts are one of them. I've loved them ever since I was five, and my baby sitter told me that I might find a cabbage patch kid inside one. I still eat them gingerly.

This recipe was pieced together from a number of different recipes, including this one at Smitten Kitchen and this one from French Kitchen in America, with help from this really good article in the San Francisco Gate on brown butter.

The eggs were not supposed to be eggs. They were supposed to be fish. I bought the fish, defrosted it, tried to cut it and...I couldn't do it. I felt sick, like I wanted to cry or puke or both. And then I felt silly. I put them in the microwave and encouraged the roommates to have at 'em, while I continued to balk at the fact that they still had their skin.

roasted brussels sprouts with egg and brown butter

1 bunch brussels sprouts
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 onion, sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, mashed with salt
2 tbsp. white wine vinegar [or wine, I debated for a very long time but ultimately went with the vinegar]
little bit of olive oil
sea salt
3 hard boiled eggs, quartered

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Chop bottoms off brussesls sprouts and remove outer leaves. coat lightly in olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and roast for 30 minutes.

While they are roasting, start your brown butter. Heat slowly until it starts to bubble, add onions and garlic and heat until the butter turns golden and it smells like childhood, christmas, or an ice cream parlor. And your onions are translucent and tender. Stir in the vinegar and set aside.

Arrange eggs on plate. When the brussels sprouts are done, scatter them onto the plate over the eggs, and pour brown butter over the whole concoction.

divine.

Southwest Tuna Salad

In 1991, when I was 10 years old, I had a profound and clarifying moment in the Krogers on Kenwood Road in Cincinnati, while accompanying my mom on a trip to the store. I got separated from her and spent several minutes gazing into the live lobster tank, saddened by their inevitable demise, wishing I would some day win the lottery and be able to buy all the lobsters and bring them home with me to live in my bathtub.

That day I became a vegetarian. I spent the next several years of middle school heckling the kids eating their baloney sandwiches, muttering" poor little piggy" under my breath, just loud enough for them to hear, and people like my grandpa would pick fights with me and tell me that plants scream when you cook them.

My dad was just getting his store going and marketing his hummus and stuffed grape leaves to the local vegetarian potluck group. I became something of a celebrity in the local vegetarian scene, the cute kid at the Earthsave potlucks and Audubon society lectures. My dad even quoted me a local fundraising cookbook saying "daddy, I don't want to eat anything with a face".

My philosophy on vegetarianism has evolved over time. What started out as a very simple equation [animals = cute, meat = animals, food ≠ animals] grew into a genuine and politicized concern about animal rights and welfare [I think I joined PETA in the 8th grade], into a growing concern for the environment and social justice, one in which I found a community of support in college. Throughout the years, as I've done more organizing work, I've come to believe that my dietary decisions mean very little in the grand scheme of things.

It is only in the last 8 months that I started occasionally eating fish. It wasn't any ceremonial decision; it happened slowly. someone offered me a tuna fish sandwich at an airport and I was like, it sure beats $8 panini, why the hell not. Despite the fact that it is mostly illogical, seeing as how fish have faces and all, pescetarianism was starting to feel like a good fit to me.

I rarely cook with fish, but cans of tuna have saved my lunch on several occasions. I'm still pretty squeamish when it comes to eating anything too fleshy. In fact, the last time I made fish, Ann had to cut it for me, while I stood cringing behind her crying "ew barf eww eww gross". But the cans of tuna require little in the way of "dealing", are cheap, healthy and non-perishable, and can be used creatively in so many different things.

This tuna salad is mayo free, and as such will stand up to the 100 degree temperatures so typical of....June [?!?]. Lime+Cilantro+Chili+Corn+Tomato. I don't know what else to call it except "southwest" which makes it sound like some dumb thing at T.G.I. Fridays, but whatever. It tasted good!

Southwest Tuna Salad

3 cans chunch light tuna, drained and pressed with a paper towel
1 can corn
1 tomato, chopped
1 bunch chopped scallions
1 bunch finely chopped cilantro
2 cloves garlic, smashed
hot pepper of your choice [I used Birdseye chilies]
juice of 1 lime
touch of olive oil
lotsa sea salt

There isn't much too this...just mix all the ingredients and enjoy on a wrap, bun or with crackers.


p.s. hope you like my new look!