Food is Food

Fifteen years ago, my knowledge of Greek food consisted of hummus and gyros (which I only ate when the bars closed).  Thank god it has expanded since then, because it might be one of my favorite cuisines.  One day, mark my words, I will go to Greece and eat my way through the country.  Until then, I will continue to explore the wonderful Greek restaurants this country has to offer, like Petros in California and Avra and Limani in New York.  My favorite things to order are Grilled Octopus, Moussaka, lamb anything and always, ALWAYS, Shrimp Saganaki, which is a simple, flavorful dish consisting of shrimp cooked in a tomato feta sauce.    

I've been dying to try it at home and I finally did.  It was extremely easy to make and I loved it.  Make sure you buy some crusty bread or soft pita to sop up this sauce.  I followed the recipe here (and ditched the greek liquor because I didn't feel like buying an entire bottle).  This is a wonderful transitional meal for the change of seasons... comforting but not TOO heavy.  Make it.  Opa!  

When we were visiting The Voice set over vacation, I discovered something FANTASTIC.  My almost-three-year-old PICKY eater will eat tuna salad!  You see, television sets are a dangerous, dangerous place for little kids.  There are scattered jars of M&M's and jelly beans and gum (so much gum!) and then trays of cookies and bars and sometimes they bring out something called Cookie Pie and serve it with ice cream and I die.  Like I said, television sets are dangerous places for grown women who write food blogs.  Anyway, I was bribing Etta to eat SOMETHING healthy before she dove into the candy jar, and tuna salad it was.  We had tried it at home before, but after eating "The Voice" tuna (weird) I realized what I had done wrong.  Mine was too chunky.  This was whipped, and fluffy... a spread-like consistency.  So when I got home, I decided to put my tuna in the food processor.  It was delicious!  Some mayo, some garlic salt, fresh lemon juice and salt and pepper...

Now we make Tiny Tuna Melts for the kids on crackers with white cheddar, and grown up versions on sourdough bread with sliced tomato and avocado.  I pop both versions under the broiler and watch until the cheese gets bubbly and slightly golden (adding the avocado for the adult sandwiches at the end).  You should definitely try the food processor trick for your tuna if you haven't already!

(Serves 4-6)

12 oz. tuna (I like solid albacore in water)

1/2 cup light mayo

Juice of half a lemon

Garlic salt

Salt and Pepper

Drain tuna, and place in food processor or blender.  Pulse until smooth.  Place in bowl, and add mayo and lemon juice.  Stir until smooth.  Add garlic salt, salt and pepper and taste until desired consistency is reached!

Also, Tuna Avocado Toast and Tuna Casserole

Want to know something?  I love olive oil.  Some women collect shoes, or handbags, or jewelry... and I collect olive oils.  One of my favorite brands, Bertolli, is celebrating their 150th anniversary and they sent me that beautiful anniversary bottle above.  It's so pretty!  I want to carry it around like a handbag or wear it on my feet!  I'm very normal!  Anyway, to celebrate, Bertolli is having a recipe contest in which you could win a trip to Tuscany (as well as other prizes) just by submitting a dish using Bertolli oils.  Check it out here and enter soon, the deadline is July 31st!

The other night, using Bertolli olive oil (duh), I tried to recreate a dish we recently had at the Manhattan Beach, CA restaurant Love and Salt.  If you follow me on Instagram, then you know I pretty much fell in love with this restaurant right away.  We ate insanely crispy yet juicy roast chicken, and pasta with bone marrow (yup), and a salad with crispy garbanzo beans... all while sipping spicy margaritas.  And we began the meal with an albacore tuna and avocado toast.  This toast was something magical... every bite so full of bright texture and flavor.  I could have made love to the toast alone... perfectly crispy and probably soaked in delicious olive oil.  Creamy avocado, with a hint of lemon, topped with fresh, chunky tuna that melted in your mouth, and sprinkled with some sort of olive (caper?) mixture and a sliver of onion.  Am I still talking about this toast??

I thought it would be the perfect appetizer to make with my fancy olive oil, see what I did below...      

I had ciabatta bread leftover from our local pizza joint, so I used that, however you could use sourdough or french bread.  Just slice, and sauté on the stove in a splash of olive oil over medium heat until both sides are golden.  Take a can of solid white albacore tuna (soaked in water), drain and place in a bowl.  Scoop out an avocado into another bowl and mash with a fork.  Take the juice of half a lemon, and sprinkle over both bowls.  Drizzle both bowls with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.  To assemble toasts, spread avocado first, then tuna and then top with some chopped kalamata olives (or use an olive tapenade).  Serve and enjoy!