A Mediterranean Feast, and Candy Corn Cookies!

I've had a couple requests so far, and one has been for chicken, and the other was for flat breads. The first thing I could think about was herbs, feta cheese, and olives. Mediterranean was on my mind and I was determined to do it. The subtle yet bold flavors that are contained in this cuisine are always light and fresh. For my feast I made Grilled Mediterranean Chicken, Greek Salad, and Pita Bread. But since its close to Halloween, and my family loves desserts, I also made sugar cookies that look just like candy corns. You'll have to see the picture, and they are so easy! Now, to the recipes...

 Mediterranean Chicken
Yields: 4 to 6 servings

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 or 4 bay leaves, dried or fresh, chopped (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Olive oil (about two tablespoons)
2 pounds of chicken (I used leg quarters, but breast meat would do nicely as well)

In a large bowl, mash all of the herbs and spices together, and then start adding the olive oil. You will need about two tablespoons, but keep adding the oil until you have a loose paste. Add the chicken to the bowl and toss to coat all of the chicken. Marinate for about 6 hours or overnight. Marinating is optional, but it deepens the flavors. Once ready to cook, grill the chicken for about 20 minutes on each side for bone-in or 8 minutes on each side for boneless. Check the inside with a knife before removing from the grill. If you don't have a grill, the chicken can also be baked at 400 degrees Fahrenheit or 200 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes, and then reduce the heat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 175 degrees Celsius for about another 20 minutes. Check with a knife when done. Another option is cooking the chicken in a pan. Cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes on each side for bone-in, or 6 minutes on each side for boneless. Serve with lemon wedges.

 Greek Salad
Yields: 5 servings

For the salad:
1 head of iceberg lettuce, torn into pieces
3 tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 onion, cut into rings
1/2 cup olives
150 grams (6 ounces) of feta cheese, crumbled

For the dressing:
6 tablespoons of olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Combine all dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Wash the salad and place in a large bowl. Dress the salad, but be careful: you may not need all of the dressing! Toss the salad and dump into a serving bowl. Enjoy!

Pita bread
Yields: 12

1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) of dry active yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon castor sugar
3 cups flour (any combination of white and wheat, I used 1 cup wheat and 2 cups white)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup lukewarm water

Dissolve the yeast and sugar into the 1/2 cup of warm water. Meanwhile, combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a depression in the middle of the flour. Once the water is very frothy (about 10 minutes), pour it into the depression in the flour mixture. While stirring, slowly add the cup of lukewarm water. Dump the dough out and knead it for about 10 minutes until it's smooth and elastic. Place the dough into a large oiled bowl, and very lightly coat the bread with oil as well. Allow to rise for 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit or 260 degrees Celsius. Put the rack as low as possible.  When doubled, roll the dough out into a rope and cut it into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a circle about 5 to 6 inches wide. Bake on a greased pan for 4 minutes on the first side, and when it puffs up, flip it. Bake for 2 more minutes. Spread a little butter on each one once baked to keep them soft. Repeat with each pita. Enjoy with grilled meat, or as a wrap.

Candy Corn Slice and Bake Cookies
Yields: About 3 dozen cookies

3 cups white flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup castor sugar
5 tablespoons oil
4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Food coloring

 Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium sized bowl. Beat sugar, oil, and butter on high with a hand mixer until smooth in another bowl. Add eggs one at a time, and then add vanilla. Slowly add flour mixture, and mix until just combined. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 175 degrees Celsius. Dump the cookie dough out, and shape it into a triangle. Cut lines where the colors would meet on an actual candy corn. You should have three pieces of dough. Color each one accordingly: the smallest portion leave white, the middle portion color orange, and the other portion color yellow. Freeze the dough for about 8 minutes before proceeding.  Roll each piece, starting with the yellow, into a log. Flatten it out and place on a cutting board. Repeat with the orange, and then with the white. Pile the dough on top of each other to form a slope. Shape the dough into a elongated pyramid shape, and refrigerate for about 12 minutes. Cut the dough into 1/4 inch slices and place on a baking sheet. You can reshape the dough a little once cut to be more like a triangle if needed. Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes. Enjoy with a big cup of coffee and a good book!  

Fifteen and Rockin' It

First of all, thank you to everyone, which is pretty much all of you, who helped make my birthday special. Some of you posted on Facebook, texted me, or met up with me. You guys are so cool! Celebrating my birthday here in India helped me to remember that God has given me so many new friends, which have become just like family. One of my friends, before we left the US, gave our family a wooden plaque that reads "Friends are the family you find along the way." That is so true. Everyone who is a believer is in my family too, which is pretty awesome if you think about it. Even though I wish I could've celebrated with my biological family too, I had a truly wonderful time, and now I am OFFICIALLY 15 years and 1 day old. :)

For my birthday, I made a three layer cake. This was a white cake with a chocolate ganache and Reese cup filling frosted with buttercream icing. I also made homemade chocolate ice cream to go with it, but we ended up eating the ice cream the night before my birthday. My dad couldn't wait. I couldn't wait either. On my birthday, for brunch, I made Quiche Lorraine and Balsamic Vinaigrette dressed salad greens and Raspberry Iced Tea. (The name of the tea is capitalized because that's how good it was.) Then I did a little birthday shopping with my birthday money that was kind of burning a hole in my pocket. BUT I only spent a little, and I saved the rest. Maggie was very proud of me. (She is the queen of saving money!) After desserts and coffee with some of my youngish friends, I went over to our friends-that-have-become-family's house and hung out for a little while before we went to dinner. Now I usually try to be culturally appropriate and not like eat a ton of meat or talk about it that much but that night, I had BBQ ribs. They were amazing. And the potatoes were amazing. And some of Maggie's curly fries were amazing. And the company was amazing. The whole night was wonderful. I went home and went to bed around midnight, after staying up 'till midnight the night before as well. (That cake wasn't gonna frost itself!) I had a blast cooking for my birthday, but now the question of Thanksgiving has come up. And especially the question of the turkey. Do you roast it, fry it, bake it, boil it, steam it, or grill it? That is a question for another day I think. 

Lemon Icebox Pie

I hope you guys are enjoying my blog. I love suggestions, so if you want me to find a great recipe for something, let me know! Every recipe on my blog is one that I've made and really liked. These recipes are the best of the best. Oh, and when I talk about castor sugar, that is just the regular sugar in America. In India, the normal sugar isn't as refined, meaning each piece of sugar is bigger. So castor sugar is just another name for finely ground sugar. That is what I use for baking. Now, onto our Lemon Icebox Pie...

Meringue is one of those love it or hate it things. Meringue is really easy to scrape off if you don't care for it. I really like it, but mom doesn't really care for it. So when I make a pie that calls for meringue, I make it. One such recipe that has meringue on it and is a very easy one is called Lemon Icebox Pie. It's called "Icebox" pie because it's served straight out of the refrigerator. Some people use freshly squeezed lemon juice, but it just creates an opportunity for pulp and seeds to make their way into our pie, and no one wants that. I made a Ritz cracker crust for this pie, but you could use a store-bought crust or a traditional flour and butter crust. The recipes for each component of the pie are as follows:

Ritz Cracker Crust

Yields: One 9 inch pie crust

1 1/2 cups Ritz cracker crumbs

3 tablespoons castor sugar 

1/3 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 175 degrees Celsius. Toss all of the ingredients with a fork until thoroughly mixed. Press into a 9 inch pie plate and bake for about 10 minutes, until hard. Cool completely before using. 

Lemon Icebox Pie filling:

3 egg yolks (save the whites for the meringue) 

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 14 ounce/400 gram can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 175 degrees Celsius. Combine milk and juice in a medium sized bowl, and then beat in egg yolks. Pour into a cooled crust and set aside. 

Meringue:

3 egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter 

1/4 cup of castor sugar

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Then begin adding sugar in small amounts. Beat until stiff. Spread carefully and slowly on the filling. Seal to the edge of the crust. Bake the pie for 12 to 15 minutes, just until the meringue is lightly browned. After baking, let the pie cool, and then refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours until cold. 

I hope you enjoy the pie, and be sure to check back soon for recipes to create your very own Mediterranean feast!