Kitchen creations...

 For 17 years we have had friends Scott and Marion over to watch the triple crown horse races. They don't get the TV channel that plays them, so early on asked if they could watch here.  We began making a bit of an event of it, cooking special food, inviting other friends and neighbors. Some years it got too busy, with people we didn't even know showing up, and not enough room for everyone to see the race. 

Last year, Covid canceled the races, and we were glad to be able to get together to watch again this year. We kept it small. Marion brought all the food for the Kentucky Derby, we all contributed for the Preakness, and tonight I wanted to try something different for the Belmont Stakes. Rachel and I thought it might be fun to make homemade Gyro's. I found a likely recipe, Chris brought home the provisions, and I got to cookin'. 

I made Tzatziki sauce with local yogurt, diced cucumber, and twice as much garlic as the recipe asked for, (among other things.)  

I found a likely-looking recipe to make the meat portion. Local lamb and beef, (I made two varieties) diced red onion, garlic, lemon juice, and a whole pile of flavorful seasonings like cumin, oregano, and nutmeg.  I mixed it up early and let it sit a while so the flavors would meld. We formed them into oblong patties and Chris grilled them up to give them a nice smokey flavor. 

The most ambitious part of the project was making homemade pita bread.  I have always liked pita bread and thought fresh-baked would be tastier than store-bought. I made a double batch to feed 7 people, and to my delight, they were so popular not many were left. 

It was a simple dough, yeast, water, flour, salt, and olive oil.  I made it up and let it rise in a sunny window. Then I cut the dough into 18 or so sections,  kneaded, and formed each section into a little ball. 

I let them rest a while, then rolled each out until it was about 1/4 inch thick. 

I heated a cast-iron skilled up, and then with a wish and a prayer tossed a disk into the hot pan. In two minutes I was overjoyed to see... 

My pita had puffed!  It was unseasonably warm today, and I spent the next hour hovering over the hot stove, cooking one or two dough disks at a time, and reveling in their lovely puffiness. It was totally worth it. 

2-3 minutes a side and they became a lovely toasted color. I stacked them in an earthenware bowl, then tucked them under a dish towel to keep them warm and moist. The whole project was a time consuming effort, but oh so tasty. 

We all made our own sandwiches, fresh warm pita bread, cool tzatziki sauce, flavorful meat. I had an array of greens, tomatoes, and sliced cucumbers to add to each sandwich. Marion brought a beautiful salad complete with edible flowers, and Chris made a massive bowl of barbecue potato salad. Cheryl brought a fabulous pie. Rachel made a sweet bowl of fruit salad. It was a feast. But I am going to say that my pita pockets were a big success. Ok, I'm going to say they were the star of the show. There is a rule that one should not serve a totally new recipe to guests. I threw caution to the wind and tried three new things tonight. No complaints. I'm totally making those pita pockets again, and soon. 

The race was a nail-biter. I can hardly wait till next year's triple crown. I'll have to come up with some other new recipes to trot out.