Hummus and Pitas

After getting home, I stole a recipe from Kristen's blog and made YUMMY pitas, and hummus that actually tasted good. THEN, when I was sick of the garlic (because in true Emily style, I put 3 cloves of garlic rather than just one) I made honey-butter .

I'm not going to lie. Sometimes, I feel like I out do myself.

I'm that awesome...  (and humble)

Ok, enough about me, here's the recipe stolen from K-bob, stolen from Joy. Joy of Cooking, that is...

Pita Bread from Joy of Cooking
3 c flour
1 1/2 TBSP sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 TBSP yeast (2 pgks)
2 TBSP butter, melted
1 1/4 c room temperature water

1. Mix flour, sugar, salt and yeast in mixer. Add in butter and water. Mix about 1 minute until ingredients are combined. Knead for 10 minutes.
2. Place dough in oiled bowl, cover with plastic or a towel and let rise about an hour, or until doubled in size.
3. Preheat oven with pizza stone in it to 450 degrees. (I don't have a pizza stone, so I just used a cookie sheet, it seemed to work great)
4. Punch down dough and divide into 8 balls. Cover with plastic and let rest for 20 minutes.
5. Roll out balls into rounds, about 1/8" thick and 8" in diameter. (Thicker ones will be easier to open and fill.)

6. Place rolled out dough on heated pizza stone for 2-3 minutes, flipping half way through the cooking.

Hummus
1 can garbonzo beans (chickpeas)
2-3 TBSP lemon juice
2-3 TBSP olive oil
1 clove garlic (or 3, if you are afraid of vampires, or aren't thinking about kissing anytime soon.)
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
dash of cayenne pepper and black pepper

Place garlic in food processor until finely chopped. Add remaining ingredients and process until desired consistency. Add more/less lemon juice and oil depending on desired thickness. 
 

It's all Greek to me!

So here are the recipes for the greek extravaganza we had for family dinner the other night. Even the leftovers are amazing! 

Ingredients

• 1/2 onion, cut into chunks
• 1 pound ground lamb
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram (I didn't have any so didn't use it)
• 1 teaspoon ground dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon ground dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 scant teaspoon sea salt 

Directions

1. Place the onion in a food processor, and process until finely chopped. Scoop the onions onto the center of a towel,(Paper towel!) gather up the ends of the towel, and squeeze out the liquid from the onions. Place the onions into a mixing bowl along with the lamb and beef. Season with the garlic, oregano, cumin, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, black pepper, and salt. Mix well with your hands until well combined. Cover, and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours to allow the flavors to blend. (I just let it sit overnight, which made the next day prep super easy!)
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
3. Place the meat mixture into the food processor, and pulse for about a minute until finely chopped and the mixture feels tacky.(I didn't have a food processor big enough, so I skipped this part and it was fine, I'd like to try it again, maybe next time I'm home....) Pack the meat mixture into a 7x4 inch loaf pan, making sure there are no air pockets. Place the loaf pan into a roasting pan and place into the preheated oven. Fill the roasting pan with boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the loaf pan.
4. Bake until the gyro meat is no longer pink in the center, and the internal temperature registers 165 degrees F (75 degrees C) on a meat thermometer, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Pour off any accumulated fat, and allow to cool slightly before slicing thinly.
5. Take the slices and fry them in a hot frying pan for a few minutes on each side. This makes the meat crispy like at the restaurants :)

Serve over Pitas with onions, tomatoes, feta (which I had but forgot to put out!) and Alton Brown's Tzatziki Sauce:

Tzatziki Sauce:

16 ounces plain yogurt

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped

Pinch kosher salt

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

5 to 6 mint leaves, finely minced

Place the yogurt in a tea towel, gather up the edges, suspend over a bowl, and drain for 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Place the chopped cucumber in a tea towel and squeeze to remove the liquid; discard liquid. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the drained yogurt, cucumber, salt, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and mint. Serve as a sauce for gyros. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.