Normally – made with compressed lamb on a spit. This recipe calls for ground lamb, pressing it, slicing it thin (from sausage) You can choose to make lamb a few days early You need GREEK Pita Bread – need to put oil on both sides before briefly heating on a hot grill. 1 cup Greek Salsa -- (recipe below) or 8 paper-thin slices of red onion and 8 (1/4 inch) slices of tomato Make the Greek salsa first, and set aside. You will have some left over. In a bowl, combine the lamb, onion, scallion, parsley, mint, mayonnaise, bread crumbs, salt, and cayenne pepper. Using your hands, mix all the ingredients together well. Form 7 to 8 cylinders (about the size of a sausage), 4 inches long and 1 inch wide. Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet on high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of canola oil and heat until it starts to smoke. Add the lamb, and turn the heat down to medium. Saute, turning every minute, for about 12 minutes. Remove from the skillet and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Brush the pita bread lightly on both sides with the remainder of the oil. To heat the bread, using tongs, hold each piece over a gas burner set to low, and move it back and forth for 20 seconds on each side, until heated through. Be careful not to burn it. Place the bread on a plate, and cover to keep warm. To assemble the gyros, slice the lamb into long, ¼ inch thick slices. Place 2 to 3 tablespoons of Tzatziki spread over each piece of warm pita bread. Add a handful of lettuce and ¼ cup of Greek salsa. Place the sliced lamb on top. Lay a square of foil in front of you on a cutting board with one of the corners at the bottom (so the square looks like a diamond shape). Fold the top half over 3 inches. Place a folded gyro on the foil, leaving 2 inches of foil showing on the bottom. Fold the bottom 2 inches of the foil over the bottom of the gyro. Fold the sides over the gyro, first the left, then the right. You now have a leak-resistant pouch, just like the ones you get from the street vendors in New York. Enjoy! Stir the tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, oregano, and pepper to taste together in a bowl. Let stand at room temperature until ready to serve. Just before you serve, add the salt. If you put the salt in too early, it will extract the juices from the vegetables and will make the salsa runny. Add the crumbled feta cheese. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Heat oven to 375° F. Brush two large cookie sheets with 2 tablespoons of the melted butter. In large bowl, beat cream cheese and pumpkin with electric mixer on medium speed about 1 minute or until smooth. Add egg yolk, vanilla, sugar, 3 tablespoons of the flour and pumpkin pie spice; beat on low speed until blended. Reserve 4 teaspoons of the pecans; set aside. Stir remaining pecans into pumpkin mixture. Lightly sprinkle work surface with 1 tablespoon of the flour. Unroll 1 can of dough on floured surface with 1 short side facing you. Press dough into 14x12-inch rectangle. With paring knife, lightly score the dough in half horizontally. Lightly score bottom half of dough into 12 squares (3x2 ¼-inch each). Spoon heaping tablespoon of the pumpkin filling onto center of each square. Gently lift and position unscored half of dough over filling. Starting at the top folded edge, press handle of wooden spoon firmly between mounds and along edges of pumpkin filling to seal. Using toothpick, poke small hole in top of each ravioli. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut between each ravioli; place 1 inch apart on cookie sheets. Repeat with remaining 1 tablespoon flour, dough sheet, and filling. Brush ravioli with remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter. Bake 9 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, beat whipping cream and salt with electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Beat in 2 tablespoons of the caramel syrup until stiff peaks form. Transfer to serving bowl; cover and refrigerate. Remove ravioli from oven. Sprinkle ravioli with 2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar; turn. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar. To serve, place 2 ravioli on each of 12 dessert plates. Drizzle each serving with scant teaspoon of the caramel syrup; sprinkle with reserved chopped pecans. With spoon, swirl remaining 1 tablespoon caramel syrup into bowl of whipped cream. Serve warm ravioli with whipped cream.
Recipe: Season the pork chop generously with the pepper, cumin and salt. Place olive oil in a cast iron skillet under high heat and sear the pork chop on both sides. About 3 minutes on each side. To finish the chops, place in a 400 degree oven for about 12 minutes, or until thermometer reaches 140-150 degrees. In a separate cast iron skillet, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, chopped onions and cook until soft. Add the minced garlic until fragrant, about 2 minutes, then add the okra, tomatoes, chicken stock and lime juice. Allow the ingredients to come together and the flavors to incorporate with each other for about 10 minutes then season salt and pepper. Serve the pork chops with the succotash on top and drizzle with fresh lime juice.
