Suzy from The Mediterranean Dish! Oh my! Oh yum! *** UPDATE - Picture dinner Tuesday

[sheryl]

I found Suzy K from "The Mediterranean Dish" online last year.  I've been making some of her dishes!  (drool) They are out of this world.

Have you tried any of her recipes?

I make on a regular basis:

~Stuffed chicken breast recipe with spinach, ricotta and walnuts    (drooling; made this yesterday AGAIN)
~Shrimp pasta recipe, Mediterranean style  (yum; made this in the last 2 weeks AGAIN)
~Cilantro Lime Chicken  (in oven NOW; tonight's dinner)  FIrst time making this one but based on ingredients I'll be making AGAIN SOON

 

Edited March 17, 2021 by sheryl

[mathnerd]

I have been making her recipes for a while and they are very authentic and flavorful. Due to the lockdown, I started making my Pita bread at home from her recipes. https://www.themediterraneandish.com/homemade-pita-bread-recipe/

I also love her Quick Pickled Cucumber recipe and keep a jar of it on hand all the time since I have excess cucumbers and enjoy the flavors of this recipe very much: https://www.themediterraneandish.com/quick-pickled-cucumber-recipe/

 

Edited March 16, 2021 by mathnerd

[PeterPan]

Sounds delish! I get so burnt on blog recipes that don't turn out right that I don't look at blogs much. But on your word, I will definitely try. 

That was one of the things I realized in watching these cooking shows the last few weeks while doing HBOT. Most people pick something and actually get GOOD at it. Me I'm like this tonight, chinese tomorrow, italian the next, frozen fish after that. So I'm not really good at anything, lol. But if I picked one (like Mediterranean) and actually stuck with it, maybe I'd get good at ONE THING. 

[mathnerd]

14 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

Sounds delish! I get so burnt on blog recipes that don't turn out right that I don't look at blogs much. But on your word, I will definitely try. 

That was one of the things I realized in watching these cooking shows the last few weeks while doing HBOT. Most people pick something and actually get GOOD at it. Me I'm like this tonight, chinese tomorrow, italian the next, frozen fish after that. So I'm not really good at anything, lol. But if I picked one (like Mediterranean) and actually stuck with it, maybe I'd get good at ONE THING. 

One lesson that I learned during lockdown cooking is that there are tons of popular youtubers and bloggers who don't know what they are doing, but have a large number of subscribers and churn out recipes that they don't know well nor have experience with. So, I always love to see recommendations of recipes and blogs which have worked out well for others so that I don't have to waste time and ingredients on a recipe that looks great in the photographs and suck when I actually make them.

[AbcdeDooDah]

Oooh, I’ve been wanting to make more Mediterranean recipes but nothing ever caught my eye AFA blogs. This looks perfect! T

[sheryl]

1 hour ago, PeterPan said:

Sounds delish! I get so burnt on blog recipes that don't turn out right that I don't look at blogs much. But on your word, I will definitely try. 

That was one of the things I realized in watching these cooking shows the last few weeks while doing HBOT. Most people pick something and actually get GOOD at it. Me I'm like this tonight, chinese tomorrow, italian the next, frozen fish after that. So I'm not really good at anything, lol. But if I picked one (like Mediterranean) and actually stuck with it, maybe I'd get good at ONE THING. 

Please know that her meals take me longer than what she lists on her recipe. It's worth it.  There's prep - a lot of picking herbs from stems and chopping vegetables.  It's not that any one component is hard.  Allow yourself time.   For tonight's recipe, I told dh at dinner tonight that next time I'll parcel out during the day -  iow, in the morning spend the time to separate herb leaves from stems and peel/chop garlic.  Maybe early afternoon measure out spices/ingredients.  That would save 30 - 40 minutes and I could then just "go to it" and finish dinner.

I would imagine her husband, daughter, friend maybe helps her prep and that cuts down on her actual time of making the meal.

And, I'm certain you're good at several things!!!

[sheryl]

1 hour ago, mathnerd said:

One lesson that I learned during lockdown cooking is that there are tons of popular youtubers and bloggers who don't know what they are doing, but have a large number of subscribers and churn out recipes that they don't know well nor have experience with. So, I always love to see recommendations of recipes and blogs which have worked out well for others so that I don't have to waste time and ingredients on a recipe that looks great in the photographs and suck when I actually make them.

Well, I don't know what to say to that. I believe Suzy was around before pandemic but she's from Port Said, Egypt so it's clear she has that Mediterranean knack!

[sheryl]

54 minutes ago, AbcdeDooDah said:

Oooh, I’ve been wanting to make more Mediterranean recipes but nothing ever caught my eye AFA blogs. This looks perfect! T

Hope you enjoy.  As I told Peter Pan, it can be time consuming but so worth it.  The spinach, ricotta, etc mixture is so good I could make a meal of that let alone save enough for the chicken  breast.   LOL!

[mathnerd]

Just now, sheryl said:

Well, I don't know what to say to that. I believe Suzy was around before pandemic but she's from Port Said, Egypt so it's clear she has that Mediterranean knack!

I like Suzy's recipes, a lot. A lot of my IRL friends have used her recipes. I am talking about youtubers with a quarter million subscribers whose recipes turn out unpalatable. That is why I love these threads where people on here mention recipes that actually tasted good. So, thanks for starting this thread!

[sheryl]

2 minutes ago, mathnerd said:

I like Suzy's recipes, a lot. A lot of my IRL friends have used her recipes. I am talking about youtubers with a quarter million subscribers whose recipes turn out unpalatable. That is why I love these threads where people on here mention recipes that actually tasted good. So, thanks for starting this thread!

Got it.  Yeah, I think she's the  real deal.  Those 3 I mentioned are the only ones I've tried so far and can recommend.   She's right when she talks about a lot of flavors popping out. I LOVE falafel but I know  it will be time consuming  so I'm not jumping at it yet.  Some recipe "titles" don't appeal to me but I'm sure I'll be making more and more of her recipes.  

[alisoncooks]

Ooh, thanks! She's new to me and I'm always looking for super-flavorful world cuisine. 

[Bambam]

I printed out her Chicken Souvlaki recipe this morning. Oldest is coming home tomorrow and said Souvlaki sounded yummy. I made the tzatziki sauce this afternoon so the flavors have a change to really blend. I think oven roasted potatoes and maybe asparagus to go with it. 

[PeterPan]

1 hour ago, sheryl said:

Please know that her meals take me longer than what she lists on her recipe. It's worth it.  There's prep - a lot of picking herbs from stems and chopping vegetables.  It's not that any one component is hard.  Allow yourself time.   For tonight's recipe, I told dh at dinner tonight that next time I'll parcel out during the day -  iow, in the morning spend the time to separate herb leaves from stems and peel/chop garlic.  Maybe early afternoon measure out spices/ingredients.  That would save 30 - 40 minutes and I could then just "go to it" and finish dinner.

I would imagine her husband, daughter, friend maybe helps her prep and that cuts down on her actual time of making the meal.

And, I'm certain you're good at several things!!!

Are your spices in alphabetical order?

I'm looking at the recipe, and I think you could put the spices on the chicken ahead and put it in the frig with no cover (to dry it out slightly). Then when you're ready to cook you could pull them out to brown. 

I'm thinking you could also do that recipe in an instant pot... 

I'm trying to figure out what would happen if I did it without the chicken skin. I haven't eaten skin in years, YEARS. I don't know what happened, but I stopped. I know I grew up eating it. 

 

[PeterPan]

I used to have a Greek uncle (by marriage, later ex-ed, sigh) who made this wonderful lemon rice soup. She has that recipe on her blog. It's so unassuming, but the flavor sticks with you FOREVER. I was like 6-8 when this uncle would make it for me and send home a quart. So tart and perfect.

[VickiMNE]

7 hours ago, sheryl said:

Got it.  Yeah, I think she's the  real deal.  Those 3 I mentioned are the only ones I've tried so far and can recommend.   She's right when she talks about a lot of flavors popping out. I LOVE falafel but I know  it will be time consuming  so I'm not jumping at it yet.  Some recipe "titles" don't appeal to me but I'm sure I'll be making more and more of her recipes. 

I've been using her recipes (and Olive Tomatoes!  She's Greek and makes a nice complement) for the past year plus.  I'm now growing twice as much parsley, dill, cilantro, and basil in the garden...... 🙂

JUST YESTERDAY, I made for reals, from-scratch, falafels using Suzy's recipe-absolutely delish!  It was far easier than I thought, so I encourage you to go for it.

What made it doable, IMO, is that I can spread the work out--always a plus for me.  So last Saturday I soaked the beans.  I then put them in the frig .  Monday,  the day before cooking, I made the falafel "mash".  I then stuck that in the frig til needed.  Yesterday, I shaped and pan-fried (we like small patties) the falafels.  Oh, so good--crispy, tasty, moist inside.  And we have leftovers!  O happy day!

Note: I did have one helper to shape the patties....

[sheryl]

11 hours ago, PeterPan said:

Are your spices in alphabetical order?

I'm looking at the recipe, and I think you could put the spices on the chicken ahead and put it in the frig with no cover (to dry it out slightly). Then when you're ready to cook you could pull them out to brown. 

I'm thinking you could also do that recipe in an instant pot... 

I'm trying to figure out what would happen if I did it without the chicken skin. I haven't eaten skin in years, YEARS. I don't know what happened, but I stopped. I know I grew up eating it. 

 

PP,  I'm with you on this.  Well, I'm not a chef but I do know some foods should be set out ahead of time.   Prepare them in advance and store in frig but bring out 15-30 min to room temp.

So, I do NOT (yuck) eat the skin either.  I dm'd Suzy early yesterday (T) thinking I wouldn't hear back  from her so soon but I did.  Chicken breast is all the chicken meat I'll eat BUT because it's "white" it has less fat which means less flavor (to a point). Thighs are dark meat and flavorful.  She said (and butcher confirmed yesterday when I was buying thighs) to peel back skin.  The spices/dry rub you rub all over pat-dried chicken (so spices stick) top, bottom and under skin.   You want to pan fry here because while you can slow cook it will NOT yield the same result of nicely browned  chicken.   I'll try to remember  to upload  my dinner pic from last night sometime soon.

Skin on/bone in seals in flavor/juices and makes for pretty presentation.  We did not eat skin.  Peeled back to eat chicken only which was still seasoned because you lifted  the skin up raw to season.

[Scarlett]

It is not even 9:00 and now I am starving.   I can't wait to try some of these.

 

[sheryl]

Yeah, I'm "considering" breaking up her recipes in to 2 days prep but haven't fully decided.  For falafel I had already decided multi-day prep and for recipes using "fresh" herbs, I'd also separate leaves from stems day before as it wouldn't dry out.  And, rub mixture.  Actually,  I should triple some of her rubs/spice mixture and have on hand to save time.  I like that idea and it would work well for me.

[sheryl]

Last night's dinner "Cilantro Lime Chicken" (Recipe by Suzy K)

 

[sheryl]

Ha!  Just saw my sloppy "plating" skills.  Oh well....

Edited March 17, 2021 by sheryl