The Feast

In Greek culture, they celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary on August 15th. Since that was just a few days ago, I thought it was appropriate to make their celebratory dish for this occasion. Lamb yiouvetsi is a traditionally special meal that is served for the family lunch during this holiday. I decided to serve it with a Greek salad and some yummy baklava for dessert!

The lamb yiouvetsi came together really quickly, aside from the cooking time. I cut a lamb shoulder up into serving-size portions and put it in a roasting pan with a can of tomatoes, some minced garlic cloves, EVOO, dried oregano, salt and pepper and some hot water. After an hour and 10 minutes in the oven, I took the lamb out of the pot, added some orzo and stirred it all up, added the lamb back to the pan and cooked it for another 40 minutes. If I did this again, I'd probably cut the lamb into larger pieces so that it didn't cook as quickly...it was a little dry, but still, a delicious meal!

The Greek salad was totally simple to put together - just some romaine, cucumbers, tomatoes, scallions, crumbled feta and black olives. The dressing is just EVOO and lemon, with a bit of salt and pepper. If you put it in a closeable container, you can shake it vigorously so that the mixture emulsifies. It's totally refreshing, and seriously easy! I opted for some heirloom tomatoes to give the salad a bit of local flair, as well!

As for that baklava, oh my goodness! After I made all the layers of fillo dough, brushed with melted butter, and layered with a pistacio-almond-sugar mixture, I covered it with a coffee and sugar syrup flavored with cardamon, clove and cinnamon. The ooey-gooey texture of the baklava is so delicious, and this was really an easy dessert...and you know how I am with the baking... :)

Where will our journey take us next? Stay tuned...

The Aegean

Hi there, culinary comrades! We needed to run an errand in the Natick/Framingham area tonight after work, which meant a drive in the midst of rush hour to the good ol' Metro West. Luckily, I remembered that I had purchased a voucher from BuyWithMe! I spent $25 for a coupon worth $50 at one of our favorite Greek restaurants, The Aegean.

We love this place, and when we're in the neighborhood, we can't help but stop in for lunch, dinner or whatever works at the time we're around! Their menu is extensive and most entrees come with an amazing greek salad, and a choice of side (the rice pilaf with gravy is THE choice...although, you can have potatoes or veggies if you prefer!)

The atmosphere at this establishment is laid back yet sophisticated. The decor is modern and airy and it's a very relaxing place to enjoy a good meal. The bar area is usually hoppin' and I think they even have live music sometimes!

As we sat down, we immediately received a basket of pita bread and The Aegean's signature dipping oil - olive oil with lots of feta in it! It's delicious! As our waiter mentioned tonight, "Everything's betta with feta!" (Please pardon my pictures this time around - the light was weird in there and my flash did not do these images justice at all!)



Once we'd tucked into our pita triangles and feta oil, we ordered some drinks and decided what we would have for dinner. Most entrees come with a fresh Greek salad, which comes out momentarily after placing an order - and I was starving...I was totally looking forward to it!



I'm not going to lie, I usually get the same thing when we come here. Their spanakopita (Spinach Pie) is awesome...and enormous...and delicious...and it's one of my favorite things on this planet. However, I decided to go outside my little Greek box this evening, and I went with a lovely shrimp scampi over rice pilaf with a lemon-white wine gravy. Matt got stuffed sole and stuffed shrimp with the requisite rice pilaf and gravy.



The sauce was thick but light, and the shrimp were done perfectly. Their rice is always cooked to perfection and it was a very enjoyable meal. Because we needed to spend $50 on food to take full advantage of our voucher, we even got dessert, to go! Some Baklava and some Galaktoboureko (it's filo dough, with a greek custard - and as our waiter pointed out, it sounds a little like "booty call"), yum yum yum! We'll save those for a little later this evening...because right now, I'm full!

'καλή νύχτα' (Good night in Greek - pronounced cahlee-neet-ah)