Greek Inspired Pork Gyro

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Ingredients:

2.5 lbs Pork Loin, boneless

Marinade:

1 Tablespoon Smoked Hot Paprika (or none hot if you don’t like spicy food)

2 Tablespoon Fresh Oregano, minced

2 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley, minced

4 clove Garlic, fine grated or mashed

1 Lemon, Juiced

3 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 teaspoon Black Pepper

1 teaspoon Sea Salt

Optional – 2 teaspoon Brown Sugar (I added it to help with caramelization of the meat, it doesn’t overly sweeten the meat and helps to add color since I don’t have a spit roaster)

Equipment:

4-6 Metal Skewers with a round bit or otherwise at the end to prevent the meat from falling off

1 Large Roasting Pan with Rack in a V shape

Butchers Twine about 2 feet worth

 

Instructions:

1) Place the Pork Loin in the freezer for about 1 hour, it should be firm but not frozen solid

2) Mix all Marinade ingredients together in a large bowl

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

 

3) Slice Pork into about 1/4″ thick pieces and place in bowl with marinade ingredients. With gloved hands (or freshly washed bare hands) mix up the meat to make sure every piece is covered in marinade, push the meat down into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place in refrigerator for about 1 hour.

4) Over a shallow pan (for cleanliness) take two skewers and start stacking the meat onto these and pressing down until all pieces are on. About 1/3 of the way through you should be able to leave it vertical while you do so.

5) Once all the meat is on the two skewers push the remaining two through with their circle end on the opposite of where the other two are.

6) With the butcher twine tie off one end into the circle end of one skewer. Start wrapping the meat by running the twine through the circles on opposite sides so that it gets trussed up and brought in tightly. Once tight tie off on one of the circles. This keeps the meat tightly pressed together so it will cook more like a roast. Tuck in any obviously stray thin pieces hanging off, I had some little bits dangling which would of overcooked. 

7) Place in the V rack in the roasting pan and place in oven. Turn every 30 minutes or so. This will help ensure all sides get some of the top heat and brown more evenly.

8) Roast for about 1-1.5 hours or until it’s about 2/3 the size it was when you started.

 

Serving:

Cut off the twine and remove two of the skewers, hold vertical and slice along the outside with a sharp knife.

I like to serve it with freshly made (or store bought whatever you have time to do no judgement :D) Pita or Naan. Naan might sound like a strange pairing because it’s so much softer but it’s a quick flat bread that requires less rising/resting time as Pita. Spread the bread with Tzatziki, some sliced lettuce and tomatoes.

Tzatziki Sauce:

1 Cup Greek Yogurt (I used Skyr because it has less sugar but still that tang)

1 quarter Cucumber, diced

1 quarter Red Onion, diced

1 clove Garlic, fine grated or mashed

10 leafs Mint, minced

1 squeeze Lemon, about 2 teaspoons

1 pinch Black Pepper

1 pinch Salt

— — — — —

Mix all together and taste, adjust as needed

 

Brioche Feuilletée (Flaky Brioche)

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Ingredients:
400g Bread Flour
1 cup and a splash Whole Milk (about 225mil)
4 Egg Yolks
1 pinch Salt
2 teaspoon White Sugar
2 teaspoon Instant Yeast
— Layering —
2 Tablespoon Salted Butter, softened
3 Tablespoon Light Brown Sugar
— Topping —
1 teaspoon White Sugar

Instructions:

1) Mix all ingredients (except for Layering and Topping ingredients) and knead into a soft dough. It will be very very sticky at first, over time it will become smooth and elastic (it took about 20 minutes for me). Form a ball, place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap with a few holes in it, and let rise for about 45 minutes to 1 hour until double in size.

2) Dust a flat surface with flour, cut the dough in half, and mould each half into about a 6×6 square, let rest about 10 minutes

3) Roll out to 1/10″ in a long rectangle shape then let rest for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes roll until about 1/16″ keeping that long rectangle.

4) Brush with the soft butter in a very thin layer and sprinkle with the Brown Sugar.

5) Using a pizza cutter cut into 4 long strips and lay on top of each other with Butter side up to make four layers. Roll this up tightly and place end piece (where the end of the dough meets the roll) down on a dish. Repeat for second ball of dough. Place in the fridge for about 15 minutes.

6) Cut in half (the sharper the knife the better) and place cut side up on a tray with about 4-5″ between them. Put in fridge for 45 minutes.

7) Pre-heat oven to 370 degrees about 20 minutes into step 6

8) On a greased baking sheet (I used Pam and did step 6 on a greased baking sheet so I wouldn’t have to transfer the dough and maybe squish it) transfer the dough here if not already there about 4″ apart.

9) Sprinkle lightly with White Sugar and bake for 30-40 minutes or until dark golden Brown. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack til cool.

Future Attempts: My roommate pointed out that these would taste great with some almond paste in the layering and I was toying with whisking some jam into the butter for the layer. If these ideas turn out well I’ll make sure to post an update!

Pineapple Enchilada Sauce

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This versatile sauce works great in a couple of uses, my favorite is to use it as an Enchilada Sauce (hence the title) but it also works well when unstrained as a standalone Salsa, for a topping of Tacos/Nachos, seasoning other sauces, mixed with Sour Cream for topping or dip, and anything else you can think of.

Ingredients:
1/2 medium Pineapple, cored
2 cans Diced Tomato (about 6-7 Fresh Roma Tomatoes chopped)
1/4 Dried Bird Chilis
2 Guajillo Chili, deseeded and rehydrated (see below in Tips for how-to)
4 Ancho Chili, deseeded and rehydrated (see below in Tips for how-to)
1 Yellow Onion, chopped
4-6 Garlic Cloves, whole
1 teaspoon Mexican Oregano (you can use Italian but the sauce will be sweeter)
1/2 teaspoon ground Cumin
1 teaspoon Sea Salt (more for if you need it to season to taste)
1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil

Instructions:

Heat 1/2 Oil on the stove over medium heat

1) Add Pineapple and cook til soft, set aside
2) Add other 1/2 of Oil to pan and bring to heat add: Onion and Garlic then cook for about 3 minutes.
3) Add Oregano and Cumin cooking for about 30 seconds, add Tomato and bring to a simmer
4) Add 1 cup Water, Salt, Bird Chili, Guanjillo, and Ancho Chilis. Simmer for about 8-10 minutes
5) Either: place all ingredients plus pineapple in a blender and puree til smooth OR Using a hand blender add the pineapple to the pan and blend til smooth
6) Pour through either: a Chinoise (also commonly known as a Chine Cap) gently tap or press OR you can line a regular pasta strainer with cheesecloth (I’ve been known to use 2 layers of paper towels in a pinch) and gently tap or press to remove the fibers leaving a smooth sauce. You want to get as much out as possible, if some fibers are pushed through it isn’t that big of a deal.
7) Reduce this sauce over a medium heat (a low-medium simmer) until thickened to about Heavy Cream thickness.

Serving/Tips:

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Deseed and Rehydrate Chilis – Cut off top near the stem and knock out seeds over a bowl to deseed. Boil water and pour over chilis in a large bowl, let sit for about 20-30 minutes. You can reserve this water for later to add to the sauce to loosen instead of plain water if you want.

Don’t let the sauce boil, I’ve found it comes out much more bitter if brought to a full boil more so if the boiling happens during the reducing step.

If you want to before adding the Tomatoes you can add about 1/4 Tequila and reduce which can add a little extra flavor to the sauce.

Reduce your sauce too much for what you want to do? Just splash in water about a tablespoon at a time and whisk until it’s back where you would like it.

 

 

Panko Coated Fried Fish

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Ingredients:
2 Cod or Catfish filets, cut into 4 pieces (you can use pretty much any fish with this that you like)
2 cups Panko Breadcrumbs
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1 tablespoon Garlic Powder
1 tablespoon Lemon Pepper
Vegetable Oil, enough to put about 1/2” in your pan

Instructions:

Heat Oil on stove over medium-high heat

1) Dry each piece of fish and rub with sour cream all over for a thin layer
2) Mix Panko, Garlic Powder, Lemon Pepper, and Salt taste, press each piece of sour cream covered fish into the Panko Mix on all sides.
3) Slide into hot oil and fry for about 1-2 minutes on each side until golden brown.
4) Remove from oil onto a plate with paper towels, serve immediately.

Marionberry Jam Shortbread Cookies

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Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups Butter, softened
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 cup White Sugar
4 cups All-Purpose Flour1/2 your preferred Jam ( I used Marionberry Jam)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1) Cream butter and sugar until fluffy in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Add in vanilla, flour and mix well. It will look crumbly and dry, this is fine.

2) Compress the dough with a spoon and/or hands then form into flat roundish shapes, or if you have a cookie press fill it up with the dough and press out your cookies. This is best if you care about the shape.

3) Bake for 10 – 12 minutes, they will still be white/pale. If you want more color after you fill them you can pop them under the Broiler on High for about 1 minute watching closely.

4) When you take them out use a small spoon to press a shallow indent into the cookie.

5) Whisk you chosen jam until smoother then spoon a small amount into the indent while the cookie is still warm. Let cool and enjoy