We’ve been really busy at the restaurant the past couple of weeks for both dinner and lunch service.  I feel really bad for the executive chef and sous chefs because they have been working literally 10–12+ hour days for the past two weeks without hardly any time off.  However, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel—only four days to go!!

During this time of year it always amazes me how much prep is involved for all the parties and banquets that are held at the restaurant.  We may have three different menus going at the same time serving several different parties ranging is size from 15 people to 200 people.  It takes a lot of planning, coordination, teamwork, commitment, and hard work from all of the employees to pull it off so that the customer has an enjoyable experience and chooses to dine at the restaurant again.  It’s pretty amazing actually, when it all comes together, and so my hat goes off to the chefs for their vision and leadership, the line cooks, pastry cook, prep cooks and dishwashers for their commitment and teamwork, and to all of management and the front of the house employees who interact directly with the customers and make their dining experience a very pleasant one.

Below is a photo of the line this morning while I was prepping for lunch service.  I was using practically every burner and we have a lot of them.  Also, all of the burners in the back prep area were being utilized, as well as the ovens.  And it starts all over again tomorrow morning…we have several large parties for lunch!!

I love comfort food, especially when it’s cold outside and there is nothing more comforting than making and eating Moussaka. It has bold flavors with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg and is rich and creamy. Preparing moussaka takes time, but it is fun to make and the results are so worth the effort!

A little background on the origin Moussaka It is a traditional aubergine (eggplant) dish from the Balkans and the Middle East, but it mostly associated with Greece and Turkey. The Greek version, which is best known outside the region, consists of layers of ground minced lamb, tomato sauce, sliced eggplant and then topped with a cheese-flavored béchamel sauce (probably introduced by Nikos Tselementes in the 1920’s) and baked until golden brown. Just as an aside note, Tselementes was a well-known professional chef from the Greek island of Sifnos, who created the moussaka that most of us know today. He is credited with extending the traditional ingredients of mincemeat and aubergines and combining them with the béchamel topping.

Moussaka made in Greece, uses a varietal eggplant called langada which is smaller than many other varieties and has a slender pear-shaped fruit. It is believed by Greeks that moussaka only tastes right if prepared with the langada eggplant, which gives it a flavor that is characteristic to Greek cuisine. My version actually combines flavors and textures from the entire region. In addition to the eggplant, I also use potatoes, which is found in moussaka recipes from countries like Bulgaria, Bosnia, Croatia and Macedonia.

To start, slice the eggplant using a mandolin to 1/8 -1/4 inch in thickness. Place eggplant slices on a rack over a sheet tray and sprinkle with salt. Let eggplant sit for about 30 minutes to remove excess liquid (eggplants contain 92% water content) and any bitterness. Rinse eggplant of any salt and pat dry with a paper towel. Toss eggplant slices in Greek olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in a 400-degree oven until slightly charred and soft. Meanwhile, slice Yukon gold potatoes or white potatoes to the same thickness as the eggplant and toss in olive oil and roast in the oven until lightly browned and somewhat soft. Let both the potatoes and eggplant cool on the sheet trays until ready to assemble.

To make the tomato sauce, finely dice onion and garlic and sauté in olive oil until softened.  Add tomato paste and deglaze the pan with red wine.  Reduce the wine, and add chopped fresh thyme and dried Greek oregano.  (If you can’t find dried Greek oregano then use fresh chopped oregano instead.)    Then add canned crushed roma tomatoes with puree, bay leaf, and water.  Simmer for about 45 minutes until thick and flavorful.  Meanwhile, finely dice another onion and sauté in olive oil until soft, add chopped garlic, and fresh ground chuck or a combination of lamb and chuck.  Add chopped fresh thyme, dried Greek oregano, cinnamon and salt and pepper to taste.  Cook mixture until the meat is finely minced and the flavors are combined.  Add mixture to a large bowl and stir in the tomato sauce and let cool to almost room temperature.  When mixture is cool, add freshly ground seasoned breadcrumbs and egg whites.  (The breadcrumbs and egg whites act as a binder to the mixture and also soak up any additional moisture from the eggplant.)  Taste again and re-season if necessary.  You should definitely taste the cinnamon.

To assemble the moussaka, pour a small amount of olive oil in a casserole dish and distribute evenly along the bottom and sides.  Place a layer of the roasted potatoes (slightly overlapping) on the bottom.  Next spoon an even layer of the tomato sauce-meat mixture over potatoes and then a layer of roasted eggplant slices, followed by a final layer of the tomato sauce-meat mixture.  Make sure surface is smooth and even and set aside.  

Finally, make the béchamel sauce by melting butter in a saucepan; stir in flour to make a roux and then add warmed milk.  Stir over low heat for about 5 minutes until sauce thickens.  It should be really thick and creamy.  Do not add any additional cream or it will be too thin.  Add a small amount of lemon juice, freshly ground nutmeg, and grated Greek cheese.  I like using a combination of Kefalotyri and Manouri cheeses.  If you can’t find Kefalotyri or Manouri then you can substitute Parmesan and Goat cheese instead and get similar results with taste and texture.  Once cheeses are melted, add salt and white pepper to taste and spoon mixture evenly over casserole.  Cook in a 375-degree oven for about 50 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.  Remove from the oven, tent with foil and let sit for about 30 minutes until firm enough to cut into rounds or squares.  Re-heat if necessary after cutting.

I serve my version of moussaka with a brown sauce made by reducing veal stock, shallots, thyme and a small amount of tomato paste until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.  I then strain the sauce through a fine strainer and season with salt and pepper and set aside.  I also drizzle the plate with oregano oil for color.  To make oregano oil, place a bunch of oregano in salted boiling water for about 30 seconds, then immediately immerse into ice water.  Once cool, remove the leaves from the stems and add to a blender along with olive oil, canola oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper to taste and blend until smooth.  Top moussaka with shaved Kefalotryi cheese, chevril for color and serve!

When the weather gets cold outside, and it has been quite chilly in the Bay Area this week, I like to serve hearty soups such as Tuscan White Bean with Pancetta, Italian Sausage, Cavolo Nero and Parmesan Gremolata.  This soup has beautiful colors with the red tomato broth, white beans and dark green leafy kale and it tastes really great too!

To start, soak white cannellini beans overnight in lots of water along with bay leaf, thyme sprigs and a couple cloves of garlic. To cook the beans, drain the soaking water and add beans to a large pot and cover with plenty of fresh water.  Bring the beans to a boil and then turn down to a low simmer and cook until al dente. Drain beans and set aside.

Meanwhile, roast a bunch of roma tomatoes (slice in half and toss in olive oil, salt and pepper) in a 400-degree oven until slightly charred. Cool tomatoes and then remove the skins and seeds.  Divide the tomatoes in half—blend half of the tomatoes and rough chop the other half.  Combine tomatoes together in a bowl and set aside for the soup. 

In a large pot, sauté diced pancetta (or you can use apple wood smoked bacon) in olive oil until fat has been rendered.  Add crumbled Italian sausage (either hot or mild) and cook until no longer pink. Next add medium diced carrots, onion and celery, along with chopped herbs such as thyme, rosemary, oregano and minced garlic. Cook the mixture for about five minutes to soften the vegetables and then add the chopped roasted tomatoes, chicken stock to almost cover, bay leaf and salt and pepper. Bring soup to a slight boil and then turn down and simmer for about 40 minutes to let the flavors combine.

To finish the soup add the white cannellini beans and chopped cavolo nero. Cavolo Nero is Tuscan kale and referred to as black cabbage because of the dark forest green/black leaves. The kale is very tender and almost lacy in texture and retains its color when cooked. If you can’t find cavolo nero then you can use regular kale, swiss chard, collard greens or spinach. Cook the soup for another five minutes to soften the kale and then taste again and re-season if necessary.

To garnish the soup, I made a parmesan gremolata, as it adds a fresh, tangy flavor and bright finish to the soup. Gremolata is normally made with minced parsley, lemon zest and minced garlic. To make my version, shred or grate really good parmesan and place in a bowl, along with finely minced garlic, chopped parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper. To serve, sprinkle the soup with lots of the parmesan gremolata and enjoy!

Unfortunately, I have not had a chance to blog for the past week, but what can I say…it’s the most wonderful time of the year:-).

I wanted to create a different chef special this week so I decided to make spanakopita a Greek meze, which consists of spinach and cheese wrapped in filo dough pastry and then baked until puffy and golden brown. In my version, I like to drizzle the pastry with warm honey (to balance out the pungent flavor of the cheeses) and then serve it with a salad of baby mixed greens, arugula, toy-box tomatoes, shaved red onion, crumbled feta cheese, tossed in a lemon-oregano vinaigrette—it’s awesome!!

Filo dough is really versatile. You can stuff it, fold it, wrap it and fill it with almost anything including meat, fish, cheese and yes fruit or chocolate.   However, when working with filo dough, it’s really important that once you open the box and remove the dough from the plastic lining that you cover it immediately with towels or it will dry out in minutes and become unusable.

It’s hard for me to describe in writing how to make the filo triangles even though they are really easy to make. So if you’re interested, I’ll be more than happy to respond to any emails with specifics in more detail. But first, you need to make the filling. Sauté finely minced onion and garlic in olive oil until soft. Place in a bowl and cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, blanch spinach and wrap in a towel to remove any excess moisture, finely chop the spinach and add to the onion mixture. For the cheese, I like to use three different Greek cheeses such as feta, kasseri, and kefalotyri (if you can’t find kefalotyri cheese, then you can substitute shredded parmesan.)  Next add chopped fresh mint, salt and pepper to taste and a raw whole egg.  Mix all the ingredients together—you should end up with a thick, somewhat dry consistency. To fill the filo, use a small ice cream scoop or pipe the mixture onto the filo.

Once the triangles are assembled, chill completely until firm and then bake in a 400 degree oven until puffy, crisp and golden. When finished, drizzle with warmed honey and serve!