I’d like to start off by wishing everyone a Happy New year, and I do know things have been quiet here since Thanksgiving of last year. I do apologize for that, but I will go on to say this site is a labor of love. Sometimes we just get busy. The job, family, the holidays, everything comes at you and thus some things end up back-burnered. Regardless, I thank you all for continuing to come to this site.

My holiday season was great. I actually did more baking, something I don’t do often enough. I am going to try to make an effort this year to feature more baking and put some variety into everything, rather than just traditional dinner recipes.
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Tags: Chicken, garlic, Greek, Italian, potatoes

Can you believe I once tried going vegetarian?

This all started when I watched the documentary Forks Over Knives and wondered about my health, and if I should simply do as relatives in Greece have done – eat meat only once a week. I decided to try what’s known as lacto-vegetarianism, which is basically where I’d not eat beef, pork, chicken, or fish, but I would eat dairy products and eggs.
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Tags: rice, squash, stuffed, thanksgiving, Vegetarian

More than anywhere in the US, New Orleans has been a mecca for food and some of the most known chefs we’ve seen in the media. Emeril Lagasse, Paul Prudhomme, Susan Spicer, etc. There is no doubt that Cajun and Creole cuisine has made a huge impact on American culture.

My own exploration into Louisiana started with Jambalaya, but I’ve been more fascinated with the New Orleans staple of the Po’Boy. A submarine sandwich with its roots buried in a 1929 streetcar strike and later the Great Depression, it as unique in my opinion as the Chicago style hot dog.
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Tags: American, Creole, po'boy, sandwich, shrimp

I will say that despite how many ideas I’ve found on Food Network shows, Public Broadcasting (PBS) has been way more enlightening in educating me on world cuisine. It’s funny how over a year ago when I started this blog, it was because I was disappointed in the limited offerings of different cuisine in these shows. Now over a year later I travel the world in these broadcasts.

When Chef Yannis Mameletzis had popped up telling of his upcoming show The Cooking Odyssey, I was of course interested. Like many shows, I always learn something new and gained much in my own culinary repertoire. I like how his show is about Greek cuisine, but not just the traditional favorites.

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Tags: Greek, greens, hortopita, pie, Vegetarian

Lately, I’ve received some feedback from some readers who asked in why most of the recipes on this site are “complicated”. I was asked about “simpler” dishes like seasoned chicken or fish.

The reality is that there isn’t much to making simpler dishes as long as you know your seasonings and how to cook the chosen meat correctly. There isn’t much else to it, so today I’m going around the world with four fish recipes that are easy and simple for anyone to make.
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Tags: Asian, fish, Greek, Mexican, Slovak

Don’t you all remember the old Murray Head tune? Or maybe some of the younger folk remember the sampling when the Vinylshakerz used it? However you heard it, we’re heading out to Thailand today and sampling the cuisine.

Growing up, I had been lead to believe that all Thai food was basically Chinese cuisine made incredibly spicy. It’s a shame one has to grow to adulthood to learn the real truth. Thai cuisine is focused on light dishes with strong aromatic components. The “spicy” stereotype is just that, as the levels of heat are more about personal taste than cultural tradition. Most of the cuisine is really a mixture of ideas from neighboring China and other countries in Southeast Asia. What’s the most interesting is how Thai cuisine is can either be a single dish served to the connoisseur, or just a dish of rice with a selection of smaller dishes that diners can then take servings of to have with their rice.
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Tags: Asian, Chicken, noodles, pad thai, Thai