Showing posts with label greek. Show all posts
Showing posts with label greek. Show all posts

Star Fine Foods Dinner at Greek Village Inn

September 11, 2011 greek , star fine foods 0 Comments
What Star products do you have in your pantry? Star is not a brand name that instantly pops into your head, and yet I'll bet you have a few of their products. Perhaps one of their olive oils, a white or red wine vinegar in the global bottles, or a jar of olives or capers.

Just this month they have introduced the first mass produced California extra virgin olive oil. Up til now, all olive oils have been imported from Europe and elsewhere and/or blended with California olive oil. This new California EVOO is produced from three varieties of olives: Arbequina, Arbosana, and Koroneiki.

I was privileged to be contacted by Star Fine Foods last July. They were doing marketing events with food bloggers and restaurants throughout the state. Would I be able to help them in Sacramento. They asked that I choose a restaurant to have the event and that it be Mediterranean, Italian, or Middle Eastern. The chef would be asked to create a menu around Star products.

I chose Greek Village Inn. I thought that it was the appropriate size and has an excellent reputation. I also thought the chef might be flexible enough to create the menu. Owner Cathy Tsakopoulos and chef Matthew Martinez were happy to work with us and created the menu below.

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Greek Lamb Stew

December 27, 2010 greek , lamb 0 Comments

This stew is fab! Especially if you sprinkle the feta cheese and mint on top before you eat it. I'm sure it would be even better if you added the wine, but since I don't drink, I don't have wines sitting around my house to add to cooking. This time I did the stovetop bits and then transferred everything to the crockpot for the day. I would suggest doubling it because we chowed and finished it all between the two of us!

Greek-style Lamb Stew

2 lb lamb stew meat in 3/4 inch cubes
1/4 t salt
1/4 t ground pepper
2 c reduced sodium beef broth
2 t olive oil
3/4 c chopped onion
3/4 c chopped celery
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 c red wine or additional broth
3/4 c canned diced tomatoes
1/4 c tomato paste
1 t fennel seeds
1/2 t cinnamon
1 T flour

Sprinkle lamb with salt and pepper. Heat a large non-stick skillet on medium high until hot. Add lamb in two batches, cooking until browned, stirring frequently. After each batch, add 1/4 c of broth to skillet to deglaze. Transfer lamb and liquid to a heavy medium pot.

Now add oil to skillet and heat til hot. Add onion and celery and cook until tender, stirring occassionally. Add garlic and cood for 30 seconds. Add wine. Bring to a boil, deglazing pan.

Transfer onion mixture to lamb pot along with rest of ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat. In a small bowl whisk together flour and 1 T of broth. Whisk into stew to thicken. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes or until lamb is tender.

Serve with crumbled feta and chopped mint on top of bowls.


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