Greece: Menu for a Grecian kitchen Odyssey

The first time I ever tried to make Greek food I was a college intern working at a newspaper in Jacksonville. It was a disaster. I followed recipes in a cookbook I bought when I was over there (I don't know why because at the time I anticipated a life of lackluster domestic skills).

Either way, the recipe for moussaka didn't say to drain the eggplant, so I didn't, and ended up with a soupy, watery mess. At this time in my life I also didn't understand the concept of Greek yogurt, so tried to make tzatziki with the regular kind. I was also halving the recipe, but forgot about that when I added the garlic. More soupy, smelly mess. Don't even get me started on the Greek potatoes.

But now I'm a little older, a little wiser and a little more savvy in the kitchen. At least savvy enough to look to what I consider the best recipe source on the Internet: FoodNetwork.com.

I love Greek food, and over time have found some awesome recipes there. Here's the menu I used for my Grecian kitchen Odyssey.

Greek salad: This Ina Garten recipe uses all the classic elements of Greek salads, but instead of serving it over lettuce you pour the dressing over chunks of vegetables. It's been a crowd pleaser every time I've made it. Everyone seems to like the crunchiness.

Tzatziki: This is another Ina recipe for the traditional Greek cucumber, dill and garlic yogurt dip.

Moussaka: Emeril gives us this recipe for the traditional Greek lasagna-like dish. It's layers of potatoes, eggplant, meat and of course the signature bechamel sauce. The recipe calls for lamb, but if you have guests who don't go there you can just substitute for more ground beef. I also add nutmeg to the meat mixture and the sauce, which is very traditional.

And the final recipe is actually one I've adapted from that otherwise useless cookbook I picked up somewhere in Greece. Just a nice little side dish. We paired the meal with quite the variety of wines and capped it off with some ouzo. More on beverage pairings later ...

Green beans with tomatoes

Ingredients:

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 tbsps. minced garlic

2 tbsps. olive oil

1 pound of green beans

1 white potato, sliced thin

1 can crushed tomatoes

1 can whole plum tomatoes

What to do:

Start by heating the olive oil in a large saute pan. Then add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are tender.

Now for the potatoes, I usually fry some up from the moussaka recipe and save them for this side dish. If you're not making the mousakka, add the potatoes to the onion and garlic and let them fry a bit.

Add the green beans, crushed tomatoes and whole tomatoes with their juice and transfer to some sort of soup pot. Bring to a boil, and then let simmer until the green beans reach desired tenderness. This will probably take about 20 minutes, and the tomato sauce should thicken.