The Staple Ingredient
Currently while slicing:
Eating: Greek-style lamb chops w/homemade tzatziki sauce
Drinking: Zinfandel
Entertained by: Master Chef Junior
Growing up, my mom would typically be the one who cooked dinner. This torch would be passed to my dad on nights where he was able to use the grill to fire up a dinner of steaks or “Dad’s famous burgers”. In either scenario, it seemed that their go-to flavor booster was garlic pepper. My parents, since moving to North Carolina, have gotten pretty savvy in the kitchen since their garlic pepper days (last time I was there they put together a mind-blowing shrimp boil packet that went on the grill... where did THAT come from!?). Don’t get me wrong, sometimes given the protein that you are working with all you need is salt and (garlic)pepper. However, there are also cooking scenarios where you need to advance the level of your spice rack skills a little bit. I bet each of us can close our eyes and pick out at least one dish we remember being a staple at the dinner table from our youth. Although I'm sure I can think of others, the one dish that really comes to mind from growing up is my mom’s whole oven-roasted garlic pepper chicken.
Maybe it was my parents’ go-to dinner they went with because it was quick. We always had that spice on hand and the end result (no matter what it tasted like) filled you up. Between driving me to and from school, dance class, softball practice, etc., it’s no wonder garlic pepper chicken was on the menu - weekly. In college, I got to explore cooking on my own more often, and would come home to garlic pepper chicken with a post-teenage eye roll muttering “Ma - you know you can do better than garlic pepper!” and I’d get a “It’s what we have!” back.
I’m prepping my favorite protein for dinner right now, lamb, and I always cook it Greek-style. This is the flavor-combo that stuck with me when my family finally upgraded from their go-to spice. We rarely ate fast food during weekday dinners, but when we did, we always hit up Nicky’s Red Hots in Naperville about a quarter mile from the house. Nicky’s is known for their perfectly roasted Greek chicken, savory gyros, and tender souvlaki skewers - all of which we would order with a side of lemon-oregano potato spears and tzatziki sauce. After picking up carryout orders from here for awhile, our taste buds were hooked. What is that saying? Once you know you can't un-know. I remember a night I was home over a holiday break and I suspected what I saw in the oven was the usual garlic pepper chicken when suddenly my mom popped open the oven door to assess how the meal was cooking, a new aroma lifted into the air. The room was filled with hints of fresh oregano, citrus... and garlic pepper (I guess they couldn't break up with that one entirely). My mom was recreating Greek chicken, and it turned out well beyond what any of us expected. She always grew fresh herbs in the backyard and that night she happened to have some lemons, chicken broth, and potatoes on hand.
Was it a match for Nicky’s? No - honestly nothing will ever be, but it was one of the most flavorful, tender roasted chickens I remember having that was homemade. When I went back to college, I apparently turned into "my mother's daughter" and this became the dinner I would make all the time. Hey, I was a college student going beyond ramen, quesadillas, and frozen pizza - not too bad, right!? The first time I took a stab at it was for a boyfriend at the time and later on I'd put this together for weeknight dinners with my roommate. This meal was my "garlic pepper chicken", and I realized how it can be so easy to get hooked on making the same thing over and over. Although my grownup palate has evolved to find a liking beyond chicken now, I no longer need a recipe when cooking with oregano, lemon, (fresh) garlic, salt and pepper - and even though my parents are a FaceTime call away, I always think of them when I cook with these ingredients.
I forgot to take a photo of the dinner I was working on and ate it all, haha. So in lieu of a photo of an empty plate, here's a picture from a few weeks ago. Eat your heart out lamb-lovers!
