Seven Layer Greek Dip

A delicious, healthy, and easy to prepare appetizer! I used regular feta instead of the crazy feta and it still had tons of flavor.

Seven Layer Greek Dip

Spinach Couscous Salad

I had a few of my friends over with their kids for a playdate with Abbie and I wanted something light and simple for lunch. Something I could make and set out on the table and forget about while I chased my little munchkin around the room. :)

This recipe from Aggie's Kitchen fit the bill perfectly! Delicious, healthy, Greek-inspired flavors in a delicious salad that can be prepared in advance. If you are looking to make this into a heavier meal, you could even add some shredded chicken. I picked and chose from the ingredients Aggie used and those her friend used, which are reflected below.

Spinach Couscous Salad

from Aggie's Kitchen

Makes 4-6 main dish servings

1 (9-ounce) bag baby spinach leaves

1 box Near East Roasted Garlic and Olive Oil, prepared according to package directions

1/4 red onion, diced

1 can (14-ounce) artichoke hearts, drained and diced (I forgot these but I think they would make a nice addition)

1/4 cup pitted and sliced kalamata olives

1 roasted red pepper, diced

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup crumbled feta cheese (4 ounces)

In large bowl, combine all ingredients except couscous and feta cheese. Add couscous (can be warm or room temperature) and toss. Sprinkle feta cheese on top and gently combine. Serve immediately.

Pasta Salad with Shrimp and Olives

This dish complemented the Nicoise Salad quite nicely. And the Lemon-Mustard Vinaigrette we made for the Nicoise would have been delicious on here as well. A lot of the ingredients in both salads were the same, so we chose to eliminate some from each so that there weren't too many repeats.

As you can see, we used rotini instead of linguine that the recipe suggested. Since this salad is made to be served at room temperature, I thought the shape of rotini or even campanelle or something similar was a better choice. Otherwise we didn't make any more changes. Next time, I would probably add a little more olive oil to the pasta, especially if you make it in advance, but all in all this was delicious!

Pasta Salad with Shrimp and Olives
from Bon Appetit's Tastes of the World
Makes about 6 servings

3/4 pound chopped tomatoes
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 pound feta, crumbled
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chopped pitted black olives
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons dry white wine
1 tablespoon dried thyme (or less to taste)
6 green onions, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 pound linguine (or pasta of choice), cooked
1 pound cooked shrimp

Mix first 10 ingredients in large bowl. Add pasta and shrimp and toss. Season with salt and pepper.

Can be prepared several hours ahead of time and chilled. Bring to room temperature and serve.

Nicoise Salad with Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette

Ok, so technically my salad was not a Nicoise salad since I didn't even use the olives. And the original recipe called for grilled salmon over top but we already had seafood (and olives) in the Mother's Day Dinner menu. It's a good example though of how you can adapt this recipe to your tastes and play off the other items on your menu.

This vinaigrette is very good, a nice garlicky, mustardy oil-based dressing that you could probably use on a lot of different salads. I chose to serve it on the side instead of drizzling over everything in case we had leftovers.

The recipe below is in it's entirety so you can pick and choose as you'd like.

(Salmon) Nicoise Salad with Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette

from Small Parties: More than 100 Recipes for Intimate Gatherings

Makes 12 servings

Salmon

2 pounds boneless, skinless salmon fillets

2 tablespoons olive oil

kosher salt and ground black pepper

Brush both sides of salmon with oil and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Heat an outdoor grill to medium or use a grill pan on a stove top. Grill fillets 4-5 minutes each side, until slightly pink in center. Remove from grill, cool to room temperature, and chill until ready to serve.

Salad

2 heads Romaine lettuce, cleaned and cored

2 pounds new potatoes (or red potatoes), cooked, chilled, and cut into bite-size pieces

8 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered

1 pound fresh green beans or asparagus spears, trimmed and blanched

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, washed and cut in half lengthwise

1 cup Nicoise olives

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

Place lettuce leaves on a large serving platter. Cut the salmon fillets into 1-inch-thick slices an place on lettuce. Arrange potatoes, eggs, and beans or asparagus in individual sections on platter. Sprinkle tomatoes, olives, and onion over entire dish. Serve vinaigrette on side or drizzle over entire salad. Serve immediately.

Vinaigrette

zest and juice of 2 large lemons

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup fresh tarragon (I omitted)

2 anchovy filets (I omitted)

1 tablespoon capers

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Whisk all ingredients except olive oil in small bowl. While still whisking, gradually add olive oil until incorporated. This can be made a day ahead.

Hearty Winter Salad with Sherry Vinaigrette

This salad was delicious - although I would probably name it something with "Mediterranean" in the title since it includes olives and feta. I also think it would be very tasty with a nice arugula blend. The dressing was nice and garlicky and highlighted the salad nicely. If you don't have sherry vinegar, you can use balsamic vinegar - the dressing will just be a little more acidic.

This was a Giada-heavy meal and the only thing I really adjusted was the serving size that she indicated. If you are serving this as a first course or along with a substantial dinner, you will get many more servings out of the amounts below.

Hearty Winter Salad with Sherry Vinaigrette
from Everyday Pasta
Makes about 6-8 servings

Dressing
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 large garlic clove
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil

Salad
1 (10-ounce) bag baby mixed greens, rinsed and spun dry
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
2 ounces feta cheese, coarsely crumbled

Blend the vinegar, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper in a blender until garlic is finely chopped. With the motor running, slowly blend in the oil. (Alternatively, you can mince the garlic and whisk together all the ingredients except the oil. Then slowly add the oil while whisking until emulsified.)

Toss the baby greens, bell pepper, olives and cheese in a large salad bowl. Drizzle with the dressing and toss to coat.

Roast Chicken with Pancetta and Olives

I think it's pretty much safe to say that when you serve a dish at a dinner party and it's all your guests talk about for the rest of the night, on the ride home, and AGAIN the next morning; then you can consider that a huge success!

And I must admit that I am now converted - I will never again, for any recipe that calls for a whole chicken cut-up, wimp out and buy skinless, boneless chicken breasts from the store. I knew that the chicken would be tastier with the bone-in and the skin-on so I finally called our local butcher and ordered two little guys cut up into 10 pieces each. And WOW did it make a difference!

This was one of the juiciest, most delicious chicken dinners I have ever eaten, and to quote one of the guests, "I would order this at a restaurant". I really don't think it was my cooking skills either - you pretty much spread the chicken out on a baking sheet and let the oven do the work!

Use the pancetta and olives even if you don't like them - just cooking them with the chicken will add another flavor profile that you shouldn't pass up. Seriously, make this for your next party - it will be a winner! And special props to Katie for pointing me in the direction of this recipe!

Roast Chicken with Pancetta and Olives
from epicurious.com
Makes 8 servings

2 chickens (about 3 1/2 pounds each), cut into 10 or 12 pieces
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped thyme
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
1 tablespoon fine sea salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon hot red-pepper flakes
10 garlic cloves, peeled
2 (1/4-inch-thick) slices pancetta, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup dry white wine
24 oil-cured black olives

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F with a rack in the middle of the oven.

Arrange chicken, skin side-up on a large, rimmed baking sheet (cover sheet with foil for easier clean-up). Combine olive oil, thyme, rosemary, salt, red pepper flakes and 1 teaspoon pepper; rub onto top of chicken pieces.

Scatter garlic and pancetta on top of chicken and roast until chicken begins to brown, about 20 minutes. Drizzle wine over chicken and roast another 8 minutes. Scatter olives over chicken and roast until skin is golden brown and chicken is cooked through, about 15 to 20 minutes more.

Let stand 10 minutes. Transfer to serving plate and top with remaining juices.

Panzanella Salad

There are so many recipes for panzanella salad out there, it's easy to get overwhelmed. After some research on the internet, on blogs, and based on what I had in my refrigerator; I settled on the following recipe. I got my main inspiration from Elly but changed it to suit our tastes.

This salad was very refreshing, next time I may add more bread, but because I was serving this with the pulled pork sandwiches I didn't want to overload on the carbs. Feel free to increase or decrease the amounts of ingredients, just make sure to adjust the amount of dressing.

Panzanella Salad
adapted from Elly Says Opa!
Makes about 4 servings

4 ounces French or other day-old bread
1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
3 plum tomatoes, cut into chunks
1/2 large cucumber, cut into chunks
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers
4-6 ounces green beans, trimmed and cut in half
8 kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
Lemon Basil Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Place a steamer basket in a medium pot, fill to bottom of steamer with water. Place green beans in pot and bring water to a boil. Cook just until beans turn bright green, then plunge into an ice bath to stop the cooking.

Cut bread into 1" pieces. Heat oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add bread, toss to coat with oil and cook until toasted, about 6-7 minutes. Remove the garlic, as it will be burned.

Place tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, red peppers, green beans, and olives in a large bowl. Add bread, toss with vinaigrette, and serve.

Lemon Basil Vinaigrette
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1/2 lemon, juiced (1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice)
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Whisk all ingredients together until well-blended.

Olive, Rosemary, and Onion Focaccia

There are several things you are going to learn about me as we become friends here on this blog. And that includes the fact that I have a list of "scared-to-make" foods. Things included on this list are large cuts of meat, anything to do with phyllo dough (one bad experience is enough to turn me away for life), and BREAD.

The bread item had remained unchallenged until about a two months ago when I attempted some herbed focaccia rolls, with good results. And then I saw this post over at ...A cookie a day and decided I would give focaccia yet another shot (complete with her advice to caramelize the onions). I made it last weekend, brought some over to my parents' house, and my mom and my sister both loved it!

So as we head back over to my parents' house for Sunday dinner this week; I will be bringing it again. Make sure to press the toppings into the bread before baking; as my first attempt had olives and rosemary leaves raining down on the plate when taking a bite. A nice, creamy Asiago cheese spread complements this well.

Olive, Rosemary, and Onion Focaccia
Epicurious

a 1/4-ounce package (2 1/2 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves plus whole rosemary leaves
1/4 cup minced onion, caramelized*
1/2 pound Kalamata, Niçoise, or green Greek olives or a combination, pitted and cut into slivers (about 1 cup)
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt, or to taste

*To caramelize onions, I heat a small amount of oil in a skillet and add the chopped onion. Cook for 30-35 minutes, while stirring regularly; until the onion starts to brown and become very soft.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook stir together the yeast, the sugar, and 1 3/4 cups lukewarm water and proof the yeast mixture for 5 minutes, or until it is foamy. Stir in 4 1/2 cups of the flour, the salt, and 2 tablespoons of the oil and knead the dough, scraping down the dough hook occasionally and adding as much of the remaining 1/2 cup flour as necessary to form a soft, slightly sticky dough, for 3 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turn it to coat it with the oil, and let it rise, covered, in a warm place for 1 hour, or until it is double in bulk. Knead in the chopped rosemary, press the dough with lightly oiled hands into a well-oiled 15 1/2- by 10 1/2-inch jelly-roll pan, (mine was rather "free-form", making a rough 9x16 rectangle on a large cookie sheet) and let it rise, covered loosely, for 30 minutes. The dough may be made 8 hours in advance and kept covered and chilled.

Dimple the dough with your fingertips, making 1/4-inch-deep indentations, brush it with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, and top it with the onion, the olives, the salt, and the whole rosemary leaves. Bake the focaccia in the bottom third of a preheated 400°F. oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until it is golden and cooked through. Transfer the focaccia to a rack, let it cool for 10 minutes, and serve it, cut into squares, warm or at room temperature.

Waiting to go in the oven...

...and cooling off after!