Foodbuzz 24×24: Grilling Greek

Memorial Day: the last Monday in May, a day of remembrance for those who died in our nation’s service, the official opening of our beaches and the unofficial start of summer. And nothing says summer like an All-American barbecue. So for this month’s Foodbuzz 24×24 event, we decided to “unofficially” usher in the new season by Grilling Greek to honor our Greek-American roots. Friends and family gathered in the yard yesterday where we enjoyed the warm weather by grilling some Greek-inspired dishes.

Peppers Stuffed with Rice and Mushrooms — Πιπεριές Γεμιστές με Ρύζι και Μανιτάρια

I spotted these bright orange peppers in the market last week and instantly piled them up in a bag. Although I knew they’d be perfect sliced thin into a fresh salad or tossed with some pasta and grape tomatoes, I also wanted to try them stuffed as I’ve only ever prepared gemista (the classic Greek staple of rice/meat stuffed vegetables) with red/green peppers and tomatoes.

Macaroni and Cheese with a Greek Twist

This is a pretty straightforward recipe … a  simple “Mediterranean” play on Mac n Cheese, if you will. Natasha over at 5 Star Foodie hosts the monthly event dubbed the “5 Star Makeover Challenge” by way of which she urges fellow bloggers to revamp a popular dish/recipe each month. For example, January focused on cornbread, February on mousse and March on compound butter. This month (April) the challenge is to makeover a pasta dish.

Σαλάτα με Πένες, Nτομάτα, Kρεμμυδάκια και Βινεγκρέτ Bαλσαμικό — Simple Past

Spring is in the air and I am already wanting to eat lighter. We’ve had some beautiful weather here in New York–a stark contrast to the snowy conditions experienced a mere 10 days ago–so it’s only natural I now want to eat dishes with vibrant, fresh flavors that require little to no effort/cooking (because that extra time should really be spent letting the kiddies release some of that pent up energy playing outside; or releasing my own pent up energy playing outside for that matter).

Mushroom, Olive and Caper Sauce — Σάλτσα από Mανιτάρια, Eλιές και Kάππαρη

Aglaia Kremezi’s latest book, Mediterranean Hot and Spicy, boasts a number of flavorful recipes and among them is this Mushroom, Olive and Caper Sauce. This sauce is an ideal pantry item that can (with minimal do-ahead preparation) provide you with a quick, healthy meal any night of the week.

Trahanas me Ntomata kai Feta–Trahanas with Tomato and Feta

The other day my husband came home with a package–well, a few packages. Our latest shipment of olive oil, which my father-in-law and mother-in-law send us straight from Agrinio every few months, was in and my hubby drove to Astoria to pick it all up from one of the many Greek shipping companies based there. In the past, my in-laws have managed to send along a couple of large containers of olive oil as well as a small container of Kalamata olives or some Feta cheese preserved in salt water. With this shipment, however, we not only received our oil and olives but a