Lamb Gyros with Fresh Tzatziki Sauce served with Pan Roasted Potatoes O'Brien

Lamb Gyros with Fresh Tzatziki Sauce served with Pan Roasted Potatoes O'Brien

This is a simple and easy to make on a weeknight or for a quick lunch.

Potatoes:
4 large Yukon Gold Potatoes, cubed into 1 inch chunks
1 medium onion, sliced into 1 inch chunks
2 bell peppers, diced
Oil
Salt and Pepper
Paprika

Put a couple tbsp of oil into a large skillet and add the potatoes over med-high heat.  Let the potatoes brown, toss and let brown some more.  (Don't over stir or you'll end up with mush)  After properly browned add the onions and salt and pepper.  After about 5 minutes add the peppers.  Let this fry and continue to brown, about 10 minutes.  Add paprika, stir and let stand a couple minutes.

Tzatziki Sauce:

1 5oz. container Plain Greek Yogurt
1/3 cup grated seedless cucumber
2 Tbsp Fresh chopped dill
1 Tbsp Fresh chopped parsley
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt, to taste

Basically just combine all ingredients, stir, and let stand about 10 minutes.

Gyro:

Lamb:
1 lb. ground lamb
paprika
garlic
celery salt
oregano
cumin
cayenne pepper
oil

Brown lamb in a large skillet with a small amount of oil, break into small bits as it browns.  After about half way through browning, add the seasonings, about 1 tsp each except put 1 tbsp of cumin.  Once browned, simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Gyro assembly:

shredded lettuce
Pitas
Diced onion
Diced cucumber
Diced tomatoes
Crumbled Feta

I used pita pockets to make my gyros, but you can use any you like.  Add the tzatziki into the pita, add the lamb and all the toppings above.  Top with a little more tzatziki and serve with the potatoes.  Enjoy!

Best Spaghetti Sauce Ever!

Braised Spatchcock Chicken Served Over Spaghetti with Roasted Tomato and Marsala Wine Sauce

Unfortunately, I'm not the best food photographer but this dish was REALLY good!!  Just another one of my spur of the moment creations.

Ingredient List:

1 Spatchcock Chicken (Whole chicken with back cut out)

Fresh sprigs of thyme rosemary and tarragon (Poultry Herbs) (1 rosemary, 1 tarragon, and about 3 thyme sprigs)

1 Large onion, thinly slice

1 lb. white buttom mushrooms

6 cloves garlic, smashed with knife to remove skin

1 cup Marsala wine

1 oz. White balsamic vinegar

1 can diced roasted tomatoes

Extra virgin olive oil

Fresh curly parsley

Parmesiano Reggiano

About 1/2 lb of dried spaghetti

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions:

If you haven't seen spatchcock, here it is:

Warning: You may never want regular marinara ever again after making this!!

1.  Start by getting all your ingredients together which includes sliced the mushrooms and onions and cleaning the garlic.  And preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.  Season your chicken with salt and pepper all over and place in skillet with olive oil over medium high heat until browned on both sides (chicken will NOT be fully cooked at this point.)

3.  Add whole smashed garlic cloves, poultry herb sprigs, marsala wine, and tomatoes to the skillet.  Cover skillet and put in oven for about 40 minutes.

4.  While chicken is in oven, add onions to a separate skillet with olive oil and season with salt to begin caramelizing the onions, which should take about 20-30 minutes.  About half way through when onions are just turning brown, add the mushrooms.

5.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  

6.  Deglaze the onion skillet with the balsamic vinegar.  Add the onion and mushrooms mixture to the chicken skillet in the oven and turn the chicken when you do, return to oven.  (this will be about the 30 minute mark of your chicken in the oven)

7.  Add your pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente, do not fully cook as you'll be adding to the sauce and cooking for a couple minutes later.

8.  Remove chicken skillet from oven and place chicken onto a roasting pan and put back in oven at 400 degrees (this add a little browning to your chicken)

9.  At the same time put the old chicken skillet back on the stove to simmer the sauce, remove the fresh herb sprigs.  When pasta is ready, drain and add to the tomato and wine mixture and simmer for 2-3 minutes.

10.  Remove chicken from oven after about 5 minutes and serve over the pasta mixture.

11.  Garnish with graded Parmesan cheese and parsley.

I'd suggest you pair this meal with a good Pinot Noir.  I hope you make it and enjoy it as much as I did.