Kalosirthate piso!!

That's Welcome Back! in Greek. So gang, I give you my sincerest apologies for the delay in posting a new recipe for you. Sir whisked me off on an All-For-Fall vacation (all of our vacations are named). Nothing too fancy. Just six days in Greece, Athens and we stayed most of the time right by the colorful Tsakalof Street. Agatha was able to get in some modest shopping with Sir's contribution to her till. Certainly we came across a plethora of recipes I could have added to our expanding list but because of the circumstances I felt the menu is a little advanced at this stage in the teachings.

There are so many nuances of the Kept Boy one must acquire or at least be aware of before venturing off to some reputable locale like Greece or Turks and Caicos to dine off the extended fork of your very own Sir.

However, I can at this point let you know an excellent recipe for the first big meal home. If your appetite didn't turn on you from the regional diet then proceed. The meal must be kept light, comfortable and rich in a simple to create flavor. Upon our return yesterday afternoon - after a well earned nap - I prepared a Shrimp Pesto dish with a side of couscous.

Pesto Shrimp with Couscous Parcels

The Ingredients:

-10-12 Pieces of Large Shrimp Peeled and de-veined

-1/2 Box of Plain Couscous (about 5 0z)

-1 Cup of Chicken Broth

-1/2 a Red Onion thinly sliced

-4 Garlic Cloves Minced

-1 Small Red Bell Pepper sliced thinly (Agatha says that when choosing Bell Peppers -ones with 3 bumps are sweeter, one with four bumps are better for cooking. Since this dish cooks quickly, I went for the sweeter 3 bumped variety.

-2 Tsp Olive Oil

-4 Tbs of Red Pesto (If you know how to make a good pesto by all means do so, but why do it when there is a fabulous selection of Pestos at the local organic food market)

-2 pieces of Parchment Paper roughly in 15 by 15 squares.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Bring the Chicken Broth and Olive Oil to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in the Couscous, add a dash of salt and a dash of pepper, cover, and set aside for five minutes.

In the Meantime, take the 2 pieces of Parchment Paper and fold them in half. Using a scissors, cut them into large hearts. (I love this part because the hearts remind me of how much I love my Sir!)

After 5 minutes, add to the Couscous the Sliced Red Onion, Minced Garlic, and Sliced Red Bell Pepper. Mix well.

Place about 1 cup (or half of the mixture) onto one side of a heart of Parchment Paper.

Top the Couscous mixture with 4-5 pieces of Shrimp.

Top the Shrimp with 2 tbs of the Red Pesto.

Fold the other half of the heart over the mixture.

Starting on the rounder side of the heart, make little folds moving along the edge of the heart sealing the mixture in. Each fold should seal the fold just before it creating a sealed parcel.

Repeat with the other piece of Parchment paper.

Bake the two Parcels for 20 minutes.

When Done, Place the Parcels on plates. Each packet is a meal in itself. open the packets, mix in the Pesto and enjoy!

Tomorrow I will be adding a touch of the unicorn section to the blog and to your life. Tidbits of discipline I have acquired over the years in the kitchen long before I donned the Cheftain hat. Because everyone can, and should at one moment of their life eat off an extended fork in a land where the only words they can say are Welcome.

Fusion Devotion

As I briefly winked at with one of my musings, we got lucky when it came to having neighbors. Sure we could have just taken the whole floor of the building and combined the three apartments into one and not have neighbors but we chose to only combine two apartments that way we wouldn't be encouraged to buy too much furniture. Hector and Bear Michael lived in such a state for a while and I'm certain the clutter was part of the reason they broke up. Luc and Nadia are an absolute revelation. Luc is from France by way of Morocco and Nadia is Peruvian by way of Spanish Harlem and the Bronx. We've had several dinner parties together with them preparing steak-frites, couscous, plantains and yucca, dates, almonds and chestnut appetizers, rice and beans marinated for hours, my favorite lamb dish djej emshmel and so much fine, fresh ceviche I haven't been able to bring myself to order the dish in a restaurant or I may spoil my palate.

For The Kept Boy Cookbook's 10th Post Celebration! I am throwing a dinner party at our house and with my newly acquired cooking skills I am going to prepare an original French Moroccan and Peruvian Fusion dish. I have the sweet and savory flavors all mapped out on my taste buds and the hours and hours of time necessary to prepare such a feast.

I handed the list of ingredients I culled from Grandpa Internet - enough for Sir, Luc and Nadia, Pepi and Pepe, me, and Agatha to have for lunch tomorrow. Two hours later when I returned from my Astrologer Keith, she had not done the shopping. Instead she fumbled around and said she was too busy to go grocery shopping and now she has a date and she said I should take everyone out to dinner for the Celebration!

Dates are very important social skills so I let her go. But when I told the sad news to Luc and Nadia they said they would prepare a meal and I should arrange the table.

Luc and Nadia came over 10 minutes later carrying a shopping bag with the name "H-Mart" on it. Luc explained that they buy these already prepared Korean Kalbi Ribs from a Market in K-town down on 32nd Street and keep them on hand for such emergencies when they have to whip up a quick meal. Nadia told me the ribs are okay but they spice them up to make them FAB-U-LOUS! They also said they know how to do this recipe from scratch and would teach it to me later, but right now this would be an amazing fix.

Shortcut Shortribs or Kwik Kalbi (Korean Style)


The Ingredients (from their shopping bag!)

-1 Container of pre-marinated Korean Shortribs (there was some sort of light sauce as well as onions, carrots, and green onions.

-1/2 can of Coca Cola (Nadia said that the Coke would add sweetness and the fizz would tenderize the meat)
-1/2 can of Heineken Beer (Luc said that Sake works best but Heineken was a great substitute)

-1 tsp of Hondashi Japanese Bonito Fish Soup Stock Base

-1/2 cup of Soy Sauce

-1 Tsp of Red Pepper Flakes
-1 Tbsp of Sesame Oil

Place the entire contents of the pre-marinated Rib Container into a marinating dish.


Add the Coke and the Heineken.


Add the Soy Sauce and the Red Pepper Flakes. Mix.

***DO NOT ADD THE SESAME OIL! I knew this because Agatha told me that when adding oils to marinades, add the oil just before cooking or the oil will keep the meat from absorbing the marinade.

Cover and let the meat marinate for at least 20 minutes.

When you are ready to cook, add in the sesame oil, give it a quick stir, and either grill or broil the meat for approximately 5-10 minutes or until done to your liking (medium-rare is usually excellent). We did ours under the broiler.


The meal turned out to be amazing. Great conversations, beautiful setting, and truly one of the best dinner parties I ever presented. I even learned a new recipe! I am beginning to suspect that maybe Agatha did this on purpose...