Lucille's

DEARLY DEPARTED

Well it was goodbye to company today. And hello to more on Friday. I had plans of gallavanting and treasure-hunting for my booth and being the cupcake fairy at the grand's school today but my body would not take me there.

And so I sit at 2:30 in the afternoon still in my robe (red) pretty much zoned out.

But we had fun. And good food. And deep conversation. And laughs. And shopping extraordinaire. (Not so much sleep....hence the zoning.)


Excuse me.............Short break while I scarf a piece of chocolate mousse cake......There! I am marginally revived.

Last night we had a Greek Dinner

Sorry, I didn't even think about taking pics of the food.. You will have to use your imagination. Think awesome!

Here is the menu I made for each guest.

It was easy because I had made the spanokapita and had it in the freezer (so simple.....just fresh spinach and a square of feta wrapped in phyllo and slathered with melted butter and frozen unbaked. When ready to bake, put on a cookie sheet at 375 for 10 minutes or so til browned. Nice to have on hand for appies too)

The potatoes are so-o-o-o-o--o yum. I peel and quarter russets lengthwise, poke holes in them and put them in a ziploc bag with lemon juice, fresh garlic, s and p , fresh oregano and other herbs if I have them, like parsley, rosemary and thyme, and olive oil and chicken stock or water. I marinate them in the fridge for a few hours or over night and then the day before or the morning of, put them in a 9 x 13 pan and pour half the marinade over..... then bake at 400 til divine.... about an hour or so. Half an hour before dinner, pour on the rest of your marinade and put in the oven again at 375 for 30 minutes. These are so lemony delish!

For the kabobs, I cut up chicken breasts into cubes and marinate them in olive oil, lemon juice and zest, s and p and garlic and oregano for about 3 hours...no longer. Then thread on soaked wooden skewers and bake in the oven for 30 minutes with your potatoes.

The salad is great made a day or two ahead. Just make an ordinary Greek salad with red onions, peppers, black olives, cuke, tomato and feta, then add cooked and cooled orzo and dress with olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and zest and s and p.

 I did make my own pita bread and it is super simple but I won't bore you with that one. But you must have tzaziki sauce because it goes with everything up above. It is just plain greek yogurt or sour cream with grated cuke, lemon juice, garlic and s and p. You can also add some fresh mint if you have it.

I like to make baklava with copious whipped cream for dessert with this meal but a guest has a nut allergy so I went with a light lemon fluff dessert and lemon shortbread cookies with lemon glaze.

Basically everything was do-ahead so I didn't have that last minute panic as dinner was approaching.



This morning I saw them off with a simple fresh fruit salad and baked cinnamon toast.

Now it's on to the next guest....so special...my one and only sister Judy is coming to town...for a whole week.

Can't wait.